Where do you buy your CF cards from?

[Zerin Dube]

I want to buy about 4-6 gigs of CF memory and would like to know where I can find the best deals on stuff. I need to get this fairly quickly, so I appreciate everyone's input! :)

[Jeff Wilson]

I buy from Newegg.com a lot, and sometimes Best Buy (believe it or not) has a good deal on Sandisk Ultra II's. Buy.com also has pretty good prices.

I wish the prices on Ultra II's on ebay were from sellers that didn't give me stomach pains. ;) $30 for a 1Gb Ultra II (shipped) would really be nice if it were true.

[Jason Jenkins]

i got my last batch of cards from Costco.

[Zerin Dube]

Jason, thanks for the tip... they have 2gb Kingston Elite Pro cards for $50 each! I'm going to buy 4 at that price.

[Todd Spoth]

damn Z what the heck do you need all the memory for??

[Zerin Dube]

I'm shooting NOPI and Petit this month, I need more cards. I've only got 4 gig right now, and I want to start shooting everything in L, so need more space.

[Dennis Murray]

Don't you have a laptop you can dump to?

I have 4 gigs at this point...always looking to add some but right now I'm holding for further prices drops. 4 gigs and a laptop gives me a pretty good amount of working space if shooting jpeg.

[Daniel Buck]

I agree with Jeff! Before I moved to CA, I used to order them from New Egg (no tax), sometimes they have some killer deals!

What ever you do, I'd watch out if you are looking to order off EBay, I have heard a few stories of folks not getting what they payed for.

[Todd Corzett]

I've bought my 2GB Extreme III cards from B&H, but when I was doing it there were no deals on them (and actually B&H was the only one that had them in stock).

As for the amount of memory... I have six 2gb cards. They will last me a day of JPG shooting (actually a bit more), or a little less than half a day at RAW+JPG(L). Even with a laptop... you can never have too much memory!

-Todd...

[Jeff Wilson]

Somewhat off topic:

Have any of you guys ever thought about using SD cards in an SD-CF adapter? I've seen that Sandisk Ultra II SD is about half the price of the same capacity Ultra II CF.

Might not be the best for shooting racing, but for static shots where speed isn't an issue, 50% off might be worth a look. Just a thought...

[Erik Anderson]

I've bought most of my memory from either B&H or Adorama. B&H has a short sale on their 2GB Sandisk Ultra IIs making them around $50 after rebate. I picked up two the weekend I had a wedding and was glad I did since I filled up all 8GB over the course of the day!

[John Thawley]

Having just come off a nightmare weekend where I accidentially deleted about 4+ gig of images, I just purchased four 4GB Ultra Extreme II cards (about $93. each) - This will now put me at four 4GB cards, two 2GB cards and four 1GB cards.

My "new" workflow habit will be to first label or number all cards 1-10. I will then use the cards in sequence until they are full. While I will still dump images to my laptop, as usual, after each session, But, I WILL NOT remove images from the cards until I get home.

My laptop files will be copied to my "working" hard drive and the flash card files will be copied to a back-up external drive. I will format each card before leaving for my next shoot.

I use a ThinkTank wallet... full cards will be returned to the wallet face-down so I know they are full... plus the sequence number will be a second reminder of where I'm at. A check of the preview screen will also indicate if the card has current images on it.

I may just add an external drive into my trackside workflow as well.... not decided yet. I think the cards are the best form of mobil back-up.

I will post the Sandisk source after I've recieved delivery.

[Erik Anderson]

Having just come off a nightmare weekend where I accidentially deleted about 4+ gig of images, I just purchased four 4GB Ultra Extreme II cards (about $93. each) - This will now put me at four 4GB cards, two 2GB cards and four 1GB cards.

Ouch! Did you realize that before or after the cards were used again? Were you able to recover the images?

I'm doing something similar in that I have 2 2GB and four 1 GB. That serves me well for most events (about 3000 for a two day event is the max I've done). Each night the cards are copied to the laptop and the cards returned to the wallet as used. When I get home, they are copied to my desktop, sorted, then copied to a 2nd internal drive and to my external HDD. After that I burned everything to a DVD.

Immediately following the event, I have up to 6 copies (CF card, Laptop, desktop x2 , external HDD, and DVD). After a few events, the laptop copy gets deleted to make room, a few months later, they are deleted off my working drive (again to make room) and every year the 2nd internal HDD get's cleaned. The DVD and external HDD are never deleted and the DVD's get put into my safety deposit box.

That reminds me, I need to buy another external drive...... :):D

[Todd Corzett]

I will then use the cards in sequence until they are full. While I will still dump images to my laptop, as usual, after each session, But, I WILL NOT remove images from the cards until I get home.

I do the same thing... I will not re-use a CF card until it has been transferred to my laptop AND backed-up to at least one other location. When traveling, I have an external drive (that is stored away from my laptop as much as possible) and/or DVDs. When at home I back-up to my RAID.

I have had GREAT success recovering images from CF cards (well, my mother's SD cards - I rescued her entire trip to China that was "lost")... I trust a CF card FAR more than a HD... so will keep the copy on a CF card as long as possible!

-Todd...

PS - sorry to hear about the nightmare.

[Jeff Wilson]

That SUCKS John!!!

A little workflow tip I learned a while back that works well is to use 1Gb cards only, and carry them in some sort of card case/wallet. Before you start shooting for the day format all of the cards with your camera and place them in the card holder face up. Then as you use them put them back face down. When you're done shooting upload the images to your computer, but don't format the cards.

This has a few advantages: You know at a glance which cards are used, you aren't putting all your eggs in one basket if you are shooting 1Gb (2Gb for RAW shooters, btw), and after the shoot you have at least two copies of your images. The downside is you tend to look like a dorky noob with the card wallet. ;)

[John Thawley]

I look dorky regardless. :)

My only concern about 1GB cards is often that will not be big enough and will require changing in the field. That's how I've lost cards in the past. So... less handling is safer in my opinion.

With the cards I have, depending on the event, I will probably start with the smaller cards during practice etc. Larger cards for race day. That should avoid changing a card out on the track.

JT

[Todd Spoth]

The downside is you tend to look like a dorky noob with the card wallet. ;)

but not with the think tank wallet!! i use the think tank pro modulous for nfl and ive gotten more people asking me "hmm what pack is that looks neat" than anything else. think tank = sexy. haha.;)

[John Jovic]

Maybe we've slid slightly of topic though it's interesting to read how others work and secure their data in the field.

I mainly shoot features for magazines, rather than events. I only have 1x2G, 2x1G and 2x 0.5G cards. I could use another 2G card but it really doesn't bother me. The 0.5G are a nuisance more than anything else but have come in handy a few times.

I use 2x Vosonic PSD's (portable storage device) each with an 80G disk. I don't even own a laptop. When I'm shooting features I'm generally very close to my car or in a studio so I have electricity and can plug the PSD's into the cigarette lighter of my car or into mains power. I've made a case to house both PSD's which is lined with foam and allows me to close the cover without accidentally stopping the card copy by accidentally pressing any buttons. The case is about the size of an A5 binder, quite small, it fits in a camera bag without any trouble. If I'm covering an event, I have spare batteries for the PSD's and can download about 13G before I need to change batts.

As soon as I fill a card I copy it to EACH PSD in turn. It takes a few minutes for each PSD copy but I don’t wait for it, I just keep working and check back in a few minutes. The PSD lets me view the images on the disk and CF card and I compare them to ensure that each copy is good. I do this on both PSD's and then delete and re use the card there and then. This immediately gives me 2 relatively secure copies of the data and as much CF card space as I need.

I've done 10-12 features at a time whilst away, all copied safely on the 2 PSD's. Even if one PSD did fail, it would be very unlikely that the other one would fail at the same time. It works for me.

JJ

[John Jovic]

think tank = sexy. haha.;)

Unless the photographers you hang with look like Carmen Electra than that doesn't really appeal...:)

JJ

[Todd Spoth]

Unless the photographers you hang with look like Carmen Electra than that doesn't really appeal...:)

JJ

one word: cheerleaders. ;) haha. actually a few of our cities best shooters are females.

[John Jovic]

one word: cheerleaders. ;) haha. actually a few of our cities best shooters are females.

Now that's the right answer.
JJ

[Jacob Leveton]

buy.com has sandisk ultra II's for pretty good price, and free shipping if u can wait a few days. it says 5-7 biz days, i got mine in 3.

[John Thawley]

UPDATE:

Well, I purchased four 4GB Sandixk Ultra II CF cards on a store on eBay. Purchased them on Monday... (Labor Day) received them today. Brand new... boxed, sealed etc. Very pleased... $90 each!

Here's a link to what he's selling... some with "Buy it Now!" pricing.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZilya13QQhtZ-1

JT

NOTE: See thread continuation.... suspect to be counterfiet cards. JT

[Jim Sykes]

John, make sure you compare those to a known REAL Sandisk card, I have been seeing a lot on the internet lately of fake Sandisks being sold on ebay cheap that look VERY real till you compare things like serial numbers and certain holographic images that are on the real cards.

Here is a link to one story. http://martybugs.net/articles/fakesandisk.cgi

[Jeff Wilson]

John, make sure you compare those to a known REAL Sandisk card, I have been seeing a lot on the internet lately of fake Sandisks being sold on ebay cheap that look VERY real till you compare things like serial numbers and certain holographic images that are on the real cards.

Here is a link to one story. http://martybugs.net/articles/fakesandisk.cgi

wow. that's some good counterfeit work.

[Jim Sykes]

JT, did you ever see this or compare your cards to make sure they were real?

[John Thawley]

JT, did you ever see this or compare your cards to make sure they were real?


Jimmy, I did and I'm still trying to come to a conclusion. To be honest, I think they're fake... but I don't want to make that accusation until I'm completely sure.

From the page I read, I can't be sure. Three things lead me to believe they are fake are; no serial number on the card, no hologram on the box, and the instruction book. Now... mine are 4gb cards and the comparisons I'm seeing are 2gb cards. But again, I'm becoming les convinced.

I will say, had these been on a shelf in the store, I'd have never given them a second thought. They are are extremely accurate.

I have used the cards... and all read properly. I can't comment on the write speed, though. I've never been overly concerned about write speed... so I don't know if I'd "feel" a difference.

At the end, I don't like the idea of being sold a counterfiet... I don't like the idea of a good company being screwed over... AND, I will approach the seller. As far as "value," though, I got 4gb at a decent price. So it won't be a total loss... but it doesn't justify this type of business and I don't like having helped the wrong side.

I'll let you know more.

JT

[Jim Sykes]

Cool. If they work fine, then in the end like you said, good value, though its always a stick in the ass to get a fake.

I just wanted to follow up in the thoughts that others here may be looking at the same place you got yours from and I its good for others to know to be careful.

Please keep us updated as if they turn out to be real or even if they just turn out to be no name cards for the price, it still may be a good deal for a 4 gig card.

[John Thawley]

I've just sent him an email requesting a refund. I'll be curious to see his response. From his profile, he appears to be a good seller. And, I no problems dealing with him otherwise.

By the way, I made note on our news page of a guy I bought the Lexar Pro Readers from. I stupidly purchased two from him not realizing I clicked the USB2 choice instead of Firewire. The Firewire daisy chain while the USB2 need a hub to run multiple.

The guy was great about it. I had removed the shrink from one of the boxes... the chord tipped me off to my blunder. He repsonded "no problem, I need one for myself, anyway.: Great guy and GREAT readers. He at them at $65 compared to $79.

JT

[Mike Ditz]

JT-

A friend of mine also bought a phony 4g Sandisk, he got paypal involved and the $ is suposed to be refunded.
I don't know if I would be able to trust the fakes and really feel like a dope if I lost images because of some card failure somewhere down the road.

[John Thawley]

JT-

A friend of mine also bought a phony 4g Sandisk, he got paypal involved and the $ is suposed to be refunded.
I don't know if I would be able to trust the fakes and really feel like a dope if I lost images because of some card failure somewhere down the road.


I don't think failure is really an issue. Hell, I've got a year old Sandisk SD card that just quit because it wanted to. Like most things electronic, it works or it doesn't... then it works until it won't. :)

I just don't like having contributed to the problem.

JT

[Mike Ditz]

It's all random, and your cards will probably be fine, but I would still feel like a dope if the card fails or becomes unreadable for whatever reason and it "probably "wouldn't have happend if I had bought a 'real' Sandisk. Ya pays your money and ya takes your chances. I'm not brave enough to risk a multi K job on such a weak link as a phony card, it;s risky enough with real cards...:mad:
I may be wrong, but I'd think that there is more reliability with a brand name card than an unknown brand pretending to be a Sandisk. Or maybe these cards really are Sandisk that fell off a truck.
Most manufacturers stand behind their product so if/when it does go south, you can get a replacement.

[John Thawley]

I'm not brave enough to risk a multi K job on such a weak link as a phony card, it;s risky enough with real cards...

I think you're getting just a bit carried away.

I'll bet you with 200 members on this board, there probably aren't enough memory card failures to fill one hand. And... regardless, I assure you there have been more lost images to a greater variety of "weak links."

I don't mean to be cavalier about it. But I don't find memory cards to be all that weak of a link. In fact, they're pretty amazing all the way around.

JT

PS: I found your "fell of a truck" comment interesting as that's what the seller claimed. And... that the workers leave the serial number off with full intention of stealing the cards.

As I said, though... had I bought these of a shelf at CompUSA, I'd have never given any of this a second thought. Hell, judging by the quality and effort these people put into the forgery, they might be a better card than the originals. LOL After all, they don't have to pay for all that high dollar advertising.

[Mike Ditz]

Knowingly using fake cards is like using outdated film or that discount re-imported film on a job. Most of the time, it will be ok. I'd rather minimize the variables that I have control over.
The fact that there have not been a lot of failures tells up something, that either the QC at the manuf is pretty high or that they really aren't that hard to make and brands don't matter. The 2 cards that went belly up with me were both Lexars that I bought at the same time both konked out within a week of each other.

What amazes me about CF cards is how can they stuff 4 or 8 GB into the same little plastic thing as they could only stuff 512MB a few years ago.:confused:

[John Thawley]

I've just sent him an email requesting a refund. I'll be curious to see his response. From his profile, he appears to be a good seller. And, I no problems dealing with him otherwise.

JT

The seller is taking the cards back and sending me a refund.

What I did find interesting in this whole experience is eBay's lack of interest... to some extent. There is a user guide posted regarding the fakes. But the fact is, once you know and start looking at other sellres... they are "nearly" all fakes. It's troubling that eBay's committment to the problem is simply to allow one user to post up a warning guide and declare themselves free and clear of the issues.

Here's the user guide... pretty scary stuff.


http://reviews.ebay.com/FAKE-SanDisk-Extreme-Compact-Flash-Cards-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001456539

[Antonio Donatelli]

I always check dealram.com for deals, though I recently found a "deal" that was a counterfeit Sandisk Ultra II 4 GB card. Called Sandisk to check. Thanks to paying via paypal, I'm covered, though the vendor offered a refund so I'm returning the card.

I've had a couple of Lexars stop working, two won't even mount in a Lexar reader (though they will in a PCMCIA reader). My Sandisk cards (regular and Ultra II) are all working fine. The counterfeit card just worries me. Like others here, I'd feel like a tool if I lost images because of a bogus card.

The genuine cards are cheap enough, it's just good insurance to use a name brand. It's still a whole lot cheaper (and BETTER) than film. Sandisk seems to stand behind their products well, and my own experience with several 2GB cards has been better than other brands.