# The 5D Mark III & SD Memory Cards



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jun 25, 2012)

```
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<strong>From Jeff Cable


</strong>Photographer Jeff Cable has posted an article on his blog about some of the speed limititations associated with using SD cards in the new Canon EOS 5D Mark III.</p>
<p><strong>From Jeff</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Well…after some testing I have determined that, if you care at all about high speed shooting or clearing you buffer quickly, YOU DO NOT want to put a card in the SD slot. Why? Because, for some reason unbeknownst to me, Canon decided to build the 5D Mark III with one very fast CF slot which supports the newer UDMA7 protocol and a standard SD card slot which does NOT support the high speed standard (called UHS – for Ultra High Speed).</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://jeffcable.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/why-you-should-not-put-sd-card-in-your.html" target="_blank"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r </strong></p>
```


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 25, 2012)

[quote author=Jeff Cable]One more thing. Most of the time, this is a hardware limitation and can not be solved with a firmware upgrade. Even more of a disappointment![/quote]

From my testing, firmware updates for both the 7D and 5DII dramatically improved the data throughput for 90 MB/s CF cards, so perhaps there's some hope?

Makes me glad the 1D X has dual CF, though...


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## ewg963 (Jun 25, 2012)

Canon Rumors said:


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> <strong>From Jeff Cable
> 
> 
> ...


Another Canon disappointment period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## spinworkxroy (Jun 25, 2012)

Yea, the SD slot in the mk3 is dissapointing…sometimes i think it's even slower than my 60D!
However, at least there's a workaround…
I rarely use burst mode and i usually shoot mRaw in my CF card and mJpg in my SD card only and in the event i really need ALOT of burst photos, i just remove the SD card and use only the CF…but that's rare…
For MJpg, the burst mode works well enough for me even with the SD…i almost never shoot full size anyways so…it's ok for me.


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## bornshooter (Jun 25, 2012)

well this doesn't matter for wedding photographers unless you are a machine gunner who likes to spray and pray lol


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## TrumpetPower! (Jun 25, 2012)

There's no need to actually remove the card. Just set the camera to auto-switch. You get full performance while it's using compact flash. If you're not paying attention and let the CF card fill up, rather than the camera simply stop shooting altogether, you get the degraded performance of the SD card which is a whole hell of a lot better than nothing. Pop in another CF card and you're good to go.

While the performance of the SD slot is likely hardware-limited, there are software-related performance enhancements that Canon could readily enough implement. You're screwed when writing the same format to each, but there's no non-software reason why RAW on the CF and a smaller format on the SD shouldn't work fine. Canon has taken the understandable, easy approach of making the two pathways working identically, but they should be able to re-jigger things so that it writes RAW to CF at its full speed and JPEG to SD at its full speed, which would probably mean the SD would clear out even faster than the RAW.

I'm not suggesting that kind of code is easy to write, but it *is* what their engineers get paid to do, and it's the sort of challenge that's likely to get one or more of them excited to come to work in the morning.

Cheers,

b&


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## sanj (Jun 25, 2012)

If this is true, its disgusting...!


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## mememe (Jun 25, 2012)

Guys i can tell u why canon did this... Cause SD-Cars SUCK.


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## billiam (Jun 25, 2012)

Recently a friend ask me why buy CF card while SDs are so much cheaper and the "spend" is faster. Then I did some research on this topic. I'm a CF card believer so I found a test was done by Rob Galbraith on memory card writing tests(link is for 5D Mk3). He has done few testing for many difference camera with lots of difference brand and speed cards.

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


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## ablearcher (Jun 25, 2012)

USB 2.0 and SD without UHS in a pro body in 2012 with a ridiculous price tag... WTF Canon?


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 25, 2012)

TrumpetPower! said:


> There's no need to actually remove the card. Just set the camera to auto-switch. You get full performance while it's using compact flash.



I know that's the theory, but have you tested this personally? Thanks!


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## Drizzt321 (Jun 25, 2012)

ablearcher said:


> USB 2.0 and SD without UHS in a pro body in 2012 with a ridiculous price tag... WTF Canon?



The USB 2.0 is disappointing, but it's probably something baked into the Digic V+ which development, taping out, etc was probably started 2-4 years ago before USB 3.0 really started to become popular. 

SD w/out UHS, well, that just pisses me off. If they can put it on the t4i (specs taken from here), they should have damn well put it on the 5d3.


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## TrumpetPower! (Jun 25, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> TrumpetPower! said:
> 
> 
> > There's no need to actually remove the card. Just set the camera to auto-switch. You get full performance while it's using compact flash.
> ...



One of the first things I did when I got the camera was play around with those settings. I *really* like the idea of recording RAW to two cards, even though I've yet to lose even a single frame to a bad card. Nice idea, except that the buffer gets reeeeeeeeally shallow and painfully slow when it fills up. The original Digital Rebel might actually outperform the 5DIII with dual RAW recording. At least, it feels that way.

I eventually settled on the auto-switch setting. If there's a difference in performance between that and no SD card in the camera at all, I certainly haven't noticed it. Of course, once the CF card _does_ fill up, then you're back to shallow, slow, painful buffer...but only until you pop back in a fresh CF card. And, as I originally wrote, shallow and slow is _way_ better than a brick....

I did use dual RAW when I shot the annular eclipse over the Grand Canyon. I knew I wasn't going to fill up the buffer, even with several-step brackets. Other than that sort of thing, the only practical use I can think of for dual recording would be with an EyeFi card...and, nifty as that thing seems, I personally can't think of any situation where I'd actually use one.

b&


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## Dylan (Jun 25, 2012)

Does this have any effect with shooting video? I bought sandisk 16gb class 10 45mbs cards and haven't tested the 30 min record time. Anyone have any failures? And am I safer with CF?


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## tt (Jun 25, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> TrumpetPower! said:
> 
> 
> > There's no need to actually remove the card. Just set the camera to auto-switch. You get full performance while it's using compact flash.
> ...




With both cards in, set to autoswitch, set to record to the CF card, I got >24 RAW pictures in a burst till it went to the slower frames per second speed. With just a CF card in the camera, there wasn't a difference. 
Am I missing something?

Sounds like Jeff's talking about recording to both cards at the same time - which on p117 or so in the manual clearly states will "decrease greatly" the maximum burst. 

The camera defaults to the slowest card - but only if you have that card select to record onto, or you're recording to both cards. 

To be more accurate with the headline:


> Why you can leave an SD card in your Canon 5D Mark III, but if you care about speed, don't record to it if you can, and be aware that recording to both cards simultaneously decreases greatly your maximum burst available


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## revup67 (Jun 25, 2012)

Sorry - this is *not* new information. In Canon's defense this is all explicitly stated on page 117 of the owner's manual. If you are concerned about burst mode then leave camera on Standard or Auto Switch Card. The manual states: "When Rec. separately is set, the maximum burst will decrease greatly. (See pg 121)". Pg 121 further explains on the matrix the burst rates and also states: "The Maximum burst rate applies to High Speed Continuous Shooting", it then extrapolates that it is referring to UDM7. It may seem obvious then since the SD cads (if engaged in the two other record modes modes) would have to be the lowest common denominator. On page 32 the manual also states the camera does not comply with UHS standards although these cards can be used.

Now a good work around to this if in the field and you need the backup feature but also the fastest burst mode on a UDMA7 CF card is set the camera to record only on the CF card (Standard Mode). Be sure the CF is the card chosen to record (under Record/Play menu) as well. Now you can copy your images to the SD card by pressing Menu. Choose Menu section 3, sub menu 1 and select "Image Copy". Here you can define your Source (the CF card) and the freespace on Card 2 (SD card) there you can copy all your CF images to an SD card without losing burst mode speed and still have your backup.


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## tt (Jun 25, 2012)

tt said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > TrumpetPower! said:
> ...



Having a SD card in the camera doesn't make it slower - selecting to use it does. I'd recommend having one in their as a fall back in case your CF card runs out of space. However - if you only have a CF card in there, there's no chance of having the issue (eg accidental setting change form autoswitch to rec separately/to multiple)


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 25, 2012)

Thanks for clarifying, TrumpetPower! and tt...


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## FunkyCamera (Jun 25, 2012)

Nobody needs to shoot that fast anyway it's a waste. Nikon only leads in areas that don't matter, I'm sticking with my Canon. ;D


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## Razor2012 (Jun 25, 2012)

FunkyCamera said:


> Nobody needs to shoot that fast anyway it's a waste. Nikon only leads in areas that don't matter, I'm sticking with my Canon. ;D



It's only res & DR anyways.


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## RGomezPhotos (Jun 25, 2012)

It may be in the manual, but this is still not good. If you have two 600X cards in the camera, I wouldn't think it should be that fast to write to both cards if they are the exact same data, but it shouldn't be at 133X either. I seriously hope Canon can resolve this though I doubt it.


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## Razor2012 (Jun 25, 2012)

RGomezPhotos said:


> It may be in the manual, but this is still not good. If you have two 600X cards in the camera, I wouldn't think it should be that fast to write to both cards if they are the exact same data, but it shouldn't be at 133X either. I seriously hope Canon can resolve this though I doubt it.



Probably card limitations, CF's - 150 MB/s compared to SDHC's - 95 MB/s.


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## WillShootPhotos (Jun 25, 2012)

*Test Results for 5D3 and 1D4 with UDMA 7 - SD card in and out...*

Someone asked about some testing - well - here is what I've found from testing on both the 5D3 and the 1D4:

Short version: 
5D3 - RAW - UDMA 7 - "rollover" to SD after CF is full: 
26 frames till full with the buffer emtying in just over 3 seconds

1D4 - RAW - Firmware 1.1.1 - UDMA 7 - rollover to SD after CF is full:
31 frames till full with the buffer emptying in just over 6 seconds

I just verified that it makes no difference if I pull the SD card - the writing to the CF is the same.

I really wish the guy who wrote the original blog post that started this had clarified his title - I think it should have been: 

"Why you should not put _*write to*_ an SD card in your Canon 5D Mark III (if youcare about speed)"

If you want my testing gory details - here is my blog post about it:
http://blog.willshootphotography.com/2012/06/udma-7-cf-card-performance-on-canon-5d-mark-iii-and-1d-mark-iv-soooo-worth-it.html

I'll be candid and say I don't have a problem with the SD not supporting the superfast SD protocol - primarily because I'll always just use it as a rollover, not as a primary "write to" card type. I know that CF is faster than SD and that is what works for me. I'm really glad that Canon put dual SD in 1DX - it never made much sense to me to *not* have two of the same card reader in the camera other than for space restrictions... and it doesn't take up *that* much space...

Happy motoring!

- Will


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## Razor2012 (Jun 25, 2012)

*Re: Test Results for 5D3 and 1D4 with UDMA 7 - SD card in and out...*



WillShootPhotos said:


> Someone asked about some testing - well - here is what I've found from testing on both the 5D3 and the 1D4:
> 
> Short version:
> 5D3 - RAW - UDMA 7 - "rollover" to SD after CF is full:
> ...



Dual CF.


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## Drizzt321 (Jun 25, 2012)

Razor2012 said:


> RGomezPhotos said:
> 
> 
> > It may be in the manual, but this is still not good. If you have two 600X cards in the camera, I wouldn't think it should be that fast to write to both cards if they are the exact same data, but it shouldn't be at 133X either. I seriously hope Canon can resolve this though I doubt it.
> ...



Actually, 133x is ~20MByte/s according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital. You need SDXC to go up 50+ MByte/s, with UHS-I needed to go above 90+ MByte/sec transfer speeds. So, if you have a 600x CF card (I think UDMA6 can do that, maybe requires UDMA7 which 5d3 supports) and a 600x SD UHS-I card, you'll get 200x (30MByte/sec) speeds at most. In the real world, quite a bit less (see Rob Galbraith's test page, search for 600x and find an SDHC card).


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## CanineCandidsByL (Jun 25, 2012)

Unfortunately my own theory about why the SD is crippled is more annoying. Because SD can be cheaper and nearly as fast as CF, which would move the 5D3 closer to the 1dx than canon marketing wants.

No proof, but certainly reaonable based on other behavior. Not that I have minded it once I got over the initial shock when the manual first became available. The rollover prevents you your photos from stopping completly while you find the right moment to swap the CF.

However, putting in a new CF isn't the end of it. You have to manuall switch the camera back to recording on the CF or it stays on the SD until its full. That another 10 to 20 seconds after already being slow and swapping a card until you get back to the job.

I think the major disppointment was that you couldn't do jpg to SD and RAW to CF without the performance hit.


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## Drizzt321 (Jun 25, 2012)

CanineCandidsByL said:


> Unfortunately my own theory about why the SD is crippled is more annoying. Because SD can be cheaper and nearly as fast as CF, which would move the 5D3 closer to the 1dx than canon marketing wants.
> 
> No proof, but certainly reaonable based on other behavior. Not that I have minded it once I got over the initial shock when the manual first became available. The rollover prevents you your photos from stopping completly while you find the right moment to swap the CF.
> 
> ...



I haven't tested to find out, but I imagine S2 or S3 JPEG would probably be able to keep up, or nearly so. Significantly less data to write out than even a Large JPEG. I've heard of some people using the SD slot for an EyeFi card for JPEGs in the studio or on location but not needing a super burst rate. If you're strobe recycle rate is > 0.5s, or even > 1s, then even with an EyeFi card you can probably shoot JPEG out to it and unless you're shooting 100+ photos in a couple of minutes, it probably should be alright since it has the built in flash as a buffer for the very slow WiFi built in.


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 25, 2012)

CanineCandidsByL said:


> Unfortunately my own theory about why the SD is crippled is more annoying. Because SD can be cheaper and nearly as fast as CF, which would move the 5D3 closer to the 1dx than canon marketing wants.
> 
> No proof, but certainly reaonable based on other behavior.



Wait, wait... You seem to be suggesting that Canon would intentionally cripple a camera model?!? :


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## Drizzt321 (Jun 25, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> CanineCandidsByL said:
> 
> 
> > Unfortunately my own theory about why the SD is crippled is more annoying. Because SD can be cheaper and nearly as fast as CF, which would move the 5D3 closer to the 1dx than canon marketing wants.
> ...



Blasphemer! Companies don't ever cripple their lower end products to protect profits on a more expensive, lower volume, higher margin product! Never! They always provide the best possible product at a given price point. It only makes sense.


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## briansquibb (Jun 25, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> CanineCandidsByL said:
> 
> 
> > Unfortunately my own theory about why the SD is crippled is more annoying. Because SD can be cheaper and nearly as fast as CF, which would move the 5D3 closer to the 1dx than canon marketing wants.
> ...



The 5DIII and the 1D4 share the same unit. Personally I only have the SD for overflow should the CF fill up. I soon realise that I have switched. On the 1DS3 at 5fps it is not such a problem as the SD speed doesn't slow it down so much

Why do people think that Canon cripple a model rather than not give it all the bells and whistles? I suspect in this case they have filtered down the unit from the 1D4. If it was good enough for the 1D4 users it should be good enough for 5DIII users. More a case of looking for minor improvements that could have been incorporated and turning them into a major issue

Just remember the 5DIII arrangement is better than the D800


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 25, 2012)

briansquibb said:


> Why do people think that Canon cripple a model rather than not give it all the bells and whistles?



Two words: auto focus. Or is that just one word? Call it product line differentiation, reduction of R&D/manufacturing costs to maximize profit, whatever...crippling, by any other name...


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## sanj (Jun 26, 2012)

Bryan, one of the smarter guys on internet explains this better:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=2595


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## GDub (Jun 26, 2012)

revup67 said:


> Sorry - this is *not* new information. In Canon's defense this is all explicitly stated on page 117 of the owner's manual. If you are concerned about burst mode then leave camera on Standard or Auto Switch Card. The manual states: "When Rec. separately is set, the maximum burst will decrease greatly. (See pg 121)". Pg 121 further explains on the matrix the burst rates and also states: "The Maximum burst rate applies to High Speed Continuous Shooting", it then extrapolates that it is referring to UDM7. It may seem obvious then since the SD cads (if engaged in the two other record modes modes) would have to be the lowest common denominator. On page 32 the manual also states the camera does not comply with UHS standards although these cards can be used.
> 
> Now a good work around to this if in the field and you need the backup feature but also the fastest burst mode on a UDMA7 CF card is set the camera to record only on the CF card (Standard Mode). Be sure the CF is the card chosen to record (under Record/Play menu) as well. Now you can copy your images to the SD card by pressing Menu. Choose Menu section 3, sub menu 1 and select "Image Copy". Here you can define your Source (the CF card) and the freespace on Card 2 (SD card) there you can copy all your CF images to an SD card without losing burst mode speed and still have your backup.



revup67, excellent post! Thanks.

To the disgruntled, all you have to do is buy the 1D X instead. "Problem" solved--for just a few thousand dollars.


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> briansquibb said:
> 
> 
> > Why do people think that Canon cripple a model rather than not give it all the bells and whistles?
> ...



I consider cripping when they take a working feature and take it away, In this case it is the perfectly adequate arrangement filtered down as is from the 1D4. So this is not a case of crippling


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 26, 2012)

briansquibb said:


> I consider cripping when they take a working feature and take it away



Ahhh...so you mean, for example, the fact that AFMA was a feature of the 50D, but not of the 60D. Or is AFMA neither a bell nor a whistle?


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> briansquibb said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yep you are right in this case about the function being removed - does that mean it could be restored by firmware? if so then it is crippled

In this case we are talking about the SD card which is being touted as being crippled - are you saying it is?


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 26, 2012)

briansquibb said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > briansquibb said:
> ...



Yes, AFMA is firmware only, would have been free for them to implement (in fact, they probably had to actively remove it from the 50D firmware as they modified it for the 60D). Crippled, indeed.

Not necessarily the case for the SD slot, that souds more like a case of re-using the already developed part(s) from the 1-series, without bothering to update the Sd slot for the already-available UHS standard. I think it would have been relatively low-cost for them to do so, but they chose not to.


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## Drizzt321 (Jun 26, 2012)

briansquibb said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > CanineCandidsByL said:
> ...



You know...that actually makes sense they would take the card unit from the 1D4. Tried, tested, already have the tooling for it. Makes sense I suppose. Unfortunate that they didn't update it to UHS-I.


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## infared (Jun 26, 2012)

*HUH?????? What is this guy Cable saying?*

Hi...
I just did a test with my 5D Mark III. I find Mr. Cable's claim that putting an SD card in the card slot slows down the CF card. Groundless.
I am using a 32GB Lexar Professional 600x card and a 32GB Sandisk Extreme Pro SD card. If I am reading correctly he states that if there is no card in the SD card slot the CF card will clear the buffer more quickly. That is not the case on my camera. I loaded up on High Speed 17 shots and each time the buffer clears the exact same time of about 5-7 sec., whether I have an SD card in the slot or not. I am using the second hand from my watch and this is very unscientific....but there is NO CHANGE in the buffer clear of my CF Cards.
Yes. With my SD card ..the buffer clears more slowly than my CF card. Quite a bit in fact. (take about 20 sec.) But my Extreme pro SD card clears MUCH more quickly (LIKE 2x AS FAST ) AS MY 15MB/s SD card. So there is an notable increase in SD card performance as you install faster cards.
I just loaded in the new firmware...so I do not know if that made a difference....but I am VERY happy with this camera. VERY happy.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding his point...but I think that I got it correct.


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## revup67 (Jun 26, 2012)

> I just did a test with my 5D Mark III. I find Mr. Cable's claim that putting an SD card in the card slot slows down the CF card. Groundless.



Infared - his claim is not groundless it states so in the manual as I posted earlier today. You don't state which Record mode your are on. "Standard" and 'Auto Switch Card" have no effect with SD card in place however "Rec. Separately" and "Rec. to Multiple" will have a slow down effect see page 116 in the manual and or more detail on my earlier post.


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

revup67 said:


> > I just did a test with my 5D Mark III. I find Mr. Cable's claim that putting an SD card in the card slot slows down the CF card. Groundless.
> 
> 
> 
> Infared - his claim is not groundless it states so in the manual as I posted earlier today. You don't state which Record mode your are on. "Standard" and 'Auto Switch Card" have no effect with SD card in place however "Rec. Separately" and "Rec. to Multiple" will have a slow down effect see page 116 in the manual and or more detail on my earlier post.



This is the same as the 1D4


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## RGomezPhotos (Jun 26, 2012)

The Mark III takes SDXC cards which are rated at 100MB/sec - 300MB/sec. So really SDXC cards should not be a major bottleneck. I completely understand that if you are writing to two cards that speed will suffer. I'd like to see some real numbers with top-end CF and SDXC being written to at the same time.


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 26, 2012)

RGomezPhotos said:


> The Mark III takes SDXC cards which are rated at 100MB/sec - 300MB/sec. So really SDXC cards should not be a major bottleneck. I completely understand that if you are writing to two cards that speed will suffer. I'd like to see some real numbers with top-end CF and SDXC being written to at the same time.



SD card speed is not the bottleneck in this case - the camera doesn't support the higher speed UHS-I class. It's like plugging a USB3 HDD into a USB2 port, you're limited to the slower speed.


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## tron (Jun 26, 2012)

revup67 said:


> Sorry - this is *not* new information. In Canon's defense this is all explicitly stated on page 117 of the owner's manual. If you are concerned about burst mode then leave camera on Standard or Auto Switch Card. The manual states: "When Rec. separately is set, the maximum burst will decrease greatly. (See pg 121)". Pg 121 further explains on the matrix the burst rates and also states: "The Maximum burst rate applies to High Speed Continuous Shooting", it then extrapolates that it is referring to UDM7. It may seem obvious then since the SD cads (if engaged in the two other record modes modes) would have to be the lowest common denominator. On page 32 the manual also states the camera does not comply with UHS standards although these cards can be used.
> 
> Now a good work around to this if in the field and you need the backup feature but also the fastest burst mode on a UDMA7 CF card is set the camera to record only on the CF card (Standard Mode). Be sure the CF is the card chosen to record (under Record/Play menu) as well. Now you can copy your images to the SD card by pressing Menu. Choose Menu section 3, sub menu 1 and select "Image Copy". Here you can define your Source (the CF card) and the freespace on Card 2 (SD card) there you can copy all your CF images to an SD card without losing burst mode speed and still have your backup.



Well, if someone has to copy the CF content to SD card afterwards in order to not lose speed  , there is always the bypass that works on all models: Remove the CF card, put it in a portable device like hyperdrive, copy the contents, reinsert the CF card


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

This link may be useful

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


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## infared (Jun 26, 2012)

briansquibb said:


> revup67 said:
> 
> 
> > > I just did a test with my 5D Mark III. I find Mr. Cable's claim that putting an SD card in the card slot slows down the CF card. Groundless.
> ...


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

infared said:


> briansquibb said:
> 
> 
> > revup67 said:
> ...


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## infared (Jun 26, 2012)

Brian ....I have no beef with you, at all. My beef is with Cable.
Cable says do not put an SD card in your camera it will slow down your CF card. Period. It simply is not true. It is an incorrect statement. He says if the card is there it slows the speed of your CF card. Not true. The camera has to be writing to both cards for that to occur. WOW...I was writing to one card before with my Mark II.
Having the SD card as backup is a wonderful thing in my world. What a great extra feature on a great camera.
I think maybe Cable hangs out with Ken Rockwell.


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## Phenix205 (Jun 26, 2012)

Ever since it was released, the 5D3 appears to have received more criticism than praise. Canon in this case did make many people feel betrayed by cutting corners on a number of things, the SD card being one of them. This is not the first time they did this (remembering the AF on 5D2) and they will continue doing this. So are many other companies. Unless someone does it differently, by including all the best features on a second of the line product, we will have to accept the reality. I just hope Canon would not quickly abandon the 5D3 within a couple of years or so.


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## infared (Jun 26, 2012)

True enough.
My biggest beef with the 5D II was the lack of bracketing. Same on the 7D.. Canon did a major firmware update and did not improve something that the camera should have been released with. Three shot bracketing is an embarrassment on a $2500 or $1600 DSLR. Simply an embarrassment. Easy fix. My Micro 4/3's cameras put this to shame. I certainly do not think Canon is perfect....but I can't stand incorrect statements or language which is clearly apparent in the article that sparked this discussion.


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## kenmartin (Jun 26, 2012)

Yeh what Cable wrote "It turns out that the camera will default to the slowest card inserted." is wrong in my testing. 

I put in a CF and SD card then set the camera to write small JPG to the CF and RAW to the SD, then I shot burst for 30 seconds and counted the shots taken. Then I switched the setting, writing the RAW to the CF and the small JPG to the SD and repeated the test. The results were very different. Writing RAW to CF and small JPG to SD was much faster (burst maybe two to three times the number of shots in 30 seconds) than the opposite. So the situation is definitely more complex than "default to the slowest card inserted" in that scenario. 

Now if you write the same size image (say both RAW) to both cards at once then the buffer cannot flush any faster than the SD card is written to, but that does not mean the CF card is being throttled. It means the buffer is stuck waiting on the SD card. Put another way the CF card is all done but the camera's buffer cannot clear because it is waiting on the SD card. But I could see how someone might think that means the CF card is being throttled down to the SD speed, but from my observations that is not the case.

TLDR: CF and SD write rates are independent


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## Razor2012 (Jun 26, 2012)

Phenix205 said:


> Ever since it was released, the 5D3 appears to have received more criticism than praise. Canon in this case did make many people feel betrayed by cutting corners on a number of things, the SD card being one of them. This is not the first time they did this (remembering the AF on 5D2) and they will continue doing this. So are many other companies. Unless someone does it differently, by including all the best features on a second of the line product, we will have to accept the reality. I just hope Canon would not quickly abandon the 5D3 within a couple of years or so.



You can't please everyone, there will always be critics. I don't know if I'd call it betrayed, what were people expecting? You only can put so many features on a 2nd tier camera, you have to draw the line somewhere. That's why there's the 1 series and the 5 series.


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## TrumpetPower! (Jun 26, 2012)

<blockquote>in this case did make many people feel betrayed by cutting corners on a number of things, the SD card being one of them.</blockquote>

I still don't see what all the fuss is about. Until the 1DX was released, with the exception of maximum burst speed, the 5DIII had better specs than any other camera Canon's ever made. And, except for a few meaningless megapickles of resolution and outstanding dynamic range as opposed to superlative dynamic range, it's better than any of Nikon's cameras.

What, you want the camera to give you an orgasm every time you release the shutter, too? Is that it?

Cheers,

b&


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

Razor2012 said:


> Phenix205 said:
> 
> 
> > Ever since it was released, the 5D3 appears to have received more criticism than praise. Canon in this case did make many people feel betrayed by cutting corners on a number of things, the SD card being one of them. This is not the first time they did this (remembering the AF on 5D2) and they will continue doing this. So are many other companies. Unless someone does it differently, by including all the best features on a second of the line product, we will have to accept the reality. I just hope Canon would not quickly abandon the 5D3 within a couple of years or so.
> ...



Betrayed - by putting the twin cards of the top of the range 1D4 in the 5DIII   

Some people's expections are so unrealistic


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## Razor2012 (Jun 26, 2012)

briansquibb said:


> Razor2012 said:
> 
> 
> > Phenix205 said:
> ...



Wait, all the 1DX owners will be betrayed too by the 5DIII stealing the AF system.


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

Razor2012 said:


> briansquibb said:
> 
> 
> > Razor2012 said:
> ...



.... and only having 18mp instead of the 22mp of the 5DIII - clearly a rip off from Canon for charging more for less


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## Razor2012 (Jun 26, 2012)

briansquibb said:


> Razor2012 said:
> 
> 
> > briansquibb said:
> ...



Sorry Brian you were clearly ripped off buying the 1 series. Better sell them and buy a 5DIII while you can.


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

Razor2012 said:


> Sorry Brian you were clearly ripped off buying the 1 series. Better sell them and buy a 5DIII while you can.



....and I have 3 of them - money grabbing Canon ripping off destitute pensioners ;D ;D ;D


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## bdunbar79 (Jun 26, 2012)

Razor2012 said:


> briansquibb said:
> 
> 
> > Razor2012 said:
> ...



Just link metering to the active AF point in the 5D Mark III and now you have a betrayal!


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## Razor2012 (Jun 26, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> Razor2012 said:
> 
> 
> > briansquibb said:
> ...



Shhhhh, don't tell Brian.


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## Marsu42 (Jun 26, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> Yes, AFMA is firmware only, would have been free for them to implement (in fact, they probably had to actively remove it from the 50D firmware as they modified it for the 60D). Crippled, indeed.



Doh, I shouldn't think about this as a 60d owner  ... it would be interesting to know if Canon saved some $$$ for including a slower sd card slot or if it was the latest ingenuity from Canon marketing. Unfortunately, it's likely we'll never know.



infared said:


> My biggest beef with the 5D II was the lack of bracketing. Same on the 7D.. Canon did a major firmware update and did not improve something that the camera should have been released with. Three shot bracketing is an embarrassment on a $2500 or $1600 DSLR. Simply an embarrassment. Easy fix.



Since Magic Lantern now works on the 5d2 (not the 7d), at least it's here now after four years - unlimited bracketing even with automatic selection of how many shots are needed.


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## briansquibb (Jun 26, 2012)

Razor2012 said:


> bdunbar79 said:
> 
> 
> > Razor2012 said:
> ...



I heard that 8) 8) 8)


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## infared (Jun 26, 2012)

Marsu42 said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > Yes, AFMA is firmware only, would have been free for them to implement (in fact, they probably had to actively remove it from the 50D firmware as they modified it for the 60D). Crippled, indeed.
> ...



OK...not that I need it any more...but what is magic lantern. I just sold my Mark II for cash this morning to a REALLY nice young man....was glad I knew where it was going. 
I know nothing about what magic latern is. My buddy badly wants more bracketin on his 7D...but there are no options for him, right?


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## Marsu42 (Jun 26, 2012)

infared said:


> +
> I know nothing about what magic latern is. My buddy badly wants more bracketin on his 7D...but there are no options for him, right?



Apart from Google being your friend for all Internet search related issues: ML is *the* killer firmware addon for digic4 Canon eos cameras (except for the dual-digic4 7d), including heaps of stellar to very convenient features. I am using Canon because of this, otherwise I'd probably have a Nikon d7000. 

http://www.magiclantern.fm/


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## Drizzt321 (Jun 27, 2012)

Marsu42 said:


> infared said:
> 
> 
> > +
> ...



Will also, eventually, be coming to the 5d3 and probably t4i. They've got a basic "Hello World!" prototype booted up on the 5d3, so it's a matter of time, priority, and frankly getting money to pay 1 or 2 people to develop full time with a 5d3 to test on.


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## Marsu42 (Jun 27, 2012)

Drizzt321 said:


> Will also, eventually, be coming to the 5d3 and probably t4i.



The "eventually" doesn't only mean paying the dev (I think it's a single person - Alex), but it's quite a long way from "Hello, World" to a stable firmware that doesn't turn your $3500 camera into a brick. And since the 5d3/650d have a new processor, it is yet to be discovered if Canon changed something that makes some ml tricks impossible, though the dev seems to be hopeful it's the other way around and there might be potential for more features. Still, that's the reason why I'm currently writing "digic4 bodies" support ml.


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## V8Beast (Jun 27, 2012)

TrumpetPower! said:


> What, you want the camera to give you an orgasm every time you release the shutter, too? Is that it?



I wouldn't mind that one bit, but I don't think my clients would appreciate it


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## Drizzt321 (Jun 27, 2012)

V8Beast said:


> TrumpetPower! said:
> 
> 
> > What, you want the camera to give you an orgasm every time you release the shutter, too? Is that it?
> ...



Hahaha


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## Razor2012 (Jun 27, 2012)

V8Beast said:


> TrumpetPower! said:
> 
> 
> > What, you want the camera to give you an orgasm every time you release the shutter, too? Is that it?
> ...



Lol, you'd be using the umbrellas for more than just flash. ;D


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## sjfischer (Jul 3, 2012)

I own a 5D III (bought it at an authorized dealer) and left similar feedback about the SD slot when rating the camera on Canons website. Overall I gave the 5D III a 2 star rating because I really felt it wasn’t much more of a camera than the 5D II. Canon would not post my review, i received an email saying my review was declined after review for it’s negative content. Negative maybe, but my reasons, such as the buffer being limited by the SD card slot, were not untrue.


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## neuroanatomist (Jul 3, 2012)

sjfischer said:


> Canon would not post my review, i received an email saying my review was declined after review for it’s negative content.



Very interesting.


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## tron (Jul 3, 2012)

sjfischer said:


> Canon would not post my review, i received an email saying my review was declined after review for it’s negative content. Negative maybe, but my reasons, such as the buffer being limited by the SD card slot, were not untrue.


Very interesting indeed! You can react by adding a review to another site like Amazon, B&H mentioning also Canon's reaction.


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## FunkyCamera (Jul 5, 2012)

sjfischer said:


> I own a 5D III (bought it at an authorized dealer) and left similar feedback about the SD slot when rating the camera on Canons website. Overall I gave the 5D III a 2 star rating because I really felt it wasn’t much more of a camera than the 5D II. Canon would not post my review, i received an email saying my review was declined after review for it’s negative content. Negative maybe, but my reasons, such as the buffer being limited by the SD card slot, were not untrue.


Nobody would give such a fantastic camera a 2 for such minor things. I wonder if you work for Nikon and they're getting desperate with the D800 and D4 not selling.


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