XQD and CF Questions

[BuckSkin]

Some questions were brought up on another site about XQD cards.

This got me curious; so, I did some searching and found that useful information about XQD cards and what they will and will not fit is, so far as I have been able to find, nonexistent.

Wikipedia says they are not backwards compatible with CF; however, I have seen reference where some have abandoned using XQD in preference to CF.

Will an XQD card fit in a CF slot and is the pin-out the same ?(this question may seem dumb if you already know the answer)

I have looked at dozens of XQD cards for sale and none of them picture the business end of the card = the electrical contacts/connections.

Amazon shows some Sony XQD cards that appear to have two connecting orientations = an arrow on the short side and also an arrow on the long side.

You can see why someone who has never had any experience whatsoever with an XQD card might get somewhat confused.

 

[Joeseph]

I hadn't heard of the XQD format, but am familiar with both CF and CFexpress cards and can verify that CF cards will not fit a CFexpress slot & vice versa.
From what I can see, the CFexpress cards use the XQD form factor (i.e. size & number of pins) so reasonable to say XQD & CF are not interchangeable.

I can take some photos of my cards when I get home...

 

[Joeseph]

actually had trouble finding a CF card so pulled one out of an old router


CF is the Cisco one on the left:



Pin socket locations on the CF on the left - completely different to the CFexpress on the right.

 

[BuckSkin]

I can take some photos of my cards ...

Thanks for taking the time and trouble; those are the first comparison photos I have seen.

There is a lot more difference than I imagined.

 

[Joeseph]

no problem. one other difference you can't see from the photos - the price!

when CF were introduced they were very expensive, and thankfully that's dropped. The CFexpress are higher in price currently, May drop over time but I'm not holding my breath!

 

[Mr Chodes]

CF-E are cheap! Unless you are comparing to slow SD.
CF-A Type A (for Sony) are more expensive then CF-E Type B (for Canon).

Some of my card buying history:

SD
November 2021 Prograde SDXC 128GB V90 $199
December 2021 Prograde SDXC 128GB V90 $199

CF
July 2018 Sandisk 128GB CF Over $500

Current SD Prices:
Sandisk V90 128GB $280 ($240 but unsure if legit)
Prograde V90 128GB $220
Angelbird V60 128GB $114 256GB $171 512GB $379

CF-E Type A
June 2024 Pergear Prime 1TB $656
June 2024 Holman 512GB $485
July 2023 Pergear Prime 260GB $209

 

[Sincity]

Another difference is the interface to the computer/camera. Compact Flash uses a PATA or parallel ATA connection. If you remember Windows from the 1990s they had the same connection where 40 data lines were used to move data. And the new stuff is SATA or serial ATA.. So memory card technology moves at the speed of hard drives or solid state drives.

 

[Bobtographer]

CF-E Type B (for Canon).

CFe Type B are used by more than just Canon