SanDisk vs. Delkin: Almost Double The Price - Why?

[Jay Gould]

The SanDisk 16GB Extreme Pro CF90 Compact Flash Memory Card is selling at Adorama and B&H for $86.95.

The Delkin 16GB Compact Flash 700x Memory Card, 105MB/s Read Speed, 67MB/s Write Speed, Slow Motion Approved Delkin 16GB Compact Flash 700x Memory Card, 105MB/s Read Speed, 67MB/s Write Speed, Slow Motion Approved is selling at both companies for $46.95.

The SanDisk 32 is $138.95 compared to the Delkin 32 at $79.95.

Is the SanDisk worth almost double the price?

Your thoughts?

[arash_hazeghi]

The advertised speed of a memory card often does not match its real world performance. SanDisk extreme Pro cards have the highest standard in terms of ruggedness and reliability. They have a lower probability of failure in harsh conditions.

Rob Galbraith has a nice page that compares real world performance of various CF cards:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/cam...cid=6007-12452

[Jay Gould]

Memory Card........................ Size............. JPEG.......... RAW............... Burst

SanDisk Extreme Pro 16GB CF I 16GB............ 44.9MB/s.... 58.6MB/.......... 56

Delkin 700X 16GB CF I............ 16GB............ 31.4MB/s.... 36.4MB/.......... 36


That might explain some of the price difference; guess I wait for the next SanDisk sale!!

Thanks.

[David Stephens]

I tried a 32GB Delkin 700x and it's not particularly fast AND, more importantly, when I try to put it in my card reader it often acts as if the holes are not aligning with the pins in the reader. I don't force it and usually end up putting a reliable card in and out a few times and then ultimately getting the Delkin to slide in when carefully aligned. I don't have a micrometer, but the casing seems every so slightly smaller than my other cards. I'll probably retire this card and right off my $90 investment.

[fabiobernardino]

Flash memory chips can be SLC or MLC. I believe the top cards use SLC chips while "cheaper" cards use MLC memory chips.
SLC - single-level cell
MLC - multi-level cell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_cell


Probably more than you would like to know:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory#NAND_flash

In short, SLC memory cards have similar read/write speeds (Sandisk Ultra, Extreme, ...) while MLC cards have a much hirger READ speed.

Delkin seems to have a SLC card (CombatFlash).

I also just bought a Delkin 700x 32GB and it performs well (Canon 7D). It's a good performance/price ratio. My other cards nowadays are Transcend 400x and 600x which have a good price/quality/performance. I find them similar to Delkin's. Delkin a little faster while downloading.

My 0.02.

[arash_hazeghi]

Flash memory chips can be SLC or MLC. I believe the top cards use SLC chips while "cheaper" cards use MLC memory chips.
SLC - single-level cell
MLC - multi-level cell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_cell


Probably more than you would like to know:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory#NAND_flash

In short, SLC memory cards have similar read/write speeds (Sandisk Ultra, Extreme, ...) while MLC cards have a much hirger READ speed.

Delkin seems to have a SLC card (CombatFlash).

I also just bought a Delkin 700x 32GB and it performs well (Canon 7D). It's a good performance/price ratio. My other cards nowadays are Transcend 400x and 600x which have a good price/quality/performance. I find them similar to Delkin's. Delkin a little faster while downloading.

My 0.02.

All consumer flash memory that is fabricated today is MLC. Some are 2 bits per cell some are 3 or 4 bits per cell.

The NAND FLASH itself in these cards are fabricated by the same company. (SanDisk/Toshiba or Micron) what makes the difference is the peripheral circuit and the memory controller. The memory cell architecture and its controller circuit determine the actual read/write bandwidth.

SanDisk is a semiconductor company that develops NAND technology and fabricate it themselves with Toshiba. Delkin is a just a reseller they buy their FLASH form others and package it.

[Grady Weed]

I use the Lexar Pro series CF cards, for 10 years now, with no issues, failures etc. Maybe not the fastest to some, but reliable. Anybody else use them with good performance? Just a moment; I have 2 8gig 133x Lexar Pro CF's with Write Acceleration, 2 2gig 133x Lexar Pro CF's with Write Acceleration & 3 ScanDisk Ultra ll 2 gig CF cards. All work flawslessly. In fact my ScanDisk are rarely used only because I primarily use the Lexar 8 gig cards in my 5D and MK2n most of the time for wildlife and landscapes, which the landscapes never mover obviously. But for wildlife and fast moving diving birds like sea ducks and loons, no problem.

Just my 2 cents here. Hope I did not hijack the thread.