So... whatever happened to XQD cards?

Only the D4 has XQD cards still and there are no other manufacturers making it. Is it safe to say it's a dud?

Even the Sony Alpha 99 doesn't have a XQD slot.

Good advice Tao. Fast cards are great to have, not just in the camera, but also for uploading. If you do time sensitive work, having a 400x or faster card is a must.

I was having a hard time pulling the link up.

I have a Jobo version that I tried using with my D300 and an eyefi card (worked but really slow).

With the D800 - Those cards kind of work not really though. When I tried it, is got errors about 1 out of every 20.

Honestly if you have the D800, just buy one really fast CF card for when you need the speed, and a handful of slower large CF cards. What you are trying to do sounds great but really it's like putting a gerbil in a hamster wheel to run a BMW.

Stick with SanDisk or the other higher end cards and you will be fine.

This is what I use and they work great and are fast. SanDisk 16GB CompactFlash Memory Card Extreme Pro 600x UDMA 90MB/s $79.95 or 8GB CompactFlash Memory Card Extreme 400x UDMA - 2-Pack 60MB/s for $59.50 at B&H or any other on line store. This maybe to much money but if you buy an adapter and If It doesn't work out then you have to get a cf card you are out that money or you can just use your SD cards. Depending on their size you may have to change them more often when they fill up. You can also look in you local stores for some sales.

Emceee said:
Could work, but I have heard of issues with certain cards in the D800. I have not had any issues with my non recommended cards but something like that adapter could cause issues.

crude said:
Thnx for the reply Emceee, do you think its worth me taking a punt and purchasing the adapter and then if u do run into problems then go for the cf's

I have only been running SDs and they seem fine, try the SDs you have and if you have an issue buy a CF or a proper SD.

Speaking from experience and the specifications the D800 will only fit CF type I cards. I picked up a CF type II to SD adapter from Adorama only to find out it didn't fit in the D800 when I actually got the camera. The CF type II cards physically will not fit since they have larger dimensions than what the CF slot on the D800 will allow for hence it only being a CF type I slot.

Thnx for the reply Emceee, do you think its worth me taking a punt and purchasing the adapter and then if u do run into problems then go for the cf's

Could work, but I have heard of issues with certain cards in the D800. I have not had any issues why my non recommended cards but something like that adapter could cause issues.

HIya guys,
Im thinking of purchasing the D800 soon, i like the fact that it has two card slots CF and SD, i have lots of sd card in my disposal and no cf cards my question is that will i be able to use a sd to cf adapter, and will the write speed be affected and by how much??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Speed-SD-SDHC-SDXC-to-CompactFlash-CF-Type-II-Card-Adapter-Support-UDMA-/290759270314?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_PDAsAccessories_MemoryCards&hash=item43b29a5faa&_uhb=1

my aim is to hv a sd to cf adapter in slot 1 and a normal sd card in slot 2

My D4 destroyed five SanDisk CF-Cards the last months. I´ve got ERROR-Messages and there was no way to rescue the pictures files. Because of that I´ve lost a job and the customer. The last CF-Card I took out of the D4 was unbelievable hot.
First the NPS-Service in Germany told me, there´s no problem with the camera. Three months, a changing of the display and a repair of the autofocus system later, Nikon accepts the problem with the CF-card slot of my D4 camera. Now I want to change the camera. The D4 is very expensive. The camera should work in a professional way. But my D4 is the most expensive one, because it´s a instrument for loosing jobs and customers.

XQD is definitely going to be around for awhile. Sony just jumped on the bandwagon with three new flavors of the card as well: http://bit.ly/MEjSDq

They are just more practical with space filling up so rapidly on cards. Photographers are now shooting 1080p full high-definition (HD) video, and 3D video content, and these cards are able to process files and information much faster.

@Nikoneer
It turned out he was a Canon shooter too.

@Eric
Now, that's just the kind of comment I'd welcome from the sidelines :)

I was on a baseball field on Sunday shooting the D4, standing near third out towards 3rd base. XQD card in the camera.I started shooting a steal from first to second that turned into a pickle. I just kept the shutter going...amazing! It prompted someone from the sidelines to yell "How big of a buffer to you have in that thing?".

I really do not know if it is the D4 or the XQD card, but the camera will just keep firing and has never bogged down even at 10 FPS and the images are available for viewing immediately. I use only the XQD and pull it from the camera, download from a reader into my MacBook. I reformat the card each time in the camera.

So, 3 cheers for the XQD......I actually used the CF card only once....when I forgot to put the XQD back into the camera.

Old folks do these things, you know....

I heard back from Hoodman VP of Sales, Bob Schmidt, that they "are planning on making a XQD card." He seemed fairly certain that it was not just a possibility. I would much rather be using two of these rather than the mix in my D4. Nothing against CF, it's just that it's easier to use one format and the XQD cards are already faster than the fastest CF (which is great given that we only have the slowest XQDs now and they are already getting better).

Regarding overheated cards in the D4....

I just got back from a trip to Sedona Arizona and ran into this problem with Delkin CF cards.
I had a 32 Gig Delkin card in the CF slot and I shot all day long with it then realized my camera was
acting odd so I turned it off then on and saw the message about "This memory card cannot be used" on the
screen. I then opened the card slot door to smell some burning type smell although not too strong...
I removed the card and it was almost about to melt but it didnt get that far. It was so hot I could not hold
it though.

I am worried that this might have damaged my D4 but I wont know until I get another card for it.
Im amazed that the camera would even let the card get hot like that. I do have other Delkin cards of
the same make but I wont put them in the slot for fear of damaging my camera if it has not already been.

Avoid Delkin cards. I had the same problem with my D300s believe it or not... but not with heat.. more like just
file corruption everywhere.

IMHO, if the XQD is based on PCI-E/SATA than it shouldn't be a problem to create an adapter from XQD to SD. For long time I was a CF shooter, but once I got the D800 I lean towards SD. one main reason - price per GB. I paid $25 for 16gb sandisk extreme pro (45Mb/s) and I would have to pay at least 3 times more for equivalent CF card, and with D800 You need a lot of storage.

Modular systems are not practical from a manufacturing or design standpoint. First, for a modular system to work you'd have to make a spot to accommodate the largest supported format. Secondly, how many card types should a given camera support? Thirdly, modular systems create extra power drain, (every connector you add does this) which could effect battery life. Fourthly, SD, CF and XQD all use different interconnects (what goes between the reader and the source), which would make that somewhat difficult. I believe SD and CF are based on IDE connections and XQD is a PCI-E or SATA type connection, which is why the theoretical top speed is much faster than the former two.

I know many outspoken people seem to think that we need more modular parts in cameras, but I think that would only hinder design. We need to move towards one standard format for all camera systems. I think XQD brings the best of SD and CF under one roof, size, speed and build quality. Right now they are more expensive, but if all cameras used XQD (and lower performing cards came out) then it would become cheap fast.

adamz said:
+1 for XQD on D800 instead of CF - hopefully as an upgrade to current bodies (doubtful)

Is there technically any reason why the card reader in a camera couldn't be made as a "module" that the owner could remove and replace with one of their choice? For example, if you worked in a location where only SD cards were plentiful, you could pop out the XQD/CF reader, and plug in a dual SD one, or if you were sold on XQD, you could have a dual XQD reader. Obviously there would be performance issues (I'm sure a D4 would not work as well with a couple of slow SD cards) but you don't always need to shoot video, or at 11fps, so if you were prepared to accept those limitations based on your card choice (you do now depending on the speed of the card you buy), what would stop this from happening?

@kanuck - I have a 16mb and 32mb Sony XQD cards. The XQD card seems more rugged, is a great size and is very fast. XQD makes my CF cards seem clunky. I'll probably buy a Lexar card right away (although the Sonys work well). I wish the D4 had dual XQD slots and I'd pay to have the D800 upgraded. I've become a fan. Whether or not a given device had XQD vs CF would definitely influence my buying. I applaud Nikon for having taken the risk. I hope XQD is here to stay. It might be a fad, but I have the impression that those who have used XQD have grown fond of them. ...

Why wouldn't XQD stick around? Are you suggesting that everything, even camera memory cards will go into "the cloud" ? I hope not, if anything "the cloud" is a fad.

XQD is the replacement for CF, by the group that developed CF in the first place. SD = consumer product, XQD = Prosumer. If anything QXD could/should replace SD, the size is right, and the cards are better.

Eric will you be using the Lexar cards as soon as they hit the shelves? It must be rough on using the Sony ones to date. I don't see these types of cards sticking around to be honest, reminds me of other fads such as blueray DVDs (still around), Beta VCRs, mini disk players etc. I could be wrong though..

@eric - not as I remember, and I'm with Nikon for the last 11/12 years