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The camera is used for a sort of technical shooting (to take a few pictures of a product and send them via e-mail immediately). This way it might udergo for about ~500 insertions/ejections of cards in a year.

Is it okay for the camera slot or is it likely going to stop working soon? (The USB or WiFi connection are available but not so fast and convenient like putting the card into the card reader.)
Are CF slots better/worse in this regard?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ It's not a well-known problem and you're not the first with this kind of usage, so it should not be a problem before many years. About CF connectors, people talk about a rated lifetime in excess of 10,000 connect/disconnect cycles but I can't confirm. \$\endgroup\$
    – Spilarix
    May 8, 2016 at 22:09
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    \$\begingroup\$ If you are really doing this many insertions and are worried about wearing out the SD Card slow you can get an SD Card extension adapter so that takes the wear before the camera. amazon.com/s/?keywords=sd+card+extension \$\endgroup\$
    – Matthew Whited
    May 9, 2016 at 15:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ You can also look at wifi adapters or just running teathered. amazon.com/Adapter-Wireless-MicroSDHC-Reader-Support/dp/… \$\endgroup\$
    – Matthew Whited
    May 9, 2016 at 15:13
  • \$\begingroup\$ @MatthewWhited wouldn't an extender prevent the camera's SD door from closing, which would prevent the camera from operating? And having the card dangling from the camera would be a bummer. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mark Ransom
    May 9, 2016 at 16:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ It may. Would depend on how thick/flexible the cable is. I'm just offereing a cheaper suggestion over replacing a camera body. \$\endgroup\$
    – Matthew Whited
    May 9, 2016 at 16:57

1 Answer 1

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Note: the links in the list below are likely to go stale, as manufacturers and distributors often change their numbering/indexing; and as parts go out of production.

Not knowing which manufacturer(s) provides the CF/SD card connectors for your camera, the best you can do is find datasheet specs from a wide variety of manufacturers, and make your own best guess. When I searched for "SD card insert eject cycle", I came up with some of the following:

  1. 3000 – 5000 cycles (various SIM & MicroSD card connectors, no standard SD): SMK Electronics
  2. 10,000 cycles @ 400–600 cycles/hour: Hirose Electronics (Mouser)
  3. "10,000 mating cycles are guaranteed": Kyocera 5138 series connector
  4. 10,000 mating cycles max durability: Molex

I could not find any physical mating cycle requirements in the SD Card Association's Simplified Specifications. I believe those requirements were redacted from the freely-available simplified specs (if you need that level of detail, you're a manufacturer, and you have to pay for the full spec).

Regarding CF Cards,

  1. A distributor's slicksheet for 3M CFast connectors refers to the CFast standard's required 10,000 cycle minimum requirement. (Not exactly CF card, but a follow-on standard).
  2. 10,000 cycles; JST Manufacturing
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  • \$\begingroup\$ Due to their design I would expect SD cards to be more resilient, I've experienced pins getting bent on CF card slots. \$\endgroup\$
    – Octopus
    May 9, 2016 at 16:44
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Octopus Absolutely. Assuming all other things being equal, CFast (basically, a CF-sized SATA interface) card slots should have a lower real-world usage failure rate than CompactFlash (which is just a miniature parallel ATA interface, basically). SD is also mechanically simple. However, I've found that it's almost too simple (at least, from a card standpoint). I've have all sorts of physical problems with SD cards. My hunch is that the SD card spec is not as tightly toleranced as the CF spec. (pure assumption on my part) \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    May 9, 2016 at 17:02
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    \$\begingroup\$ Anecdotally, the mechanical problems I've had with SD cards tend to be with the cards themselves. I have to wonder a little bit about a design that calls for extremely thin plastic at points that are subject to a variety of weird stresses... and let's don't even talk about putting a sliding write protect tab along a surface constantly exposed to friction. :/ \$\endgroup\$
    – junkyardsparkle
    May 9, 2016 at 18:07
  • \$\begingroup\$ @scottbb Thanks for the answer. So it's like 6 - 20 years for this kind of "abuse" provided it's not manipulated with in a dusty environment. That's good. \$\endgroup\$
    – user681768917
    May 9, 2016 at 19:47

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