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.

Congrats Golf! It's an awesome feeling expecting that delivery isn't it? After getting my D800 I still occasionally use my D7000 and although it's a great camera it just doesn't "feel" like I want it to in my hands anymore. I'm sure you'll get the same feeling moving to the D4. Enjoy and lets see some pics ASAP.

msmoto said:
You like the RRS L-Plate, huh? Never tried one as I use Manfrotto quick releases for my cameras, but maybe I need to switch to the Arca-Swiss....

Grand Master MSMOTO, yes RRS product line has served me greatly. Love their tripods, ball-heads and L-Plates. I had the pleasure of visiting their facilities in San Luis Obispo (4 hours north of me) and never looked back. Should you ever get a chance to use their gear you will see what I mean. They have some great videos on their web site...check it out and see for yourself.

Ooooh and you know YOU are going to hear from ME regarding the D4...hell we might have to switch phone numbers to make it easer on us both if that is acceptable. Needless to say this would only happen after I have played with mine for a few weeks so I can ask you specific questions on optimal setting, usage etc..etc :D

Go with the 300mm f/2.8 and use the TC-14EII and TC-20EIII...easier to hand hold.

And Congratulations.... Actually, before going the route of the HDR with the Promote stuff I tried the in camera HDR to see how it works... OK for me...

And the 24mm f/3.5PC is rally nice, along with the 85mm f/1.8, and then there is the 200mm f/2.0,, and.......yup, one never knows when it will stop...

You like the RRS L-Plate, huh? Never tried one as I use Manfrotto quick releases for my cameras, but maybe I need to switch to the Arca-Swiss....

It is with great excitement that I would like to state that my move to FX, give that this is a D4 section, is now complete. Cannot wait to get my hand on this bad boy and share my photo's with all my friends here in NR via PAD. Special thanks to Eric for providing me with the information I was seeking in making this move...thx buddy.

And for those others that do own this amazing body....I hope you do not mind if I reach out and PM you should I have question regarding setting, care, and features..etc..etc.

Lastly, given that this is just a hobby for me, many of you have fueled the fire within me towards the direction that I have taken, and for that I'm very thankful...regardless of what my wallet say...I feel great....wooohooo :D

Now off to RRS to order the L-Plate, San Disk 32Gig CF 90, and the Promote Systems Promote Control for all the HDR shoots.

As for the next lens....hmmm 200-400 f4 VR II or the 300 2.8 VR II...leaning toward the 300. Good God will it ever end...hehe :P

Cheers

As I've explained previously; our relationships with our suppliers are frequently complex, and not limited only to the supply of goods.

So, sadly, I'm not able to be any more informative than the guys at B&H.

I'm really sorry

Helen

Just a note... I talked with B & H..."we are getting cameras and shipping these but cannot tell a customer when they will receive theirs" In other words, still a waiting list. Maybe Helen Oster at Adorama can be more helpful. I suggest as she provides an email, she may be able to at least say something nice about the order process when you place an order at Adorama. But, all the big houses are in the same spot. They simply have to fill orders as they receive cameras and there is no magic about the process.

Nikon has a mind of their own, and if you don't believe this, ask a technical question to Nikon. They will answer with something to the effect that you have asked a question and they are happy. And you will stand there dumbfounded by the answer. Well, the order processing at Nikon most likely is run the same way. Only understood by those inside.

In my experience airbags are only good for very light items as once they pop the whole integrity of the packaging system is compromised. Likewise peanuts are terrible because they either migrate away from where they are needed or the item swims through them until it is at the edge of the packing and so effectively has no packing at all between it and whatever hits it next.

Recyclable crumpled paper packed to the right density for the particular items/boxes would be the best solution IMHO, but unfortunately a lot of companies recycle materials they receive items packed in to save space and disposal costs and effectively move the problem on to the customer (I'm NOT saying Adorama do this).

I sure hope your camera and lenses are OK.

I was extremely concerned to see this as our norm is to pack above and beyond the industry standard, which is to put the item in the box to one corner and then fill the void with dunnage whether it be peanuts, pillows, foam, or paper.
Our warehouse procedure is to blanket the bottom and the sides of the box, then place the item in the middle and then finally to fold over the pillows - and add more to fill the box where needed. (The only thing we don’t add any pillows to are items that ship in the vendor box, and soft goods - t-shirts, backpacks, hats, etc).

Please accept my deepest apologies that your goods were clearly not packed as they should have been; I need to raise this with the DC Manager, to establish what went wrong, and would be grateful if you could email me directly: Helen@adorama.com, with your order number.

At Adorama I Ordered D800 plus 14-24 f/2,8 and 24-24 f/4 VR, on April 11, 2012 RECEIVED August 10,2012. Although nothing was damaged in shipment there was little to NO PACKING material around sides or bottom of the equipment boxes. Two of the bubbles they had on top were ruptured during shipment. There was no other bubble packing material around around the contents.

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.

xeromatt said:
Here are are findings when putting the Nikon D4 in a head to head with the Canon 1DX

link to the review http://xerodigital.ca/blog/

@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).

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

Maybe in two years we'll see a D800s?