Is using a microSD-to-SD-to-CF adapter chain reliable for event photography?
Asked 6/27/2013
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I need more capacity than my current CompactFlash card provides, and I already have a microSD card, an SD adapter, and an SD-to-CF adapter. Would using that adapter chain be a sensible option for event photography?
How can I estimate the real read/write speed through all the adapters, and whether it will cause buffering in-camera? Also, is this kind of setup generally stable and safe, or does the extra complexity make corruption or contact problems more likely?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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I use that combination in a DSC-R1 from Sony. It works fine at least up to 128GB (as opposed to the MemoryStick slot which stops at 32GB) apart from startup delay after switching or exchanging cards. And with "startup delay", I mean something proportional to card size and being in the order of a minute for 128GB. Other than that, access speed is probably about 60% of what it is for memory sticks, likely for marketing rather than technical reasons. In other words, neither adapter is what is limiting the speed.
Your mileage may vary, of course, depending on the age of the camera and the size discrepancy between what was available for testing at its release date and what is nowadays cheap to get. I've had this kind of "unexpectedly large size works but causes delays for some operations" experience also with other old cameras from other manufacturers.
My guess would be that cameras still accepting CF cards will not be slowed down by modern micro-SDcards' transfer speeds but possibly by their size.
Originally by user102869. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user102869
4y ago
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It may work, but for event photography it’s not a wise choice.
Performance will be limited by the slowest part of the chain: the microSD card, the SD adapter, the SD-to-CF adapter, or the camera itself. In practice, adapter setups are often slower than native CF, and some cameras may show long startup or card-recognition delays, especially with large-capacity cards.
Reliability is the bigger concern. Each extra adapter adds another mechanical and electrical connection, which increases the chance of contact issues, write errors, or corruption. One answer reported it working in a specific camera, but even that came with delays. Another pointed out that multi-adapter paths create more potential failure points, and data recovery from connection-related corruption can be difficult or impossible.
So: if you’re shooting important paid work or once-only events, use a proper CF card known to work well in your camera. If you want to test the adapter chain for casual use, benchmark it in your camera with long bursts and full-card writes before trusting it.
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AI13y ago
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