CompactFlash vs. xD-Picture Card
Comparing 2 standards across 13 specifications. 13 key differences identified.
CompactFlash (CF) is the pioneering solid-state removable memory card standard introduced by SanDisk in 1994 and maintained by the CompactFlash Association (CFA). Based on a 50-pin Parallel ATA (PATA / IDE) interface, it dominated professional DSLR photography and industrial computing for two decades, scaling through CF+ specifications up to UDMA 7 (167 MB/s).
xD-Picture Card ('eXtreme Digital') is a proprietary flash memory card format developed by Olympus and Fujifilm in 2002 (manufactured by Toshiba and Samsung). Measuring 20.0 × 25.0 × 1.7 mm with 18 surface pads, it utilized a controllerless architecture where the host camera directly managed the raw NAND flash silicon, before being discontinued in 2010 in favor of SDHC.
Specification Comparison Table
13 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Introduction Year
|
1994 (SanDisk) | 2002 (superseded SmartMedia) |
|
Physical Dimensions
|
36.4 mm × 42.8 mm × 3.3 mm (Type I) / 5.0 mm (Type II) | 20.0 mm × 25.0 mm × 1.7 mm (Weight: ~2.8 g) |
|
Governing Body
|
CompactFlash Association (CFA) | — |
|
Physical Connector Form Factor
|
50-pin female socket receptacle (2 rows of 25 pins on 1.27 mm pitch) | — |
|
Interface Protocol
|
Parallel ATA (PATA) / True IDE Mode / PCMCIA Memory Mode | — |
|
Max Bus Speed Tier
|
UDMA 7 (167 MB/s @ 133 MHz PATA clock in CF 6.0) | — |
|
Operating Voltages
|
Dual voltage: 3.3V (low power) or 5.0V (legacy standard) | — |
|
Video Performance Guarantee
|
VPG-20 (20 MB/s) / VPG-65 (65 MB/s sustained write for Full HD / 4K) | — |
|
Governing Manufacturers
|
— | Olympus Corporation & Fujifilm (manufactured by Toshiba/Samsung) |
|
Pad Configuration
|
— | 18 gold-plated contact pads (bottom surface) |
|
Controller Architecture
|
— | Controllerless (Host camera CPU directly controls raw NAND flash) |
|
Variants & Capacities
|
— | Standard (16–512MB SLC), Type M (256MB–2GB MLC), Type H (256MB–2GB High Speed), Type M+ (up to 2GB) |
|
Nominal Operating Voltage
|
— | 3.3V nominal |