Though SDHC and SDXC cards are prominent on the market for small form factor storage devices, CompactFlash cards have actually become quite popular, and even preferred in some instances. Such cards are well thought of because they actually read and write data at very high speeds compared to competing solutions. The CompactFlash Association has actually been developing the next CF specs for about six months. Now, they seem to have finally placed the stamp on the latest versions, CF5.1 to be exact.

The CF5.1 specs do more than just increase performance, though the speed boost alone is enough to instill awe in onlookers. To be more specific, the Ultra DMA 167 Mode actually allows for the making of CF cards with transfer speeds of up to 167 MB/s. This is 86% faster than what existing high-end CF cards can manage. Nevertheless, this is just one of several assets.

CFA came up with Mandatory Write Caching. This feature improves write performance of CF cards for certain Video Performance Guarantee profiles. Another feature is the Trim Before Write Attribute Protocol, which optimizes device physical allocation (improves internal data organization)and, thus, provides an incremental performance rise. There is also the Sanitize element, which consists of an efficient NAND Block Erase of the whole user data area. Basically, it's a sort of formatting option. Finally, an optional card capability known as operating Temperature Range can report the actual heat limits under which said card can operate.

“The higher performance provided by Ultra DMA 167 will further increase the capabilities and value of DSLR cameras," said Mr. Shigeto Kanda of Canon and the CFA chairman of the board. "These backward compatible improvements of CF5.1 are expected be viewed as a significant benefit within the professional imaging and video markets and should firmly establish CompactFlash cards as the highest performance professional card solutions for the foreseeable future.”

The CompactFlash Association did not give out any specifics, but CF5.1 cards should make it out later this year.