Customer Reviews

Transcend 8 GB 133x CompactFlash Memory Card TS8GCF133

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This card is speedy enough for my tastes. Shooting w/ my Nikon D70s in burst mode: I can record 3fps (frames per second) in raw for the first four shots and average 1.5 sec between shots thereafter (by comparison, my extreme IV 2 GB card gets 5 shots off at 3fps and averages 1.0 sec between additional shots). If I shoot with the transcend card in the maximum jpeg setting the results are even better: 3fps for the first 11 shots and 0.9 sec between shots thereafter.

I was able to read 786mb off the card in 48sec (51sec with extreme IV) using my sandisk extreme usb reader. Writing 786mb to the card from my computer (which I never do) was, however, slow: 105sec compared to 57sec with extreme IV.

First, I am not an expert on compact flash cards. However, I use them in my photogrpahic equipment, such as a Nikon D300. I normally use the SanDisk Extreme III CF. I am concerned with two time measurements. The first is how long the CF card takes to record the image after I press the shutter release. The second is how long it takes to download the contents of my CF card to my computer using a card reader.

I bought the Transcend because the record times appear to be very similar to the SanDisk, and I thought I could save some money. The Trascend was less than half of the price.

The Transcend has great recording times. No complaints there. But to download data from the Transcend to my computer using a card reader takes about 8 - 10 x as long as the SanDisk. I don't know why, nor do I really care.

If money is the driving factor in your purchase, and you don't care about download times, then buy the Transcend. If time is money or if you can't wait 45 - 60 minutes to download 4 GB of data from the disk to your computer via a card reader, buy the SanDisk.

This card is not 133x (Class 20). It is Class 4 at best. Now I see how they can sell it so cheap.

I suspected something was wrong at first when I was recording paltry 640x480 video on my Canon 5D.. This is a 2MB/s task.. I got the little 'buffer filling' warning on the right hand side of the display, indicating the card was not keeping up with the bit stream! What the heck!? This is ridiculous for x480. A good rule of thumb for compressed video is 2Mb/s for 480P, 4Mb/s for 720P, 8Mb/s for 1080P. Find those numbers any number of places. 133x should give me 20MB/s+

So, sick that I had just wasted my money, I plugged the CF to my PC and ran CrystalDiskMark with a 50MB file size, representative of a RAW+JPEG write. To my shock and horror, the card is a CLASS 4! (26x). Ran it again simulating a video stream, same result. Now I understood why the card could not keep up with my Canon DSLR.

I posted the picture proof in the 'customer images' go check it out. If you have an older camera or only need x480 this card would work; but will you patronize a company that lies to you?
Unfortunately, shipping is more than the cost of the card; I'll keep this as an emergency backup for when I forget my quality card.

Monsterous amount of space, FAST and INEXPENSIVE. I have used these cards, yes I have more then one and I have used them in Nikon D200, Olympus Camedia 8080 and others and it comes close to many of the SanDisk Extreme III cards in speed and beats some others. Regardless of that you have the ability to take thousands of photos on one card and for $30 give or take when you search for it online. I recommend it and if you get via Amazon you usually have the option to return it if you have problems. Always check the return policies where ever you purchase items, especially through other sellers whom do not often have a similar easy and wide ranging return policy like amazon.

I bought this card in August of 2008 tempted by the price and desire for a larger card for my Canon 40D. I have used off-brands before without incident and currently use a 4gb card from A-Data. My second outing with this card was last weekend on a vacation to the beach and when I hit around 250 shots I started to get periodic pictures that would come back as black screens. This happened about one ever twenty-five shots. Then I started to get errors that the card could not be read or there was no card loaded. I then switched back to my old card for the balance of the trip. I was able to pull all of the photos off of the card later, but won't use it again. I was surprised at how fast it failed, and I am sure it is not the case on every card, but because of this I won't buy this brand again.

Not a reliable card.
Sometimes captures, sometimes doesn't (Canon XTI)
Error after transfer of pics to PC stating "error with CF card" from camera.
Tried to format in camera, no go
Tried in PC - failed
Tried again in camera - success - undependable!

I purchased a couple of these cards in august. Since then, i have had them replaced twice by the seller and now again i have them ready to go back to the manufacturer. The cards seem to be very unstable. This causes the cards to lose their File allocation table in the middle of a file copy. This has happened once inside the camer, and twice each on the computer CF reader. While they work, they work well. None the less, after the last Failure each, and after using file recovery software to retrieve most of my data (images only) i cant format either card any longer.
-
I can appreciate Transcend providing such cards at a lower cost for us budget minded users, but quality must be kept high. at this point i cant recommend this product.

For my purposes (shooting with a Canon XTi), this card is fast enough for my purposes; transferring 800 photos can take a while, but it's not like I have to do it that often.

However, I find that it's just not reliable enough - every now and again, whatever devices (various card readers and cameras) I'm using with the card will be unable recognize it until power cycled or reseated. I've lost quite a few photos from times I've turned the camera on and not realized that it couldn't find the card until the photo opportunity had expired.

Not only is losing those shots unacceptable, but it fills me with fear as to whether one day I'll suddenly be unable to access the card. I have learned my lesson.

UPDATE: The card failed one day after writing this review.

Transcend TS8GCF133 8GB 133x Ultra Speed Compact Flash Card

I bought this for my Canon Digital Rebel XTi SLR. I previously used a Sandisk Ultra II 1GB card and needed extra storage. Instead of spending almost the same amount on an Ultra II 4GB or an Extreme III 2GB/4GB, I read the reviews about this card and decided to purchase it. Could not be happier. The recording times are faster than the Ultra II, and speeds copying to the PC through a card reader is more than adequate. Might pick up another as a backup.

After much searching to find a card and adapter to work in the COMAND Sysytem in my 2010 Benz, I gave this a try. I bought it along with an 8gb Transcend CF Card. They worked flawlessly. Others have reported many problems trying to get any of these things to work in the COMAND system. I loaded it up with 7.5 gb of music (which is its full capacity) and now I never have to listen to another commercial on radio. MB wants 100 bucks for the adapter and another 40 for a 2 gb card. This combo came out to less than 40 bucks. Highly recommend....