Lifespan of CF card

[panther65]

I'm wondering how many times one can record and then reformat a CF card. I have a Transcend 8gb card that I've reformatted 50 times. So far, so good, but don't want to get burned.

[willndmb]

i don't know about reformatting but most are rated for 10-15k insertions

[Mojowill]

heh heh you said insertions, heh heh

[Digital Quality]

Transcend claims they can handle 1 million write cycles. You could probably format 10 times a day for the next 250 years or so.

[jacobmyers]

Transcend claims they can handle 1 million write cycles. You could probably format 10 times a day for the next 250 years or so.

But if you count each recording as a write and each format as a write (which is an oversimplification of what actually happens), you're down to about 137 years. I think it safe to assume that some cells will be subject to premature entropy. So I'd probably round it down to an even 100 years and call it good (which also happens to be the service life estimate I read somewhere for CF cards).

But, if you remove the card each time you format it (for 137 years) that's 499k insertions. That's well beyond the fatigue limit for insertion/removal. The connectors should wear out long before the memory does if you take it out of the recorder every time you read it.

[Krispy D]

so the short answer is forever?

[Digital Quality]

By then you will be able to sneak in your whole rig under your pinky fingernail.

[Krispy D]

or maybe forgo the whole rig and upload to your PC via your organic memory bank...  Better lay off the herb if you want lossless!

[rastasean]

thats only if music is still legal by then.

[jacobmyers]

By then you will be able to sneak in your whole rig under your pinky fingernail.

LMAO. That's where I'll have the surgeons implant my "record" button. "Screw your metal detector, sonny, that's just my pacemaker!"

[Dede2002]

By then you will be able to sneak in your whole rig under your pinky fingernail.

LMAO. That's where I'll have the surgeons implant my "record" button. "Screw your metal detector, sonny, that's just my pacemaker!"

Here I go again, hope I'm not bothering you with my never ending search for the meaning of those
mysterious - to me - letters.
What's LMAO? 

[Krispy D]

laugh my ass off

[rastasean]

Here I go again, hope I'm not bothering you with my never ending search for the meaning of those
mysterious - to me - letters.
What's LMAO? 

I hardly blame you. what the hell does QTF mean?

[Krispy D]

quoted for truth usually.

go study up, there will be a test later...

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

[Dede2002]

quoted for truth usually.

go study up, there will be a test later...

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Yes, that's right. I've learned a slightly different meaning 
Krispy D: thanks for your response on the LMAO question.