Home > Consumer Reviews > 2GB Fuji Type-H High Speed xD-Picture Card

Type H is noticeably faster than type M when taking pictures in RAW mode on my Fuji S6500. It takes 7.9 seconds with type M but only 5.2 seconds with type H. That makes type H about 1/3 faster in the write mode than type M.

I haven't tried timing it in the read mode (downloading pictures from camera to computer), but I expect similar time advantage with type H.

One thing may concern someone using it to take movies is the little warning on the back of the shrink wrapped case that says this chip may cause interruptions when recording movies in the 640 x 480 pixel mode. I don't recall seeing the same warning on my 1 GB type M chip. On the other hand, I used the 2GB type H chip to take an uninterrupted movie with no problem using up the full 2 gigabytes for one movie. But I have not been able to download the 2GB movie file to my computer from my camera. Even when the computer has plenty of free storage, downloading the 2GB file repeatedly crashes the computer. I can not state with certainty what the culprit is, whether it's the camera, the type H chip, or the Fuji FinePix software.

Also the instruction for the chip says it must be initialized using the intialization function of your camera. I take this to mean don't rely on the initialization function of a card reader to be compatible with your camera's initialization requirements. I suspect some data loss problems some folks have reported with these xD chips (whether type M or type H) could be traced to their not having initialized the chip properly.

My 2 GB type H chip is made in Korea by Samsung. My 1 GB type M chip is made by Toshiba in Japan. Both are branded Fuji.

I called Fujifilm technical support (1-800-800-3854, option #1) today and their tech support said there is no difference in speed between the H and M xD cards in-camera for Fuji cameras, including the F30, which is what I have. The Fuji rep also said that they do not sell Fuji H-speed cards in the U.S. for that very reason, and any cards sold in the U.S. are grey market, probably from Japan, and Fuji will not support these cards in the U.S. if they malfunction. Of course, Type H cards will be 2-3x faster once you take the card out of the camera, e.g., if you have a card reader and are downloading to your computer (but you will need to make sure your card reader reads H speed xd cards). Fuji did not think there would be a speed difference if downloading from your camera.

Update: The above review was written in January 2007, and Fuji now sells high capacity Type H xD cards in the U.S.

I use this card with my Fuji F31d pocket size camera. I was recently at a Wedding and noticed that nobody had thought to bring a video camera. So I set the little Fuji with this card in it to record 30FPS full frame (D1) NTSC video. The camera shot the entire ceremony, the cutting of the cake, etc. PLUS about 75 stills, all captured on this 2GB card without even one dropped frame. There wouldn't be a video of this event if I didn't have this card. A very fast card that gets the job done.

I bought this card to use with an Olympus 720sw camera. Nothing in the information here at Amazon indicated that the card could not be used in any camera that takes xD cards. However, when this xD card arrived, the blister-pack contained documentation that explicitly named which Fuji cameras could use and which could not, and also said to check with other cameras' manufacturers to determine whether it would work. When I formatted it in the Oly 720sw, it would not work. The camera went through the formatting process, after which the screen went back to a live view for a second, and then the screen showed a menu with 2 choices: power down the camera or format the card. I formatted it again; same thing. I turned off the camera and removed the card. I turned on the camera and it worked fine. I turned it off and inserted an Olympus xD card; it worked fine. I turned it off and put the Fuji card back in. Same menu: power down or format. I decided to try the Fuji card in an older Olympus, my D580. That camera is perfectly happy with the Fuji card, and has no problem formatting it. I took the newly formatted Fuji card and put it back in the 720sw, where it now works fine.

So as long as I never format the card in the 720 -- or hang onto the 580 to use for just that purpose -- I guess it will work. But who wants to carry around a second camera just to format the media, or delete several hundred pictures one at a time so as not to have the card glitch out?

I just got this card for my FujiFilm F30, and in terms of saving video to the camera, it's remarkably faster--under a second now, no matter the amount recorded! Size wise, on an empty card, it maxes out at JUST under 30 minutes of video.

I haven't noticed a change in pic saving, but I assume there's a slight improvement.

When exporting to my PC, there is a DEFINITE speed difference. I'd say 35% faster?

Pay the extra ~20 dollars and get this over M. It'll be a worthy investment.