What is CompactFlash Card (CF Card)?

CompactFlash card (CF card) is a flash memory storage device used mainly in portable electronic devices such as computers and cameras. CF Card works as a non-volatile technology (flash memory) and was originally developed for Intel’s NOR-based flash memory but recently switched to NAND technology. In this article, we will learn about CF cards, types, technical specifications, and features.

A CompactFlash (CF) card is a memory card format developed and used in many current cameras. The original CompactFlash card was made with NOR flash memory. The advantage of a CF card is to execute programs from flash rather than being transferred into a device’s system random access memory (RAM). CompactFlash became one of the most successful of the early memory card formats. Subsequent formats, such as MMC/SD, various Memory Stick formats, and xD-Picture Card offered tight competition. Most of these cards are smaller than CompactFlash as they offer comparable capacity and speed. Proprietary memory card formats for use in professional audio and video, such as P2 and SxS, are faster, but physically larger and more costly.

• CF cards work via 50-pin holes connecting to a camera or CF card reader.
• The main downside of using CF cards rather than portable storage cards is these pins because all 50 pins must line up exactly, they can sometimes bend and require maintenance on your camera or card reader.
• CF cards are easy to use. All you need to do is format and record the card.
• They use FAT32 or exFAT formatting and are suitable for both Windows and Apple devices.

Below are some types of CompactFlash card

• CF 4.1a: Products are generally available, with sequential access rates of up to 90 megabytes per second.
• CF 5.0: Products have more efficient commands and support TRIM operations, ensuring steady performance.
• CF 6.0: It has Ultra Direct Mode Access 7 (UDMA 7), which allows bus speeds of up to 167 MBps and supports the Sanitize command.

• CF cards use the Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) interface, measure 42.8 mm by 36.4 mm (about the size of a matchbook), and can store up to 512 gigabytes (GB).
• CompactFlash cards can switch between 3.3V and 5V operation and support both. This varies from other small form factor flash memories, which are limited to 1V operation.
• SanDisk is one of the world’s largest suppliers of CF cards, although it has plenty of competition.

• Solid structure: CF card is also available in solid states. Compared to magnetic storage disks, CF card provides additional user data safety.
• Error Correction/Read/Write: CF card has a general read and write operation to power the CompactFlash at startup. Errors are verified and recovered in the CompactFlash card.
• Speed: The normal speed of a CompactFlash card is up to 150 kbps. However, each card contains an embedded speed limit.
• Cryptographic features: CompactFlash Card (CF card) has no built-in cryptography or digital rights management (DRM) features.

CF cards are also available with higher storage capacity. CF cards are so sensitive to electrostatic discharge damage, which occurs when electronic cards or components are handled improperly, as a result of complete failures.

Is a CF card better than an SD?

CF cards offer faster data transfer speeds with high capacity but SD cards are more compatible and easily available to use.

What is the lifespan of a CF card?

They are usually rated for 500 to 3,000 write/erase cycles per block.

What is the transfer speed of a CF card?

CF cards had a typical read/write speed of around 133x (around 20 MB/s), however current CF cards can achieve speeds of up to 160MB/s.

Why is CompactFlash so expensive?

CompactFlash is built with fast read and write speeds and is excellent for data storage. They are less prone to damage.