PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

SPEED. XQD is faster.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

It looks as though the D500 comes with 1 SD and 1XQD. Haven't heard of any options.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

If you did a search you would find that Sony uses them in their pro line video cameras. Nikon also uses one (alongside one SD card) in their new D500.
The XQD format is definitely here to stay as use of standard CF and SD cards do not allow for sustained recording of 4K video in camera. Other card manufacturers are currently dealing with Sony to license production in the XQD format. Both Delkin and Sandisk will likely have them on the market later this year.

Its a test?
If so its been ongoing for 6 years now.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

The cards are expensive, but not outrageously so. Sixty-four gig with 400 mb/s seem to go for a bit more than $200, around twice the price of a similar CF card at 160mb/s. There is a slower version of the XQD at 210 mb/s, which is only around 30% faster than a top of the line CF card, and is priced accordingly. Meanwhile, I also note that my 64 gig Sandisk Extreme Pro which I bought last summer for $100 at B&H is now selling for $90. I suspect the price of the XQD card will start to fall as more manufacturers include it in their devices. I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually became a new standard because of the speed.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

My first 64GB 200 MB/s XQD card cost me $395. The prices have already dropped a lot since introduction, and as CF and SD cards have gained speed. Now that Nikon has committed to them in a serious way, I see the price dropping even more, especially since two other manufacturers are looking to produce them. I see them being priced competitively with comparable CF cards by years end, albeit offering much faster write times. They are kind of like SD cards on mega-steroids!
Here is a pic I just took to show how they differ in size.
Note: The 1100X is the SLOWEST XQD card speed available)

SD, XQD, CF

(Download)

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

:thumbup:

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Compactflash is an older, larger type of memory card... and, yes, the pins and sockets it uses are a bit at risk of damage (I've used numerous CF for many years, probably swapped cards thousands of times without any damage.... knock on wood).

Compactfash is still the fastest and has been the largest capacity, but SD (various types including SDHC or "high capacity", UHS or "ultra high speed" I and II) memory has been catching up in both respects and tends to be lower priced. SD format is small... thin and little larger than a thumbnail.

XQD is a relatively new memory format that's just starting to be used in some devices. As mentioned, it's only found in a very few cameras, so far. It's in between CF and SD in physical size.... taking up less space in devices that CF requires, yet not as small (and easily lost!) as SD. XQD uses connectivity more similar to the fastest types of SD, which should make it harder to accidentally damage the cards or the sockets (compared to CF).

It would sure be nice if all the camera manufacturers would settle on one, standardized type of memory and stick with it!

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I'm glad to hear they're being used elsewhere now. I don't keep track of video equipment since I don't do any significant amount of video.

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

I have the D4 with 1 XQD card and 1 CF card. This is the format the camera came with. I use the Sony XQD card reader and to give you an idea on the speed, it was tested at continuous 9fps, shooting in RAW and went over 400 frames before buffer filled. So, fast, yes! Price, if you shop around, it runs about $30 more then the CF card.
I wish the D4 had 2 of these slots instead of just one.
No more bent pins to deal with either! If I were to purchase a D5, or D500, it would have these cards in it. Just saying...............

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

:thumbup: :thumbup: