# Opinions on SD to CF adapters...



## saahild (Jan 23, 2010)

What do people think about using a sd to cf converter instead of a proper cf card. 

Reason for asking is my laptop, and most laptops in general have SD card readers built in, and they are much much cheaper then CF cards. Also easier to carry more of them. And I can just whip out the sd card rather then the cf card, which to be honest I am scared of breaking something every time I do. 

I don't do burst photography, doubt I ever will, nor do I take videos. 

What are people's opinions on this matter.


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## Phranquey (Jan 23, 2010)

CF prices have come down drastically, and they are _much_ more durable than little SD cards. If you don't need a high speed card for burst shooting, here's a 2GB Sandisk CF for less than $20....and that was just one quick search. Card readers can be had for just a couple of $$.

Amazon.com: SanDisk Ultra Compact Flash 2GB Card (SDCFH-002G-A11) (Retail Package): Electronics


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## saahild (Jan 23, 2010)

Heya, 

It is not so much a price thing as it is a portability and safety thing. 

As far as cheapness goes for 20 pounds (about 30 dollors) I can get 3 4gb sd cards (scandisk, not of ebay). But that really isn't the point.

The main point really is that I can carry 8 sd cards in the space of 4 cf cards, safely tucked away in my little pocket book sized anti static case. 

And with a CF card adapter I can leave the CF part in the camera, and just swop the SD cards out. 

At the moment I am scared to remove and reinsert the card into my camera because the pins (the bits you can accidentially bend) are in the camera and not on the card. If they were on the card then worse case scenario chuck it and spend 20 quid on another card, but with a camera, well they are a bit more expensive to replace. That was my thinking behind getting an adapter. They are hardly bank breaking. Was just wondering if there were any speed penalties that people who have used them have noticed in amateur/hobby level photography.


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## Overread (Jan 23, 2010)

I think the chances of pins breaking in the camera are not very big - the card slides into place and the housing is quite confined so the chances of hitting a pin badly are low. Certainly there are people using them all the time and there are very few cases where a pin has been damaged.

Also - from what I recall reading - the use of a card adaptor can lead to slower writing times to the card and thus is this speed is too slow then your FPS will be limited. Even in the lower end cameras a good writing speed is important. 

I'd only go down this rout if you have the smaller cards already and not use for them - though I would also slowly upgrade to a full Sd setup


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## Garbz (Jan 23, 2010)

I haven't used a usb cable for 3 years. I have 3 CF cards that I whip in and out of the camera on a daily basis. I do this in harsh sandy and high humidity environments. Here's a trick. Take a CF card and put it halfway into your camera socket and try to wriggle it. It doesn't wriggle. The sockets are precisely engineered and it's incredibly hard to bend a pin unless you're physically sticking something down there than shouldn't be down there.

CF cards are much more robust than SD. You can run over a CF card in a car and it won't be a problem (has happened to me), and all of mine have been through the wash and in one case even the drier at some point or another. They are grounded plate designs so completely immune from static discharge, and they look all around dead sexy. (I made that last one up).

Do what you want but I get the feeling you're creating a problem where none exists. You can get 3 4gb SD cards? Why? Why not buy 1 32GB CF card and just don't carry a CF card wallet (which by the sounds of things is getting too big for you). Your laptop issue can be fixed via a $20 card reader for the PCMCIA slot PCMCIA Compactflash Reader

The only time I really see a need for an adapter is with MicroSD to xD. Olympus have started including these on their Cameas since xD simply haven't kept up in the size race with the rest of the cards, and are ludicrously expensive to boot. Although MicroSD to xD requires software support and isn't a true adapter in this case. 

But again each to their own. I get the vibes that you sorta already made up your mind before asking the question here


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## saahild (Jan 23, 2010)

Ahh so it is indeed a case of worrying over nothing. Fair play then. I do tend to overly worry at times. 

Thanks for setting me straight before I waste a lot of money on a lot of useless cards lol. 

Shall go get CF cards like a normal person .


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## Timbo (Feb 18, 2013)

Just to get you worrying again, I worked for a big firm and some one there put a compact flash card into a reader which broke said card.  He then put the card into a camera to try and copy the pictures from that.  Bust camera without realising, put the card into another camera, bust that too, then repeated once more breaking three cameras in less than that many minutes.  All were repaired but the repairs were costly.  SD cards ARE durable, hence the reason they are in new pro level cameras.  However the SD card converter required taking out of the camera when you take the SD card out of it so is pointless for safety's sake.  Oh just noticed the date! none shall
 read this


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## snowbear (Feb 18, 2013)

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