Overview of CF card features:
This storage medium uses flash memory technology to permanently store information without the need for power. It is fast and lightweight, with a volume size of 42.8＊36.4＊3.3mm (42.8＊36.4＊5mm for TYPE 2), and operates at any voltage between 3.3V and 5V, enhancing compatibility in terms of use, with capacities ranging from 4 megabytes in the early days to the current maximum of 1G. The CF card uses a controller interface that can be mounted directly to the chip, with no drive and no moving This makes it a versatile storage system. This portable controller makes CF cards compatible with a wide range of platforms, such as DOS, Windows, OS/2, Mac, and UNIX. CF cards are also supported by most operating systems and devices that support the PCMCIA ATA standard, and are easily upgradable with a 50-pin interface.
Compatibility with CF cards is available on most Windows CE devices today. TRGpro, a Palm OS company, also offers a backside CF socket to accommodate many different CF modules.
Although more costly than traditional hard disks, CF cards have their own advantages. First of all, CF cards do not come with a drive and have no moving parts, making mechanical failure highly unlikely and data more secure. Secondly, CF cards consume less power, only 5% of an ordinary hard disk. In addition, CF card is strong and durable, 3 meters high to the ground without problems; the use of more than 100 years can also ensure that the data intact. The disadvantage of CF card is that the CF module is not interchangeable between the device and the installed program, and cannot run the program directly. Programs stored on CF cards have to be transferred into RAM before they can be executed, which affects speed.
The CFA then released the CF II standard, which increased the volume space of the CF card and further improved the electrical performance of the CF.
II. CF cards have the following disadvantages:
1. Limited capacity. Although the capacity is increasing exponentially, it still can't catch up with the pixel development of digital cameras. The current 5 megapixels or more is already a popular minimum specification for high-end products, while the mainstream civilian market has also reached 3 megapixels level. The JPEG compression format for general civilian use has a manageable capacity, but the professional-grade TIFF (RAW) format files still can't hold more than a few image data.
2. Large size. Compared with other types of memory cards, CF cards are slightly larger, which also limits the size of digital cameras that use CF cards, so most of the popular ultra-thin digital cameras have abandoned CF cards in favor of the more compact SD cards.
3. Performance limitations: The operating temperature of CF cards is generally 0-40 degrees Celsius. Therefore, if the temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius, the digital camera can be said to have become a "waste". Even the professional machine can not be spared. Although the current military CF card cold ability to reach -40 degrees Celsius, but when the popularity of when the price fell to the ordinary people can afford the point is not known.
Three, CF card applications:
CF card early applications in the early PDA and digital cameras, and later gradually expanded to MP3 players, GPS (Global Positioning System) devices, laptop computers, because of the compatibility of a variety of operating systems and hardware platforms, such as: DOS, Windows, OS/2, MAC and UNIX. CFA's promotion has become a standard interface, in which different manufacturers can develop different products to hook up, which makes the equipment supporting CF standard also has a strong expansion and upgrading capabilities. (For example, the IBM microdisk mentioned later is actually compatible with the CF 2 standard products). In the application of MP3 players, in fact, we can see that the early use of CF cards as an expansion of memory players are still more, but with the size of the MP3 player in the direction of the development of smaller, CF card seems to be a little less popular trend. For example, the new models of a certain brand generally use SM cards.