Background

• Consumers and professionals in the electronics industry run tests on memory cards, including Compact Flash cards, to determine which cards perform the fastest. These tests can be performed on cards by different manufacturers as well as in cameras from manufacturers, such as Nikon, Canon and Sony. Tests also can be performed to illustrate how well Compact Flash cards perform in card readers that connect to computers.
  
  

Types

• Compact Flash speed tests can test how long it takes a device to read data, such as a photograph, from the memory card. Another type of test determines how long it takes the device to write data to the memory card. The user can perform these tests by reading or writing the same data to multiple Compact Flash cards.
  
  

Significance

• When consumers are shopping for memory cards, such as Compact Flash cards, performance may be a priority. Professional photographers who take frequent pictures require a memory card that can write quickly so as not to increase the time between each picture. Casual photographers also will benefit from a Compact Flash card that reads and writes data quickly as it cuts down on wait time. Several websites publish testing results for consumer use. Thus, consumers do not have to repeat these tests at home.