Nikon only recommends Sandisk for D70?

[murphyc]

I'm shooting three nights of racing this weekend (weather permitting) so I figured it was past time I move up from 256 cards for my D70. BH had 1 Gig Lexar 40x cards for $140 after rebate so I decided to do that.
I called up BH and said I needed to buy a 1 gig memory card for my D70. Salesperson asks "Do you want Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme?" I reply, "Uh, actually I wanted the Lexar 40x." He responds "Don't do it!" When I asked why not, he said Nikon only recommends Sandisk for the D70 since Lexar trumped up or exaggerated claims with its cards--cards don't perform as advertised.
When the D70 came out I had seen how the WA technology in Lexar cards supposedly was supported by the D70, but on BH's website last weekend it said D70 does support WA technology (just checked, still says that).
I ended up getting the Sandisk Extreme since it includes that Image Rescue thing, but I wondered if what the guy said about the Lexar cards was true or not?

[jspoon]

If you believe this article, it appears Sandisk extreme performs best in the D70...

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/mul...?cid=6007-6816

[marokero]

B&H, I suppose, makes a higher margin of profit on the Sandisk Ultra and Extreme cards than from the Lexars. I use both Sandisk Ultra II and a Lexar 32x with my D100 (no compatibility problems), and have met D70 users with the newer 80x Lexars that were very happy customers. It's a salesperson's job to honestly help a customer make the best decision for her/his needs... right! That salesperson would be out of the job! :lol:

[photosbyvito]

lol...which card was more expensive? the sandisks or the lexar? lol

Vito

[mdparker]

If you go to Nikon's KB, this is what they have listed as recommended for the D70:


Nikon has tested the following cards and approved their use in the D70 Digital SLR:

SanDisk SDCFB series 16 MB, 48 MB, 80 MB, 96 MB, 128 MB, 160 MB,
256 MB, 512 MB and 1 GB
SanDisk SDCFB (Type II) 192 MB and 300 MB
Sandisk SDCF2B (Type II) 256 MB
Sandisk SDCFH 128 MB, 192 MB, 256 MB, 384 MB, 512 MB and 1 GB
Sandisk SDCFX 512 MB and 1 GB

Lexar Media 4x USB series 16 MB, 32 MB and 64 MB
Lexar Media 8x USB series 16 MB, 32 MB, 48 MB, 64 MB, and 80 MB
Lexar Media 10x USB series 160 MB
Lexar Media 12x USB series 64 MB, 128 MB, 192 MB, 256 MB and 512 MB
Lexar Media 16x USB series 192 MB, 256 MB, 320 MB, 512 MB
640 MB and 1 GB
Lexar Media 24x USB series 256 MB and 512 MB
Lexar Media 24x WA* USB series 256 MB and 512 MB
Lexar Media 32x WA* USB series 1GB
Lexar Media 40x WA* USB series 256 MB, 512 MB, 2 GB, 4 GB

Renesas Technology (Hitachi) Compact Flash HB28C8x 16 MB and 32 MB

Microdrive DSCM 512 MB and 1 GB
Microdrive 3K4 2 GB and 4 GB

Other brands and capacities of cards may work, but Nikon cannot guarantee their operation. Check with the manufacturer of the third-party card for compatibility information. Nikon recommends keeping one of the approved cards available for troubleshooting.

*Lexar Media Write Acceleration (WA) Compact Flash cards are supported in Standard Write Mode only.

[cameranserai]

Well, all I can say is that when I got my D70 a few months back Sandisk cards weren't available anywhere. Stock shortage. So I bought a 512mb 40x Lexar and have never had a problem with writing, speed or reading. I use it for motor racing too. Incidentally, the price of cards has dropped incredibly over the last three months - 1gb is now not far from the price I paid for 512mb!

[Onyx]

That's funny. I was at B&H the other day and overheard a convo where the sales person recommended Lexar. Stating the Ultra II is "only" equivalent to 60x, whereas the fastest Lexar is 80x.

[GregFox]

I recieved this from Nikon tech support:


SanDisk SDCFB series 16 MB, 32MB, 48 MB, 80 MB, 96 MB, 128 MB, 160 MB, 192 MB,
256 MB, 300 MB, 384 MB, 512 MB and 1 GB
SanDisk SDCFB (Type II) 192 MB and 300 MB
Sandisk SDCF2B (Type II) 256 MB
Sandisk SDCFH (Ultra) 128 MB, 192 MB, 256 MB, 384 MB, 512 MB and 1 GB
Sandisk SDCFH (Ultra II) 256 MB, 512 MB, and 1 GB
Sandisk SDCFX (Extreme) 512 MB and 1 GB
Sandisk SDCFX (Extreme III) 1GB, 2GB

Lexar Media 4x USB series 16 MB, 32 MB, 64 MB, 80 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB and 512 MB
Lexar Media 8x USB series 16 MB, 32 MB, 48 MB, 64 MB, and 80 MB
Lexar Media 10x USB series 160 MB
Lexar Media 12x USB series 64 MB, 128 MB, 192 MB, 256 MB, 320 MB and 512 MB
Lexar Media 16x USB series 192 MB, 256 MB, 320 MB, 512 MB, 640 MB and 1 GB
Lexar Media 16x WA* USB Series 128 MB, 192 MB, 256 MB and 512 MB
Lexar Media 24x USB series 256 MB and 512 MB
Lexar Media 24x WA* USB series 256 MB and 512 MB
Lexar Media 32x WA* USB series 1GB
Lexar Media 40x WA* USB series 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB
Lexar Media 80x WA* USB Series 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB

[GregFox]

I've been using a SanDisk SDCFJ 1GB card for years in my D70. once in a while I would get the CHR error. Now I cant get the card to work. My 256 card works fine. I haven't tried to reformat it lately thought. It also stopped working in my reader on my Mac