At a capacity of 256MB, this xD-Picture Card can store up to 444 digital images when captured at 3 megapixels and recorded at normal resolution. Currently the smallest storage format of its kind on the market, the xD-Picture Card is comparable in size to a penny, and weighs less than one-tenth of an ounce. The xD-Picture Card is expected to have an eventual storage limit of 8GB in a single card! The xD-Picture Card also minimizes power consumption to save battery life and provides fast read/write capabilities for smoothe digital camera operation.
Designed to minimize power consumption, Fuji's xD-Picture Card offers fast read and write capabilities for smoother digital camera operation. Extremely compact, it is comparable in size to a penny and weighs less than one-tenth of an ounce. The 32 MB capacity card can record data at 1.3 MBps and offers a read speed of 5 MBps.
1 How many pictures will it store?
How many pictures will it store? It is the most commonly asked question from digital camera enthusiast but usually the question that is the most difficult to get a straight answer about. Well, considering I worked in the memory industry for over 7 years I can help clarify this perplexing question and do so unbiased as I have since changed industries.
The FujiFilm 256MB xD Picture Card, like most 256MB cards, will store on average 284 pictures when used with a 2 megapixel camera, 213 images when used with a 3 megapixel camera, 128 pictures when used with a 4 megapixel camera, 102 images when used with a 5 megapixel camera, and 80 pictures when used with a 6 megapixel camera. These numbers are based off the assumption that you are going to shoot your images at the highest quality JPEG setting available for the camera and understand that they are estimates and may be off by as much as 10 percent due to numerous factors including the complexity of the scene being shot and the compression algorithm used by your specific camera.
I truly hope this review was helpful to you in determining whether this card is the right capacity for your specific needs.
2 overpriced, slow
Check web resources. You will find that in all published timing
tests writes to xD cards are slower than writes to the best CF
cards despite xD cards costing 60% more. So forget about buying
xD cards because they are faster; they aren't.
I could find no independent verification that xD cards decrease
battery drain in a digital camera. Even if I were willing to
believe the claim, it is still far cheaper to purchase two or
three extra sets of rechargeable batteries and carry them with
me.
There is no good reason to buy an xD card.
3 Perfect for my needs and more
I bought this card in conjunction with my Fuji S5000 (which I HIGHLY recommend), and for the three months that I've been using them, they have done absolutely EVERYTHING that I could have wanted. I generally take photos at the 2MP (1600x1200) setting, which gives me reasonable photo size/clarity without taking huge amounts of space--each photo is between 550kb and 650kb, which allows me to take 410 at 2MP. I can get 550 on 1 MP, 325 on 3MP, and 173 on 6MP. On RAW 6MP, I can only get 37 though... this is what makes me consider getting a 512 card, or waiting for the upcoming 1GB card Fuji is developing. I've taken thousands of photos in the few months that I've owned this card, and none have been less than perfect as far as the card's impact on them.
The entire line of xD technology is revolutionary and is REALLY great. It has low battery-drain, it's REAL fast, and it's very versatile. Not to mention small--I'm able to have a rather small camera bag (6"h, 5"w, 3"d) partly because I don't have overly large, bulky cards and cases taking up more space than necessary.
Beyond its obvious application of excellent use in digital photos, I've actually used it like a removable mini-drive, similar to my pen-drive. However, as this card is larger than my 128MB jumpdrive, i was able to bring what i needed even when my jumpdrive was full. this is more useful than imaginable. i'm getting a Fujifilm DPC-UD1 xD USB Drive Reader and a second xD card, either 256 or 512MB to use it just like my jumpdrive. Again, this is EXCELLENT technology, and the BEST OPTION for new digitals.
4 Ritz is unconcerned about customer satisfaction!!!!
A couple of days ago I ordered a 256 MB XD card from Amazon.com and Ritz was the seller. I received an e-mail from Ritz stating that my debit card would be charged 88.95. Amazon quoted me a price of 82.00. The difference was $6.95 in shipping. When I got the item the invoice read that I was charged the $6.95 for shipping. I had already had prior contact with Amazon and they stated that I would not be charged for shipping. I called and spoke with "Johnson" about the matter. Johnson could have cared less that I was billed for shipping and was under the pre-tense that there would be no shipping charge. It was tough luck on my part as far as he was concerned. There are many companies that Amazon sponsors that specifically state that they do not offer free shipping, but Ritz does not state this when they are sponsored seller for Amazon, although they do state on their website that "in order for an order to qualify, it must be at least 100.00. After checking my debit card, I find I was not charged for shipping. Because of Johnson's unconcerned attitude regarding my problem, this will be the last item that I purchase from Ritz and I will see to it that I spread the word about what a caring company Ritz is not. It is bad business to burn bridges over $7.00. Amazon promised I would not be charged shipping and I was not. If looking for memory, use one of Amazon's other sponsered companies. They might care more about the cutomer.
Thank you,
Mark Jones
5 on a fujifil a303
FYI, it takes just over 10 minutes to download 256 MBs worth of pictures. Works just fine.
6 I got a spatula instead of the picture card I ordered!!!!!!
i cannot believe that whoever packed my order.gave me a kitchen spatula instead of a picture card!
7 Embrace Change
The first complaint I always read about these cards is "They're pricey". Pricey is paying $200 for a 4 Megabyte SIMM for my 486 PC back in the day! Technologically speaking these cards read and write faster and consume less power then any of their rivials (not to mention they are much smaller too!). The prices on these cards has already come down a decent amount in the past few months. It's no different than when SD cards were twice the price of CF now they are only about 50% more. You get what you pay for and if speed, capacity, low power consumption, and small size is what you're in need of, that's what you buy. Having used devices that use CF cards and SD cards I'll say that I appreciate the xD card and find them to be reasonably priced for their advantages over SD and CF. Fuji is a quality company and it's good to see they aren't giving up on R&D of newer media. That said... I hope xD cards stand the test of time and stick around long enough for me to wear out my Olympus C-5050!
8 Worked great -- for a month
The FujiFilm cameras seem like an exceptional value with excellent features, but how reliable is the xD card storage medium? I purchased the 256 MB card and it worked just a few weeks before it began to malfunction. When it was inserted into the Alladin kiosks, now at many stores, it had to be reinserted again and again. Then when the pics are printed they are too dark. Apparently one of the metalic contacts has become damaged. Upon close examination it appears far to easy for this to happen. Given the many removals and insertions that may be required using the xD card it seems less well constructed than rival cards. Sadly, this also impacts the usability of the camera. When I contact Fuji, I find a knee-deep phone menu with plenty of deadends, and the customary "due to unusual call volume ...." message. I've received no response to the email or voicemail messages I've left. I'd be less likely to buy a FujiFilm digital product after this experience.
9 big capacity and fast download speed, but pricey
Great storage capacity! 256MBytes is big enough to store up all the pictures I can shoot on trips away from home. For example, I can hold hundreds of shots taken at high resolution on my Fuji Finepix 3800 camera (200 shots taken at 3 MPixel resolution, or 640 shots taken at a still respectable 2 MPixel resolution). Pictures download rapidly from this card to my pc, much faster than from a smartmedia card I used in a previous camera. And of course xD cards are so much more compact than smartmedia cards.
On the downside, these xD card are so pricey! For example, Amazon sells 128 MBytes of card memory for about $60 in xD format, and just $35 in smartmedia format. So card format is definitely something to consider if you're still deciding on which digital camera to buy.
10 Fast performance
The xd picture card is a "new" type of flash memory. It's actually been around for a couple years in Japan, but only recently introduced on this side of the pacific. They are faster than other types of flash cards (CF, SD, etc.) and are also more power efficient. But I'm not sure if the real-world performance difference is really that different.
