I have my Dad's Canon 400D which runs on Compact Flash card - majority of my stuff has SD cards and my laptop has a built in SD card reader/slot.

 

Price of 16GB CF card is around £12-15 with a similar sized SD card around £5-7 

 

Is it worth buying a SD-CF adapter to put in the camera so that I can run on SD card?

 

 

 

 

I got one for my 50d, but it ended up bending one of the pins in the camera (and the CF card reader I have) leading to about 25 minutes with a couple knives and screwdrivers bending them straight again.

 

After that it went straight in the bin so I never even got so see if it worked.

 

My advice would be to make sure you get the right one (CF type I or II) for the camera and see if anyone else has used one in your model before as when I was looking there were a lot of reviews saying it didn't work in the 50d but had in other cameras (firmware/software issue I guess?)

 

Also be careful on what you shoot as the adapter can strip quite a bit of speed from the card - if you're shooting sport or often filling your buffer you may find some issues.

 

I bought a 7dii in the end. Slightly more expensive solution but now I can use SD if I need to

Thanks for the response, Mort.

 

To be honest, I've only really just started using the camera after my Dad passed away. Haven't got into it properly yet and it just stays on "Auto" setting at the minute!!!

 

I've read some more and it could be bit more hassle, aside from the issues you've highlighted.

I mostly tried it as I wanted to get a WiFi SD card to transfer from camera to phone when I'm out and about.

 

CF cards are a lot more expensive, yet I have a 16GB CF card that's now 8 years old and has been the main workhorse for my camera - Over 20k shots taken on it at the very least and it's as strong as the day I bought it. I've had much less success with SD cards, however, and will probably be buying a larger CF card for the 7d and only use the SD slot if I have a specific workflow for it.

 

I'd always wondered why no bigger brands have brought a CF>SD adapter to market, all the ones I could find were no-name (or very German, for some reason?) products which doesn't fill you with the most confidence when you're after something you're not sure will work in the first place.

 

If you have a CF card for the camera already, I'd just use that for the time being - you can just use a USB cable to transfer from the camera to the computer if you don't have a reader. If you get into photography more you might either get used to using CF/USB or feel it's worthwhile to upgrade to a camera with an SD slot if you plan on doing more.

I noticed there wasn't that many about, and yes nothing branded either.

 

Think I'll do as you suggest and just keep the CF for the time being.

i find CF cards to be very reliable, as well as quicker than regular SD cards (I shoot RAW in burst mode). It's only a purchase that you need to make once probably as the card will last as long as your camera hopefully. I also download direct from my cameras by sticking a micro or mini USB lead in the side. probably easier than having to open the side of the camera and remove the card in question. must save at least 3 or 4 seconds

Another reason for  keeping CF is the size of the card - try changing an SD card with cold fingers and then try changing a CF card. CF is much easier to handle and less likely to drop IMHO.

XQD is where it might be in a couple of years, so I'd pick up a second CF card and enjoy using the camera as it is.

If you get good, then you can see where things are in a few years.