CF Cards Vs SD Cards

[NancyP]

This is all very interesting. I have only cameras with SD cards, and I always did low level format in the camera, every time. Performance of these cards has stayed stable with time. CF, if faster, merits a look. Any comments on a good card reader? I have a MacBookPro with a SD slot built in, so I have not used a card reader before.

Re: power consumption - is this significantly different between the two types of cards? 600 shots per battery when writing to CF vs 1,000 shots per battery when writing to SD? Or is it 950 shots vs 1,000 shots per battery, not really worth worrying about.

 

[lo lite]

if you want to use two cards in the 7D you have to buy CF cards anyway.

There are SD to CF card adapters available: http://www.enjoyyourcamera.com/Speicher-Computerzubehoer/Speicherkarten/Quenox-High-Speed-Speicherkarten-Adapter-SD-SDHC-SDXC-auf-CF::3598.html

 

[mackguyver]

Yup...enough with the fear mongering.

I've been shooting CF cards for 15 years and not once have I bent pins or messed up the mechanical interface in any way. I've had exactly one card go bad in all that time (of hundreds I've owned), and that was when one fell out of my card wallet and got run over by a fire truck.

+1 Seriously. Unless you jam the card in the wrong way or something, it doesn't happen. I've been using CF cards for 15+ years as well with no issues. I've never had a card failure, either and they are tough as hell and have been through many wash cycles in my pants. I've only had 1 SD card failure, but find the size a bad thing in terms of them being easier to lose.

If the CF cards are faster in the 7DII, I'd go for them as you're going to need all the speed you can get with that camera!

 

[takesome1]

Yup...enough with the fear mongering.

I've been shooting CF cards for 15 years and not once have I bent pins or messed up the mechanical interface in any way. I've had exactly one card go bad in all that time (of hundreds I've owned), and that was when one fell out of my card wallet and got run over by a fire truck.

+1 Seriously. Unless you jam the card in the wrong way or something, it doesn't happen. I've been using CF cards for 15+ years as well with no issues. I've never had a card failure, either and they are tough as hell and have been through many wash cycles in my pants. I've only had 1 SD card failure, but find the size a bad thing in terms of them being easier to lose.

If the CF cards are faster in the 7DII, I'd go for them as you're going to need all the speed you can get with that camera!

It would depend on the card you used and how many mb/s it would read first, type of card second.

Were only talking how fast the buffer clears when it comes to stills and speed of cards. (maybe download time but I never cared about that)

I tested the 1D IV on this, anything faster than a 60mb/s card had no effect at all on the speed that the buffer cleared. No change going with 100mb/s cards. It was camera limited not card limited. At 45mb/s it would have very a small effect. We are only talking maybe a frame or two in a minute.

I suppose when the 7D II arrives I can test this again and see inside the camera body the new processors in the 7D II will clear faster with fast cards, or if there is a different bottle neck in the system that limits speed.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Yup...enough with the fear mongering.

I've been shooting CF cards for 15 years and not once have I bent pins or messed up the mechanical interface in any way. I've had exactly one card go bad in all that time (of hundreds I've owned), and that was when one fell out of my card wallet and got run over by a fire truck.

+1 Seriously. Unless you jam the card in the wrong way or something, it doesn't happen. I've been using CF cards for 15+ years as well with no issues. I've never had a card failure, either and they are tough as hell and have been through many wash cycles in my pants. I've only had 1 SD card failure, but find the size a bad thing in terms of them being easier to lose.

If the CF cards are faster in the 7DII, I'd go for them as you're going to need all the speed you can get with that camera!

I sold my D30 many years back to a lady whose camera had died and was in for repair. I included a small CF card. A couple days later, she put in her old card that she had been using in the failed camera, and it killed the 6 month old 30D. I gave her a copy of my receipt from the local dealer, and they sent it in to Canon for her at no charge. The card was retired I think it was one of the Hitachi Micro Drive cards, and shorted the power out coming from the camera.

The CF card is definitely due for a replacement. Not by SD cards, I hope.

 

[mackguyver]

Yup...enough with the fear mongering.

I've been shooting CF cards for 15 years and not once have I bent pins or messed up the mechanical interface in any way. I've had exactly one card go bad in all that time (of hundreds I've owned), and that was when one fell out of my card wallet and got run over by a fire truck.

+1 Seriously. Unless you jam the card in the wrong way or something, it doesn't happen. I've been using CF cards for 15+ years as well with no issues. I've never had a card failure, either and they are tough as hell and have been through many wash cycles in my pants. I've only had 1 SD card failure, but find the size a bad thing in terms of them being easier to lose.

If the CF cards are faster in the 7DII, I'd go for them as you're going to need all the speed you can get with that camera!

It would depend on the card you used and how many mb/s it would read first, type of card second.

Were only talking how fast the buffer clears when it comes to stills and speed of cards.

I tested the 1D IV on this, anything faster than a 60mb/s card had no effect at all on the speed that the buffer cleared. No change going with 100mb/s cards. It was camera limited not card limited. At 45mb/s it would have very a small effect. We are only talking maybe a frame or two in a minute.

I suppose when the 7D II arrives I can test this again and see inside the camera body the new processors in the 7D II will clear faster with fast cards, or if there is a different bottle neck in the system that limits speed.

I have tested CF card speeds on the 5DIII and 1D X and the 1D X was much less affected by the card speed, but the 5DIII was pretty big:

The test procedure was a body cap exposure at 1/8000s; ISO 100; f/0; ALO, High ISO NR, vignette removal, CA correction OFF; RAW; High Speed Drive shot until the buffer was full. More details are in the post itself.

5DIII
-Sandisk 32GB 60MB/s write: 19 frames
-Lexar 32GB 90MB/s write: 23 frames
-Sandisk 32GB 90MB/s write: 25 frames
-Sandisk 64GB 160MB/s write: 35 frames
-Lexar 64GB 160MB/s write: NOT TESTED

1D X
-Sandisk 32GB 60MB/s write: NOT TESTED
-Lexar 32GB 145MB/s write: 51 frames
-Sandisk 32GB 90MB/s write: 52 frames
-Lexar 64GB 160MB/s write: 53 frames
-Sandisk 64GB 160MB/s write: 57 frames

 

[kaihp]

This is all very interesting. I have only cameras with SD cards, and I always did low level format in the camera, every time. Performance of these cards has stayed stable with time. CF, if faster, merits a look. Any comments on a good card reader? I have a MacBookPro with a SD slot built in, so I have not used a card reader before.

I have the Lexar Professional USB3.0 Dual-Slot Reader (it takes both CF & SD) and I am extremely happy with it. It can do sustained 90-100MB/sec downloads from a Lexar 1000x 32GB card to the local SSD drive (Samsung 840 Evo). At USD35 @ B&H, it's pretty inexpensive too.

Depending on which MBP you have, it may or may not have USB3. If it doesn't, consider looking for a Thunderbolt based reader.

 

[takesome1]

Yup...enough with the fear mongering.

I've been shooting CF cards for 15 years and not once have I bent pins or messed up the mechanical interface in any way. I've had exactly one card go bad in all that time (of hundreds I've owned), and that was when one fell out of my card wallet and got run over by a fire truck.

+1 Seriously. Unless you jam the card in the wrong way or something, it doesn't happen. I've been using CF cards for 15+ years as well with no issues. I've never had a card failure, either and they are tough as hell and have been through many wash cycles in my pants. I've only had 1 SD card failure, but find the size a bad thing in terms of them being easier to lose.

If the CF cards are faster in the 7DII, I'd go for them as you're going to need all the speed you can get with that camera!

It would depend on the card you used and how many mb/s it would read first, type of card second.

Were only talking how fast the buffer clears when it comes to stills and speed of cards.

I tested the 1D IV on this, anything faster than a 60mb/s card had no effect at all on the speed that the buffer cleared. No change going with 100mb/s cards. It was camera limited not card limited. At 45mb/s it would have very a small effect. We are only talking maybe a frame or two in a minute.

I suppose when the 7D II arrives I can test this again and see inside the camera body the new processors in the 7D II will clear faster with fast cards, or if there is a different bottle neck in the system that limits speed.

I have tested CF card speeds on the 5DIII and 1D X and the 1D X was much less affected by the card speed, but the 5DIII was pretty big:

The test procedure was a body cap exposure at 1/8000s; ISO 100; f/0; ALO, High ISO NR, vignette removal, CA correction OFF; RAW; High Speed Drive shot until the buffer was full. More details are in the post itself.

5DIII
-Sandisk 32GB 60MB/s write: 19 frames
-Lexar 32GB 90MB/s write: 23 frames
-Sandisk 32GB 90MB/s write: 25 frames
-Sandisk 64GB 160MB/s write: 35 frames
-Lexar 64GB 160MB/s write: NOT TESTED

1D X
-Sandisk 32GB 60MB/s write: NOT TESTED
-Lexar 32GB 145MB/s write: 51 frames
-Sandisk 32GB 90MB/s write: 52 frames
-Lexar 64GB 160MB/s write: 53 frames
-Sandisk 64GB 160MB/s write: 57 frames

I did it exactly the same way. I wonder why your Scandisk 64GB 160MB/s had a big jump on the 5D III but a smaller jump on the 1D X.

 

[takesome1]

5DIII
-Sandisk 32GB 60MB/s write: 19 frames
-Lexar 32GB 90MB/s write: 23 frames
-Sandisk 32GB 90MB/s write: 25 frames
-Sandisk 64GB 160MB/s write: 35 frames
-Lexar 64GB 160MB/s write: NOT TESTED

1D X
-Sandisk 32GB 60MB/s write: NOT TESTED
-Lexar 32GB 145MB/s write: 51 frames
-Sandisk 32GB 90MB/s write: 52 frames
-Lexar 64GB 160MB/s write: 53 frames
-Sandisk 64GB 160MB/s write: 57 frames

You didn't by chance go back and figure out the actual MB/s that was written did you?
I have my data at home I would like to compare.

 

[mackguyver]

No, but I guess I could use a timer to get the total write time and then add up the file sizes to get an approximate MB/s speed. When I did the tests, my only purpose was to find the biggest buffer depth for an equestrian event I was shooting. I knew I would be doing lots of burst shooting as it was my first event and I had no idea what I was doing. Now that I have the 1D X, I try not to shoot too long of bursts as it results in way too many photos to review.

 

[jhpeterson]

I'm definitely one who favors the CF cards, even though I've broken pins on card readers. (Some are, to say the least, pretty flimsy!) Then again, I've snapped an SD card in half trying to install it while on a moving boat!

 

[Sabaki]

Guys, thank you all so very much.

I've decided to buy a CF card but probably after a few weeks of experience with the SD cards I have.

I'm so excited about this 7Dii :

 

[takesome1]

No, but I guess I could use a timer to get the total write time and then add up the file sizes to get an approximate MB/s speed. When I did the tests, my only purpose was to find the biggest buffer depth for an equestrian event I was shooting. I knew I would be doing lots of burst shooting as it was my first event and I had no idea what I was doing. Now that I have the 1D X, I try not to shoot too long of bursts as it results in way too many photos to review.

Along with the burst I timed till the last picture wrote to the card.

For stills the super fast card would only help in a very rare instance.
As you mentioned it helps more to try and do short bursts.

In 6 years of digital I have only lost 1 very rare chance at a pic due to a full buffer. That instance changed the way I do burst shots, look at cards and how I view what is important with digital cameras.

 

[jthomson]

Guys, thank you all so very much.

I've decided to buy a CF card but probably after a few weeks of experience with the SD cards I have.

I'm so excited about this 7Dii :

Watch B&H and Adorama. Cards do go on sale. I picked up some 1000x Lexars in a 2 for 1 deal.

 

[jthomson]

Yup...enough with the fear mongering.

I've been shooting CF cards for 15 years and not once have I bent pins or messed up the mechanical interface in any way. I've had exactly one card go bad in all that time (of hundreds I've owned), and that was when one fell out of my card wallet and got run over by a fire truck.

+1 Seriously. Unless you jam the card in the wrong way or something, it doesn't happen. I've been using CF cards for 15+ years as well with no issues. I've never had a card failure, either and they are tough as hell and have been through many wash cycles in my pants. I've only had 1 SD card failure, but find the size a bad thing in terms of them being easier to lose.

If the CF cards are faster in the 7DII, I'd go for them as you're going to need all the speed you can get with that camera!

Roger at lensrentals reported that one of his main repair issues with the 5D3 was bent pins on the CF card slot.
Canon also apparently made some modifications to the slot as this stopped being an issue. One reason not to be an early adopter.

Personally I've trashed three SD cards, but never had a problems with CF cards. My original my 16 mb CF card from 1999 is still in use in a photoframe.

 

[dawgfanjeff]

I use only CF for the myriad reasons cited here. I'd also add that my extremely unscientific observation is that reading the card whilst chimping is noticeably faster on my faster CF cards than the older, slower CF cards. This would probably hold true with SD cards on my 5DIII, too (although I have never used that slot).

It also copies to my PC faster over USB3.

One upside to SD...all of my devices have SD card slots, which makes transferring pics for slideshows or archiving on vacations much easier, so there's that. So, if you are on vacation with lots of people and everybody takes pics and shows them off, while your awesome raw files are locked up on your camera, you will recognize that advantage Now that I think if it...that's a great reason to use that SD slot:|

 

[mackguyver]

In 6 years of digital I have only lost 1 very rare chance at a pic due to a full buffer. That instance changed the way I do burst shots, look at cards and how I view what is important with digital cameras.

In my 15+ years of shooting digitally, I have lost dozens of shots due to a full buffer -- but that was mostly during the early years when the buffer happened between each JPEG, TIFF (really!), or RAW exposure. FPS was actually FPM with many of my early cameras shooting 4-5 frames per minute!

I agree that good timing is a more critical skill, but some subjects really benefit from being able to crank out 50+ frames over the course of 5 seconds. This is particularly true of subjects that you have never shot before - such as the horse eventing I shot earlier this year. I was so clueless at first that I was facing the wrong side of the jumps! As I watched, I quickly picked up the timing, but there were a few obstacles where the rider had to negotiate several jumps over the course of 5 seconds or so and the burst of frames is really important if you're trying to get paid for your work. Plus, even on the 5DIII, it lets you do cool stuff like this:

 

[Sabaki]

Guys, if you were recommend one CF model for the 7Dii, what would it be?

 

[mackguyver]

Guys, if you were recommend one CF model for the 7Dii, what would it be?

It depends on what you shoot, but the I'd go for at least 32GB and probably 64GB and the latest 1066x / 1067x cards from Sandisk or Lexar. They aren't cheap, but will last you for many years. Also, Adorama runs really good sales on the Lexar cards pretty frequently. The 1000x cards are a good compromise if you don't want to spend so much, but make sure you don't fall for the 800x cards. They are a lot cheaper, but they only read a 800x, and write far slower. It's great to download, but lousy for burst shooting.

 

[ecka]

Guys, if you were recommend one CF model for the 7Dii, what would it be?

It depends on what you shoot, but the I'd go for at least 32GB and probably 64GB and the latest 1066x / 1067x cards from Sandisk or Lexar. They aren't cheap, but will last you for many years. Also, Adorama runs really good sales on the Lexar cards pretty frequently. The 1000x cards are a good compromise if you don't want to spend so much, but make sure you don't fall for the 800x cards. They are a lot cheaper, but they only read a 800x, and write far slower. It's great to download, but lousy for burst shooting.

I don't know, maybe UDMA6 or UDMA7 (133+MB/s) card makes a lot of sense for large amounts of data transfer through USB3 reader, but I think that anything with ~60+MB/s is fine. Sandisk, Lexar, Kingston, Transcend... doesn't really matter. I would go for better price.