Lexar vs. Sandisk vs. Viking NEED HELP!!

I am using a Nikon 990 that has been a great camera, but am planning an extensive vacation and my 64 mb card won't be enough. Can anyone suggest which way to go. I have a 64 mb Lexar in it now, and I believe they are about the best, but is Sandisk or Viking also a decent choice. Also, my card is a 4x; does the speed make a huge difference? As always, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me directly.

I have always used Sandisk until I got my CP5000 and I needed to get a 256MB card. I bought the SanDisk Ultra for $209. What a slow piece of junk. It was taking forever to review the pics in-camera. I returned it and bought the Viking 256MB card from buy.com for $114.95 and that thing is lightning fast!! Both read a write times are excellent.

You can go with Lexar, but they tend to be more expensive for the same performance.

Check out Phil's review of the CP5000 for performance. He tested out the Viking, a Lexar, and a Microdrive. The Viking was faster pretty much all the way through.

This may differ with the 990, but I am now a devoted Viking fan .

Teski

Jonathan Reed said:

I am using a Nikon 990 that has been a great camera, but am
planning an extensive vacation and my 64 mb card won't be enough.
Can anyone suggest which way to go. I have a 64 mb Lexar in it now,
and I believe they are about the best, but is Sandisk or Viking
also a decent choice. Also, my card is a 4x; does the speed make a
huge difference? As always, any advice would be greatly
appreciated. Please feel free to email me directly.

Click to expand...

I have a Viking and Kingston 128 meg card and both work pretty good. I wish I could recommend Viking but 6 months to get a 20.00 rebate has taken it's toll on my patience and my devotion to that company!

Go with the Viking only if they don't have a rebate!

Stephen

teski said:

You can go with Lexar, but they tend to be more expensive for the
same performance.

Check out Phil's review of the CP5000 for performance. He tested
out the Viking, a Lexar, and a Microdrive. The Viking was faster
pretty much all the way through.

This may differ with the 990, but I am now a devoted Viking fan .

Teski

Jonathan Reed said:

I am using a Nikon 990 that has been a great camera, but am
planning an extensive vacation and my 64 mb card won't be enough.
Can anyone suggest which way to go. I have a 64 mb Lexar in it now,
and I believe they are about the best, but is Sandisk or Viking
also a decent choice. Also, my card is a 4x; does the speed make a
huge difference? As always, any advice would be greatly
appreciated. Please feel free to email me directly.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--Thanks,StephenPro 90,G2,E-100RS

Most people know I'm a huge Viking fan. (The memory cards, not the football team...

I just bought 2 more 256m cards for my trip to Aruba, since I'm not bringing a laptop. I also have a 128. Amazon sells them for very reasonable prices and has a great return policy (30 days, no questions) if anything should not meet your expectations. Also, Amazon just added Free Shipping for anything over $99.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005AC8J/qx5-20

is the link for the 256 meg for $119. They also sell 128, 64, etc.... They're well reviewed and I haven't had a problem with them ever.

--My current camera: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005QJCU/qx5-20

read this! http://www.dpreview.com/articles/mediacompare/

Joanathan,

While Lexar IS a good FC, I and others on this forum believe that they are overpriced and overrated.

Although not huge, Speed does make a difference. Try to go with at least 8x. Different camaras seem to like different cards (i.e. type I vs type II, etc). 256Mb or greater seems to be a good size, especially if you shoot mostly raw.

I would definitely take Viking (and many others) over Sandisk.

Read the comparisons at http://www.robgalbraith.com/reports/2001_02_17_compactflash.html and http://www.dpreview.com/articles/mediacompare/ .

I hope this helps.

Regards... Tim

Jonathan Reed said:

I am using a Nikon 990 that has been a great camera, but am
planning an extensive vacation and my 64 mb card won't be enough.
Can anyone suggest which way to go. I have a 64 mb Lexar in it now,
and I believe they are about the best, but is Sandisk or Viking
also a decent choice. Also, my card is a 4x; does the speed make a
huge difference? As always, any advice would be greatly
appreciated. Please feel free to email me directly.

Click to expand...

I have a SanDisk, a Kingston, a Viking, and a Ridata 256MB CF type I memory cards. The Viking and the Ridata are fast. Check out the prices on the Ridata cards from http://www.powerinnumbers.com.au and http://www.MyDigitalDiscount.com . There prices are low, their customer service are outstanding and their delivery is fast.

Stephen

Jonathan Reed said:

I am using a Nikon 990 that has been a great camera, but am
planning an extensive vacation and my 64 mb card won't be enough.
Can anyone suggest which way to go. I have a 64 mb Lexar in it now,
and I believe they are about the best, but is Sandisk or Viking
also a decent choice. Also, my card is a 4x; does the speed make a
huge difference? As always, any advice would be greatly
appreciated. Please feel free to email me directly.

Click to expand...

Stephen,

what camera do you use them with? And did you measure the writing times, or this is just how you feel? Is the difference in speed significant?

I'm asking because with current rebate Kingston can (presumably) be had notably cheaper than Viking and Ridata, so I was wondering if the Viking/Ridata speed worth the extra.

Thanks,

Stephen Kovac Jr said:

I have a SanDisk, a Kingston, a Viking, and a Ridata 256MB CF type
I memory cards. The Viking and the Ridata are fast. Check out the
prices on the Ridata cards from http://www.powerinnumbers.com.au and
http://www.MyDigitalDiscount.com . There prices are low, their customer
service are outstanding and their delivery is fast.

Stephen

Click to expand...

----S. http://www.armscontrol.ru/photo/

I heard from a store clerk that say Viking's return rate is very high. Anyone experience it defeat on your Viking card?

I have four of them ranging from 64MB to 256MB. Never a problem and faster than most. Rumors, Rumors too many Rumors. What was he trying to sell you?

Tony Chang said:

I heard from a store clerk that say Viking's return rate is very
high. Anyone experience it defeat on your Viking card?

Click to expand...