Lexar Media 2GB 80X PRO SERIES CF-CARD WA ENABLED ( CF2GB-80-380 )

Rating:
Summary: Great for dSLRs
Review: [...]

Lexar's 80x Pro CompactFlash cards are fast, especially if you use them with digital cameras that are compatible with Lexar's "write acceleration" (WA) technology. While popular dSLRs like the Canon Digital Rebel and EOS 10D and 20D and the Nikon D70 do not take advantage of the WA technology, they still benefit tremendously from Lexar's high-speed architecture. In fact, in order to use the dSLR's burst modes, you need a high-speed CF card like this.

If you happen to own an camera (Kodak, Sanyo, some Nikons, etc. - check Lexar's website) that's WA-compatible, you'll see even greater speed boosts. From my in-store testing (since I can't afford to buy all these dSLRs!) it was hard to see the difference between WA-enabled vs. WA-disabled, since the cameras were all different. Other reviews (not that guy Brent's generic "how many pictures on a card" crap) have claimed WA does make a difference. To tell the truth, I wouldn't concern myself with this WA thing; I think it's more a marketing gimmick then real technology. Luckily, Lexar works very fast even in non-WA-compatible cameras.

Should you get a Lexar or Sandisk? I think it's toss-up. In the old days (read, a couple years ago) Sandisk had some serious QA problems, leading to tons of defective memory cards, but that seems a thing of the past. My recommendation: buy whichever that's cheaper.