5D Mark III -- Compact Flash (CF) or Secure Digital (SD / SDHC)?

[jerodkaram]

I'm looking for opinions / experiences / knowledge / etc. on the differences between using CF and SD. I've got experience with both--CF in my EOS 30D and SD in my wife's point-n-shoot.

I'm stepping up from the 30D to my recently pre-ordered 5D3. I've got a small collection of compact flash cards that I'm planning to replace both for speed and capacity reasons. My question is... With the addition of a dual CF / SD card slot in the 5D3, is there an advantage of using one card format over the other? As near as I can tell, the available speeds, capacities, and prices are relatively similar.

Is there something I'm missing? What are the prevailing opinions out there?

 

[Neeneko]

For the most part it is 'whatever your other equipment uses'. The two systems have minor differences but they are so close at this point that neither is a clear winner in terms of speed or reliability.

I think someone was talking about being able to use a 'wifi' SD card, so maybe someone can chime in about that option and how well it might work with the 5D3.

 

[tooslick2k]

From my experience, SD cards fail from time to time. I have never had a problem with my CF cards. I been looking at the settings for saving options for the 5D3 which I ordered as well. Im stumped dont know if I want to use the SD as a backup (save each image on the CF and SD) or if I want to use the SD as overfill in case I run out of space on my CF, which I have never done.

there are perks to both, but again I would choose CF over SD every and any day!

 

[jerodkaram]

Yeah, I was thinking that I would stick with CF because I'm familiar with it and it feels more solid to me. Nice that there's the option of an emergency backup format that's easily found in most grocery / drug / convenience stores / etc.

I don't know about those Wi-Fi SD cards. How reliable are they? I've had trouble with memory cards in the past and I've become a SanDisk user exclusively. They give me a good sense of security that my data is going to be on the card accurately and every time. Never had a hiccup with SanDisk.

Do you know the maximum data throughput of the camera (or how to calculate it)? Would a SanDisk Extreme 60 MB/s card suffice or do I need to plan on shelling out the cash for an Extreme Pro 90 MB/s card?

 

[tivoboy]

might be nice to be able to use things like eye-fi now with the MkIII

 

[Loswr]

Do you know the maximum data throughput of the camera (or how to calculate it)? Would a SanDisk Extreme 60 MB/s card suffice or do I need to plan on shelling out the cash for an Extreme Pro 90 MB/s card?

The 90 Mb/s cards will likely make a slight difference for the camera, and a bigger difference during card reader image transfer.

I previously tested several Sandisk cards in the 5DII and 7D (the latter having a slightly higher data generation rate than the 5DIII, 8 fps x 18 MP > 6 fps x 22 MP). The faster card meant an extra 4-6 images in a 20 s burst (66 vs 62 for the 7D, 51 vs. 45 for the 5DII), and shaved ~1.5 s off the write-out time for those images (28.5 s vs 30 s for both cameras).

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The newer Canon model might write to a CF card much faster than the 5D MK II did. I'll need to see some tests before going out and buying a super fast card.

I believe that It takes SDXC cards which have larger potential capacity and speed, but you might need a new card reader for them.

 

[jrista]

In my experience, CF cards definitely hold the edge on speed over SDHC cards, even class 10. CF cards currently reach 667x speeds, where as the fastest SD cards, class 10, only reach 66x speeds, as far as write speed goes. That would be 100mb/s for CF (or more commonly, 600x, which is 90mb/s), vs. 10mb/s for the fastest SD cards. When you see a speed rating on an SDHC card, beware! You may see 15mb/s or even 30mb/s SDHC cards, but that refers to read speed. I was unaware of this when I first started buying SD cards, so I have a variety of 15mb/s and 30mb/s read speed cards rated Class 2, 6, and 10. The difference in write speed amongst them is QUITE APPARENT, and nothing compared to CF write speeds. I have found the rating system for SD cards very misleading, and I've wasted a fair amount of money buying cards I though would give me 30mb/s write speed, when in fact they only offered 2 or 6 mb/s.

If you can pick up one of the really fast CF cards, they can often improve the characteristics of your camera as well. I recently moved up from using SanDisk 60mb/s CF cards to using Transcend 90mb/s CF cards (roughly the same price, but with Transcend you get just as much reliability but better speed.) I was surprised to find that the continuous frames on my 7D jumped from the default of 15 to about 23-24, and instead of simply halting once the limit was met, I could keep getting bursts of 2-3 shots with an extra second between...indefinitely.

It seems there are 1000x CF cards hitting the market these days from Lexar. They are pricy, but can supposedly reach speeds of 150mb/s. I would imagine you could see further benefits from one of those. I am not sure if those require UDMA-7 compatibility, and if they do, I would suspect they drop to 600x speed if you don't have that (as far as I know, all pro-grade Canon cameras do.)

I've also dropped a couple CF cards in the snow, however after letting them dry they have never had any problems. I've dropped a few SD cards in the snow a few times, and a couple of them stopped working after that (SanDisk brand, even! Not quite as reliable as the hearsay would indicate...)

I like the idea of using an SD card as a backup card, dual writing to the CF and SD (assuming that doesn't slow down write speed.) After a long day shooting nature, to the tune of a couple thousand shots, I always worry I'm going to lose one of my cards. It would bring a lot of peace of mind to have a backup of each.

 

[kdsand]

Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC

Cut n paste
Up to 95 MB/sec (633X) read speed. Write speed up to 90 MB/s (600X). Based on SanDisk internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes. X = 150KB/sec. bytes.

 

[h4ldol]

might be nice to be able to use things like eye-fi now with the MkIII

Yep, that's why I'm excited about having a SD slot on the MkIII.

 

[jrista]

Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC

Cut n paste
Up to 95 MB/sec (633X) read speed. Write speed up to 90 MB/s (600X). Based on SanDisk internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes. X = 150KB/sec. bytes.

Thats SDXC. I did not realize any SDXC cards had actually been released yet, but they do level the playing field (although they are about about 3-4 times as expensive as comparable CF cards.)

 

[eeek]

I shoot a lot of concerts. So, I need to get pictures to my editor or the arena manager very quickly. I am going to record RAW to my CF and JPEG to SD. I can get the SD to them quicker than I can my RAW files.

 

[Meh]

I shoot a lot of concerts. So, I need to get pictures to my editor or the arena manager very quickly. I am going to record RAW to my CF and JPEG to SD. I can get the SD to them quicker than I can my RAW files.

That would be a slick setup. For wedding shooters setting the SD card to mirror the CF so you have two copies would I think be the desired setup. It would be scary to tell a bride her wedding photos were corrupted :'(

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I shoot a lot of concerts. So, I need to get pictures to my editor or the arena manager very quickly. I am going to record RAW to my CF and JPEG to SD. I can get the SD to them quicker than I can my RAW files.

The camera now includes support for eyefi SD cards, if that helps, you can stream the wifi direct from the sd card while keeping the raw files for later editing if you happen to need better.

 

[ronderick]

Since the specs have been covered by others on this thread, I'll just mention one thing: you'll experience a heart attack when the SD card you left on the table end up in the hands of the kid who just picked it up on the end where the contact points are - and he just finished eating his ice cream cone... :'(

 

[kdsand]

Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC

Cut n paste
Up to 95 MB/sec (633X) read speed. Write speed up to 90 MB/s (600X). Based on SanDisk internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes. X = 150KB/sec. bytes.

Thats SDXC. I did not realize any SDXC cards had actually been released yet, but they do level the playing field (although they are about about 3-4 times as expensive as comparable CF cards.)

They popped up several months ago. The one I have is slicker than snot. I see a difference even compared to the 45MG cards. The price isn't to bad, though you have to watch out for occasional price spikes. One reviewer claimed to have been successfully running windows 8 off one although that's a bit beyond my current skill level.

 

[kdsand]

Since the specs have been covered by others on this thread, I'll just mention one thing: you'll experience a heart attack when the SD card you left on the table end up in the hands of the kid who just picked it up on the end where the contact points are - and he just finished eating his ice cream cone... :'(

Much to my chagrin I do admit having experience with the wash cycle on 2 different occasions. If there is a failure I doubt it'll be from ice cream.

 

[Old Shooter]

I'm excited about the backup! Wedding shooters/Event photographers will appreciate the peace of mind!

You can get SanDisk's Extreme Pro (90 MB/s) 64GB SDXC for $190...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/824149-REG/SanDisk_SDSDXPA_064G_A75_Extreme_Pro_64GB_SDHC_SDXC.html

Their Extreme Pro (90 MB/s - UDMA 6) 64GB CF is $390...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646880-REG/SanDisk_SDCFXP_064G_A91_64GB_Extreme_Pro_CompactFlash.html

For you speed demons, their (100 MB/s - UDMA 7) 128GB CF is $800... Spendy!

 

[marvinhello]

I'm excited about the backup! Wedding shooters/Event photographers will appreciate the peace of mind!

You can get SanDisk's Extreme Pro (90 MB/s) 64GB SDXC for $190...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/824149-REG/SanDisk_SDSDXPA_064G_A75_Extreme_Pro_64GB_SDHC_SDXC.html

Their Extreme Pro (90 MB/s - UDMA 6) 64GB CF is $390...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646880-REG/SanDisk_SDCFXP_064G_A91_64GB_Extreme_Pro_CompactFlash.html

For you speed demons, their (100 MB/s - UDMA 7) 128GB CF is $800... Spendy!

Note that the 95MB/s Extreme Pro SDXC is UHS-1 standard, it's still unknown if 5D3 supports UHS-1, if not, maximum speed will be capped at around 30MB/s

 

[tt]

Best cards for 5D Mark III? SD & CF

Looking at Sandisk cards in the 8-32GB range -

Does anyone have any recommendations between the 60MB/s & 90MB/s?
£80 gets you 1x 60MB/s 16GB SanDisk Extreme 400x UDMA CF
£129 gets you 1x 90MB/s 16GB SanDisk Extreme Pro 600x UDMA CF

£59 gets you 1x SanDisk 16GB Extreme Pro 95MB/s SDHC
£120 gets you 1x SanDisk 32GB Extreme Pro 95MB/s SDHC
£95 gets you 2x SanDisk 16GB Extreme Pro 45MB/s SDHC Card

What would be good for a) video or b) Taking a series of shots - would the different cards hit buffer full at different times?

Would you go for a 32GB 60MB/s CF cards for more GB for video (AI-I looks a GB eater!)? Or 2x 16GB 90MB/s CF cards?



Edit - Reading http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2012/5d3_hd_video_features.shtml?categoryId=122

* HD 50 fps or 60 fps recording places the greatest demands on memory card speed, especially during ALL-I recording. Required read/write speed during HD 720p ALL-I recording for CF cards is 30 MB/sec; for SD cards, 14MB/sec.

CF cards – UDMA "mode 7" support
SD cards – SD, SDHC, or SDXC-compliant cards are supported
(not compatible with UHS-I high-speed writing)