R5 CFexpress Cards

SteveC

R5
CR Pro
Sep 3, 2019
2,678
2,592
If you want to run the high data rate modes w/o an issue, I would cancel. It will be able to do stills and the less extreme video modes... but when recording at the highest modes it might not keep up. All it has to do is dip below a certain minimum threshold (the data rate of what you're trying to write) longer than the buffer can cover and then your recording stops w/ error. It might happen in the first/mid/last sectors of the card... but you just don't know (heck, may not happen at all, or perhaps it will wait until you need it that 'one' time).

Plus keep in mind the extra minimum speed benefits more than just the 'extreme' modes... the faster you can write to card and clear buffer, the better.

My opinion is I want to get a card that can meet the demands of the device 100% of the time. Bonus if it can match the specs of the device on the high end.

Also for those looking, the Cobalts just jumped in price so watch out (due to demand?).

B&H had them for 600 dollars apiece yesterday. A bit pricey!
 
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Bdbtoys

R5
CR Pro
Jul 16, 2020
467
331
B&H had them for 600 dollars apiece yesterday. A bit pricey!

Tell me that was for the 650's.

Got the 325 when I preordered (late I might add...as I'm still waiting). Cost then was 360, cost yesterday was > 450 then dropped to 430 later in the day (Amazon). Ouch, just checked and it's 550 in the manf site.
 
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vjlex

EOS R5
Oct 15, 2011
514
430
Osaka, Japan
If you want to run the high data rate modes w/o an issue, I would cancel. It will be able to do stills and the less extreme video modes... but when recording at the highest modes it might not keep up. All it has to do is dip below a certain minimum threshold (the data rate of what you're trying to write) longer than the buffer can cover and then your recording stops w/ error. It might happen in the first/mid/last sectors of the card... but you just don't know (heck, may not happen at all, or perhaps it will wait until you need it that 'one' time).

Plus keep in mind the extra minimum speed benefits more than just the 'extreme' modes... the faster you can write to card and clear buffer, the better.

My opinion is I want to get a card that can meet the demands of the device 100% of the time. Bonus if it can match the specs of the device on the high end.

Also for those looking, the Cobalts just jumped in price so watch out (due to demand?).
I'll consider it, but I don't feel I have that many options at this point. I just watched Gordon Laing's review of the R5 focused on stills shooting. I noticed he used the same Sandisk 128GB CFExpress and he did some 8K video for still grabbing purposes. I'm curious how it performed for those 8K captures.
 
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Bdbtoys

R5
CR Pro
Jul 16, 2020
467
331
I'll consider it, but I don't feel I have that many options at this point. I just watched Gordon Laing's review of the R5 focused on stills shooting. I noticed he used the same Sandisk 128GB CFExpress and he did some 8K video for still grabbing purposes. I'm curious how it performed for those 8K captures.

Yeah, CFExpress cards seem to be in short supply right now... could always get a better card later and use that as a spare.
 
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HenryL

EOS R3
CR Pro
Apr 1, 2020
359
983
Tell me that was for the 650's.

Got the 325 when I preordered (late I might add...as I'm still waiting). Cost then was 360, cost yesterday was > 450 then dropped to 430 later in the day (Amazon). Ouch, just checked and it's 550 in the manf site.
The 325GB cards now listed at B&H and other sites for $549 are the new Gen 2 cards. The ones that were listed on sale for about $340 or so recently were Gen1 with a slightly slower (1400 I think) minimum sustained write speed. Gen 2 is 1500 minimum sustained.
 
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SteveC

R5
CR Pro
Sep 3, 2019
2,678
2,592
The 325GB cards now listed at B&H and other sites for $549 are the new Gen 2 cards. The ones that were listed on sale for about $340 or so recently were Gen1 with a slightly slower (1400 I think) minimum sustained write speed. Gen 2 is 1500 minimum sustained.

Provided that's MBPS and not MbPS, I could live with that, and would be willing to pay $240 for a card with a mere 1300 MBPS minimum sustained write speed.
 
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Bdbtoys

R5
CR Pro
Jul 16, 2020
467
331
The 325GB cards now listed at B&H and other sites for $549 are the new Gen 2 cards. The ones that were listed on sale for about $340 or so recently were Gen1 with a slightly slower (1400 I think) minimum sustained write speed. Gen 2 is 1500 minimum sustained.

I was talking about the Cobalt Gen 2's which are 1700 MB/s max read, 1500 MB/s max write, 1400 MB/s min write. Keep in mind the max are are peak values, not sustained. However I had to wait for it to ship from the manufacturer. Also those are still going for 430 on Amazon, but are 550 on manf & other sites it seems. So even though it's not as good of a deal on Amazon as it was... it's still better than current on other sites.

FYI- The Gen 1's were 1600/1400/1300.

Also to note, I see the term minimum and average thrown around a lot in the ProGrade site (referencing same values).

Perhaps I was lucky enough to get Gen2 for Gen1 price.
 
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HenryL

EOS R3
CR Pro
Apr 1, 2020
359
983
I was talking about the Cobalt Gen 2's which are 1700 MB/s max read, 1500 MB/s max write, 1400 MB/s min write. Keep in mind the max are are peak values, not sustained. However I had to wait for it to ship from the manufacturer. Also those are still going for 430 on Amazon, but are 550 on manf & other sites it seems. So even though it's not as good of a deal on Amazon as it was... it's still better than current on other sites.

FYI- The Gen 1's were 1600/1400/1300.

Also to note, I see the term minimum and average thrown around a lot in the ProGrade site (referencing same values).

Perhaps I was lucky enough to get Gen2 for Gen1 price.
I noticed that too about the "average" and "sustained". It seems to me they use average when talking about the Gold series, the Cobalt they use sustained. I went back and checked the speeds again, I stand corrected. The Cobalt product page does say 1500 sustained write, but the tech data sheet contradicts that and says 1400 as you state. Either way it looks like you got a great deal on the Gen 2. I'm getting by with my puny Sandisk 128, and a couple of ProGrade Cobalt V90 SD cards.
 
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According to the chart from Canon UK (I posted it earlier), the sandisk extreme 512 will work for all modes.
It does not list the 512GB Sandisk CFexpress but since the 256GB is supported I expect 512GB is supported as well. I am returning the 125GB Sandisk CFexpress I already bought and have a 512GB on order from B&H. I hope it arrives before the camera!
 
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Bdbtoys

R5
CR Pro
Jul 16, 2020
467
331
It does not list the 512GB Sandisk CFexpress but since the 256GB is supported I expect 512GB is supported as well. I am returning the 125GB Sandisk CFexpress I already bought and have a 512GB on order from B&H. I hope it arrives before the camera!

It's on the list. You shouldn't have any worries. The chart on their site doesn't have the lines so it's hard to know where they are supposed to be (I added them for easier reference). I am guessing you where off 1 set of rows looking at it, as there isn't a SanDisk 256 listed (guessing you were looking at the Lexar 256).
1596509757697.png
 
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Bdbtoys

R5
CR Pro
Jul 16, 2020
467
331
I noticed that too about the "average" and "sustained". It seems to me they use average when talking about the Gold series, the Cobalt they use sustained. I went back and checked the speeds again, I stand corrected. The Cobalt product page does say 1500 sustained write, but the tech data sheet contradicts that and says 1400 as you state. Either way it looks like you got a great deal on the Gen 2. I'm getting by with my puny Sandisk 128, and a couple of ProGrade Cobalt V90 SD cards.

I went with the ProGrade V90 as well for SD... to replace my old SanDisk U3 & V30's.
 
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I went with the ProGrade V90 as well for SD... to replace my old SanDisk U3 & V30's.
Really weird about the SD card speeds vs their ratings. Below shows the Sandisk 128GB SD card rated at U3 but performing faster sustained write speeds than some V90 cards. I have a 64GB Sandisk SD card (UHS-I) which is rated for V30. Hard to understand how a UHS-I card can be rated V30 when a U3 UHS-II card isn't especially given the write speeds at this website
https://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/fastest-sd-cards/
 
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I purchased Sony Tough G cards (CFExpress and SD) for the R5. The durability of the SD Card is phenomenal compared to a average construction SD Card.
Great to hear! I was very close to buying the sony tough cf express but the equivalent sandisk was slightly cheaper so went with that instead. Can't wait to test out the 8k raw
 
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It's on the list. You shouldn't have any worries. The chart on their site doesn't have the lines so it's hard to know where they are supposed to be (I added them for easier reference). I am guessing you where off 1 set of rows looking at it, as there isn't a SanDisk 256 listed (guessing you were looking at the Lexar 256).
View attachment 191851
Wow, that table is not what I was reading it as! Glad I ordered one that is 'supported'. I thought Sandisk 256GB was supported, not Lexar.
 
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Bdbtoys

R5
CR Pro
Jul 16, 2020
467
331
Really weird about the SD card speeds vs their ratings. Below shows the Sandisk 128GB SD card rated at U3 but performing faster sustained write speeds than some V90 cards. I have a 64GB Sandisk SD card (UHS-I) which is rated for V30. Hard to understand how a UHS-I card can be rated V30 when a U3 UHS-II card isn't especially given the write speeds at this website
https://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/fastest-sd-cards/

That's an awesome summary & testing... I put it in my bookmarks to reference later. Only nice thing would have been if they formatted the chart on wider monitors to display w/o scroll & they were consistent in the Tested Write/Reads vs Rated Reads/Writes.

I think the reason is in the explanation in the link...
"Where things get a little complicated, though, is that these speed ratings don’t necessarily reflect the absolute speed of the card. Put another way, a card that has a V30 rating isn’t necessarily faster than one that has a U3 rating. That’s because to display the rating on the card, the manufacturers have to have their cards certified for that rating. It also involves revising packaging and marketing materials, which is an expensive process. So not every manufacturer will go to that trouble and expense right away. The upshot is that it’s not as simple as just looking at a card with a V30 or even V60 rating and knowing that it’s faster than one that only carries a U3 rating. It might be, but the rating system doesn’t work quite that way. You can see evidence of that in the speed test results on this page, with some cards with a lower speed rating being faster in testing than ones that display a higher speed rating on the packaging."

Really happy I went with the ProGrade's now.
 
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Bdbtoys

R5
CR Pro
Jul 16, 2020
467
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