What is a CF card?

CF card (Compact Flash) was first introduced by SanDisk in 1994. CF card has PCMCIA-ATA function and is compatible with it; CF card weighs only 14g and is only the size of a cardboard matchstick (43mm x 36m x m3.3mm). It is a solid-state product, which means that there are no moving parts when working. CF card uses flash memory technology and is a stable storage solution that does not require batteries to maintain the data stored in it. For the data stored, CF card is more secure and protective than traditional disk drives; it is 5 to 10 times more reliable than traditional disk drives and Type III PC cards, and the power consumption of CF card is only 5% of that of small disk drives. These excellent conditions make most digital cameras choose CF card as their preferred storage medium.

Although the CF card was originally a storage card using Flash Memory, with the development of CF cards, various non-Flash Memory cards using CF card specifications began to appear. CFA later developed the CF+ specification, which expanded the scope of CF cards to other non-Flash Memory fields, including other I/O devices and disk storage, as well as a Type II specification with updated physical specifications (IBM's Microdrive is a Type II CF card). The difference between Type II and the original Type I is that Type II is 5mm thick.

CF card Supports both 3.3 volts and 5 volts. Any CF card can work under these two voltages, which makes it have a wide range of uses. The compatibility of CF storage cards is also reflected in the fact that it combines the Flash Memory storage module with the controller, so that the external devices using CF cards can be made simpler, and different CF cards can be read and written with a single mechanism, without worrying about compatibility issues, especially when CF cards are upgraded, the compatibility of old devices can be guaranteed.

CF cards are supported by many platforms, including DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows CE, OS/2, Apple System 7, Linux and many UNIX versions.

As a worldwide storage industry standard, CF cards ensure the compatibility of CF products and backward compatibility of CF cards. As CF cards are increasingly widely used, manufacturers are actively improving CF card technology to promote the launch of a new generation of small, light, low-power advanced mobile devices, thereby improving work efficiency. CFA is headquartered in Palo Alto, Canada, and its members have the right to obtain CF cards, CF trademarks and CF technical details for free. CFA members include 3COM, Canon, Kodak, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Panasonic, Motorola, NEC, SanDisk, Seiko (Epson) and Socket Communications, etc. More than 120 companies. Moreover, the major digital camera manufacturers have established a special organization to develop CF products.

CF cards have the following disadvantages:

Limited capacity. Although the capacity is increasing exponentially, it still cannot catch up with the pixel development of digital cameras. Currently, products with more than 5 million pixels are the lowest specifications for popular high-end products, and the mainstream civilian market has also reached the 3 million pixel level. Under the ordinary civilian JPEG compression format, the capacity is acceptable, but the professional-level TIFF (RAW) format file still cannot hold a few image data. Large size
. Compared with other types of memory cards, CF cards are slightly larger, which also limits the size of digital cameras using CF cards. Therefore, most of the popular ultra-thin digital cameras now abandon CF cards and use SD cards with a smaller size.
Performance limitation. The operating temperature of CF cards is generally 0-40 degrees Celsius. Therefore, in an environment below 0 degrees, digital cameras can basically be said to become "waste". Even professional cameras are not immune. Although the current military CF card has a cold resistance of -40 degrees Celsius, it is still unknown when it will be popularized and when the price will drop to a level that ordinary people can afford.