Customer Reviews

Lexar Media 512 MB 40X CompactFlash Pro

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a high-quality product aimed at the photography professional or serious amateur. It's got the high capacity and the speed to work with high-end digital cameras, featuring 40x access (rated just like a CD-ROM, each 1x is 150K/second throughput) and WA (Write Acceleration) technology.

The card's capacity from my Canon 10D is about 200 images, taken at Large-Fine settings (3072 x 2048). That's more than ample for most users; Lexar makes a 1GB version too if that's not enough. The 10D can burst up to 9 images to its internal memory before it has to write them to the CF. When I take 9 in a row (approx. 3 seconds), my camera is busy for another couple of seconds before I can burst another 9. 9 images in 5 seconds is a pretty good rate; I'd challenge a film camera to do better.

What really makes the card top notch is what comes with it. Included in the pack is a USB reader (compatible with any USB-enabled CF card) and Lexar's ImageRestore software (this version is only compatible with Lexar media, they sell a $40 retail version that is compatible with non-Lexar cards). Make sure you copy the setup program from the CF card to your computer when you first get it. The ImageRestore program will examine the memory in the card for image formats (JPG and TIFF, I believe; I don't think it can work with raw formats) and put them on your computer's hard drive. This proved to be a day-saver when I accidentally deleted some images (*thought* I was just clearing the DPOF settings...).

If you do happen to delete some images, stop taking pictures immediately! (Deletion doesn't remove the data, it just marks the space that it occupies in the card as available--if you keep taking pictures you could be overwriting the space that still has your image data.) Run the ImageRestore program and it will put all images that it finds in a directory that you can browse. It would be nice if it either didn't put the non-deleted images on your hard drive or restored images that you selected to the CF card, but I'm happy enough to get the pictures back that it's a minor nitpick at best.

Lexar also has a live technical support option on their website that was extremely helpful. I was not able to get the ImageRestore program to find the card and got on the support chat. The problem was that the card and reader were installed using the Windows-provided USB Mass Storage Device drivers. Once the tech support person told me that this had to be changed to the Lexar-provided JumpShot device driver (open Device Manager, right-click on USB Mass Storage Device, Properties, Driver tab, Update Driver..., Next, Display a list of known drivers..., choose the JumpShot driver, then finish the wizard--you'll have to confirm that you really want to install an unsigned driver), it worked great.

I've used this card in my camera, a PCMCIA adapter, the included USB adapter, and my HP Photosmart printer, and had no compatibility or other problems.

All in all, this is a good choice for a high-speed, high-capacity CF card. When considered that it comes with a reader and the ImageRestore software, and in light of my excellent experience with their tech support, I will definitely recommend Lexar.

If your camera is fast and supports high detail, you need at least the 512mb card as fast as the Lexar. I have been using this compact flash card with the Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera and have had nothing but good results. Also use with the HP 7350 Photo card reader, and again, good results.

Seems like a no-brainer.

for those who have this card and have had issues with your Nikon cameras.
1- the problem on curruption was with the implementation of WA (write acceleration)tech in the card. this was an oops! on the part of lexar. contact lexar during their normal hours and if you don't get through they will call you back. you will return your card to them and it will be returned fast. they do a firmware upgrade and then all is well. unfortunately it has to be done there. i have had 2 cards done and the turnaround is pretty quick.
2- as to the 24hr live support. after there normal hours it is live chat support on the web. and yes it is a real person. it may take a little time to connect. sort of like being on hold.

I bought this for my Canon Digital Rebel and Powershot S400 cameras, and it works great. If you're using an old slow card, and not a high-speed Lexar or Sandisk Ultra card, you can notice the difference in upgrading to a faster card! If you take photos in rapid succession, the write time is much faster, and maybe even battery life is longer since the camera spends less time writing. (Of course, the quality of your photos will remain exactly the same.)

However, the USB card reader that comes with this Lexar card is NOT compatible with other brands of flash cards! It works fine with the Lexar card, but DOES NOT WORK with other brands such as my Sandisk or Canon cards. Keep in mind that if you have a USB 2.0 port, and a USB 2.0 device, your photos will transmit from your camera to your computer MUCH faster. (And most digital cameras are still the older USB 1.1, so a card reader makes a huge difference in transfer time.)

I bought one of these cards to use in my Nikon Coolpix 5700 camera. There is room for 209 photos (2560 x 1920 pixels) in 1:4 JPEG format or 34 photos in TIFF format.

I am delighted with this card and will probably purchase another one. No regrets from this satisfied customer.

I've been using my 512 meg 40X Lexar card in my Canon Digital Rebel for some time now. I have found the speed of this card is much faster in both saving and downloading images compared to a standard SanDisk card. Speed is comparable to the SanDisk UltraII card which is very similar to the Lexar 40X. The included USB cable is only for Lexar cards, but it's a really nice, compact unit. Be careful to download the Image Rescue software from the card before you erase the card (the software is on the flash card).
When taking burst mode shots (2.5 fps) the save time is easily twice as fast as a standard card. As with anything, what you are taking a picture of and the settings on the camera will affect how much data is being written, and thus how fast it is perceived by the user.
Not all cameras can take full advantage of the speed, so check with Lexar or your camera maker to make sure the camera itself can write data this fast. Even if your camera can't take full advantage of the speed, it is really nice to be able to copy images to your computer so much faster than regular flash using the jump cable.

I am pleased with my Lexar 40X 512MB compact flash (CF) card, especially because it works fine in my Fujifilm S7000 (that is, it doesn't drain the batteries like I've heard other CF cards do). However, I was disappointed to detect no speed improvement over my other 512MB card, a SimpleTech. (Note, this could be due to camera limitations or built-in delays.)

It's nice that the Lexar 512MB WA 40X CF card comes with both a USB reader and rescue software (it's on the CF when you get it), this makes it an even better value.

I would buy another if I needed more CF storage.

Bought this for my Nikon D100. Works great just like my other Lexar cards. I'll probably buy another Lexar 40X 512MB WA unless I move up to their 1GB instead.

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 Lexar Media 512MB 40X CompactFlash Pro, like most 512MB cards, will store on average 568 pictures when used with a 2 megapixel camera, 426 images when used with a 3 megapixel camera, 256 pictures when used with a 4 megapixel camera, 204 images when used with a 5 megapixel camera, and 160 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 512MB card is the right capacity for your specific needs.

We recently went on a trip to Turkey and Greece and took 2 of these cards for our week long trip to use in our Coolpix 5700. It was great. I used the quality setting such that I could get just over 200 pictures per card. Each night I'd scan through our pictures, delete the blurry ones and be ready for the next day. I'm quite pleased with this card - didn't have any troubles whatsoever. Since the trip we've deleted the photos and moved them to cds and are busy making new pictures.