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The
arrival of Nikon's Newest Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras includes
many new features and one of the least understood by many new digital
photographers is the one labeled "UDMA support." Hoodman Corporation's
Lou Schmidt gives us the technical background in a quick Question and
Answer format. |
UDMA = ULTRA DIRECT MEMORY
ACCESS
What's in it for photographers?
UDMA is a protocol developed
by Quantum Corporation in conjunction with Intel that supports burst mode
data transfer rates. You might be wondering what is a protocol? A
protocol is an agreed upon format for transmitting data between two
devices. There are a variety of standard protocols from which
programmers can choose. Each protocol has advantages and
disadvantages; for example, some are more simple than others, some are
more reliable, and some are faster. The
main concern with protocols is that your computer or device matches the
other ones it needs to communicate with.
What does a
UDMA CompactFlash card do for you?
A UDMA memory card
dramatically increases card-to-computer transfer rates when paired with
a UDMA-enabled reader...(Hoodman's RAW) UDMA memory cards will download
2GB of data to your computer in just 60 seconds via a RAW FireWire UDMA
enabled reader from Hoodman. If you are a USB 2.0 person, the same
2GB of UDMA data will download to your computer in 2 minutes via a RAW
UDMA USB 2.0 reader. Hoodman's RAW UDMA readers are compatible
with non-UDMA CompactFlash Cards.
How do UDMA cards work in non-UDMA cameras?
UDMA CompactFlash cards are backwards
compatible with all Digital SLR cameras designed for CompactFlash cards.
The UDMA cards will max out the performance of your non-UDMA camera and
give you the dramatic increase in card-to-computer transfer rates
described above...a huge time saver.
How do UDMA cards work in UDMA cameras?
To date: the Nikon D3X, D3s, D300, D300s, 1Ds Mark III,
1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, 50D, Canon 7D, Olympus E3 & Sony Alpha 700
are the new cameras which will utilize the new UDMA protocol. UDMA
cards are designed to maximize the performances of these new cameras.
Can I use my old CF cards (non-UDMA) in a
UDMA camera?
Yes, you can use your non-UDMA cards in the
new UDMA cameras. You will not maximize the performance of your
new camera by using a non-UDMA card and you will have to spend alot of
time waiting for your slow cards to transfer data to your computer.
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