Photoshop Insider

Field Report: Hoodman’s RAW UDMA Memory Cards

By Scott on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 5:49 am | updates.

I decided to use my recent trip to Dubai to field test Hoodman’s RAW high-speed 300X 8GB UDMA memory cards, and I also used their high-speed UDMA card reader (because without a high-speed reader, you’re not getting all the benefits UDMA brings).

The main thing I’m (we’re) always concerned about is reliability. It doesn’t matter how fast the cards are if they fail, and so far I’ve put thousands of images on the cards and they’ve performed flawlessly (which I expected because of my experience with Hoodman products in the past). Beyond that, I’ve been very impressed with the speed. It writes to the card very fast, it downloads back to your computer very fast—in fact, I didn’t realize how big a difference UDMA Cards would make, but now I see what all the fuss is about.

OK, so they’re really fast and they’re really reliable. So what’s not to like? The price. For example:

Lexar’s 8GB 300X UDMA card is going for around $170 at B&H Photo.
Sandisk’s 8GB Extreme IV UDMA card is going for around $180 from B&H
Hoodman’s 8GB 300X UDMA RAW cards are $250 (direct from Hoodman).

Both Lexar’s and Sandisk’s cards both use the fast UDMA technology, too; both have a good reputation for reliability, but as big a fan as I am of Hoodman’s gear (I swear by their stuff), I’m having a really hard time justifying the $70 to $80 more per card without a clear and distinct advantage over the competition.

Now, that being said, there may be an advantage to the Hoodman RAW cards that I’m not aware of, which justifies the higher price, and if that turns out to be the case, I’ll absolutely update this report, but until then; that’s my report. REPORT UPDATE: Hoodman responded to this review noted precisely why their cards cost more, and are worth the extra cost. Here’s the link to that post.

Comment form for this post

^#1

$250 for a CF card is pretty steep! These things would have to be blazing fast to make them worth the sticker price. I’ll stick with my SanDisc Extremes for now. Thanks for the Field Report Scoot. Always helpful!!!

Dave Lloyd on April 29th, 2008 at 8:12 am

^#2

I agree, I considered the Hoodman cards but could not justify the price difference. I purchased the Lexar cards and 800 Firewire reader and have been really happy. I think the Hoodman cards may be made in the USA if that’s 70-80 dollars worth of good ole USA for you. BTW Scott I really enjoy all your work… I have become a Kelby addict. Thanks!
Tom-O

Tom O'Neill on April 29th, 2008 at 8:28 am

^#3

Last winter my Lexar flash drive lay in the snowy parking lot at work and was run over at least once. I straightened the tip and it works flawlessly. I swear by Lexar.
(hint: I always have a folder on my drives named “Property of …” that’s how I got the lost drive back.)

Of course, we should bear in mind that there are a finite number of chip manufacturers regardless of the name on the outside of the CF.

Earl on April 29th, 2008 at 9:22 am

^#4

Earl,
What a great idea! The “Property_of” folder on the CF card is a simple idea (as most brilliant ideas are) but I have never heard anyone suggest it.

I just added the folder to all of my cards - hope they are never needed!

TuesdayTony on April 29th, 2008 at 10:06 am

^#5

HI SCOTT!

IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO GET THE CURRENT EPISODE OF PSUTV THROUGHOUT iTUNES!

PLEASE FIX THAT!

THANK YOU!

Markus Hörster on April 29th, 2008 at 10:49 am

^#6

Hi Scott,

first off I use Hoodman Raw card with my D300 and it works flawlessly. Cost was not an issue as it was a gift from a fiend. But if I were in the market, I would not spend the extra money as you indicate. Not that great of a difference.

My real question is about the hoodman loupe. Since it is rated for a 2.75 inch display, how do you find it works with teh 3 inch displays of the d300 and d3?

Brian in Beautiful British Columbia Canada

Brian Cargnelli on April 29th, 2008 at 11:15 am

^#7

Hey Scott,
From what I know, the Hoodman 8GB 300X UDMA RAW card costs more than its competition mainly because the company stresses the fact that their cards are hand-assembled in the good old USA, and they are a small company that offers personalized touch when it comes to customer service.
Adding my two cents worth.

My best, Edwardson

Edwardson on April 29th, 2008 at 11:17 am

^#8

Markus,

Stop Yelling (caps locks = yelling) and go check your ITunes settings because I got the new episode (#131) last night via ITunes without any problems.

BTW podcasters can only update their RSS feeds. They can’t do anything about malfunctions of various readers such as Itunes.

Have a great day.

Robbie R. on April 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am

^#9

If you go to B&H, they have a mail in rebate for the Lexar 8GB UDMA card worth $80 (good till 4/30, so only got 1 day left to purchase). I got mine just before my vacation last week. With the free shipping (NAPP member), the 8GB card will net out to $90.

HMG on April 29th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

^#10

Scott,

I assume you have seen John Nack’s blog today, but if you haven’t, be sure to check out the link to the Candle Cannon www.candlecannon.com for the results of creative minds at work. Its a hoot!!

Emmet

Emmet Whitehead on April 29th, 2008 at 12:18 pm

^#11

I agree with you Scott…
I have few 8gb cards 300x from Lexar’s, and I love them…
Why would I pay $70 or $80 more for another card?
Paulo Jordao

Paulo Jordao on April 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

^#12

Thanks for telling it like it is - Much appreciated!

big cheeser on April 29th, 2008 at 2:24 pm

^#13

I’m not sure where to post random questions like this so I’ll just post here:

I was looking at one of your Digital Photography books the other day and you mentioned that you use Quantum lights, but I notice on your updated equipment list that you don’t have Quantum listed, just the SB-800 (excluding your studio set-up). Have you changed your thoughts on Quantum?

I use the SB-800s, but am considering buying the Quantum set-up in lieu of a third or fourth SB-800 or perhaps something like Norman or Lumedyne. I’m a wedding photographer and some of my fellow shooters use a Norman set-up on location.

I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on that. By the way, this question was in part triggered by your mention of “theStrobist”.

thanks again for all that you do!

big cheeser on April 29th, 2008 at 3:04 pm

^#14

Hello Scott,

maybe you want to take a look to this HUGE font. Really great imo.
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/itc/papyrus/plain/

Régis

Regis Derimay on April 29th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

^#15

Hello again Scott!

If you would like to know more about the differences between Hoodman’s cards and other brands, may I suggest you get in touch with Rob Schmidt, Vice President of Hoodman USA about their UDMA cards. He has been a guest on Scott Sheppard’s Inside Digital Photo Radio Podcast, talking about this kind of stuff.

I hope you find this useful!

Paul Guy on April 29th, 2008 at 3:31 pm

^#16

Hi Scott… thanks for the constant updates and for never pulling punches!!

I’ve also looked into UDMA CF cards/readers and the Hoodman units, altough not well known down here in New Zealand, those in the know recommend them, but the cost differential is almost twice in our market compared to Lexar and Sandisk.

I have a question re UDMA, can these cards be used on any CF compatible DSLR, or do you need a specific make/model?

Ewen on April 29th, 2008 at 7:24 pm

^#17

Scott,

The adage applies here that you get what you pay for and Hoodman, as I understand, has no field failures to date.

Some people have important enough work and risk aversion tendencies that they are willing to pay for the “insurance” built into the Hoodman cards.

Beside, ideally, you would only have to pay for it once.

Just a thought,
Pat

Pat Flanakin on April 30th, 2008 at 8:44 am

^#18

There are only a couple companies in the world with the ability to manufacture cutting-edge flash memory and, ya know, I kinda doubt “Hoodman” is one of them.

The device very likely contains Sandisk memory or equivalent, so paying an extra $70-80 for this seems like a total waste of money.

G.

Gavin Scott on April 30th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

^#19

Have to agree with Gavin. We supply flash drives for marketing purposes and there are 3-4 factories in the Far East and none as far as we know in the states.

The actual shell assembly/pad printing can be done by any company with the relevant kit but the actual memory will be coming from the same factory as Sandisk, Lexar if they go for the good stuff. Pricing is done in units of 1,000 and traded daily on the markets. It really upset things when Apple switched to Flash memory for ipods. Much as I love my mac which I am typing this on, I cursed them for a god few days. Actually caused a sea change as now all quotes are limited to 2 days across the industry in case another Apple hush hush causes people to lose money when they used to give a 14-30 day price quote.

Reminds me of my research lab days when I would hear techno snobs informing me that it was a shame I worked for Philips as I only got staff discount on Philips TV and not the superior Sony TV’s. I used to smile as Philips supplied the screens and half the electronics for Sony. We also used to own Marantz and Bang and Olfsen. Nothing quite like getting staff discount on those brands

Phil Thomas on April 30th, 2008 at 5:56 pm

^#20

Hey Brian,

I understand that Hoodman has been working on a 3″ loupe and it will be available soon!! I have been holding out to buy one as I own a D300.

Kevin

Kevin Zdyb on May 3rd, 2008 at 10:24 am

^#21

Most of the time the CF Cards that are most expensive are also the ones using SLC type flash memory. SLC is SingleLayer Cell where a 1 is really a 1 and 0 is really a 0.

Instead of less expensive MLC where its a MultipleLayerCells and break points in 1’s and 0’s are different bits and you can squeeze more memory into a foot print but cannot get the speed needed.

I am unsure of what SanDisk and Lexar Use. My experience with ATP and conversations with HoodMan Reps at the Photo Expo tell me they use Single Layer Cells - Which is the best way to go for the long term of reliability.

I am not affiliated with any card manufacturer and have owned cards from most manufactureres except HoodMan.

As always - comments on the internet should be validated with your own educated research.

Dustin Finn on May 6th, 2008 at 3:25 pm