Today I'm going to continue our tests of cards with the CompactFlash
interface. Last time we tested far not all models available on the market.
For example, such well-known manufacturer as Delkin Devices was disregarded,
and today it will be made up for :) Why is the second part arriving so
late? Everybody wants to get an idea on performance of not only flash cards
but also storage devices like IBM Microdrive. But an attempt to test them
failed as there were some problems with delivery. Whether they they are
temporary or IBM decided to phase out such a promising production is hard
to say. We haven't got microdrives yet, but it makes no sense to put off
the article further. Also note that I'm going to touch upon one more aspect
- adapters from different cards to CompactFlash. One such device will be
examined today, and in the near future we will cook up a review on other
similar adapters.
However strange that may be but this test wasn't noticed by suppliers
of memory cards. The first part lacked for cards from a lot of manufacturers,
for example, NCP, Delkin, Apacer, Lexar etc. Their suppliers have been
keeping silence to some reason, though the objective tests are needed for
them as well. The only companies that contacted me were SIVMA that offered
the products of Delkin Devices, and PatriArch with the TwinMOS cards.
The theoretical aspects and tests were given in the Part
I. That is why let's proceed directly to the tests. First come descriptions
of the tested devices and then diagrams and comments.
Delkin Devices
This is a grand-scale company with professional promoters. Its products
come with a life warranty for flash cards (in contrast to the competitors
who offer 5 years at most). Look at the packages of the cards:
It's mentioned there that any card of the eFilm family comes with a software
bundle priced at $150 on a 80mm CD. It means that if you need a 256MB card
the
company is like to pay YOU (such cards are cheaper than $150). The CD contains:
-
ixla Digital Camera Suite - for working with bulky collections of photos.
Apart from working with folders and making searches you can create calendars
and post cards using photos, develop special Web pages or presentations
and so on.
-
ixla Web Easy - this program is designed for creation of web sites, and
in this respect it is better than the previous one
-
ixla Explorer - this program is tailored for creation and work with collection
of images
-
Piccolo - one more program for working with collection of images
-
DJ2000 - for working with MP3 files: player, collection manager etc.
-
MP3-Wolf - a widely known program for searching audio files.
-
Labels, Cards & More.
-
Make Your Own ScreenSaver.
The software suite is really useful and handy. I didn't try to find out how
much it is indeed. But it's still pleasant that with a card
you get the longest warranty period. The only thing left is
to find out how such cards work.
The back side of the models is different: the 512 MB one says something about
the copyright of 1998, and the numbers are written differently.
Judging by the diagrams, the last figure of the number seems
to be a production date (year) - the smaller model looks excellently
in comparison to other modern cards, while the more capacious
one doesn't look like an up-to-date solution. Actually, the
512MB models are based on an aging controller. But soon Delkin
is going to launch new speedier cards of large sizes.
| eFilm SmartMedia CompactFlash Adapter |
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| Diagram |
Having taken for the test such an interesting device as Delkin Picture
Pad (it will soon be reviewed) I found a SmartMedia-CompactFlash adapter
in its accessory pack. So, I decided both to test the adapter and obtain
the results for the SmartMedia. Surely, this can't be considered a direct
comparison of the CF and SMC because we are dealing with the card+adapter
tandem. Soon I'm going to test other similar adapters of various companies
and not only for SmartMedia.
PQI
The cards are of the old series (Q1 and Q3). On the one hand, why to
test them? But on the other hand, such cards emerge on the secondary market.
Besides, it can be interesting from the historical standpoint to compare
cards produced by the same company but at different times.
Transcend
I have nothing to add - I just tested the 512MB card which I couldn't
fetch last time.
TwinMOS
Test results and comments
None of the cards was as "successful" as the Sandisk. The combination
of the adapter and SM card has the highest time, but this
sandwich shows only 4 ms compared to tens of ms of our outsider.
The old cards from PQI and the TwinMOS's solutions of 512
MB are quite slow. At the same time, the less sizable card
performs noticeably better which means that the cards use
different controllers and there will be more differences.
The eFilm 128 MB has broken into the leading group. The Transcend is soaring
above. The TwinMOS 512 MB shows a good read speed, while the
128 MB is markedly worse. The aged from PQI don't differ much
from each other, and can be compared only with the Digitex
Optimal 128MB. The Delkin eFilm 512 MB cards have the scores
lower than average but they were developed a year or two ago.
A similar speed is demonstrated by the SmartMedia - this format
does have some reserve, but it's not enough to stand against
the CompactFlash. The adapter is not to be blamed - according
to the standard such cards can provide up to 2 MB/s and we
have received even more.
Transcend remains in the leading positions. Although its speed is lower than
that of the tested 128 MB model or Ridata's cards (they almost
always show identical results) by nearly a hundred of KB/s,
but the following card falls behind by 170 KB/s. And who is
that next? Delkin eFilm 128 MB. Well, its wide popularity,
a long warranty period and rich software bundles do not hinder
the card from working fast. But the 512 MB cards have weaker
scores, - Delkin should make a transition to modern controllers
for such sizes as quickly as possible (especially because
the speed there is more important than in less capacious flash
cards). The TwinMOS models have interchanged their positions:
the 128 MB sample is slower is reading but it can compete
against the Kingston cards in recording operations, and the
larger-size model is able to catch up only with the PQI Hi-Speed.
I have no comments on the old solutions from PQI. As for the
SmartMedia, it would suit only those who don't need high speeds
and large sizes (I made sure of that yet when I made TIFF
shots on my Olympus C3020 :)).
Conclusion
Strangely enough but the leaders and outsiders of the first part are the
same :) The new-comers behave differently - I'm really pleased with the
Delkin eFilm 128 MB which provides a high speed, a long warranty period
and abundance of software, though its more sizable sibling looks inferior.
It's not a failure compared to the Sandisk, but compared to the junior
solution... Well, Delkin should release a new model as soon as possible.
The test results clearly indicate why the SmartMedia is dying away. Besides,
if you really need high speeds, you should go with the most up-to-date
flash cards.
Andrei Kozhemyako aka Korzh (korzh@ixbt.com)
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