editor’s note:  I’m writing this blog in real-time on Friday, 10 July, when I got the card from B&H.  The post will appear on a later date

Today I got my Lexar 4GB UDMA 300x CompactFlash Card from B&H.  I don’t yet have a UDMA capable camera, but I decided if I am going to buy memory cards, they should have features that I can take advantage of when I finally upgrade my camera (hopefully in 1-2 years).  This is my first Lexar card; until now I’ve been exclusively in the Sandisk camp.  However, lots of people online love to rave about their Lexar cards and they had a much bigger rebate than Sandisk for similar size and speed.  The first thing I noticed is that Lexar apparently doesn’t use those really annoying plastic pakagign cases that Sandisk tends to.  You know, the ones that you need scissors to open.  However, I also quickly learn that I’m not a huge fan of the case holding the memory card.  While it probably has less of a chance of breaking than the Sandisk cases with their (Sandisk’s) latches, I find it a lot harder to open the Lexar case quickly.  I pop the card into my Rebel XTi (400D).  The camera claims 382 photos.  I was expecting a number slightly closer to 400 since my 2 GB cards get 197, but I guess the “missing GB” problem that plagues hard drives is at work here too.