SD to CompactFlash Adapters

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Jun 4, 2018
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Location
Altus, OK
So the camera I intend to start using is my wife's rarely used Olympus Evolt E500. Being originally manufactured 12+ years ago, the only universal memory card it accepts is CompactFlash (it also has an xD slot which was apparently only used by Olympus and Fujifilm). Obviously nowadays SD, SDHC, and SDXC are considered the standard and ,GB for GB, are cheaper than equivalent CF cards, not to mention having write speeds just as fast, if not faster. Plus my computer already has an SD slot. I have found adapters available online, but I was unsure of the reliability and performance, specifically when it comes to photographing storms. Google wasn't much help. I am still relatively new to photography beyond just point and shoot and so plan to get used to the camera just shooting jpeg, but if it matters as far as answering my question, I do plan to shoot raw in the future. Thanks for any insight guys
 
I would suggest not having the E500 be your primary camera, as you will likely be disappointed. It only has an 8MP resolution, and does not shoot video. Involving adapters almost always leads to disappointment, as well.

Honestly, I would say you could just sell that camera, not drop the money on any adapters, and pick up something else. A DSLR of any kind will likely be too much for newcomers to photography, but one of this nature might provide enough hindrances and headaches to turn you off of it altogether. If you're looking for something with a more familiar point-and-shoot form factor that can also shoot great video, I would point in the direction of something like an Olympus TG-5.
 
I would suggest not having the E500 be your primary camera, as you will likely be disappointed. It only has an 8MP resolution, and does not shoot video. Involving adapters almost always leads to disappointment, as well.

Honestly, I would say you could just sell that camera, not drop the money on any adapters, and pick up something else. A DSLR of any kind will likely be too much for newcomers to photography, but one of this nature might provide enough hindrances and headaches to turn you off of it altogether. If you're looking for something with a more familiar point-and-shoot form factor that can also shoot great video, I would point in the direction of something like an Olympus TG-5.

Thanks for the response! Unfortunately, selling it isn't really an option since it was a gift to my wife from several years ago from her parents. I highly doubt she would be willing to do that. However, I've continued doing research on both this camera and newer alternatives since I made the original post and I definitely agree with you that it probably won't serve me well long term. I just figured since I had a DSLR already at my disposal, that I could use it to practice and become more familiar with the ins and outs of more serious photography, like ISO, aperture and shutter speed, before spending the money on a newer one. From what I have been reading, it seems like a used Nikon D5300 from somewhere like KEH or Adorama would be a good bang for my buck. Regardless, I definitely don't want to stay with a point and shoot. I've wanted to learn more about photography for awhile anyway, and this seems like as good a time as any to do that.

After doing some more digging, I agree with you about the adapters as well. Since I plan on getting a different camera eventually anyway, I can just pick up a USB compact flash card reader on Amazon for $10-$15 and make due with that.
 
Be careful in selecting USB card readers as well. You want to make sure that you have one that is also a writer. They don't usually denote that, so might have to dig.

Otherwise, you'll wind up able to pull your photos from the card, but will not be able to delete them on the card itself.
 
I would suggest going out and getting a used Canon PowerShot S100 12.1 MP point and shoot camera. It is an old model but can be found for $150 to $200 dollars. It uses a SD card and will also shoot HD video. Unlike many cameras, it can also tag images with a GPS location. The camera is easy to use and one can take pictures with one hand out the window. I think it takes very nice images.
 
Often overlooked, but definitely worth a look are the class of cameras commonly referred to as "bridge cameras" or "DSLR-like cameras". These cameras split the difference between a DSLR and a PaS, and often include manual control over things like ISO, shutter speed, and the like, but are not full-frame cameras and usually don't have swappable lenses. They very commonly have multiple automatic settings, like most Point-and-Shoots, but feature the manual setting as well, and cost a far amount less than DSLRs. Great cameras for those just getting started.
 
I'd just bite the bullet and buy a few used CF cards off Fleabay.
An adapter is certainly possible, but since the two formats use entirely different communication and file protocols, a typical chinese "black box" may not be the most reliable... ;)
 
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