Product Description

SanDisk's Extreme III 2 GB Compactflash card is the exceptional, unbeatable best in class solution for high profile professional photographers. As the elite flash memory card available on the market, Extreme III has very fast read/write speeds. This line provides the durability and high speed quality demanded by the serious photographer.

Product Details

• Brand: SanDisk
• Model: SDCFX3-2048-901
• Dimensions: 1.30" h x 4.50" w x 5.60" l, .15 pounds

Features

• 2 GB capacity
• Lifetime warranty
• 20 MB/sec sequential read/write speed
• Temperature tested 13 to 185 degrees F.
• Includes RescuePro data recovery software

Amazon.com Product Description
If your digital photography demands blazing speed and durability from your memory media, SanDisk has the memory cards for you. SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash media are designed for serious professional photographers who demand one of the fastest and most rugged memory cards on the market.

*Based on SanDisk internal testing.

Extreme III media are made to withstand brutal temperatures.

Ships with advanced data recovery software.

Many professionals work in less than ideal conditions, and that's why SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash cards are built to perform in the most extreme environments and temperatures, from -13 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Extreme III media are rigorously temperature, shock, and vibration tested, something you'll definitely appreciate whenever you find yourself shooting and storing pictures in harsh environments, extreme temperatures or at high altitudes.

Extreme III memory cards also feature SanDisk's exclusive and innovative Enhanced Super-Parallel Processing (ESP) Technology for the fastest speeds and highest performance. It means that you are getting the fastest read/write speeds available -- an amazing minimum 20MB per second sequential read and write speed.

Every SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash card comes with RescuePRO so you can recover images, documents, mail, video, music -- just about any digital file, with ease. Built with leading-edge media recovery algorithms, RescuePro lets you preview recoverable data before you try to retrieve it. With RescuePRO's unique recovery algorithm for MPEG audio and MPEG video recovery (MPEG-1/2/3) what you see, and what you hear, is what you can recover.

For owners of SanDisk Extreme products, SanDisk maintains a dedicated, priority technical support hotline, and you get a lifetime limited warranty. Extreme III media also ships with a travel case that keeps your memory cards organized.

What's in the Box
2 GB CompactFlash card, travel case, and RescuePro data recovery software mini-CD.

From the Manufacturer
SanDisk 2GB Extreme III memory card is fast, rugged and reliable for your most demanding professional photography needs. Designed for serious photographers who demand the fastest, most rugged, and most durable memory card on the market. Photographers who work under less than ideal conditions expect more from a flash memory card. More speed. More performance. More reliability. SanDisk’s new Extreme III card delivers everything you want plus a whole lot more. That’s because only SanDisk Extreme III memory cards feature innovative ESP Technology for the fastest speeds and highest performance. ESP stands for "Enhanced Super-Parallel Processing." Simply put, it means you are getting the fastest read/write speeds available. Speeds you’ll definitely appreciate whenever you find yourself shooting and storing pictures in harsh environments, extreme temperatures or at high altitudes. Rely on SanDisk Extreme III cards when speed is critical to getting the right shot.

Features and Benefits

• Lets you quickly capture, view, upload and transfer largeimage files
• Ideal for demanding photo shoots under severe weather conditions—heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, etc.
• Fastest read/write speeds available
• Durable, reliable and thoroughly tested
• Data recovery software—ensures your photos will always be there (even if you delete them accidentally)

Customer Reviews

This could be the right card for you.
With fast shooting high mega pixel cameras, the CF card can be a major performance factor. Why have one of these cameras and use a card that cannot keep up? When prices started dropping on CF cards, I decided it was time to get yet another one.

The Extreme III cards write with a 20 MB/sec sequential read/write speed. These fast write speeds are desirable with large image files. There are cameras with buffers to hold images while writing to the card during continuous shots. At some point if the card cannot write fast enough, your camera will stop shooting until the buffer clears enough room.

This card has a high impact rating. For example; if you were to accidentally drop this card 10-foot up to then hit the floor, this card is rated to sustain the fall without damage.

Also consider this card can withstand temperatures from -13 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit (as indicated on the package). Since I live in Texas, I doubt I'll ever have a problem with the card getting too cold. It is nice to know that I could possibly leave the card in a car under the hot Texas sun and it may still work. I've yet to test this scenario, and its unlikely I ever will.

Sometimes the trade off on price comes from power consumption. Lower priced cards may use more power to do the same job as this card. The low power consumption of this card means a longer battery life.

People generally want to know how many images a card will hold. This is a difficult question to answer and greatly depends on both the card and the camera it is used in. The number of images this card will hold on my 20D also depends on the settings used. Let me provide a few settings and image counts for an idea of what this card holds.

Shooting Raw w/ISO 100 - 221 images
Shooting Raw w/ISO 800 - 206 images
Shooting Large jpeg - 479 images
Shooting Medium jpeg - 825 images
Shooting Small jpeg over 999 images (the 20D cannot provide counts above 999)

I use both a 1GB and a 2GB card shooting primarily raw images. Sometimes the 1GB card is more than adequate, but other times I could easily fill the 1GB card quickly. There have been many days where I have taken 200-300 pictures without the opportunity to transfer my images. The 2GB card not only gives me more storage space, but also permits me to change the card in a slow moment before it completely fills up. It is truly aggravating to lose a shot because your card filled up. For these reasons I tend to prefer the 2GB cards. When considering the card size, one should attempt to balance convenience with capacity. Having one card for all your images may be convenient, but it is also putting all your eggs in one basket.

Worried about reliability? The Extreme III cards have a dedicated technical support line (1-866-270-5532). Plus it's backed with a lifetime limited warranty outside Europe. The warranty excludes any defects, malfunctions, performance failures or damages to the card resulting from use in other than its normal and customary manner, misuse, accident or neglect; or improper alterations or repairs.

If something should go wrong, this CF card comes with the Rescue Pro recovery software. Fortunately I have had no need for the software. For that purpose I cannot give much comment on its usefulness.

Overall, I do not notice the benefits of this cards speed over the Ultra II when used with the 20D. The other benefits between this and the Ultra II are not necessarily a big plus for me. I like having the recovery software, so for the few extra dollars I am happy. With a big price difference, I would definitely stick with the Ultra II.

If the temperature ratings or the Rescue Pro recovery software is an important feature for you, the Extreme III is the card to get. Otherwise, consider purchasing the Sandisk Ultra II CF Card and save some cash.

PROS:
Reliable
Fast read/write
Impact resistant
Low power consumption
Backed by a lifetime limited warranty
Recovery software included

CONS:
None

Fastest Card Yet For the Rebel XT
This is the fastest card yet as of March 28, 2005. Using the data collected at: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/index.asp in the CF Database. I was able to make a more informed decision. I had my heart set on the Hitachi Microdrive 3GB when initially purchasing my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT 350D. However, after reviewing the results of the write speed tests, I immediately switched to the San Disc Extreme III. For my camera write speed using this CF is 4.888MB/sec JPEG and 6.263MB/sec RAW compared to the Hitachi Microdrive 6GB 3.466MB/sec JPEG and 4.584MB/sec RAW. Its highly recommended that you check out Rob Galbraith site to help sift through the confusion of which CF Card performs best with your camera.

Lightning speed writing
I use this card with my Nikon D200. The card writes data incredibly quickly, saving my raw 10.2 MP images with no problem. I've used this card in all sorts of conditions, from below freezing to well over 100 degrees with no problems.

The data recovery software included is equally amazing. I was able to salvage pictures on my card I accidentally erased quite long ago with no loss. This comes with a warning--pictures you "deleted" remain on the camera, so it needs to be wiped securely before exchanging hands.

Finally, this card while fast, is only as fast as the camera. If you don't need this speed, there are slower, cheaper ones available.