1DXII` What Toys, er, accessories did you buy for yours?

[scottkinfw]

I ordered a spare battery when I pre-ordered the body. I got the RRS B1Dx base plate. I did not go for the modular L bracket as I have the Pano-Gimbal when needed. I have a Lexar 128GB 3400x CFast card coming directly from Asia. It should be here any day and was half the price compared to either Amazon or the on-line camera shops. If that works out well I'll likely get a second one. I'll be waiting for the EF 24-70 F/2.8L III or IS to replace my original EF 24-70

That sounds great. Please, if the card works out, post a link and give us your thoughts.

Sek

The card arrived in the mail today. It was a flawless transaction with very prompt shipping, faster than average from Hong Kong. The card was well packed, formatted promptly in camera, and seems to work as expected. I purchased it on eBay from seller "greenshopping2011". I paid $159 for the Lexar 128GB 3400x, but I see the price has gone up to $199. That is still a decent savings over retail.

Hi JMZ

I looked at the ebay offerings, and this offer looks too good to be true. Some sellers are offering used cards. This one is way less than sandisks that are used, though it is new. Have you had any experience with Lexar cards? I only use Sandisks so I don't have any experience with them, and I don't want to loose precious pics.

Thanks.

sek

 

[JMZawodny]

I ordered a spare battery when I pre-ordered the body. I got the RRS B1Dx base plate. I did not go for the modular L bracket as I have the Pano-Gimbal when needed. I have a Lexar 128GB 3400x CFast card coming directly from Asia. It should be here any day and was half the price compared to either Amazon or the on-line camera shops. If that works out well I'll likely get a second one. I'll be waiting for the EF 24-70 F/2.8L III or IS to replace my original EF 24-70

That sounds great. Please, if the card works out, post a link and give us your thoughts.

Sek

The card arrived in the mail today. It was a flawless transaction with very prompt shipping, faster than average from Hong Kong. The card was well packed, formatted promptly in camera, and seems to work as expected. I purchased it on eBay from seller "greenshopping2011". I paid $159 for the Lexar 128GB 3400x, but I see the price has gone up to $199. That is still a decent savings over retail.

Hi JMZ

I looked at the ebay offerings, and this offer looks too good to be true. Some sellers are offering used cards. This one is way less than sandisks that are used, though it is new. Have you had any experience with Lexar cards? I only use Sandisks so I don't have any experience with them, and I don't want to loose precious pics.

Thanks.

sek

I only use Lexar cards and have done so for many years. I have not had any compatibility issues or had one fail, their performance is excellent. I agree that the price very compelling. I shot all day today using that card and am very pleased with its performance. I probably should have bought two.

 

[expatinasia]

I hope I am wrong, but do you not think there is something very fishy about buying a Lexar Professional 128GB 3400x CFast 2.0 memory card from ebay (Hong Kong) for US$ 159, or even the new ebay price of US$ 199 when on BH it is US$ 349.

I say that as while the cards are made across the border in China, they tend to be a lot cheaper to buy from Adorama or BH than to buy locally in Hong Kong.

Plus, despite what I just wrote, wouldn't you sell it for US$ 260, or thereabouts, if you know that in the US it is US$ 349?

Definitely has my warning bells ringing.

 

[scottkinfw]

I ordered a spare battery when I pre-ordered the body. I got the RRS B1Dx base plate. I did not go for the modular L bracket as I have the Pano-Gimbal when needed. I have a Lexar 128GB 3400x CFast card coming directly from Asia. It should be here any day and was half the price compared to either Amazon or the on-line camera shops. If that works out well I'll likely get a second one. I'll be waiting for the EF 24-70 F/2.8L III or IS to replace my original EF 24-70

That sounds great. Please, if the card works out, post a link and give us your thoughts.

Sek

The card arrived in the mail today. It was a flawless transaction with very prompt shipping, faster than average from Hong Kong. The card was well packed, formatted promptly in camera, and seems to work as expected. I purchased it on eBay from seller "greenshopping2011". I paid $159 for the Lexar 128GB 3400x, but I see the price has gone up to $199. That is still a decent savings over retail.

Hi JMZ

I looked at the ebay offerings, and this offer looks too good to be true. Some sellers are offering used cards. This one is way less than sandisks that are used, though it is new. Have you had any experience with Lexar cards? I only use Sandisks so I don't have any experience with them, and I don't want to loose precious pics.

Thanks.

sek

I only use Lexar cards and have done so for many years. I have not had any compatibility issues or had one fail, their performance is excellent. I agree that the price very compelling. I shot all day today using that card and am very pleased with its performance. I probably should have bought two.

Thanks, I'll pull the trigger.

sek

 

[Loswr]

I hope I am wrong, but do you not think there is something very fishy about buying a Lexar Professional 128GB 3400x CFast 2.0 memory card from ebay (Hong Kong) for US$ 159, or even the new ebay price of US$ 199 when on BH it is US$ 349.

I say that as while the cards are made across the border in China, they tend to be a lot cheaper to buy from Adorama or BH than to buy locally in Hong Kong.

Plus, despite what I just wrote, wouldn't you sell it for US$ 260, or thereabouts, if you know that in the US it is US$ 349?

Definitely has my warning bells ringing.

I'd be worried about a counterfeit card. Sandisk and Lexar cards are trustworthy, but some random, cheap card with a Sandisk or Lexar label slapped on it, not so much...

http://www.ebay.com/gds/All-About-Fake-Flash-Drives-2013-/10000000177553258/g.html

A while back, there were fake Sandisk cards shipped by Amazon (sold by 3rd parties with Amazon fulfillment). I only buy memory from B&H, Adorama or (sold by) Amazon.

 

[JMZawodny]

I hope I am wrong, but do you not think there is something very fishy about buying a Lexar Professional 128GB 3400x CFast 2.0 memory card from ebay (Hong Kong) for US$ 159, or even the new ebay price of US$ 199 when on BH it is US$ 349.

I say that as while the cards are made across the border in China, they tend to be a lot cheaper to buy from Adorama or BH than to buy locally in Hong Kong.

Plus, despite what I just wrote, wouldn't you sell it for US$ 260, or thereabouts, if you know that in the US it is US$ 349?

Definitely has my warning bells ringing.

I'd be worried about a counterfeit card. Sandisk and Lexar cards are trustworthy, but some random, cheap card with a Sandisk or Lexar label slapped on it, not so much...

http://www.ebay.com/gds/All-About-Fake-Flash-Drives-2013-/10000000177553258/g.html

A while back, there were fake Sandisk cards shipped by Amazon (sold by 3rd parties with Amazon fulfillment). I only buy memory from B&H, Adorama or (sold by) Amazon.

That particular seller has been on eBay for 4+ years with very high ratings. I did test the card by copying 90GB of files (in ~11 minutes) and then sampling various files for integrity (knowing how OS X copies files assures that I sampled representative files from all phases of the copy process).

More often than not, merchandise is priced to what the market will tolerate with prices varying wildly from one market to the next (pharmaceuticals are the poster child for this) . The internet and international shipping flattens the Earth considerably. When I can I choose not to "feed the monster". Would having paid $200 more for the same card killed me? Certainly not. I just decided to pay now what the card will be selling for several months down the road.

 

[Loswr]

That particular seller has been on eBay for 4+ years with very high ratings.

That a seller appears trustworthy means little. You also must trust the supply chain behind that seller, and often that supply chain includes the Chinese wholesaler Alibaba, which has a reputation as an unscrupulous clearing house for counterfeit merchandise. Sometimes counterfeit products are of decent quality, often not. If you're comfortable with the risk in exchange for saving a bit of money, that's your choice.

 

[JMZawodny]

I hope I am wrong, but do you not think there is something very fishy about buying a Lexar Professional 128GB 3400x CFast 2.0 memory card from ebay (Hong Kong) for US$ 159, or even the new ebay price of US$ 199 when on BH it is US$ 349.

I say that as while the cards are made across the border in China, they tend to be a lot cheaper to buy from Adorama or BH than to buy locally in Hong Kong.

Plus, despite what I just wrote, wouldn't you sell it for US$ 260, or thereabouts, if you know that in the US it is US$ 349?

Definitely has my warning bells ringing.

I was prepared to have an unhappy ending. The card was packaged EOM style, no flashy packaging or plastic storage case, just double anti-static bags that appeared to have been processed on an assembly line. These seem to be packaged for bulk sales. It also had high quality (read indistinguishable from authentic) labeling and embossed part-number on the edge as is typical of Lexar cards. What do you think the per unit cost in a quantity of 1000 would be as compared to the retail price (in China)? I would not be surprised if they wholesaled for less than US$ 100.

 

[JMZawodny]

That particular seller has been on eBay for 4+ years with very high ratings.

That a seller appears trustworthy means little. You also must trust the supply chain behind that seller, and often that supply chain includes the Chinese wholesaler Alibaba, which has a reputation as an unscrupulous clearing house for counterfeit merchandise. Sometimes counterfeit products are of decent quality, often not. If you're comfortable with the risk in exchange for saving a bit of money, that's your choice.

A high rating is a requirement, not proof of character (necessary but not sufficient). The seller still has value in their own rating and *should* value the integrity of their supply chain. There is certainly no shortage of folks selling these things. As with anything done on the internet, I never said this was a sure thing. Increased reward is always associated increased risk. I actually buy quite a lot of stuff directly from China and have had generally good experiences. I have saved enough on these transactions that I'd still be ahead if one of these deals failed entirely. I've had far worse experiences buying from folks in the US (that guy should be getting out of jail soon). The internet is fundamentally changing the marketplace even today. Many longstanding business models will fail as a result of increased international competition. The market inherently maximizes efficiency.

 

[expatinasia]

I hope I am wrong, but do you not think there is something very fishy about buying a Lexar Professional 128GB 3400x CFast 2.0 memory card from ebay (Hong Kong) for US$ 159, or even the new ebay price of US$ 199 when on BH it is US$ 349.

I say that as while the cards are made across the border in China, they tend to be a lot cheaper to buy from Adorama or BH than to buy locally in Hong Kong.

Plus, despite what I just wrote, wouldn't you sell it for US$ 260, or thereabouts, if you know that in the US it is US$ 349?

Definitely has my warning bells ringing.

I was prepared to have an unhappy ending. The card was packaged EOM style, no flashy packaging or plastic storage case, just double anti-static bags that appeared to have been processed on an assembly line. These seem to be packaged for bulk sales. It also had high quality (read indistinguishable from authentic) labeling and embossed part-number on the edge as is typical of Lexar cards. What do you think the per unit cost in a quantity of 1000 would be as compared to the retail price (in China)? I would not be surprised if they wholesaled for less than US$ 100.

My point is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

CF and CFast cards typically retail in Hong Kong for 3 to 4 times the price of Adorama and BH, which is why I buy mine from the US. Even with shipping it is cheaper.

So one question for me is why is he selling them so cheap? I mean if they retail for so much in HK and they are US$ 349 in the US then why not just offer at US$ 250 which is still cheap for you and everyone else. Even US$ 220.

My guess would be that these cards are either very good fakes, damaged in some way, thrown out by the factory for whatever reason, stolen, or have fallen off the back of a lorry.

Would I put one in my 1DX or 1DX Mark II. No chance. I am not going to buy such an expensive camera only to save US$150 on a card which has obvious questions marks around it and which may or may not do damage to the camera at some time in the unforeseen future.

Of course real cads can have problems, but at least buying from reputable dealers minimises this risk to some extent.

I hope you have found the deal of the century and nothing bad happens.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

My point is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

CF and CFast cards typically retail in Hong Kong for 3 to 4 times the price of Adorama and BH, which is why I buy mine from the US. Even with shipping it is cheaper.

So one question for me is why is he selling them so cheap? I mean if they retail for so much in HK and they are US$ 349 in the US then why not just offer at US$ 250 which is still cheap for you and everyone else. Even US$ 220.

My guess would be that these cards are either very good fakes, damaged in some way, thrown out by the factory for whatever reason, stolen, or have fallen off the back of a lorry.

Would I put one in my 1DX or 1DX Mark II. No chance. I am not going to buy such an expensive camera only to save US$150 on a card which has obvious questions marks around it and which may or may not do damage to the camera at some time in the unforeseen future.

Of course real cads can have problems, but at least buying from reputable dealers minimises this risk to some extent.

I hope you have found the deal of the century and nothing bad happens.

Counterfeits no longer have fuzzy labels, and often are almost impossible to tell from the real thing. However, reliability is usually poor, and, of course, it could have been stolen somewhere along the line.

I have also found that genuine products tend to be expensive in Hong Kong.

Lexar could tell you if its a fake, but you might need to send it to them.

Sometimes deals happen, I found a seller offering a high end product for a fraction of retail. I asked the manufacturer about it, and they said the products were real, the Chinese dealer had bought the inventory of a German company and was blowing it out. I then bought up quite a bit. (It was for my wife).

In the end, if it works fine, has the advertised capacity, and is reliable, then you have a "Deal"

 

[tphillips63]

Two 64GB Lexar Cfast 2.0 3500x's, two batteries, Lexar Professional Workflow CR2 CFast 2.0 Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 Reader, hand me down 1DX RRS bracket.

 

[scottkinfw]

I love to use precision focussing screens. So bad the 5D3 doesn't (natively) supports the exchange of the focussing screens (the 5D1 did!) as the 1D does...

Does the 1D X II support (in firmware) the -S screen? The 1D X doesn't, it physically fits but the camera doesn't compensate for metering.

The 1DXII comes with Ec-C6 standard. Two other screens mentioned that are available for order: Ec-A, B or L. any comments on which might be the best for manual focus, and under which circumstances?

Thx.

sek

 

[Eldar]

You can use the S-screen. As with the 1DX, you'll have to make a minor exposure compensation of 2/3-1 stop. Works very well.

 

[East Wind Photography]

Just tested a lexar 256gb cfast 2 3500X card on the 1dx2. Got 42 minutes of 4k60 before the card filled up. Used 50% of the battery. Hard stop at 30 minutes but was expected. Very nice and a little closer to trusting it for production work.

 

[RGF]

Will the 1Dx RRS Bottom and L bracket fit the 1Dx Mark II? According to the RRS site it seems will.

Eldar says they fit.

The 1DX-II body shape and layout is identical to the 1DX, as far as the L-bracket is concerned. That is actually one of the things I really appreciate with Canon. I kept the RRS L-bracket and a spare battery from my 1DX, works just fine (except a minor reduction in fps). Layout, menus and all the rest of it is almost identical, so it took me just a few minutes to set it up exactly as my 1DX and I was ready to go.

Only outstanding issues now is for Canon to supply the CFast card & reader (incredibly slow ...) and to get FoCal support for AFMA. I have done a manual AFMA on the most critical lenses though and the 1066x CF cards works well for what I have been shooting up until now, so it is not a big deal.

Update: RRS is now listing the B1DX-L L-bracket as a 1DX/1DX-II bracket.

Look me a few minutes to find the cable release socket. They moved to near the vertical release button. much better when working on a tripod with the L bracket.

 

[RGF]

That particular seller has been on eBay for 4+ years with very high ratings.

That a seller appears trustworthy means little. You also must trust the supply chain behind that seller, and often that supply chain includes the Chinese wholesaler Alibaba, which has a reputation as an unscrupulous clearing house for counterfeit merchandise. Sometimes counterfeit products are of decent quality, often not. If you're comfortable with the risk in exchange for saving a bit of money, that's your choice.

I have burnt by sellers with high feedback on eBay. Was able to return all but a few cards. Never again. A few card sellers did not know (or so they claimed) that the cards were fakes. I will no longer even by cards on Amazon.

 

[RGF]

Side note, I don't own a 1DXII, but being very familiar with Lexar and Sandisk for 5DIII and now M3, they're both good cards.

Irregardless of who makes them, beware of the following when it comes to ICs (integrated chips) as there are only so many companies making the actual chips that go into Sandisk/Lexars/Other guys cards:

10% DOA or latent defect, IE not immediately obvious, usually within the first month. Test each card for a good month, regardless of who makes it, prior to production use, IE use it for personal stuff, not $$ gigs.

Benchmark the cards and make sure you aren't getting sold a cheap knock off, do so with a dedicated USB3 reader rated for your card.

I prefer to "burn in" my cards with a benchmark app, and do a few multi-pass overwrite wipes which will write to every sector of the card, effectively trying to make it squeal.

Moral of the story? Don't trust a name brand blindly, defects are still defects, although I'd like to think places have better QA than others, I've heard stories from both Sandisk and Lexar, good and bad, and I don't mean from people who own their products, I mean from people who make them...

Side note, there is alot of margin in memory products last time I had access to vendor systems, IE see the "at cost" of a given product. Lexar and Sandisk cards have gratuitous markups, of course this isn't a surprise. It's possible to find an inexpensive Lexar or Sandisk card via import (leveraging currency), or non-authorized seller (isn't adhering to MSRP), or both.

I can verify cards (write/read multiple passes) - but how do you bench mark them? Any software redo for a mac?

 

[East Wind Photography]

That particular seller has been on eBay for 4+ years with very high ratings.

That a seller appears trustworthy means little. You also must trust the supply chain behind that seller, and often that supply chain includes the Chinese wholesaler Alibaba, which has a reputation as an unscrupulous clearing house for counterfeit merchandise. Sometimes counterfeit products are of decent quality, often not. If you're comfortable with the risk in exchange for saving a bit of money, that's your choice.

I have burnt by sellers with high feedback on eBay. Was able to return all but a few cards. Never again. A few card sellers did not know (or so they claimed) that the cards were fakes. I will no longer even by cards on Amazon.

Just.got a 256gb lexar 3500x from adorama and seems to be original and.working fine. I was tempted to buy from Amazon but their return policy for memory cards is not that great.

Adorama has a price reduction going on for the 3500x so I jumped on it.

 

[iaind]

An extra battery. Hope Canon send out the CFast promotional cards soon