Why do DSLRs use CF and P&S cameras use SD cards?

Question: Why do DSLRs use CF and P&S cameras use SD cards!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Well actually many SLRs use both, and some use SD only!. CF still have the theoretical speed advantage but the gap is getting smaller and generally the difference won't mean much in-camera!. also the SD extreme cards from scan disk come close enough to 20mb/s transfer speeds!. You can hit 40mb/s with a really fast CF but you'll never get that speed out of your camera so it's irrelevant!. also with a USB card reader/writer you'll never hit such speeds so basically there's no real advantage to either card format unless you choose a camera and card reader based on your card!. I don't see photographers choosing a camer based on a card so!.!.!.
Anyway to answer you're question!. The initial reasons that CF had faster and larger capacities than SD!. Consequently they were cheaper (for what you got), the larger size wasn't an issue in an SLR although it can be an issue in a point and shoot!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Once upon a time, we only had CF cards!. They were very slow!. Then came the likes of Memory Stick, Secure Digital, etc and they were faster than CF!. But CF steadily grew as pro cameras were getting nearer, then bang, CF was the fastest memory card!. I'm assuming fastest because of the number of pins allowing more data at one moment!.
Anyway, apart from being fast, the only reason I prefer CF for SLRs rather than other memory cards is because of its size!. Less likely to lose it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

DSLRs use many different card formats, not just CF!. But the reason most DSLRs use CF cards is because CF cards can reach much higher capacities as opposed to SD!. CF cards can reach up to 32GB if I can remember!. The highest capacity SD card I've seen is around 16GB!. also, CF cards sometime have faster writing speeds over SD!. also, some DSLRs will use both CF and SD for the purpose of transferring images over to the SD card to save space in the CF card!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i didn't know that CF cards existed , untill i went to buy my canon and the salesperson asked if i need to buy a meomory card , and i said nope cuz i had a SD card, then she told me that the canon needed an CF card , i don't like CF cards cuz they cost a lot more then SD's and 2GB's is only 200 shots or more on my DSLR , so now i have to buy a new card that has more spaceWww@QuestionHome@Com

That is not always the case now!. In earlier days of digital the CF card had much more capacity than the SD!. The SD card, being much smaller however, was used more in tiny point and shoots for space reasons!.

Today though, SD cards have pretty much caught up with CF in capacity and reliability, so many DSLRs now have slots for both CF and SD!. I even think there are some that use SD only!.

steveWww@QuestionHome@Com

Actually most DSLR's use SD cards too, after all they are the cheapest per Mb!. Pentax/Samsung, Olympus, Nikon, Sigma all use SD cards!. Only Canon uses CF cards, being the most expensive cards they would, wouldn't they!.

ChrisWww@QuestionHome@Com

It's pretty much about size!. Kind of like why a walkman uses AA batteries and a boombox uses D batteries even though both batteries carry the same voltage!. But many DSLR's are using SD these days!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I believe it's already answered!.!.!. capacity for larger images and higher MP cameras!.Www@QuestionHome@Com