There's nothing like a bit of healthy competition........a that's nothing like it! Basically Sony can charge what it likes then. In answer to the OP's comment, I guess not then as the D4 & 1Dx wouldn't have CF slots.

General info for everyone interested -

Sandisk, Lexar, Kingston not making new XQD cards:
http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/sandisk-lexar-kingston-not-making-new-xqd-cards-1055347

Sony is though.
Sony info:
http://www.sony.net/Products/memorycard/en_us/xqd/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYTolayglIs

CaryTheLabelGuy said:
Life is full of surprises.

:) (hint...hint...)

TaoTeJared said:
It will be interesting to see if the cameras need the speed for video. For photos, CF is still fine. Most don't spend for the High end cards anyway.

The standard was just adopted for the size factor. To go with new tech designs before being adopted is a huge gamble. Then again, buffers and data write rates increase so much with MP and with video that maybe Nikon and Sony just decided between themselves to go with it no matter what. Sony and Sandisk are big enough to decide that on their own. We know Nikon and Sony work together so it is good to see they will probably adopt a new tech together before anyone else.

It's obviously a gamble, but you have to move forward somehow right? No one knew that SD cards would be so dominant in the market. I'd like to see you buy a XD card. :D

Take a look at Betamax and cassette tapes, or Blu Ray and HD DVD. Not everyone wins all the time.

It will be interesting to see if the cameras need the speed for video. For photos, CF is still fine. Most don't spend for the High end cards anyway.

The standard was just adopted for the size factor. To go with new tech designs before being adopted is a huge gamble. Then again, buffers and data write rates increase so much with MP and with video that maybe Nikon and Sony just decided between themselves to go with it no matter what. Sony and Sandisk are big enough to decide that on their own. We know Nikon and Sony work together so it is good to see they will probably adopt a new tech together before anyone else.

TaoTeJared said:
Hey by the time any of us will be able to get one it will be almost a year! ;) These things will be sold out for a long time.

You're not wrong, yes I wonder if this is the actual reason for the delay in the 4/800/400, question for everyone, if it is do you think it's been worth it, or would you rather have had the new cameras without this one improvement earlier in the year or last year?

Multiple aspects (standards) have been agreed upon and announced for years but a change in the physical design had not been even speculated on. Thunderbolt is designed on the same standards as well so who knows what we will all see.

Hell, maybe things are coming out slower due to this as well.

One thing I will mention is that these may have had much more time in R&D than they would like us to believe. Maybe it is just a speculation...

SkintBrit said:
Tao, for the sake of your credibility I hope the main blog on the D4 is wrong! ;-)

Hey by the time any of us will be able to get one it will be almost a year! ;) These things will be sold out for a long time.

It's SanDisk, Sony and Nikon developing it - They would be the first to use it. We won't see many more using it right off the bat. Hell of a gamble though & not normal for Nikon to do that, but if Sony & SanDisk has made the commitment to use this as their Standard then not a bad move. Hopefully it will not end up like the Sony memory stick. I bet it will be pricey.

If it comes true - I think it is great!

I see some words being eaten here. ;]

And holy freaking crap I want a D4 right now!!! ;p

TaoTeJared said:
Nothing will be available in this format for at least a year.

Tao, for the sake of your credibility I hope the main blog on the D4 is wrong! ;-) although I'm sure you'll be as delighted as the rest of us if Nikon has in fact managed to pull this one out of the hat. If Admin is correct in his suspected anouncement date of next month we'll not have to wait long to find out?

Holy crap, Nikon desperately wants to one up Canon on this one. Good job, it'll future proof the D4 when Compact Flash eventually gets phased out, the D4 will stay relevant slightly longer.

Looks like the D4 will be incorporating this new interface. Nice to see Nikon leading the way in bring this new technology to the consumer.

kyoshinikon said:
I wasn't implying that they would dump CF

I have read a lot more on this and it is becoming clear that the use of CF in new equipment will go away once this format gets rolling. We see it as photogs, but when I went back to the old sites I used to read for industrial equipment, for them, it would be the equivalent of a D4 released with a, 45mp, Usable ISO of 512,000, 4K video, 5.1 sound etc. to us. You get the point. It's all about BUS speed and designers seem to be ahead of the game. That is good news for the rest of us.

I wasn't implying that they would dump CF but that they would possibly add an additional slot (or a versatile slot) into the D4 or D800 if not just the retooling. Most likely there won't be any change but I thought it was something to speculate on.

Then again I am a photographer and not an industrial designer so I don't know what goes on behind closed doors :)

600Mb/sec throughput is theoretical. CF can do 167mb/sec now (in a lab) and 300mb/s theoretically. Realistically we are limited to 90 read and 60 write. (Last I checked.)

I have read some articles that say one of the bottlenecks of video is the write speeds of buffers and media (SD/CF). That could eliminate some large problems especially with high mp sensors and better audio.

CaryTheLabelGuy said:
Life is full of surprises.

I worked with industrial applications with flash memory for years and followed this technology develop - this stuff moves fast once the guidelines are announced, but not that fast. The big thing is using a different type of bus that is not currently apart of cameras. Considering Nikon takes 3-4 years to develop bodies, and no one had any clue if this was going to be adopted even 1 year ago and what those guidelines were going to be, it wouldn't have made it into the body. Nothing will be available in this format for at least a year.

TaoTeJared said:
Nope. They just announced it. At least a year till we see them in the stores and 2 years out before we will see it adopted. CF isn't going anywhere for at least 6 years. It is too widespread and CF is at least 50% faster than SD cards of the same class.

Looks like a great technology upgrade though!

Life is full of surprises.

Such technological advance in storage and transfer rates, much like what Intel and Apple build with the Thunderbolt technology, is a welcoming sign of what is to come in our digital world.

Capability of 600Mb/sec throughput...as they say: "bring it!"

For those of you that have a SSD like me....I can confidently say I will never go back to hard drives that spin on platters.

kyoshinikon said:
Do you think the D4 or D800 may have this compatibility?

It’ll start making public appearances at trade shows early next year, and will be licenced out to card makers around the same time.

Nope. They just announced it. At least a year till we see them in the stores and 2 years out before we will see it adopted. CF isn't going anywhere for at least 6 years. It is too widespread and CF is at least 50% faster than SD cards of the same class.

Looks like a great technology upgrade though!

kyoshinikon said:
I was thinking the same thing... There had to be a reason Nikon didn't grab the baton as they always seem to release something within a week of canon

My thoughts as well.......

rbrylawski said:
If I recall correctly, doesn't the newly announced Top Line Canon Full Frame DSLR only take compact flash cards?

I was thinking the same thing... There had to be a reason Nikon didn't grab the baton as they always seem to release something within a week of canon

If I recall correctly, doesn't the newly announced Top Line Canon Full Frame DSLR only take compact flash cards?

Apparently the compact flash association is planning on dumping CF cards. Could this be why the D7000 only took SD and the D800/D4/D400 hasn't been released yet? There was a possibility nikon got tipped on and went back to some R&D as they are more concerned with the longevity of their products than canon or sony ever has been. This might be the answer to the D800's "projected" slower fps issue if not the expeed 3 processors. Nikon and sony already has mentioned that they were involved...

http://www.petapixel.com/2011/12/08/compactflash-cards-to-be-replaced-with-the-smaller-xqd-format/

http://www.petapixel.com/2010/12/01/nikon-sony-and-sandisk-team-up-to-design-future-memory-cards/

Do you think the D4 or D800 may have this compatibility?