eardoc

Basic engineering principle that I learned from a mechanical engineer:

Whenever you have one entity, you have one set of problems. When you divide one entity into two, you have just doubled your chance for problems.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

XQD are not going to be soon obsolete any more than CF are obsolete now. The CFE technology is faster and will be adopted by those cameras needing such speed. I feel most XQD cameras now will be upgraded to CFE eventually, but will still be backwards compatible to XQD in much the same way that SDXC compatible cameras are still backwards compatible to SDHC cards, and even original SD cards.
CFast technology was unable to use the antiquated CF transfer connections so they are never going to be backwards compatible to those cameras. To date there is only one DSLR that even accepts CFast and that is the Canon 1DX MK II. Canon will as it has in the past refuse to adopt the newer technology simply because Nikon is using it and they will continue to use CFast, at least for awhile.
To me the CFast and CFExpress argument is VERY much like the old VHS/Betamax battle and only one will survive once all the smoke clears.

rdubreuil Loc: Dummer, NH USA

Sounds like you're right on the money there. Thanks.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

No problem with Micro-SD cards function-wise. But best bet is to leave it in the micro-to-fullsize adapter. The micros are too small to be handled a lot by themselves....easy to drop, lose, gets blown away by a breeze, etc.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Comparison to VHS/Beta is interesting. That was a case where the clearly superior technology was beaten as the result of factors having nothing at all to do with the technology or relative merits of the two systems...

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

In the end, although there were marketing and licensing miscues by Sony, probably the longer record time of VHS was the major factor - quantity vs quality. I still have a working Sony Super Beta machine (because I have a library of beta tapes), and the quality is clearly superior to VHS.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

CF cards are not obsolete, they are as strong as ever!!

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

That's true, in a way. But it can be exceedingly difficult to find smaller capacity CF cards (32GB and below) that will work in older cameras that were/are not firmware updatable to the larger sizes.

I've mentioned in other conversations here that in the amateur radio hobby (and in commercial two-way radio), standard practice for a number of years has been to obsolete radios simply by eliminating availability of replacement batteries, whether OEM or aftermarket.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

I would agree with James R and Lowell. Any interface is another possible failure point. My experience in field support for a mainframe manufacturer tells me that Murphy is right more often than not.

sv3noKin51E

Lowell, there are plenty of folks who would never use a micro-usb in an SD adapter, who knows the reasons, but likely because they haven't tried, or think it won't work or could in some way damage the camera (it won't). We use micro-usb/SDXC flash in SD adapters for bodies that also take SD cards, and have also used the same micro-usb/SD combination in a CF adapter; they all have worked without fail, as fast as the camera can read/write. Almost always, to a camera, micro-usb flash memory looks like the larger SD flash card to the camera; don't use no-name, really cheap cards as the good brands just continue to come down in price, with warranty replacement of three to five years; sometimes even ten with the really, really expensive Pro cards. The warranty must be working for all of ours since we've never needed it.

SDXC will be much faster than the camera can use, but don't let that get in your way. Being inside a quality SD adapter isn't going to keep the camera from using it, as long as your FW supports the capacity and if you don't exceed that capacity. Only one micro-usb/SD didn't automatically format when we first inserted it. We turned the camera off, removed the SD/micro-usb combo, blew out any dust that may have crept into the card slot, re-seated the micro-usb in the adapter then placed it back in and turned the camera back on. Voila. Check your camera specs, as you may need to update the FW and it just works. Don't worry that the micro-usb card is so much smaller than the SD adapter, since you'll never need to remove it again. We get several at a time from amz (free shipping) but use any source you like, which may cost more. See for yourself and good luck. sv

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

All the stores carry 8GB CF cards, there is absolutely no difficulties in getting them!

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

I found out the hard way that micro cards should not/never be used for photography. If a micro card becomes damaged, the photos on it are unrecoverable, period, due to the fact of printed circuits. A standard size SD card can, 97+%, files can be recovered. Yes, it is rare, but not worth the risk, ever!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I've been using micros in adapters for years.
No problems whatsoever and I have no fear of them being damaged.
ALL memory cards are the die on printed circuits, ALL memory cards can be damaged.

Why needlessly scare people about the micros?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Glad you do not have supply problems.

Micro Center and most of my area Best Buy stores no longer carry the smaller cards. Both have "rationalized" their inventory of older items in order to insure that what they have turns quickly. I asked. My local camera store also stocks only the larger capacity cards.

BTW...the majority of our Best Buy stores now only sell the "school required" calculator models during back to school shopping weeks, then return any that are left to their central warehouse. I ran into this while trying to get set up to tutor a student last fall. And I'm in a major market for this kind of stuff.