Comments on: Field Report: Hoodman’s RAW UDMA Memory Cards

By: bandsxbands

bandsxbands — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:17:34 +0000

Memory sure is becoming cheaper and cheaper and cheaper. I wonder when we will finally hit the rate of 1 cent to 1 GB.I'm eagerly anticipating the day when I will finally be able to afford a 20 TB harddisk, hahaha. But for now I will be content with having a 32 GB Micro SD in my R4i.(Posted by Nintendo DS running R4i DS PostNet)

By: ToddDenver

ToddDenver — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:56:24 +0000

All this talk of faster & faster write-speeds, 200x, 300x & now 600x…. (30, 45 & 60MB per second.)
Can my camera even take advantage of these super-fast write-speeds?
I know that my older DSLR (Nikon D200) could not; but I’m not sure about the newest DSLR bodies; including my new D300S.
The camera ‘manual’ says that 300x cards (up to 16GB) have been tested and are approved for use. But does that mean that the camera is really able to fully use the 45MB second speeds or is it just compatible.
I’ll pay a bit more for super-fast cards (Sandisk’s ‘new’ 600x or for the Hoodman product) but wish I knew if my camera was really taking advantage of their capability…?
I called Nikon and they won’t ’say’ (tell you) what the exact write-speed capability is… Go Figure… ;-(

P.S. I used cards that were much larger {4GB+} than what was ‘approved’ in my older D200 and they worked just fine. So using that ’same logic’ will a 32GB card work just fine in my D300S; even though (only) a 16GB card had been tested at the time that the camera was released for sale???

By: cRiMe

cRiMe — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:11:33 +0000

Well, speaking of CF flash cards… I was shopping for some 8 GB super-fast Compact Flash drives and found that SanDisk has a great rebate going on for their new Extreme IV cards. I bought three disks from Adorama and, with the rebate, they will be costing me less than $50 each. SanDisk’s Extreme IV drives are UDMA 45 MB/second, as are the RAW cards from Hoodman.

If you’re looking for cards now, you might check out the ScanDisk rebate.

I don’t work or have any affiliation for SanDisk and they don’t know me.

Hope this helps somebody.

Peace

By: Dustin Finn

Dustin Finn — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:25:53 +0000

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.

By: Kevin Zdyb

Kevin Zdyb — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:24:40 +0000

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

By: Phil Thomas

Phil Thomas — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:56:45 +0000

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

By: Gavin Scott

Gavin Scott — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:27:40 +0000

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.

By: Pat Flanakin

Pat Flanakin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:44:24 +0000

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

By: Ewen

Ewen — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:24:11 +0000

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?

By: Paul Guy

Paul Guy — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:31:47 +0000

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!

By: Regis Derimay

Regis Derimay — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:06:52 +0000

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RÃ©gis

By: big cheeser

big cheeser — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:04:06 +0000

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!