SanDisk SDCFH-1024-901 1 GB Ultra II CompactFlash Card (Retail Package) Reviews

• Easily the best I've found

  
  By A2Y870S7P44V4C on 2004-07-04
  I recently bought a Canon Digital Rebel. When considering memory I initially figured I'd stick with the brand I used with my PowerShot S30: Viking Components. But I wanted the best, knowing that my 6.3MP photos would take longer to be recorded.

  I looked at the Lexar 40x first. Lexar has a good reputation and "40x" sounds like a snappy number. For some reason, though, I liked the feedback about this [Sandisk Ultra] card more. So I bought this one and am very glad I did.

  Little publicized is the fact that the Sandisk Ultra II blazes along at 60x (9 Mb/s) write speed. That translates to being able to record one more whole image per second than the Lexar, and two or three images more than SimpleTech or Viking Components. (Each card reads at the same speed, I believe -- 10 Mb/s.)

  Worried about a trade-off in reliability? It's backed with a 5-year warranty. You can't go wrong with that, folks.
  
  

• Great memory choice for the Sony DSP F828 camera

  
  By A2JNI9V0X3YHK on 2004-03-08
  I recently purchased a Sony DSP F828 camera, which uses 8MP per shot, so needed LOTS of memory for it. I also wanted that memory to be as fast as possible, so as not to slow down picture-taking. The SanDisk Ultra II 1 GB CompaceFlash card was my choice (faster and cheaper than the Lexar alternatives I found), and has turned out to be a very happy one.

  The only caution for those buying memory for use with the Sony DSP F828 is that its 640 x 480 movie mode is limited to 15 FPS with this memory card, whereas it can do 30 FPS with a MemoryStickPro or a Hitachi CompactFlash hard disk (the other two kinds of memory usable in this camera.) Personally, I don't see this as much of a problem, because if that matters to you, you'll need a lot more than 1 GB of memory. 5 minutes of 640 x 480 at 15 FPS used over 100 MB of memory, suggesting 30 FPS would use up 1 GB in under 25 minutes.
  
  

• Must Keep the Camera On to Save Images

  
  By A22L4O7MSTRQ56 on 2005-05-23
  I've known and happily used SanDisk CF cards before, high quality, good price. This Ultra II card comes with some worries. Since CF doesn't write at 9MB/sec, it uses a "buffer" to write a small amount (like 4 megs) to an ultra-fast buffer, then the image is slowly transferred to the main card. And there's the problem.
  
  I lost every "last image" on my trip to Italy. When I powered on the camera, took say 5 pictures, it would record 4 and lose the last image. This is because I was turning the camera off after taking the 5th picture. I needed to leave the camera on another 20 seconds to be sure the memory card finished transfer of the images. So it's very fast, for a small burst of pictures, but LEAVE THE CAMERA ON. I did a lot of "that's cool!" pictures... you turn the camera on, take a picture, turn the camera off to save battery life. Mistake. Make sure you REVIEW the images (and not just the temporary image displayed after the picture is taken) before POWERING DOWN.
  
  

• Good but also look at Sandisk Extreme III

  
  By A33H7IZ965YYZH on 2005-03-24
  This is undoubtely one of the best cards out there in compact flash category. However for about the same price you can buy Extreme III CF from SanDisk which has 20mb/s write speed.
  
  However, before you buy this or any other high speed CF card take into account what it will be used for. Unless you are a professional photographer shooting 3-4 shots/sec with image size as large as 3meg, you will be fine with lesser speed cards. It is important not to get carried away with all the X (40x vs 80x etc..) and Y from different manufacturers. In most cases if you are shooting with a dSLR (D70 is what I use) your camera may have enough buffer memory to compensate a slower card. Which translates into more money saved for other stuff.
  
  I personally like the SanDisk brand because they are one of the first one in the market with CF and most reliable and I own a 1Gig SanDisk Extreme III card that I am very happy with.
  
  

• Great for the Nikon D70

  
  By A3MZW6ZNYSJAX3 on 2004-11-28
  I got one of these for my new Nikon D70 and it works like a dream. I previously had a Canon G2 point-and-shoot with a slow 256 Mb card and it would take 3-4 seconds to grab and save the picture. With the fast 1Gb SanDisk and my Nikon D70 there is a barely noticeable lag between pressing the shutter and seeing the image on the viewfinder. You will be able to store about 96 high-res, uncompressed NEF images on the D70 with this card.
  
  I highly recommend this card and the price is right at under $100.
  
  
• Extremely fast card!
  By A3V10TJNFQM3ZG on 2004-11-23
  I'm using this card with a Canon 20D, and it is extremely fast! Way faster scrolling between pictures I've already taken than with the Lexar 12x 512MB card I used to have. Speed doesn't matter *too* much for taking pictures with this camera since it has such a large internal buffer, but the speed is nice for reviewing pictures and transferring them to the computer.
  
  
• Card speed vs camera buffer dump speeds.
  By A3VKVRC89JVBUN on 2005-05-01
  I've done a little research trying to find the best cf card for my Canon Digital Rebel XT. Scandisk has a new series of cards called Ultra III, with 20mb/sec speeds. Just because the card is fast can my camera take advantage of the speed? In my case not really. My camera dumps at about 6MB/Sec with most of the faster cards. I currently have the Lexar 80x 2Gig card, and have not had many problems other than a corrupt file every 1000 shots or so. My Canon does not take advantage of Lexars Write Acceleration, but I didn't find out until searching for another card. Here is a link to the test results I found. http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007 .
  
  
• SanDisk Ultra II One Gigabyte CF Card
  By A2CB342H7UNLGB on 2004-01-16
  What an AWESOME card.
  You can beat it.. fast, furious, and roomy.
  I use it in a Canon PowerShot S30 - 611 pictures @ full resolution, and best quality.
  If you wanna use it for transferable storage, its nice - holds the equivalent of one and a half CD-ROMs.
  You won't be disappointed with this card!
  
  
• What a WONDERFUL product!
  By A2HQYERFHL1BNM on 2004-02-27
  I received this wonderful product as a gift during the holidays. I absolutely LOVE it. If you own a digital camera, this _IS_ the card to use. Lots of room, and fast. I was shocked.
  I used this card in a 5 MegaPixel camera, a 3.2 MegaPixel, and a 2.1 MegaPixel. The same results between all three cameras - fast, fast, FAST!
  If you need to transfer a ton of files between two computers using a card reader, you'll be glad you've got this card.
  
  
• Comparison with Kingston 1GB Elite Pro Compact Flash Card
  By A2K3XAK8BP8LA on 2005-11-27
  I recently purchased a digital Rebel XT camera and ordered this SanDisk 1 GB Ultra II CompactFlash Card and a Kingston 1GB Elite Pro Compact Flash Card. I ran a side by side comparison of taking 10 continuous shots with both memory cards, each jpeg file is about 2.7 ~ 3 MB. I found out the SanDisk almost have no delay and all pictures are recorded onto the memory card as soon as I took my eyes off the viewfinder. When I used the Kingston Elite Pro, it does have a delay of recording all 10 pictures onto the memory card, typically about a delay of 4~5 frames.
  
  Frankly speaking, both memory cards are fast enough to accommodate our daily photo activity, however, the SanDisk 1 GB Ultra II card stands out to be a very fast compact flash card, which is about $69 after rebate as of 11/27/2005. The Kingston card is about $49 after rebate. Both are very cheap these days. Hope this review will help you justify which memory card to buy.
  
  
  
  
• Best memory card on the market
  By A1LXZSZ8FW9UMK on 2005-03-21
  I have over 20 memory cards (CF, SD, xD, etc.) for PDAs, phones, digital cameras, etc. and this Sandisk 60x CF card is by far the fastest card I have ever used. I am using it for an 8MP Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR camera. Amazing little machine: I no longer have to wait for shots to get stored before moving to the next, it lets me take advantage of the continuous shoot mode (14 pics in 5 sec), I can now record high resolution video for up to 20 minutes in MPEG mode, and photo recall is almost instantaneous. The 2GB card is not as fast (slower interface) and much more expensive, so this card is the best compromise for speed, size, and value.
  
  Fyi - I tried the Lexar 80x cards but their Write Acceleration technology does not work for a lot of cameras (Canon, for example) and some PDAs (select HPs), rendering them average cards for most uses. Other reviewers cite websites where you can check compatibility and speed comparisons across all cards.
  
  
• First CF Card
  By A1KC8F9JY9CN5Q on 2005-05-13
  I got lucky! After purchasing a Rebel XT, I wanted a CF card that was roomy and priced right. AT the time and place, the Sandisk Ultra II 1GB was the ticket. I was not well versed with the different write/read speads of different CF cards. The Rebel XT specs indicate 3 FPS up to 14 pictures. In high resolution JPEG mode (no RAW), my rebel XT never stopped to wait for an image to be written to the Ultra II CF card. I'm guessing I could've held the shutter release and kept on going 'til the card was full.
  
  Take the time to read the other reviews by individuals who've done their research and are more experienced. I'm convinced based on personal experience and reading about others' and will continue to purchase additional Sandisk Ultra II 1GB CF cards. Right now I need more batteries!
  
  
• Fast card. Big storage
  By A39ZV04M0B47IJ on 2004-10-19
  For a digital Rebel user...it provides ample large jpeg space. It is a fast card. I use Lexar X40 and this one is a touch faster it seems when i download it by card reader on USB 2.0 on desktop.
  
  I have never had any problems with this card yet. i've heard some horror stories....but i've been lucky with these cards. i have the 512K also. I'll be buying the 2 gig soon as my new 20D sucks memory up so fast in RAW mode...
  
  I do wedding photography as a part-time job (full time job as an investment firm owner)....yeah...weird combo :-)
  
  As with most memory...you usually get what you pay for. I can't have ANY card crapping out or going out of whack so I'm willing to pay the extra $ for the best card. So far...this and their Extreme model are pretty good, and affordable. I tried microdrives, but they're slower and they suck power...
  
  
  
  
• Workhorse of a Compact Flash Card
  By A3D2EFZE9T50BX on 2005-02-14
  I own two of these 1 GB Ultra II compact flash cards and have been very impressed. They are FAST, reliable, FAST, sturdy, FAST, and they hold probably the perfect amount for a single flash card.
  
  While 512 MB cards are great for archiving on CD-R, todays larger file sizes put a squeeze on your shot volume. If you are a JPEG shooter, 512MB cards are acceptable. If you are a RAW file format shooter (I shoot NEF) then a larger card size is almost manditory. The 1 gig size gives you enough room for a RAW shooting style, and yet allows you to avoid storing all your images on a single card. Why? Having a single point of failure in a shoot is a bad idea, and if all your images from an important shoot reside on a single flash card, you're betting everything on one small electronic media chip.
  
  With 1 GB cards you can shoot in volume, and divide your images between two cards for safety. At the current pricing, 1 GB cards are very reasonable for this additional piece of mind. I plan to add more 1 gig cards soon.
  
  I use the Nikon D2H camera, which is speedy shooting in RAW and compressed RAW formats, so this card is the perfect size. And it's speedy, taking full advantage of the D2H's fast buffer and max throughput (8 + frames per second in RAW format!). While I rarely actually shoot at 8 fps, I do pop off a few quick frames to catch a transition moment, and oftem pause, shift angles and fire again. This card keeps up.
  
  As far as archiving, I currently archive on hard drives and then to DVD-R.
  
  I've used San Disk compact flash since 1999 and so far they've never let me down.
  
  I would consider the 2 Gig and 4 gig cards for cameras with higher Megapixel counts. Since DVD-R maxs out at 4 GB currently (not including dual layer) I would hesitate to use larger cards at this time.
  
  
• Excellent Quality and Speed
  By A18YBVJG3XO1CH on 2005-10-27
  I am upto over 13,000 shots on my D70 using this memory card. I am very pleased with the speeds of both shooting and downloading the pix. I have a slower 256mb card and it definately limits the speed at which I can take pictures on the D70. However, this card keeps up and I have not had it slow down my camera yet. I checked several performance rating sites for digital camera's and their memory cards. This card consistently ranked near the top in terms of real world upload/download speeds. Please note that technical ##x speeds do not equate to the same real world speeds due to memory timing issues. My advice would be to spend extra money on a higher quality memory card like this to enjoy the full benefits of whatever you use it in. Don't try to save a little money on a memory card and risk the problems that can happen with a cheap card.
  
  It would really suck to have a cheap card with a memory fault and lose out on your pictures, especially on vacation!
  
  with the empty card, I get 291 shots on large JPEG on my Nikon D70. However, in real world I end up with between 375 and 425 shots depending on the color variation of pictures.
  
  
  
• Can the card keep up with you and your camera?
  By A2PSD2R9A1CXG7 on 2005-11-20
  With fast shooting high mega pixel cameras, the CF card can be a major performance factor. Why have one of these cameras and use a card that cannot keep up? When I bought my 8.2 mp Canon 20D, I decided it was time to get a second CF card so the research started.
  
  The Ultra II cards write with a minimum of 9 mb/sec. and read at 10 mb/sec. These fast write speeds are desirable with large image files. There are cameras with buffers to hold images while writing to the card during continuous shots. At some point if the card cannot write fast enough, your camera will stop shooting until the buffer clears enough room.
  
  This card has a high impact rating. For example; if you were to accidentally drop this card 10-foot up to then hit the floor, this card is rated to sustain the fall without damage.
  
  Sometimes the trade off on price comes from power consumption. Lower priced cards may use more power to do the same job as this card. The low power consumption of this card means a longer battery life.
  
  People generally want to know how many images a card will hold. This is a difficult question to answer and greatly depends on both the card and the camera it is used in. The number of images this card will hold on my 20D also depends on the settings used. Let me provide a few settings and image counts for an idea of what this card holds.
  
  Shooting Raw w/ISO 100 - 110 images
  Shooting Raw w/ISO 800 - 102 images
  Shooting Large jpeg - 239 images
  Shooting Medium jpeg - 413 images
  Shooting Small jpeg - 725 images
  
  I use both a 1GB and a 2GB card shooting primarily raw images. Sometimes the 1GB card is more than adequate, but other times I could easily fill the 1GB card quickly. There have been many days where I have taken 200-300 pictures without the opportunity to transfer my images. The 2GB card not only gives me more storage space, but also permits me to change the card in a slow moment before it completely fills up. It is truly aggravating to lose a shot because your card filled up. For these reasons I tend to prefer the 2GB cards. When considering the card size, one should attempt to balance convenience with capacity. Having one card for all your images may be convenient, but it is also putting all your eggs in one basket.
  
  Worried about reliability? It's backed by a lifetime limited warranty outside Europe. The warranty excludes any defects, malfunctions, performance failures or damages to the card resulting from use in other than its normal and customary manner, misuse, accident or neglect; or improper alterations or repairs.
  
  PROS:
  Reliable
  Fast read/write
  Impact resistant
  Low power consumption
  Backed by a lifetime limited warranty
  
  CONS:
  None
  
  
• Fast and reliable - and now less expensive!
  By A3ROEUFXAM0JMO on 2004-10-13
  I have two of these as well as several other smaller cards from other companies. I use them in Nikon D-SLR's, a D100 and a D2H. In the D100 the difference in write speed is not at all perceivable over the standard cards. However, in the D2H, the write speed from the buffer is significantly faster than standard cards and even faster than the LEXAR 80X Pro 1gb card that I have. Keep in mind that your camera must be able to take advantage of the write speed to warrant the extra expense for a fast card, but then all "fast" cards are not equal.
  
  These two cards are the primary cards in both of my bodies, and therefore see the brunt of the use. I have had a couple of other smaller cards fail, but so far, no failures from a SanDisk card of any size or series.
  
  Now that the prices are coming down with the release of the larger cards, I could have bought two of these for what I paid for each of mine.
  
  
  
  
• Fantastic addition for digital photography
  By on 2003-12-27
  I just purchased this to compliment my canon D10. This is a great little flash card. It is very fast and holds hundreds of photos. I use it on a large format (6.3) and can get over 700 photos. I got mine from newegg.com and was very satisfied with the service and price. I have not taken any raw images yet so I can not comment on how many it holds.
  
  
• Works well in Minolta Dimage A1
  By A34ZDM4OFYT4SP on 2003-12-10
  This card works very nicely in a Minolta Dimage A1. I can blast out RAW images (7.3MB) at a great rate, and magnified playback of JPEGs is very swift (don't forget that most playback on this camera uses small thumbnail images, which is no problem with any card).

  Dumping the card to a PC (using SanDisk's USB-2 CF reader) is also speedy (it really needs to be with a card this size).

  All this, a good price (from B&H Photo) and a lifetime warranty.
  
  

• Great card!
  By A2M4PQPBV45U71 on 2005-11-27
  Hi,
  
  I recently took advantage of an in-store offer and grabbed couple of these guys. I've been using this card's little sister (512Mb) for about a year now and have nothing to complain about. Great write/read speeds, reliable and spacious. As I recenly upgraded cameras (with twice as many megapixels and with RAW support) I started running out of space fairly quickly (every 35 shots or so). Now with this 1Gb card, I can go shooting all day long (80+ shots [raw+jpeg]) without worries. It offers the same write/read speed, and reliability that most Sandisk products enjoy. If you're a serious photographer and need the peace of mind that your precious shots won't disappear in thin air, this is definitely the card for you. The only qualm I have (hence 4 stars) is because I noticed that my camera's battery runs out a bit faster ever since I started using this (bigger) card.
  In short, excellent buy. Much better, in my opinion, than the comparable model from Lexar.
  
  
• King no more
  By AU065M4C0BOT7 on 2006-06-03
  When I first started in Digital photography, I swore by SanDisk, their products were of top quality, their customer service was unparalleled, and while you paid a bit more for them it was always money well spent.
  
  That was then, and today it seems to be a different story. Perhaps there are just inherent technological difficulties in the manufacture of cards with 1 GB (or larger) of storage and SanDisk with their eye on fast performance is running up against those difficulties, but I have had nothing but issues with recent SanDisk offerings.
  
  In the last year and a half I have had three of the 1 GB cards fail (two purchased by me, and one replacement from them) as well as a 2GB fail with the loss of all data. The loss of the 2GB card was particularly frustrating given that it held a large portion of a cross country motorcycle trip I took a year ago.
  
  The software provided by SanDisk to perform a recovery of the data, failed to recovery data from any of the cards, and SanDisk was unwilling to provide any other solution.
  
  As far as customer service goes, they seemed horrified at the thought that I would expect them to pay for commercial recovery of the data. They were willing to replace the cards (less shipping and handling of course), and each of those replacement cards has failed as well.
  
  Compare that with the Lexar Pro 1 GB which made the trip without issue, and continues to function nearly a year later without a problem.
  
  As far as speed goes, my laptop transfers files off the Lexar cards at a higher rate than the SanDisk, and as far as in camera performance goes, both cards seem to write at about the same speed.
  
  
• Perfect storage media
  By A3T7OK293235YU on 2004-11-22
  The SanDisk 1GB Ultra CF card stores a huge number of photos and is fast at doing its work. I could not find a better alternative, even now - except that the price keeps dropping, so time is on your side.
  
  
• Write speed is perfect for digital Rebel shooting sports
  By A2JFOHC9W629IE on 2005-03-23
  After purchasing a regular Sandisk 512M card, I knew after some test shots with my DReb that I needed something that wrote faster. The next day, I picked up this card and shot soccer outside. There was no delay strictly for writing to the card, at least not that the DReb wasn't going to cause anyway. Yes, of course, a EOS 1D (or other brand top of the line) is better and faster for sports, but don't let anyone tell you that the consumer DSLR's can't shoot adequately. With this card you shouldn't have any problem reaching the limits of the DReb capability.
  
  
• Simply the Best CF Card
  By A2DIRD4JW7LDSA on 2005-04-01
  I have tried several different brands of CF cards for my Nikon D70, including Lexar Pro and Kinston 1GB. This one came out to be the fastest. I have been using Sandisk CF card for the last two years and I have never had any problem with it. This card is also one of the least expensive one in its class. I would recommend it to anyone who need a fast CF card.
  
  
• A solid performer. A must for the digital photographer.
  By A2XRMQA6PJ5ZJ8 on 2005-04-24
  One of the great things about the digital age is that the cost per megabyte of memory storage is in continuous decline. Here, we can all reap the advantage of this technological bounty--the SanDisk 1GB Ultra II CF card is a really nice product. I can use it in either my Nikon D100 or my Canon S50 (compact) cameras, and take hundreds of pictures before downloading the card to my laptop computer.
  
  The card is very fast, so much so that the write speed simply is not noticeable most of the time (when it is that is more an issue of my D100's slow write time for RAW photos than it is with the Ultra II). Owning the Ultra II has really made digital photography a pleasure; typically I can shoot all day without having to worry about switching CF cards or emptying the contents of the card to the laptop. This is digital photography as it was meant to be.
  
  A solid product that performs very well.
  
  
• SanDisk has always worked well for me.
  By A332BUKVG8YYOP on 2006-03-11
  I have been using SanDisk since 2000 and have never had any failures with any of the 20 or so cards I have from them. I have also tried other brands as well, but feel more comfortable with the SanDisk. I currently own 3 of the 1GB Ultra II compact flash cards (plus 2 of the 2GB Ultra II cards) for my Canon 20D and they have worked flawlessly.
  
  The camera write speed is slower than the card's write speed so the buffer is pretty much staying empty even during those 5 shots per second bursts at full settings. The write speed from the cards is very fast, making the transfer from the card to my PC fairly respectable.
  
  I almost exclusively have used SanDisk and would always recommend them to anyone not sure which brand to go with.
  
  
• Great Speed
  By ADLT7Z9MXWIT on 2005-06-09
  It has worked great with my Nikon D70. I fully recommend this card after owning 5 CF cards of 5 different companies, including Lexar, Canon-branded, and SimpleTech.
  
  This is a great card and I would purchase it again.
  
  
• FAST! FAST! FAST!
  By A949CWG2YGIP9 on 2005-01-07
  Of the four different brands of compact flash memory cards that I tried in my Nikon D70 this was by far the fastest. When I can afford it I will also be buying the two Gig. one.
  
  
• Good Card, good price
  By A3VIOW4AITZBC8 on 2005-07-10
  I bought this card to use with a Canon Digital Rebel XT. I've used if for about a month and have shot about 1000 photographs at high resolution (8 mpx). I used the camera in burst mode on several occasions to take action shots of people riding a sled down a snow covered mountain. Both the camera and card managed the task without any difficulty. If there is a time lag in writing the files to the card, I didn't notice it.
  
  
• a must buy item
  By A7MGTFQGXR8KL on 2005-03-13
  I have a Nikon D70 and the Ultra I is just to slow, so I have to have the Ultra II card. With this card there are no delays and I do not ever have to wait for the camera. It is always ready to take a photo. Also I need 1 GB because I can use that in a days time and this way I do not have to mess around with more than one card.
  
  

• Targus DMC111 Digital Memory Card Case - Black (Koskin)
• SanDisk SDDR-86-07 6 in 1 USB 2.0 Hi-speed Reader
• SanDisk SDDR-88-A15 8-in-1 USB 2.0 Hi-speed Reader (Retail Package)
• Body Glove Multi-purpose Camera Case Black
• Body Glove Large Multi-Purpose Camera Case (Black)

• Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Silver)
• Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)
• Canon NB-2LH Rechargeable Battery Pack for Digital Rebel XT/XTi, PowerShot S30/40/45/50/60/70/80, G7 & G9 Digital Cameras
• SanDisk 2GB ULTRA II CompactFlash Card (SDCFH-2048-901)
• SanDisk SDSDH-1024-901 1 GB Ultra II Secure Digital Memory Card (Retail Package)