CompactFlash

CompactFlash is one of the most common types of digital camera memory. Most high-end digital cameras, and all digital SLRs are CompactFlash compatible.

There are two physical sizes of CompactFlash - Type I and Type II. Type II is thicker and some cameras will only accept Type I CompactFlash. Type II CompactFlash is usually higher capacity. The most common Type II CompactFlash cards are mechanical, MicroDrive, memory cards.

The main benefit of CompactFlash, besides availability, is that it has a controller chip in the card. The controller chip allows higher transfer rates. Most cameras can't take advantage of this extra speed, though. Only cameras with larger internal buffers - mostly digital SLRs - can take advantage of high-speed CompactFlash.

CompactFlash is inexpensive, easy to find, and works in a lot of digital cameras. For those reasons, it's one of the most desirable types of digital camera memory.

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