What is a 133X CF Card？are CF cards better than SD？

133X CompactFlash cards are perfectly compatible with old cameras and machines. These cards are the basic ones among CF families, thus, numerous cameras such as Sony, Nikon, and Canon work well with them. Although this type is not the fastest one, it is the most stable solution for smooth recording or data loading. The max capacity for 133X CF card is up to 32GB, it is large enough to take wedding photos. Sometimes, users take CF cards as a delegation of professional gadget.

CF storage cards have consumer and industrial type. In consumer market, CF memory cards are mainly for DSLR cameras to take high resolution images. Furthermore, photographers prefer using them to do video recording in high speed. Besides it, old PDA and music players are also supporting this card. While if you use them in industrial area, they can work with CNC machines. What’s more, they are available in some mission-critical environments. For instance, you may apply these cards in aerospace, medical, and automotive equipment. Unlike cameras, industrial devices are not equipping with CF slot. Therefore, you need use Compact Flash reader to be in conjunction. Especially for data logging and machine automation, compact flash cards are durable.

CF 133X cards are using MLC NAND flash, the loaded data is permanent when the power is off. Because flash is nonvolatile memory, the data will not vanish based on this structure. The best advantage of this small digital gadget is with no moving mechanical parts and can work with no battery. Additionally, it is under IDE protocol. The connection port is 50pins, therefore, it can do direct contact with Cameras and some gaming devices. Otherwise, you need a card reader to connect it. Also, you’d better format it when you use the card for the first time in case any system files left from manufacturer.

The storage we are using here is digital one, it consists of mechanical components and software to achieve data store. Therefore, it has some chances to get problems. It may be a nightmare if your CF card fails to read in your camera or PC, it is not hard to resolve if you know the core reason. Firstly, we can check the physical connection. As there are 50 pins to do external connection, the card will be unreadable if any pins get bend. To fix this issue, we just need a small screwdriver to pin back. Secondly, we can check if the software gets infected with virus, the card can work again when the firmware gets updating. Finally, it may be the compatibility issues. If you use wrong card reader or device, you possibly fail to identify the CF camera card.

The lifetime of storage card is related to the flash type, usage, and storing way. Normally SLC flash can stand over 100,000 write/erase cycles, in other words, it can work all the time as if you do not proceed one full cycle. It is common to find one CF memory card lasting for 10 years or more.