CliffMcKenzie Loc: Lake Athens Texas

UHH brethren, considering adding an additional reader and 1 or 2 XQD cards and discovered the marketing direction is CFexpress. Price points for the cards (Sony 128 CFE $200 vs. XQD $168) are close. Read\Write speed not close. Search UHH database and little has been said other than last December firmware upgrade to make it happen.

For Nikon D850, is now the time to make the change? Additionally, I use Photo Mechanic for initial upload, while my computer is fast, will I actually get a faster read\upload? Any direction is appreciated.

cedymock Loc: Irmo, South Carolina

After the purchase of my D850 I read the firmware for CFexpress was going to be released, about 90 days later it was. Have been using Lexar CFexpress after update. There is nothing wrong with XQD cards but have read in different articles that XQD cards would be going the way of the Betamax.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

If prices come down for CF I'll switch. But then I'll also have to buy a reader so they'll have to come down quite a bit to make it worth my time and money.

Bill_de Loc: US

Did I miss the capacity of the XQD?

The speed of my D850 with XQD and SD is plenty. The capacities are equally satisfying factory. If I need more cards, which is doubtful, I would stick with what I'm using. There should be plenty of advance notice if my next camera needs CF.

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larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Hi Cliff. I find that my style of shooting doesn't depend on the speed of the memory cards. I never fill the camera's buffer. So I'm still using the SD card for raw files and smaller XQD cards for JPEGS and the rare video in both my D850 and D500s. If my usage ever changes, I'll look at swapping slot assignments and reconfigure with different card sizes in the slots.

I've got the updated firmware in all of the cameras, but am still using XQD cards. As either the price difference drops a little more or XQD cards get harder to f8nd, I'll gradually switch. But I do not expect to buy or trade for any new cameras, so I don't feel any need or pressure to "buy for the future." And I believe that the speeds of the XQD cards I have are pretty well-balanced against the design speed of the cameras and card interfaces, so would not expect any meaningful performance improvement from a switch. Some folks claim a speed improvement with the faster cards when transferring files to a computer. I have found most computers to be port-limited on transfer speed, so in most cases, any perceived improvement is pretty much just inagined. (But I know there are a few exceptions to that.)

As newer cameras are introduced, I'd expect to see more real difference. But I'd also expect fewer and fewer of those cameras to be set up to use the older XQD cards.0

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

I have been using XQD cards in my D500, but when I purchased a Z7II, Hunts Photo threw in CFExpress card and reader, so I am now using both. I notice no difference in capture speed in my usage, and they transfer at virtually the same speed, which I can measure. So far, I have the bigger investment in XQD cards, so I’ll probably stick with those a long as I can.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I shoot wildlife, and I want all the speed and buffer I can get, enter XQD. If I am shooting landscapes and modeling, CF is more than adequate.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I use an XQD card in my D850, along with the second recommended card. .I have a reader that takes both. I see no reason to change that.
--Bob

cedymock Loc: Irmo, South Carolina

Bob I think there would be no reason to change if XQD already purchase, I do think if a first time purchase going with CFexpress would be the way to go because manufacturers are moving in the direction of CFexpress.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

He’s actually asking about CFExpress, which is faster than XQD. Really for still photography XQD is more than sufficient. I have both. The downside to using both is 2 readers. I’ve seen some complain about $100 CFExpress readers but I got one from Amazon for $30 and it works great.

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

CF Express cards are newer technology and have faster r/w speeds and can transfer files from card readers to computer faster than XQD.

No reason to buy old technology.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

The XQD cards will last as long as your camera if not longer.
So either one you ask about will be just fine.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

I have enough XQD cards to last me into the grave. I'm totally fine with the speed both down and write...<shrug> when the new Z9 comes out I'll use what I have. Hopefully!

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

Even though express b is the intrinsically faster card, the d850 is not wired to take advantage of it. The difference maker is estimating future purchases.

Later cameras will be wired ( or chanelled) for faster so you will likely buy the new reader then. But if you wont ever need extreme speed, it's a wash because future express cameras will be backwards compatible with xqd.