DailyTech - CFast to Replace CompactFlash in Next 18 to 24 Months

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Gadgets CFast to Replace CompactFlash in Next 18 to 24 Months
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - February 25, 2008 4:31 PM

21 comment(s) - last by mindless1.. on Feb 26 at 7:25 PM

CFast Memory Card (Source: News.com)

CFast memory cards to have data throughput of 375MB/sec

Photographers are always looking for more speed when it comes to digital cameras. They want all the speed they can get in the form of more speed in shooting burst images and faster viewing of images on the cameras LCD.

To facilitate faster speeds for burst shooting and the display of saved images on the camera will require a new storage format. Many current DSLR cameras use CompactFlash memory to store photos. CompactFlash uses interfaces that currently top out at 45MB/sec or "300x."

A new memory card format on the horizon called CFast will use the newer, much faster serial ATA interface allowing it to hit a maximum speed of 375MB/sec. This faster data throughput will make for increased performance in burst shooting modes and faster read times when you put the CFast card into a card reader to transfer to the computer.

The problem for users of existing DSLR cameras is that the CFast cards use a completely different buses, meaning there is no upgrade path to the faster CFast cards for current cameras using CompactFlash cards. The cards will use different shape connectors to prevent the accidental mixing of the formats.

The time frame for the new format to reach market is not clear. CNET quotes John Santoro, senior product marketing manager for Lexar as saying, “It's my feeling the camera companies already have this on their road maps and want to start working on prototype samples as soon as the specification is finalized." Santoro says he expects the format to hit the market in 18 to 24 months.

Chuck Westfall, technical adviser for Canon USA’s professional products marketing division told News.com, “It remains to be seen [if CFast catches on]. What drives the market is cost and performance issues and availability."

The new CFast memory format could see uses outside of digital cameras as well. CNET reports that current CompactFlash cards are used in all sorts of devices from Apache attack helicopters to Vegas slot machines.

DailyTech first reported on CFast format in July of 2007.

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*sigh*...marketing....

By Souka on 2/25/2008 4:58:47 PM , Rating: 5

CFast memory cards to have data throughput of 375MB/sec

At first read you're thinking "WOW..that's screeming fast"... but if you read on... "...called CFast will use the newer, much faster serial ATA interface allowing it to hit a maximum speed of 375MB/sec...."

So what is the ACTUAL READ/WRITE performance?

This is like saying a 5400rpm SATA3 drive can operate at 3.0 Gbit/s...which is over 300 MB/s...

RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By TomZ on 2/25/2008 5:15:32 PM , Rating: 1

Not really. The interface for CFast is 375MB/s which allows a camera to push out a number of photos to cache RAM in the CF card when the camera is operating in burst mode.

Sure, once the RAM cache is full then the camera would have to slow down to wait for the slower flash write operation. But the typical scenareo of taking digital photos in burst mode is to take a number of frames in burst mode, then stop and set up or wait for the next shot. This SATA interface would be perfect for that.

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RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By TomZ on 2/25/08, Rating: 0

RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By lennylim on 2/25/2008 5:28:17 PM , Rating: 2

Digital SLRs already have huge cache buffers (around 48MB on my 3 yr old camera). That's enough to buffer around 20 JPEG images for me. Pro cameras like the 1D Mark III can buffer over 100 shots in JPEG. I seriously doubt that memory manufacturers are going to add cache to flash memory. Purely my speculation based on available facts.

What I really want to know is what is the size of the card. That photo shows the connectors well, but not the overall size. If it is significantly larger than CF, there could be a CF to CFast adapter. But it will probably ensure that only huge pro cameras support CFast, and everyone else move to SDHC.

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RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By fic2 on 2/25/2008 6:17:19 PM , Rating: 2

That certainly makes a lot more sense - put the cache buffer in once (camera) then every memory card can use it instead of having buy memory cache+flash with every card.

I always love the "up to" and "as low as" phrases. they are a marketing dream since most consumers believe they will actually hit those speeds.

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RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By timmiser on 2/25/2008 7:05:59 PM , Rating: 2

I agree. The need for faster camera memory has very little to do with burst shooting. It would speed up the time the camera's internal cache could offload to the memory card but at around 20 pics per burst you'd have to be taking a very large number of burst shots in a row to see a benefit of this.

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RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By soydios on 2/25/2008 5:31:10 PM , Rating: 2

cameras don't push photos onto "cache RAM" on the memory card itself during burst mode. a 25MB RAW file will not fit into any cache of any storage device that small that exists today. the images are stored in the in-camera write buffer (typically RAM of some sort) in burst mode.

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RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By Oregonian2 on 2/25/2008 6:25:11 PM , Rating: 2

Exactly right. Very good comparison. The higher speed interface will be of benefit only if the speed of current CF cards has been limited by the interface and not by the flash IC chips themselves in terms of throughput. I don't expect non-trivial sized RAM cache in the flash card itself (like hard disks do). It's a "removable drive".

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RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By Samus on 2/25/2008 7:05:41 PM , Rating: 2

This technology is going to cost a fortune compared to the current CF prices.

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RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By psychobriggsy on 2/26/2008 5:50:43 AM , Rating: 2

It's the same flash, it's just the form factor and controller chip that have changed. Instead of being an IDE -> Flash interface, it's a (far more complex, but it's 2008) SATA -> Flash interface, hopefully with lots of logic to parallelise access to the flash chips to increase speeds.

But yeah, for the first year or two it'll be expensive.

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RE: *sigh*...marketing....

By djc208 on 2/26/2008 7:35:07 AM , Rating: 2

One thing that will help it is the new push of SSDs which are basically the same thing with a different form factor and connector so that should help from the development standpoint.

The biggest problem is going to be that this will probably only really be used by the high end market for a while yet which limits the volume. Most point and shoot cameras and even the pro-sumer SLRs don't really need this. They want large sizes and low cost, speed is usually a secondary concern.

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I wonder

By eye smite on 2/25/2008 4:41:29 PM , Rating: 4

How much of a rush will there be to buy new cameras for sake of using the new card. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

RE: I wonder

By noxipoo on 2/25/2008 4:50:33 PM , Rating: 2

if new models with this card costs about the same as before with much better burst, i'd say it would take off. like they said, it's all about price.

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RE: I wonder

By Bioniccrackmonk on 2/25/2008 4:55:09 PM , Rating: 2

Unfortunately, the newest form of a technology is never available at today's acceptable prices.

However, since this isn't a total revamp of a camera, just the bus used within and the memory card, it shouldn't be too much more then today's models. Hopefully.

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RE: I wonder

By fk49 on 2/25/2008 4:59:57 PM , Rating: 2

I would guess it will be a lot like the transition from PATA hard drives to SATA hard drives.

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RE: I wonder

By Oregonian2 on 2/25/2008 6:26:41 PM , Rating: 2

Depends if new cameras take both the old and new cards.

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What photographers look for

By lennylim on 2/25/2008 5:38:57 PM , Rating: 5

Card speed is actually not a major bottleneck right now. Sure, no one is going to complain if something faster comes along at the same price point (or even slightly more expensive), but let's take a look at what a photographer really wants:

1. More megapixels. Sad, but true. It's one number that is easily compared, even though it doesn't really mean that much with today's cameras. I list this first so that I can get it out of the way.

2. Less noise / higher ISO.

3. Better dynamic range.

4. Better lenses.

Most DSLRs can't even take advantage of existing top transfer rates.

My personal choice of what I really look for : talent or better skills. But Amazon doesn't list any.

No faster, just nonsense

By mindless1 on 2/26/2008 7:22:39 PM , Rating: 2

Current ATA bus does not bottleneck CF cards, 4.0 spec is 133MB/s not 45! Putting SATA on will not have a benefit at this time. Eventually yes, now no.

RE: No faster, just nonsense

By mindless1 on 2/26/2008 7:25:18 PM , Rating: 2

In other words the article is wrong it is not the interface that limits it, it's the limit of the flash chip and controller internal logical arrangment. Given faster flash chips and next gen ATA133 controllers the true limit to CF4 would be closer to 128MB/s.

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