This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2020) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Memory cards past, present and future - What you need to know about the different card formats". 7 December 2017.

Olympus says that its xD cards support special "picture effects" when used in some Olympus cameras, though these software features are not intrinsically hardware-dependent. Type H and M+ cards however, are required in newer models to capture video at high rate (640×480 @ 30fps). Due to changes in the cards' storage architecture, newer Type M and H cards may have compatibility issues with some older cameras (especially video recording). Compatibility lists are available for Olympus: Olympus America's [17] and Fujifilm's. [18] Newer cards are incompatible with some card readers. xD cards were manufactured with capacities of 16 MB [a] up to 2 GB. [b] [1] The standard was phased out in the late 2000s in favour of the SD card, which had been its primary competitor. [2] History [ edit ] The increasing pixel counts of digital still cameras and the growing use of these cameras for advanced audio and video recording are driving the demand for higher capacity storage," said John D. Blakeslee, business manager, digital memory products, Olympus Imaging America. "Olympus plans to apply this high-capacity technology to develop the xD-Picture Card for Olympus digital cameras with memory capacities eventually reaching up to 8GB."Center Valley, Pa, August 8, 2006 - Olympus Imaging America Inc. proudly introduces the new 2 GB Type M-Series xD-Picture Card, called the M2 GB, an advanced ultra-compact memory media designed for digital cameras. The M2 GB has the greatest storage capacity in the xD-Picture Card series and is scheduled to go on sale in August 2006. Powerfully Simple: Introducing The Incredible Olympus PEN E-PL1 Camera". Olympus America. February 3, 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06 . Retrieved 2011-07-05. Faster xD Picture Cards launched: Digital Photography Review". Dpreview.com. 2008-01-23 . Retrieved 2011-07-05. FE-Series: xD Compatibility Chart". Olympus America. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29 . Retrieved 2011-07-05.

However, a few models of xD card readers based on the Alauda chip do allow direct access (bypassing the above mechanisms) to an xD card's flash memory. These readers have been reverse-engineered and Linux drivers have been produced by the Alauda Project, [21] which has documented the on-chip data structures of the xD card. [22] According to this information, xD card headers are similar to those used by SmartMedia, and include chip manufacturer information. Small maximum capacity relative to other memory card formats. First-generation xD cards (Type S) have a maximum capacity of only 512MB. Type M expands the theoretical maximum capacity to 8GB (8000MB), but as of January2009 [update], there are no cards available with capacity greater than 2GB. Many newer Olympus and Fujifilm digital cameras accept the more popular SD or CF cards, in addition to or instead of the xD format. Digital photographers are taking more photos and they are doing so with cameras of higher resolutions. Fujifilm has responded to this influx of high-resolution pictures by providing a media card that doubles the memory capacity of the current 1GB product. The new 2GB xD-Picture Card provides the storage space necessary to keep these photos until they are printed and shared.This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( July 2011) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) a b "XD Media Specification". AlaudaProject. SourceForge. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Olympus began to move away from the xD format with the mid-2009 [3] announcement of the E-P1 camera, which supported only Secure Digital memory cards. [4] As of Spring 2010, all new Olympus cameras announced at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show and Photo Marketing Association International Trade Show can use SD cards. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] This changeover to the SD card format has never been officially announced by Olympus Corporation. The higher-end DSLR cameras such as the E-3 and E-5 among others continue to use CompactFlash cards as well. Certain final Olympus cameras using xD cards are also supporting microSD cards with a special, included adapter.

Some Olympus cameras offer camera-based panoramic processing. In those cameras that support both xD and CompactFlash cards, panoramic processing only works with images stored on the xD card, if installed. Newer Olympus cameras have neither xD cards nor this restriction. The New Olympus FE Series Just May Be The World's Smartest Entry-Level Cameras". Olympusamerica.com. 2010-01-07 . Retrieved 2011-07-05. New Olympus Stylus Tough Cameras Dare To Go Where Other Point-And-Shoots Fear To Tread". Olympus America. February 2, 2010 . Retrieved 2011-07-05. Olympus Introduces New High-Speed xD-Picture Card For Digital Cameras". Olympus Press Pass. 2008-01-22. Archived from the original on 2009-02-20 . Retrieved 2011-07-05. The xD-Picture Card is an obsolete form of flash memory card, used in digital cameras made by Olympus, Fujifilm, and Kodak during the 2000s. The xD in the xD-Picture Card stands for eXtreme Digital.Type M/M+ and Type H cards [ edit ] xD-Picture Card, 1000MB, type M xD-Picture Card, 512MB, type H A size comparison of an xD-Picture card with a MicroSD Card