My friend wanted a UDMA memory card for his new Nikon D700 so I ordered the Sandisk Extreme using Amazon Prime. The card came very quickly, and a few thousand shots later, we're both very impressed.
Sandisk gives this card a 60MB/s rating (400x) and markets it towards DSLR users, primarily because they are the ones who will most likely be able to enjoy the advantages and notice the speed difference. Compared to my old generic 133x (20 MB/s) non-UDMA memory card, the improvements ranged from barely noticeable to fantastically faster.
The D700 has a large buffer so even when using a slowish card, the camera is equally responsive when taking single shots and non-RAW bursts. The differences become obvious when using continuous drive and flushing the buffer. Compared to the generic 133x card, the Sandisk Extreme shot faster, longer and was able to flush the buffer almost twice as fast.
In order to enjoy the advantages of UDMA memory cards, you first need a camera that supports it. To get the files out of the memory card faster, you'd also want to pair the card with a memory card reader than can keep up. While USB 2.0 has a theoretical peak maximum transfer rate of 60 MB/s, the practical rate of most USB card readers is 20MB/s or less. In fact, using my generic USB card reader, I couldn't tell the difference between copying/moving files between the Sandisk Extreme and my 133x. (I wouldn't bother with UDMA USB 2.0 Card readers either since they're not significantly faster) Personally, I'd go for a firewire-based reader like this: Lexar Compact Flash Firewire Reader or maybe an ExpressCard reader. Various reviews show that the Lexar firewire reader is 2-3x faster than a USB card reader.
ADDED 10/19/2010: USB 3.0 is also a fantastic option!
Keep in mind that this is not the only UDMA card that Sandisk makes. The Extreme IV's and Extreme III's 30 MB/s and faster are also UDMA enabled. (Extreme III 20 MB/s is not) Generally speaking, if a CF card is rated at 30 MB/s or faster, it supports UDMA.
If you need a new CF memory card and your camera supports UDMA, there's no reason not to pick one of these up. (Other than they're still a bit pricey) You'll have the best possible shooting experience with no drawbacks. Also, even if you don't opt to get the fast card reader, the USB readers will still work. SanDisk Extreme - Flash memory card - 16 GB - 400x - CompactFlash
This card works well with my 7D. It can take 18mp JPEGs at 8 FPS all day long without choking or slowing down. It also does 1080p video well. I suppose what I'm saying is that it does what it's suppose to and does it well. What more can I ask for?
I've been using a Canon 5D Mark II for the last 2 weeks and got this card to use with it. It has worked very well and kept up with my photo taking with no problems. I've also used it to capture video and that has been problem free as well. I have been satisfied with previous SanDisk cards that I have purchased and that is why I purchased this one. If you have a camera that can take advantage of the added speed UDMA cards I would recommend this card without any problems.
Received my card July 23rd (Nextweb fulfilled). Used it for first time on July 25th with a Nikon D300s. When extracted from the D300s, I noticed a rattle inside the card. As a lifelong (and dedicated)user of Sandisk memory products, I was shocked. The outside of the card appears fine, card was not dropped, and to top it off, the card continues to function (for now) at an incredible speed.
As there are significant counterfeiting issues with these cards (which is why I never buy them from EBay), and Nextweb (not Amazon) was the supplier of the card, I did some research to determine if the card was a counterfeit. Short answer is no. This card is genuine Sandisk. A number of users report a similiar rattle with certain Sandisk Compact Flash cards. Sandisk has not yet addressed the issue.
Needless to say, this card is going back. I will try another. I cannot risk losing my images. I am a little surprised by Sandisk quality control.
I will update review when I receive the new card.
I don't typically write reviews, but this story has to be shared. I was out shooting for fun one day and forgot that I stuck one of the memory cards in my pocket as a backup. I don't normally put anything in my pockets. You guessed it - it went into the washer. My husband took the clothes out of the washer and put in towels, and ran a SECOND wash, and only after that did he discover the memory card (in its case) at the bottom of the washer. When he brought it to me, my heart sank. "There goes a hundred bucks," I thought. Of course, there weren't any pictures on it that hadn't been backed up, since I always do that immediately after shoots, but I was sad that the card was probably fried. I stuck it in my SanDisk Fire Wire card reader and WHOA - not a single image was lost or corrupted. NOT A SINGLE ONE WAS GONE. I don't think I'll be taking this out on professional photoshoots just as a caution but for personal shooting it's been functioning perfectly. In short, I will always buy these cards in the future, they take good care of your images. - 16gb - Cf Card - Udma - Photography'
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