Transcend 64GB

Magnus Helander · May 6th, 2010, 03:51 PM

I am thinking about getting 64 GB Transcend 400X Extreme CF for $237+vat each.
Are they any good? Anyone here who uses them for pro/serious work?
Thanks in advance,
Magnus

Dan Keaton · May 6th, 2010, 07:17 PM

Dear Magnus,

Transcend is a quality company and they make reliable CompactFlash Cards.

We had wonderful luck with their 32 GB 133x cards.

But, we ran into a snag that was not really Transcend's fault. When Apple switched from Tiger to Leopard, the changed their code, adjusting the voltage that they used to work with the cards and they may have changed some other things.

What happened was that the Transcend 32 GB 133x cards were failing intermittently when used with Apple Leopard. We had no reported failures with Apple Tiger and zero failures in PC's.

A lot of cards were harmed.

Now, quite a bit of time has elapsed. Newer versions of Apple Leopard are now widely in use, and newer versions of Transcend CompactFlash cards are now available.

We have qualified the Transcend 64 GB CompactFlash cards. They worked well in our tests.

Our estimate is that they are not widely used with the nanoFlash or Flash XDR at this time, thus our real-world experience with these cards is limited (at this time).

Magnus Helander · May 7th, 2010, 04:07 PM

Thanks Dan,
I'll put Transcend cards into production and post the results here in a few weeks, it sounds as if we have nothing to worry about.

/magnus

Magnus Helander · May 17th, 2010, 09:41 AM

Transcend 64GB 400x in combination with nanoFlash and Vegas9 & Raylight really delivers.

My cards have arrived and I captured 720p over HD-SDI with nanoFlash at maximum HD bitrate 220mbit/s.

Offloaded CF card to hard disk, dropped the MXF files on the Vegas 9e timeline with Raylight 1.2.1 installed. See attached screenshot for CF transfer rates.

Trouble-free gorgeous playback at 720p 25fps 32bit floating point.

A Sony EX3 with MXF I-frame only 4:2:2 @ 220 mbit/s capture to dirt cheap CF cards...
Good job, Convergent.

Bo Skelmose · May 17th, 2010, 03:27 PM

Orderd mine a week ago and I am glad to hear they work.

Bruce Rawlings · May 19th, 2010, 10:34 AM

I am confused (just ordered NanoFlash). Are the Transcend 32gb cards ok? I got the impression from the CD literature that they are but now I have doubts.

Dan Keaton · May 19th, 2010, 11:00 AM

Dear Bruce,

We were very happy with the Transcend 133x 32 GB cards.

Then Apple introduced the Leopard Operating System.

Then the Transcend 133x 32 GB cards started to fail when, using Leopard, one would use the Eject Command in the Finder, or "Drag and Drop" the card to the trash can.

This seemed to put an illegal, high voltage on the card, destroying it.

Thus, we started recommending one avoid Leopard, or never use the Eject or drag to the trash can, just pull out the card when the transfer is finished.

We never had a failure on a PC, nor on Tiger.

To be safe, we quit recommending Transcend cards. However, quite a bit of time has past and everything may now be ok, we just do not have a great way of proving that the problem with these cards and Leopard are behind us.

We have had no reports of problems with the Transcend 64 GB cards.

Adam Stanislav · May 19th, 2010, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Keaton

To be safe, we quit recommending Transcend cards.

Hm... I wish you had not quit recommending something just because it causes problems on the Mac (or any other OS) and, instead, just said that you do not recommend certain cards with certain operating systems.

Not everybody uses a Mac. Some of us would not use one even if it was given to us for free. Similarly, some people do not use Windows. So flatly removing your support based on a card/OS combination is something I for one am not happy about.

Jeff Silverman · May 19th, 2010, 01:09 PM

Adam,

I'll come to Dan's defense here. As a owner of many Transcend 32GB cards we no longer use, when a loss occurred it was catastrophic. The danger of using the card that one time in a Mac and having it destroy all footage is enough to not recommend it. We had multiple occasions where we would specifically tell a client the eject procedure and they wouldn't follow it and toast the card. We had some Mac gurus tell us the problem could possibly be caused by the Mac, and then go blow up cards. I wasted thousands of dollars on those cards and are glad they are behind me.

Incidentally, the pickled asparagus at the Rhinelander Cafe is great.

Jeff

Dan Keaton · May 19th, 2010, 01:34 PM

Dear Adam,

I was trying to answer Bruce in an informative, but concise way.

We still support the use of the Transcend 133x 32 GB cards.

We just do not recomend them.

As Jeff points out, we can not prevent them from being used in a Mac, which may destroy them. Nor can we prevent old, in-grained habits, such as using the Eject command.

Also, please note that we recommend other Transcend cards. The 16 GB 300x card has never failed, as far as I know, and we recently qualified the 64 GB Transcend card.

Some cards, and some but not all, Transcend cards have over-voltage protection.

In posts, last year, we went into great detail as to where it was perfectly acceptable to use the Transcend 133x 32 GB cards.

Bruce Rawlings · May 19th, 2010, 02:14 PM

I have only bought one 32GB 400 card to play with (on way from Amazon). Will be using a Nexto for down loading to Mac FCP or Avid (HP PC). Will now bite the bullet and order 64GB 400 Transcend cards.

Dan Keaton · May 19th, 2010, 02:40 PM

Dear Bruce,

In your original post, you mentioned Transcend 32 GB cards.

I have been speaking about Transcend 32 GB 133x cards.

We have not had any reported problems with the Transcend 32 GB 400x cards, these are a later design.

Bruce Rawlings · May 19th, 2010, 02:47 PM

Thanks Dan, sorry I confused things. Looking forward to Card and Nano turning up soon. Already bought Olof's mounting system.

Garrett Low · May 23rd, 2010, 08:30 AM

Hello, I have just received my nanoFlash and have two Transcend 64GB cards on the way. Dan, I have a question regarding the Transcend cards. On your website you list Transcend 600X 64GB cards as being able to go up to 220Mbps. Should these be the 400X 64GB Transcend cards? I thought they only made up to the 32GB cards in 600X?

Thanks,
Garrett

Dan Keaton · May 23rd, 2010, 09:18 AM

Dear Garrett,

Yes, I think that is a mistake.

The Transcend 64 GB 400x cards should work up to and including 220 Mbps.

May 6th, 2010, 03:51 PM	#1
Magnus Helander Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 221	Transcend 64GB - any good? I am thinking about getting 64 GB Transcend 400X Extreme CF for $237+vat each. Are they any good? Anyone here who uses them for pro/serious work? Thanks in advance, Magnus

May 6th, 2010, 07:17 PM	#2
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Magnus, Transcend is a quality company and they make reliable CompactFlash Cards. We had wonderful luck with their 32 GB 133x cards. But, we ran into a snag that was not really Transcend's fault. When Apple switched from Tiger to Leopard, the changed their code, adjusting the voltage that they used to work with the cards and they may have changed some other things. What happened was that the Transcend 32 GB 133x cards were failing intermittently when used with Apple Leopard. We had no reported failures with Apple Tiger and zero failures in PC's. A lot of cards were harmed. Now, quite a bit of time has elapsed. Newer versions of Apple Leopard are now widely in use, and newer versions of Transcend CompactFlash cards are now available. We have qualified the Transcend 64 GB CompactFlash cards. They worked well in our tests. Our estimate is that they are not widely used with the nanoFlash or Flash XDR at this time, thus our real-world experience with these cards is limited (at this time). __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

May 17th, 2010, 09:41 AM	#4
Magnus Helander Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 221	Outstanding gear Transcend 64GB 400x in combination with nanoFlash and Vegas9 & Raylight really delivers. My cards have arrived and I captured 720p over HD-SDI with nanoFlash at maximum HD bitrate 220mbit/s. Offloaded CF card to hard disk, dropped the MXF files on the Vegas 9e timeline with Raylight 1.2.1 installed. See attached screenshot for CF transfer rates. Trouble-free gorgeous playback at 720p 25fps 32bit floating point. A Sony EX3 with MXF I-frame only 4:2:2 @ 220 mbit/s capture to dirt cheap CF cards... Good job, Convergent. Attached Thumbnails

May 19th, 2010, 11:00 AM	#7
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Bruce, We were very happy with the Transcend 133x 32 GB cards. Then Apple introduced the Leopard Operating System. Then the Transcend 133x 32 GB cards started to fail when, using Leopard, one would use the Eject Command in the Finder, or "Drag and Drop" the card to the trash can. This seemed to put an illegal, high voltage on the card, destroying it. Thus, we started recommending one avoid Leopard, or never use the Eject or drag to the trash can, just pull out the card when the transfer is finished. We never had a failure on a PC, nor on Tiger. To be safe, we quit recommending Transcend cards. However, quite a bit of time has past and everything may now be ok, we just do not have a great way of proving that the problem with these cards and Leopard are behind us. We have had no reports of problems with the Transcend 64 GB cards. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

May 19th, 2010, 01:34 PM	#10
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Adam, I was trying to answer Bruce in an informative, but concise way. We still support the use of the Transcend 133x 32 GB cards. We just do not recomend them. As Jeff points out, we can not prevent them from being used in a Mac, which may destroy them. Nor can we prevent old, in-grained habits, such as using the Eject command. Also, please note that we recommend other Transcend cards. The 16 GB 300x card has never failed, as far as I know, and we recently qualified the 64 GB Transcend card. Some cards, and some but not all, Transcend cards have over-voltage protection. In posts, last year, we went into great detail as to where it was perfectly acceptable to use the Transcend 133x 32 GB cards. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

May 7th, 2010, 04:07 PM	#3
Magnus Helander Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 221	Thanks Dan, I'll put Transcend cards into production and post the results here in a few weeks, it sounds as if we have nothing to worry about. /magnus

May 17th, 2010, 03:27 PM	#5
Bo Skelmose Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Denmark Posts: 495	Orderd mine a week ago and I am glad to hear they work.

May 19th, 2010, 10:34 AM	#6
Bruce Rawlings Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK Posts: 410	I am confused (just ordered NanoFlash). Are the Transcend 32gb cards ok? I got the impression from the CD literature that they are but now I have doubts.

May 19th, 2010, 01:09 PM	#9
Jeff Silverman Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jacksonville, VT USA Posts: 100	Adam, I'll come to Dan's defense here. As a owner of many Transcend 32GB cards we no longer use, when a loss occurred it was catastrophic. The danger of using the card that one time in a Mac and having it destroy all footage is enough to not recommend it. We had multiple occasions where we would specifically tell a client the eject procedure and they wouldn't follow it and toast the card. We had some Mac gurus tell us the problem could possibly be caused by the Mac, and then go blow up cards. I wasted thousands of dollars on those cards and are glad they are behind me. Incidentally, the pickled asparagus at the Rhinelander Cafe is great. Jeff

May 19th, 2010, 02:14 PM	#11
Bruce Rawlings Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK Posts: 410	I have only bought one 32GB 400 card to play with (on way from Amazon). Will be using a Nexto for down loading to Mac FCP or Avid (HP PC). Will now bite the bullet and order 64GB 400 Transcend cards.

May 19th, 2010, 02:40 PM	#12
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Bruce, In your original post, you mentioned Transcend 32 GB cards. I have been speaking about Transcend 32 GB 133x cards. We have not had any reported problems with the Transcend 32 GB 400x cards, these are a later design. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

May 19th, 2010, 02:47 PM	#13
Bruce Rawlings Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK Posts: 410	Thanks Dan, sorry I confused things. Looking forward to Card and Nano turning up soon. Already bought Olof's mounting system.

May 23rd, 2010, 08:30 AM	#14
Garrett Low Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Novato, CA Posts: 1,774	Hello, I have just received my nanoFlash and have two Transcend 64GB cards on the way. Dan, I have a question regarding the Transcend cards. On your website you list Transcend 600X 64GB cards as being able to go up to 220Mbps. Should these be the 400X 64GB Transcend cards? I thought they only made up to the 32GB cards in 600X? Thanks, Garrett

May 23rd, 2010, 09:18 AM	#15
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Garrett, Yes, I think that is a mistake. The Transcend 64 GB 400x cards should work up to and including 220 Mbps. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia