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06/08/2005 01:24:15 AM · #1 |
| What is the lifespan of CF cards? How many writes can it sustain in practice. |
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06/08/2005 01:51:38 AM · #2 |
I am not sure the technology has been around long enough to determine. However, I know of someone who has had a card for nearly 5 years and it is still going strong. I suspect the CF card you are using now may well become obsolete before it starts to break down.
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06/08/2005 02:34:46 AM · #3 |
CF cards (and other memory cards used by the digicams) are based on the static RAM, not on the magnetic recording that is used on hard drives.
A typical static RAM can sustain a couple of million r/w cycles... which translates into: Your camera will go belly up loong before your CF card dies.
Of course, there are always factory defects... I am talking about what should be, not what is the case with your card.
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06/08/2005 12:06:44 PM · #4 |
I think they are very durable, I've even heard of them working after being left in the washer and also after being run over by a car.
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06/08/2005 12:08:52 PM · #5 |
I have one an old 128 that I bought in 2000 and still use, it's been through two cameras.
They really do last a long time. |
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06/08/2005 12:09:01 PM · #6 |
I can believe the washer story (as long as you put them in a dryer or hang them outside to drip-dry before plugging them in), but I would be skeptical regarding driving over them...
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06/08/2005 12:28:19 PM · #7 |
like I said, I "heard" about them. Never have done it or seen it.
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06/08/2005 01:26:26 PM · #8 |
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06/08/2005 01:32:07 PM · #9 |
| I can vouch for one of my Sandisk 1GB cards surviving a trip through the washing machine :-) |
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06/08/2005 01:40:00 PM · #10 |
Wow, that is amazing..glad he had enough thought to hid behind the equipment.
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06/08/2005 02:15:36 PM · #11 |
Most flash-memory based cards have controllers that spread out the writes over the card's memory space, to minimize how often data gets written in any one spot. The read/write cycle life of any given cell is usually rated at between 300,000 and several million cycles. In a digital photography application, it will be a looong time before you exceed the rated life of the memory cells.
I am aware of one application that repeatedly killed CF cards. A manufacturer of industrial equipment run by an integrated PC motherboard used a CF card as a boot drive. Every year or so, the CF card would die, from the repeated read/write cycles.
With regard to running over a card with an automobile, if the card is on a flat surface, it should survive easily. The pressure exerted by the car's tire is typically between 25 and 30 pounds per square inch. You can press harder on the sides of the card with your fingers if you try hard.
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06/08/2005 02:23:13 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
The pressure exerted by the car's tire is typically between 25 and 30 pounds per square inch. You can press harder on the sides of the card with your fingers if you try hard. |
I would not agree - the air pressure in a tire is between 25-30 psi, but the pressure that the car is exerting on the ground is the total car weight divided by the contact surface. So, if you have a 3000lbs car, on four wheels, with ~15 square inch of contact surface between the each tire and the ground (my assumption), your pressure is more like 50psi...
if the pressure of the car's tire were equal to the air pressure inside, there would be no deformation in shape when the car is on the ground... this is what triggered this calculation.
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06/08/2005 02:34:30 PM · #13 |
They last forever, but seem to get smaller and smaller as file sizes increase.
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06/08/2005 02:37:28 PM · #14 |
Not something most people need to worry about. Get a good card (Lexar or something) and use the hell out of it!
Nick |
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06/08/2005 02:40:12 PM · #15 |
The lifespan is determined by the formula:
Elapsed days from purchase until you REALLY, REALLY need it for a critical photo shoot ΓΆ€“ 1 |
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06/08/2005 02:51:51 PM · #16 |
Another story of a CF card surviving long after the camera.
Bill Baggart's Final Exposures |
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06/08/2005 03:07:54 PM · #17 |
| dunno about the CF cards but I know for a fact that the Sandisk jump drive is machine washable. |
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06/08/2005 03:37:43 PM · #18 |
Let's say a card is "only" good for 250,000 shots. That's about 10 Digital Rebels. ;)
M
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