Kingston CF Cards: Anyone running them?

[Hotrodguru]

Found a few older threads but nothing recent.

I know I've always loved Kingston memory in old gaming machines I used to build but that was a while back. Anyway, need to pick something up this weekend since I don't have time to order online. Seem to have misplaced one of my 4GB Extreme III's so need a backup CF card before I head to Mexico to shoot on Tuesday.

Seems like the Kingston memory is way cheaper than SanDisk Extreme III's and IV's with equivalent or even faster read/write times.

8GB Ultimate at Frys for $45 - http://www.frys.com/product/5804963?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG (45MB/sec. read and 40MB/sec. write)
A 4GB SanDisk Extreme III runs $40 (does say sequential read/write speeds of 20 megabytes per second (MB/sec)). Any difference about "sequential"?

http://www.kingston.com/flash/cf_ultimate.asp

[rdeguzman]

I've always used Kingston memory on all of my computers as well as Crucial. For some reason, it seems Kingston flash memory has a lot of bad reviews with a lot of failures compared to SanDisk.

[RPCrowe]

Fry's often has good values in CF Cards. I have several 4GB 133x Kingston Elite Pro cards which have served me well.

I use them in conjunction with several 4 GB Lexar Professional UDMA 300X CF cards. I will use the Lexar cards if I need to shoot a lot of burst sequences but, in day to day use; I really don't notice much difference in the write speeds.

I took advantage of a mistake in a Lexar rebate offer. By purchasing the Lexar cards on the first day of the rebate, I got three of them for $10 each. Lexar pulled the rebate on the second day of the sale. It should have been a rebate that returned $10 per card, not a rebate reducing the cost of the card to $10.

I normally shoot with 30D and 40D cameras and I am not sure if these cameras have the capability to use the entire 300X speeds of my Lexus cards.

I have not personally experienced failure in any brand CF cards.

[bizzum]

I also have the Elite 4GB CF card and have had zero problems with it at all. I also use a couple Kingston SD cards in my wife's P&S with no failures.

[Hotrodguru]

Awesome, thanks everyone :)

[mellofelow]

I have and still use Kingston Ultimates. Very reliable so far. HOWEVER, if you're looking at Fry's, their deal on PNY's Optima CF card is the best deal on the net. Look at the test link below, it's #10 on the list as far as speed, almost neck and neck with Sandisk's Extreme IV. PNY supports UDMA, not sure about Kingston. But from personal experience in my 7D, PNY is faster.

http://www.frys.com/product/5902414?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-9784

[zelseman]

I shoot 2 8gb Kingston 133x and a 4gb Kingston 133x CF cards and I have never had a single problem as long as I format properly.
Great cards for the money.

[k.lee]

I use a Kingston 133x 8gb and never had problems either.

[shh777]

I own several Kingston CF cards and never had a problem.

[cdifoto]

I have Kingston cards. No reliability issues so far, but I think they're overly optimistic about their speed ratings. Haven't performed any scientific testing - they just "seem" slower than the label indicates.

[_aravena]

I almost bought Kingston RAM but Crucial was cheaper and has served me well for a year now. I'm exclusive with Kingston CF cads though. 4GB 133x x3 and a 8GB 133x.

[richwood]

The only CF cards I use are Kingston, never had any trouble with them so far.

[Jon]

Out of 4 Kingston cards I've had, one's failed. Out of about the first 20+ SanDisk cards I've had, one failed (and was replaced). I've since used another 20 or more SanDisk with no further problems.

[mhazlett]

I have the Kingston Elite Pro 8GB, and do not recommend any Kingston compact flashes. I have had many card failures with these cards and have moved on to the Extreme III series. The Extreme III 8GB is worth the extra money for the comfort of mind alone.
P.S. I always reformatted my cards after every upload so the failure of the Kingston cards were not due to lack of reformatting, but instead faulty products.

[MT Stringer]

I have used the Kingston cards for the last couple of years and never have any trouble out of them. 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. I've had the cards in a 20D, 30D, 40D and 1D MNK III.

Many thousands of images have passed through them...4000 this past weekend.

[Mashimaro]

i've got a Kingston 133x CF card that i bought due to the low price and size (it's a 32gb).

so far, no problems in terms of losing data, but it's noticably slower than the Sandisk Extreme III card i have. takes longer for the camera to power on and be ready for shooting...could be due to the size?

[JelleVerherstraeten]

I have one, but I almost never use it, always use first my sandisks, don't know why actually..

[speedline_fc]

I have (1) Kingston Elite Pro 4GB, (1) Ultimate 4GB, and (2) Ultimate 8GB. I've never had a problem/failure with any of them. I format them in camera before each use and try to cycle through them so they all get some use.

I also have 3 Sandisk Extreme III 8GBs that I bought when they had their crazy rebate deals.

My newer Kingston Ultimate (266x I think?) is about as fast as my Extreme III when used in my Hyperdrive Space (about 1GB per minute). The older Ultimates and Elite Pros are much slower (as expected).

The reason I chose to go with Kingston in the very beginning (which I think was a 64 or 128MB CF card for a Canon S10 Powershot) was because I've always used their memory in my computers. If there were ever any issues with the memory, I'd always get an advanced replacement sent to me overnight at no cost. I'd then send the defective memory back to them.

I've never had any experience with Sandisk's customer service (and I hope I never do), so they may very well offer the same level of service.. but I'm just sayin'.. that's why I always bought Kingston memory and flash cards.

[speedline_fc]

i've got a Kingston 133x CF card that i bought due to the low price and size (it's a 32gb).

so far, no problems in terms of losing data, but it's noticably slower than the Sandisk Extreme III card i have. takes longer for the camera to power on and be ready for shooting...could be due to the size?

I think the Extreme IIIs are 30MB/s which translate to 200x? On the Kingston website, the Elite Pro CF cards are rated at 20MB/s write. So it should be a little slower. The Ultimate cards were 200x and then later 266x.

But I think you're also right that the larger the card, the slower it is, when compared to a smaller card with the same rated speed.

[kdvincent]

I am using two 16 GB 133x cards and both are getting a fair amout of use and work perfectly.

[hbomb69]

I'm using elite pro 8gb in my 50D and 16gb in my 5D2, all work great and they are fast enough for the HD video out of the 5D2. IMHO they are one of the best value for money cards. :)