5D Mk III storage

[meinthai]

Hi

Does any one have an idea of what storage format Canon will be using in the future for the 5D line?

Will they be sticking to Flash or using SDXC, which Apple now has a built in slot for on the MacBook Pro?

I'm thinking of buying some more storage cards for a trip I'm making to Mongolia, but I'll limit what I'm buying if people think it might change.

Thanks

[UncleFester]

I don't expect that a next 5D will be that much different than the current. CF.

[Blaze]

They'll probably stick to compact flash like all the other pro-level DSLRs. I'm hoping they put in a second slot for SDHC cards, but I have no idea if they'll implement something like that or not.

Regardless, what the MacBook has built in is pretty much irrelevant. Decent card readers are relatively inexpensive.

[dilbert]

I'm hoping that they put in a Compact Flash slot and a Fast Compact Flash slot.

[Flake]

Compact Flash is the likeliest solution, especially as it's the format most current users have.  I'd like to see a little storage built into the camera, so that if you forget a card or it fills faster than expected there's still a couple of shots in the camera.

[torger]

There's been a lot of talk that compact flash is being phased out, and SDHC/SDXC is taking over. Perhaps 5Dmk3 will have SD then...

[bikersbeard]

really hope it has 2 card slots ( one of each )

when you look at nikon prosumer cameras they have this, and the viewfinder lever, and better autofocus, crop modes etc etc, as im waiting for the 5DIII as an upgrade to full frame if it isnt up there with the D800 i may switch !

[meinthai]

after doing some research I see that the SDXC system has a theoretical max size of 2TB and there are already 128GB cards available, but they aren't as fast yet with a max speed of 25MB/Second at the moment (on B&H photo website)

Room for improvement, but catching up with CF.  Looking forward to seeing which way it goes.

[Bob Howland]

The Canon XF100/105/300/305 professional camcorders use the fastest CF cards available. They have to, to handle the 50Mbps, 4:2:2 video output rates from these devices. I would expect the 5D3 to do the same. The XA10 uses SD cards but also uses AVCHD compression and max's out at 24Mbps.

[J. McCabe]

I can see CF being phased out in favour of CFast, but considering the time this would take to happen, and that customers have invested in CF (the firmware fix to support UDMA-7 card supports that), I think the 5Dmk3 should support CF.

Personally, I hope for dual slot, one CF & one SDXC.

[Picsfor]

really hope it has 2 card slots ( one of each )

when you look at nikon prosumer cameras they have this, and the viewfinder lever, and better autofocus, crop modes etc etc, as im waiting for the 5DIII as an upgrade to full frame if it isnt up there with the D800 i may switch !

I too am thinking about making the switch if Canon don't start offering more bodies with Dual Memory Card slots. If Nikon can do it with a D300s, then Canon should at least offer it with a 5D series, if not a 60D!

I love my 5D2, and can even cope with the poor focusing system, but single memory card slot is just getting a nuisance in this day and age. How can any respectable tog go and do a portrait, event or wedding using a camera with a single memory card? Frightening...

[awinphoto]

After Canon made a point of emphasizing (with the releases of the 50D and the 5D mark II) the forward compatibility with these cameras and UDMA Compact Flash cards, I think that's where Canon is really expecting the technology to evolve into.  I cant see them switching to other cards, no matter their popularity, if they impede speed or performance of the system and buffer, especially as the MP's increase.  CFast, there seems to be so little information yet alone actual products on hand to warrant to camera dedicated to them.  For the speed factor, I hope the new 5d has 2 CF slots so the camera wont suffer due to a slower card. 

[-zero-]

How can any respectable tog go and do a portrait, event or wedding using a camera with a single memory card? Frightening...

I guess in the film era no photographer was respectable enough, to think that you are limited to a 24 exposure roll and then you have to wind it and change the film, the horror...

tell that to all the photographers who shoot wedding with a 5D or 7D, they must all be worth nothing and are not "respectable" because they dont have dual card slots in their cameras

having dual card slot is an extremely convenient and desirable feature in a camera. I would be disappointed if it does not make it into the next iteration of the 5/7D but it is far from a necessity

[Picsfor]

How can any respectable tog go and do a portrait, event or wedding using a camera with a single memory card? Frightening...

I guess in the film era no photographer was respectable enough, to think that you are limited to a 24 exposure roll and then you have to wind it and change the film, the horror...

I shot wedding in the film era, a wedding consisted of 2 rolls of 24 or 36, and it was accepted that due to a number of factors, the pictures may not actually turn out. Wedding togs were employed to make sure pics were correctly exposed and in focus - with a few nice touches along the way. And more over, they just covered the wedding so may have shot 3 or 4 weddings in one day!

Today, pictures being in focus and exposed correctly is not enough. Half closed eyes or embarrassing pose is not acceptable. The tog tends to cover most of the event from B&G getting ready right through to the end of the reception. 'Special' shots are almost expected. Video seems to be becoming the norm as well.

And on top of this - not having images to deliver because the camera, lenses or memory card failed is not acceptable. Redundancy across the line with kit seems to be the way forward. If Nikon can put in just about all of their cameras - why aren't Canon?

I don't do weddings because i have a single 5D2 and it only holds a single CF card. I would not be able to live with myself knowing i did not have the redundancy in kit when shooting a wedding and ruined some ones wedding day through failure to deliver pictures...

[motorhead]

How can any respectable tog go and do a portrait, event or wedding using a camera with a single memory card? Frightening...

I guess in the film era no photographer was respectable enough, to think that you are limited to a 24 exposure roll and then you have to wind it and change the film, the horror...

tell that to all the photographers who shoot wedding with a 5D or 7D, they must all be worth nothing and are not "respectable" because they dont have dual card slots in their cameras

having dual card slot is an extremely convenient and desirable feature in a camera. I would be disappointed if it does not make it into the next iteration of the 5/7D but it is far from a necessity

Zero,

I'm a keen motorsports photographer and more often than not only take one card with me to F1, MotoGP and BSB weekends. Even on the rare occasion that I have carried a spare I've never needed to use it. On the post processing thread running here, a poster talks of shooting 8000 shots while "on holiday" - I could never ever shoot that much even if the holiday lasted a couple of months.