SanDisk, however, has joined Lexar in holding off on production of the next-generation memory cards, leaving Sony and Nikon as the only manufacturers currently supporting the format. Lexar last week introduced a new line of 1000x CompactFlash cards, and with the announcement gave a statement indicating that the company will continue to evaluate XQD, adding that "adoption from camera manufacturers is key to its success."

It's not certain whether XQD will be supported by other DSLR makers, but common sense dictates that Nikon will be looking to add the option to some less high-end models down the line. We'll have to wait and see if SanDisk or Lexar have a change of heart, but for now it seems that Sony will have a monopoly on the new format.