Camera Topics Olympus slowly abandons xD cards?

minh0204 · #1 01-06-2010, 09:41 PM

Just notice that among the 7 compact cameras which Olympus ~~littered~~ introduced today, six of them use SD cards. Can we hope for a SD slot in the next pro-43rds along with CF slot, so that we can shoot tethered with the Eye-Fi slot and back up into CF? Maybe record HD movie into high-speed SDXC and save photo separately into CF?

Just dreaming

Michael Meissner · #2 01-06-2010, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minh0204

Just notice that among the 7 compact cameras which Olympus ~~littered~~ introduced today, six of them use SD cards. Can we hope for a SD slot in the next pro-43rds along with CF slot, so that we can shoot tethered with the Eye-Fi slot and back up into CF? Maybe record HD movie into high-speed SDXC and save photo separately into CF?

Just dreaming

Well given the E-P1/E-P2 are SD/SDHC only, I would say Olympus is finally letting the xD card fade into the sunset where it will be joined by its older brother, smartmedia. One thing it does is finally remove the requirement that you use Olympus branded media for panorama mode.

However, I would imagine that the next round of DSLRs will likely be SDHC/SDXC only for the consumer oriented bodies (i.e. E-4xx/E-5xx/E-6xx class), just like the other DSLR makers do. The higher end bodies will probably keep CF.

Of course in terms of movies, it would be nice if Olympus started offering better codecs to allow longer movies.

OzRay · #3 01-06-2010, 10:27 PM

And Sony looks like they are abandoning the memory stick: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/01/so...eless-sharing/. What's the world coming to?

Cheers

Ray

nrgaudet · #4 01-06-2010, 11:00 PM

Hey, that is companies listening to their customers. I know for my E3 the XD card is for emergencies only. It is really slow. I think I've used it once. Good for Olympus and Sony for wising up!

Sights · #5 01-07-2010, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrgaudet

Hey, that is companies listening to their customers. I know for my E3 the XD card is for emergencies only. It is really slow. I think I've used it once. Good for Olympus and Sony for wising up!

Been reading about SD cards. Seems that they are not as reliable as CF, prone to crashing more than one would like. Imagine having one die in the middle of a wedding shoot.

PeterB666 · #6 01-07-2010, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sights

Been reading about SD cards. Seems that they are not as reliable as CF, prone to crashing more than one would like. Imagine having one die in the middle of a wedding shoot.

I have never had a problem with a SD card or any other memory card. I have had SD, MicroSD, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro Duo, xD and CF cards.

xD cards are a throwback and there hasn't been any development in xD cards for 3 or more years and I think they maxed out around 2gb.

Michael Meissner · #7 01-07-2010, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sights

Been reading about SD cards. Seems that they are not as reliable as CF, prone to crashing more than one would like. Imagine having one die in the middle of a wedding shoot.

As opposed to CF cards? I don't recall if I've had a CF card outright fail before (unlike SM), but I have had several times where one or more images were corrupt on the card. I also have ruined one device by inserting the card wrong and bending the pins (fortunately, it was under warranty). Just like in CF cards, it depends on who makes the card, and there are some companies who just slap together a product that mostly works.

In terms of weddings, that is why you have backups for everything, including the shooter. It is no different than the film lab ruining your negatives. #%!^ happens.

Vanderpix · #8 01-07-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OzRay

And Sony looks like they are abandoning the memory stick: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/01/so...eless-sharing/. What's the world coming to?

Cheers

Ray

Yes the end is near!! LOL It's great we finally seem to be settling on a standard. Now if we can settle on DNG....

TrapperJohn · #9 01-07-2010, 01:59 PM

Well, that just breaks my effing heart...

Good riddance, it was an ugly wart on an otherwise outstanding design. I'm surprised Sony is doing likewise, they tended to stick(!) with their proprietary stuff to the end.

So far, sd has worked well on the EP1. Cards are cheaper than CF, and no pins to bend with a careless insertion.

Biggest problem I've had with SD cards is they're easy to lose, because they're so small.

PdO · #10 01-07-2010, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrgaudet

I know for my E3 the XD card is for emergencies only.

As in when you forget to put the CF card back in - Believe me, it happens!

matthewm · #11 01-07-2010, 04:03 PM

I worked at Ritz Camera for a long time and one of the biggest problems with me closing the deal on Olympus P&S cameras was the fact that people had to buy the XD picture cards. People would come in with a broken camera and want to use their existing SD card, so that eliminated Olympus right off the bat, or they wanted something larger than a 2GB. Which also eliminated Olympus right off the bat. Not to mention, I recall the XD cards being significantly more than their SD counterparts.

I had trouble with Sony cameras because of the same reason.

Glad I won't be in camera retail to see this divorce. I don't know how many people I had to turn away because they quit making SmartMedia cards. And let me tell you, convincing a 73-year-old man that his 1.3 MP Fuji camera from 1999 is obsolete is NOT an easy thing to do. Especially when they come back at you with, "What the hell do you mean obsolete!? I paid nearly $1000 for this thing!"

I don't think it's a bad idea for all companies to try and settle on one card type, two at the most.

olddigiman · #12 01-07-2010, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanderpix

Now if we can settle on DNG....

Amen to that!

Kalrog · #13 01-07-2010, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PdO

As in when you forget to put the CF card back in - Believe me, it happens!

Guilty.

Sights · #14 01-07-2010, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterB666

I have never had a problem with a SD card or any other memory card. I have had SD, MicroSD, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro Duo, xD and CF cards.

xD cards are a throwback and there hasn't been any development in xD cards for 3 or more years and I think they maxed out around 2gb.

Hey Peter, I'm with you! I'm looking at an CF -> SD adapters on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....d=&mfe=sidebar

My son gave me a couple of links to look at. He's the wedding photographer, and had seen a couple of articles about SD reliability.

I've never had a card problem yet -only use CF & xD. Like most, I only use the xD for backup.
On second thought, I do tend to format xD more often as they won't erase completely. They often leave one or two pikkies behind that won't erase. Format is the only solution I find works.

xD is much too slow and too low. I like 4gB cards; if one goes belly up I don't loose as much as I would on a 8 or 16, and I still get a reasonable number of RAW shots. But the thought of using a cheaper SD in my E3 is appealing - providing they are fast enough.