Kingston 8GB Ultimate 266x CompactFlash Card Review

Kingston Ultimate CompactFlash Cards Reach 266x

With Digital SLR cameras coming down in price, many consumers are looking at these cameras versus the old point and shoot style. Many of the new digital SLR cameras don’t come with a memory card, so consumers purchasing a SLR camera will also need to pick up a memory card. Canon and Nikon are the leaders in the digital SLR camera revolution and both use CompactFlash memory cards in the majority of their high-end cameras. All Canon digital SLR cameras use Compact Flash, as do select Nikon cameras like the D200 and D300. Legit Reviews recently picked up the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, which is a 10.1 Megapixel camera that could be found for under $500 just before the holiday season. Upgrading from a 5 Megapixel point and shoot camera from 2004 (Canon Powershot S60) to a 10.1 Megapixel digital SLR camera was a big change and the need for a larger memory card was a must.

After picking up the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi camera ($579), Canon Speedlite 430EX flash ($229), Canon EF-S 17-85MM f4-5.6 IS USM lens ($389)and Canon 200EG Deluxe Photo Backpack ($32), we were well on our way to putting together a solid enthusiast camera. The only thing left that we needed was a solid memory card to complete our new camera. Kingston Technology offers CompactFlash in three speed grades; CompactFlash, CompactFlash Elite Pro and CompactFlash Ultimate. The standard Kingston CompactFlash series is aimed at low-cost and amateurs. Kingston doesn’t state the speed of their standard series on there site, but we asked and were told that it was 10x. The Kingston CompactFlash Elite Pro series is rated at 133x and is aimed at enthusiasts and professionals. With 25MB/sec. read and 20MB/sec. write speeds the CompactFlash Elite Pro series will be more than enough for most consumers. The fastest CompactFlash series that Kingston offers is rightly named Ultimate. With 45MB/sec. read and 40MB/sec. write speeds these cards are some of the fastest on the market and rival the SanDisk Extreme IV series that offer read/write up to 40MB/sec.

Since speed and performance is something we crave here at Legit Reviews we picked up the 8GB Kingston CompactFlash Ultimate card. At 266X, this card should have more than enough speed and would give us improved storage capacity over our current 2GB and 4GB CompactFlash memory cards. At $175, the Kingston 8GB Ultimate 266X CompactFlash Card is certainly not the lowest price card on the market, but what did you expect for the fastest card available from Kingston? Our camera and current accessories already add up to over $1200 plus shipping, so what is another $175! � Many high-end digital cameras start for more than this, so if you are interested in getting a digital SLR camera, get ready to open your pocket book.

The Kingston 8GB Ultimate 266X CompactFlash card offers an amazing minimum sustained write speed rating of 266X, making it one of the fastest cards to support high-end digital cameras and devices. With transfer rates of 45MB/sec. read and 40MB/sec. write, you can capture more continuous, high resolution images in less time with the CompactFlash Ultimate than traditional CompactFlash memory cards. For added peace of mind, CompactFlash Ultimate comes with a bonus download for data recovery software from MediaRECOVER, which is a $30 value. With MediaRECOVER, you can recover lost or deleted files and restore corrupt files on Windows or Mac systems.

Features/Specifications:

• Capacities 2GB, 4GB, 8GB
• Dimensions 1.43″ x 1.68″ x 0.13″ (36.4 mm x 42.8 mm x 3.3 mm) CF Type I
• Speed Rating 45MB/sec read, 40MB/sec write
• Recovery Utility data recovery software download from MediaRECOVER. Windows/Mac compatible
• Operating Temperature 32 F to 140 F (0 C to 60 C
• Storage Temperature -4 F to 185 F (-20 C to 85 C)
• Standardized complies with CompactFlash Association specification standards
• Easy plug-and-play
• Economical autosleep mode preserves system battery life
• Guaranteed lifetime warranty