Recommendations needed for Compact Flash cards for 5D Mk III

[Razor2012]

I've been using the SanDisk Extreme Pro cards also, the 64GB 90MB/s ones.  I haven't tried the 128GB cards as they are rated @100MB/s (pricey too).

[jondave]

If you're not into heavy video or shooting continuously in big bursts in full RAW you don't need to get the 90mb/s or the 60mb/s cards. Don't get swayed by those who want to the baddest and fastest cards, you'd just be wasting money if you don't need that much speed.

You should know that your camera doesn't write directly to the card when you press the shutter - the file gets saved in the internal buffer first, then gets transferred to the card. The speed of the card determines how fast your camera's buffer is cleared out to make room for your next shots. So if you're not maxing out your camera's buffer with continuous bursts or video, a fast card will do nothing for you - except drain your wallet.

[Studio1930]

So if you're not maxing out your camera's buffer with continuous bursts or video, a fast card will do nothing for you - except drain your wallet.

That is not entirely accurate.  Faster cards mean spending less time waiting for the images to move from the card to your computer.  This may not be important for some people, but many photographers will have hundreds or thousands of images to transfer and slower cards simply take longer.  Time is money (to most).

[crasher8]

So if you're not maxing out your camera's buffer with continuous bursts or video, a fast card will do nothing for you - except drain your wallet.

That is not entirely accurate.  Faster cards mean spending less time waiting for the images to move from the card to your computer.  This may not be important for some people, but many photographers will have hundreds or thousands of images to transfer and slower cards simply take longer.  Time is money (to most).

+1, cards aren't just about shooting! Plus I got my card for free, Extreme Pro 16GB , so my wallet only drained from the 5D3 I had to buy to get the freebies!

[pwp]

B&H has a deal on Lexar 32Gb 1000x CF cards at the moment which just can't be ignored.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/841573-REG/Lexar_LCF32GCTBNA10002_32GB_CompactFlash_Memory_Card.html

-PW

[LetTheRightLensIn]

Just about to pull the trigger on a 5D Mk III to replace my 40D as main body.
I currently have a couple of Sandisk Extreme 60mb/s 8gb cards.
I was thinking of getting a 32GB for the 5D Mk III. And hope to use it for both stills and video capture.
So do I just get a Sandisk Extreme 60mb/s 32gb card or would i be better advised to pay extra now for a Extreme Pro 90mb/s ? Is the extra cost really worth it? Will I be dissapointed with the performance of the 60mb/s cards? Or how about going all out and getting a Lexar Professional 1000x card? Are these as reliable as Sandisk?

So many questions 

I can say the Lexar 1000x definitely bumps your buffer up and lowers the flush time noticeably compared to the SanDisk Extreme Pro 90 MB/s. I've tested it. Definitely helps. The 60MB/s Sandisk are even slower yet.

If you tend to ever stress the buffer get a 32GB Lexar 1000x. You may just about never hit the buffer with that one.

[LetTheRightLensIn]

I use the 60mb/sec cards with no problems.  The fast cards might make a difference if you are trying to shoot high fps sequences and need a extra frame or two before the buffer fills.  You can also cut the transfer time to your computer if you have a good USB-3 reader.
Get what you need, 60 mb/sec works fine.
One thing to consider, is that if you use dual cards and write to both, your speed will be limited by the slowest card, so even 60mb/sec will be overkill if a class 10 SDXC card is installed.

Lexar 1000x gives you MUCH more than just a frame or two extra compared to the Sandisk 60MB/s cards, heck it gives much more than that even compared to the 90MB/s cards.

Of course it depends what you shoot. If you do tripod based landscapes it's a total waste of money (other than mayeb saving a little time uploading to the PC later). If you are doing anything that can need lots of bursts at times man the lexar 1000x can be well worth it, yes, noticeably longer burst even compared to ExtremePro 90MB/s and insanely different compared to say older Extreme III cards.

The $120-$150 deals on the 32GB lexar 1000x make the price OK.

But it depends, for some it's more than worth it, for some a total waste and a 32GB card on some $15 deal will be fine.

[jabbott]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this link yet, but someone did some fairly exhaustive benchmarks of CF and SD cards for the 5D3 here: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_wb_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-12452

[kaihp]

B&H has a deal on Lexar 32Gb 1000x CF cards at the moment which just can't be ignored.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/841573-REG/Lexar_LCF32GCTBNA10002_32GB_CompactFlash_Memory_Card.html

Either Lexar or B&H are backlogged (or both), because I'm still waiting for my shipment notice of the Lexar 1000x 32GB cards I order on Aug 30th. They were supposed to be shipped on Sept 7, but got a "sorry, they're delayed until Sept 21" mail. Now it's Sept 22, and I have received neither a shipment notice nor a delay notice.

I'd say pick Adorama instead. Here's a link to their 2-pack deal ($240): http://www.adorama.com/ILXPCF1K322.html

[AKCalixto]

In case you want to check the performance of a 5DIII and a memory card

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_wb_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-12452

[Axilrod]

I have 10 Sandisk 16GB and 32GB that I have had zero troubles with over the last couple years.  I shoot video mainly and they run all day long no problem. 

And $84 for 32GB is not bad at all, a year ago I paid $99 for the 16GB.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646870-REG/SanDisk_SDCFX_032G_A61_32GB_Extreme_CompactFlash_Memory.html

[cocopop05]

I have just purchased a 16GB Lexar 1000X UDMA7 CF card and get the following performance. 

With auto-focus on, I get no worse than 19 frames at 6fps when using auto-focus, get on average 23 frames at 6fps, at most get 25 frames.  When using manual focus get no worse than 24 frames at 6fps, on average 25 frames and at most get 30 frames.

This compares with 12-13 frames at 6fps using a Sandisk Extreme Pro 16GB 95MB/s SD Card (taking note that the 5D Mark III does not support the UHS transfer speeds of SD cards)

[zim]

What's the fastes SD Card that can be used before the speed advantage of the card is limited to the slow SD slot in the 5D, is it simply any 133x card?

https://www.sdcard.org/developers/overview/bus_speed/

[vmk]

Using 64GB sandisk extreme pro 90MB/s for my Mark iii
was using the same for 7d.

For the faster frame rate you need faster memory cards

[Jesse]

I've been using 2 Transcend 32 gig cards for over a year and have never had a problem with them. Way cheaper.