# Recommendations needed for Compact Flash cards for 5D Mk III



## lastcoyote (Sep 20, 2012)

Just about to pull the trigger on a 5D Mk III to replace my 40D as main body.
I currently have a couple of Sandisk Extreme 60mb/s 8gb cards.
I was thinking of getting a 32GB for the 5D Mk III. And hope to use it for both stills and video capture.
So do I just get a Sandisk Extreme 60mb/s 32gb card or would i be better advised to pay extra now for a Extreme Pro 90mb/s ? Is the extra cost really worth it? Will I be dissapointed with the performance of the 60mb/s cards? Or how about going all out and getting a Lexar Professional 1000x card? Are these as reliable as Sandisk?

So many questions


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## Seanlucky (Sep 20, 2012)

I personally have always chosen Sandisk over Lexar, but that's probably more superstition than anything. If you do decide to choose Sandisk, I use the same cards you have in the 8GB version and have never had a problem with them for video or stills in my 40D, 1DS Mark III, 5D Mark II, or 5D Mark III. I suppose if you require really long bursts, then it makes sense to get the fastest cards on the market, but such a choice didn't make sense for me as I don't really shoot sports.


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## dshipley (Sep 20, 2012)

lastcoyote said:


> Just about to pull the trigger on a 5D Mk III to replace my 40D as main body.
> I currently have a couple of Sandisk Extreme 60mb/s 8gb cards.
> I was thinking of getting a 32GB for the 5D Mk III. And hope to use it for both stills and video capture.
> So do I just get a Sandisk Extreme 60mb/s 32gb card or would i be better advised to pay extra now for a Extreme Pro 90mb/s ? Is the extra cost really worth it? Will I be dissapointed with the performance of the 60mb/s cards? Or how about going all out and getting a Lexar Professional 1000x card? Are these as reliable as Sandisk?
> ...



You can't go wrong with either SanDisk or Lexar for CF cards (I own several of both brands). Having said that if you can afford to I'd highly recommend investing in the fastest cards you can (preferably the Lexar 1000x... and it looks like B&H has a pair of Lexar 1000x 16GB cards on sale currently for under $150) as you'll appreciate their ability to quickly clear the camera's buffer.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 20, 2012)

I use the 60mb/sec cards with no problems. The fast cards might make a difference if you are trying to shoot high fps sequences and need a extra frame or two before the buffer fills. You can also cut the transfer time to your computer if you have a good USB-3 reader.
Get what you need, 60 mb/sec works fine.
One thing to consider, is that if you use dual cards and write to both, your speed will be limited by the slowest card, so even 60mb/sec will be overkill if a class 10 SDXC card is installed.


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## balaji (Sep 20, 2012)

I am using Kingston 600x 32GB, no issues so far  and with Transcend USB 3.0 Super Speed Multi-Card Reader for SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/CF Cards (TS-RDF8) Supports UDMA7.


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## lastcoyote (Sep 20, 2012)

dshipley said:


> You can't go wrong with either SanDisk or Lexar for CF cards (I own several of both brands). Having said that if you can afford to I'd highly recommend investing in the fastest cards you can (preferably the Lexar 1000x... and it looks like B&H has a pair of Lexar 1000x 16GB cards on sale currently for under $150) as you'll appreciate their ability to quickly clear the camera's buffer.



yeah that's what i was thinking regarding the buffer.
presumably a fast card is required for video, is that right?
i'm in england so the B&H sale won't help me unfortunately.
shooting in raw how many shots 'roughly speaking' would i fit on a 16GB. Maybe 2x16GB is preferable to a 32GB?


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## gary (Sep 20, 2012)

I use the SanDisk Extreme Pro 16gb @ 90MB/S I have never had a problem with the buffer on the 5d mkiii. I can say I have used the 60gb and they are fine but at 90 you do notice a difference. If you can afford it spend the extra.


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## Chuck Alaimo (Sep 20, 2012)

lastcoyote said:


> dshipley said:
> 
> 
> > You can't go wrong with either SanDisk or Lexar for CF cards (I own several of both brands). Having said that if you can afford to I'd highly recommend investing in the fastest cards you can (preferably the Lexar 1000x... and it looks like B&H has a pair of Lexar 1000x 16GB cards on sale currently for under $150) as you'll appreciate their ability to quickly clear the camera's buffer.
> ...



depends on what your shooting! For weddings I generally go with mRAW ---a 16 GB card can do about 800 or so at mRAW...closer to 500 if you go full sizred RAW, and closer to 1000 if you go sRAW (depends on what your shooting too, more texture, colors, detail in the shot leads to larger file size).

I tend to prefer Sandisk, with lexar being my second choice. I have borrowed kingston cards at times and gotten errors (had to reformat the cards, they worked after that but having to reformat doesn't give me confidence!!!)


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## cliffwang (Sep 20, 2012)

Both Sandisk and Lexar are good. You probably won't different between 60MB and 90MB for shooting. However, you will see the difference in the future when you use Magic Lantern for uncompressed video. I will choice 32GB/60MB for now to save some money. When Magic Lantern fully support 5D3, I will buy the fastest 32GB/90MB from Sandisk or Lexar for video.


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## snowweasel (Sep 20, 2012)

Personally, I would rather get a larger card at a slightly slower speed (I'm currently using 32GB cards). I prefer fewer cards to keep up with, change out, and download after a shoot. There are those who prefer smaller cards, though, as theyre typically a bit less expensive, and for the whole "all your eggs in one basket" mentality that you lose more in the rare, but possible, event of a card failure or loss. 

For non-critical shoots, I have no problem using Kingston cards (I have several elite pro 32GB 133x). I've never had any issues, but have heard enough complaints over the years that I only view them as a last choice if I'm shooting a wedding, or something (if you think you may need an extra card & can't afford another sandisk or lexar). If you have tons of cash laying around- by all means, though, go for the fastest card out there- especially if you have a reader that can make use of it. Offloading to your computer is where you're most likely to see the biggest difference. In shooting, I practically never notice any difference between my sandisk extreme (400x, 60 MB/s) & extreme pro (600x, 90 MB/s). Really the only time I notice any major slowdown is if you are shooting to BOTH cf & sd at the same time. You'll never get over 133x, no matter how fast a sd card you put in (more at http://jeffcable.blogspot.com/2012/06/why-you-should-not-put-sd-card-in-your.html). As for video, either the extreme or pro (or similar Lexar cards) are plenty fast.


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## rpt (Sep 20, 2012)

For Multi shot or video go for 90 MB/s cards. For single shot even the 8mb 200x card I got with the 5D3 works...
I bought 16, 32 and 64 MB cards. San disk, Lexar and Kingston. The 16 and 32 were 90 MB/s and the 64 was 60 MB/s.


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## Studio1930 (Sep 20, 2012)

Started having Sandisk failures so I switched to Lexar 1000 16GB cards. No problems so far and they are FAAAAASSSTTT. ;D Using them in a 1DX and 1D4.


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## crasher8 (Sep 20, 2012)

I used to use anything over 266x for my 7D but my 5D3 freebie pkg arrived today and I just tested the SanDisk Ext Pro UDMA-7 CF card and WOW is it fast! I have never seen RAW shots populate that fast before. Impressive.


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## lastcoyote (Sep 20, 2012)

thanks for all the replies so far.
hmm..seems there are some that feel there's little between the extreme and extreme pro cards and others that feel the difference is quite noticeable.
seeing as how i'm not likely 'yet' to be a big burst shooter..and unfortunately money is a factor..maybe a sandisk extreme 32gb or a couple of 16gb will be fine for now.


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## rocketdesigner (Sep 21, 2012)

The 5D3 contains a fast CF slot and a slow SD slot which doesn't support (UHS) ultra high speed. If you have a cards in each slot, the camera defaults to the slower SD card. The Lexar 1000x Pro CF card will clear your buffer @ 90mb per sec or higher. 

Costly media no doubt, but well worth the investment in order to fully utilize the abilities of the camera you paid for.


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## Razor2012 (Sep 21, 2012)

I've been using the SanDisk Extreme Pro cards also, the 64GB 90MB/s ones. I haven't tried the 128GB cards as they are rated @100MB/s (pricey too).


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## jondave (Sep 21, 2012)

If you're not into heavy video or shooting continuously in big bursts in full RAW you don't need to get the 90mb/s or the 60mb/s cards. Don't get swayed by those who want to the baddest and fastest cards, you'd just be wasting money if you don't need that much speed.

You should know that your camera doesn't write directly to the card when you press the shutter - the file gets saved in the internal buffer first, then gets transferred to the card. The speed of the card determines how fast your camera's buffer is cleared out to make room for your next shots. So if you're not maxing out your camera's buffer with continuous bursts or video, a fast card will do nothing for you - except drain your wallet.


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## Studio1930 (Sep 21, 2012)

jondave said:


> So if you're not maxing out your camera's buffer with continuous bursts or video, a fast card will do nothing for you - except drain your wallet.



That is not entirely accurate. Faster cards mean spending less time waiting for the images to move from the card to your computer. This may not be important for some people, but many photographers will have hundreds or thousands of images to transfer and slower cards simply take longer. Time is money (to most).


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## crasher8 (Sep 21, 2012)

Studio1930 said:


> jondave said:
> 
> 
> > So if you're not maxing out your camera's buffer with continuous bursts or video, a fast card will do nothing for you - except drain your wallet.
> ...


+1, cards aren't just about shooting! Plus I got my card for free, Extreme Pro 16GB , so my wallet only drained from the 5D3 I had to buy to get the freebies!


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## pwp (Sep 22, 2012)

B&H has a deal on Lexar 32Gb 1000x CF cards at the moment which just can't be ignored.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/841573-REG/Lexar_LCF32GCTBNA10002_32GB_CompactFlash_Memory_Card.html

-PW


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Sep 22, 2012)

lastcoyote said:


> Just about to pull the trigger on a 5D Mk III to replace my 40D as main body.
> I currently have a couple of Sandisk Extreme 60mb/s 8gb cards.
> I was thinking of getting a 32GB for the 5D Mk III. And hope to use it for both stills and video capture.
> So do I just get a Sandisk Extreme 60mb/s 32gb card or would i be better advised to pay extra now for a Extreme Pro 90mb/s ? Is the extra cost really worth it? Will I be dissapointed with the performance of the 60mb/s cards? Or how about going all out and getting a Lexar Professional 1000x card? Are these as reliable as Sandisk?
> ...



I can say the Lexar 1000x definitely bumps your buffer up and lowers the flush time noticeably compared to the SanDisk Extreme Pro 90 MB/s. I've tested it. Definitely helps. The 60MB/s Sandisk are even slower yet.

If you tend to ever stress the buffer get a 32GB Lexar 1000x. You may just about never hit the buffer with that one.


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Sep 22, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I use the 60mb/sec cards with no problems. The fast cards might make a difference if you are trying to shoot high fps sequences and need a extra frame or two before the buffer fills. You can also cut the transfer time to your computer if you have a good USB-3 reader.
> Get what you need, 60 mb/sec works fine.
> One thing to consider, is that if you use dual cards and write to both, your speed will be limited by the slowest card, so even 60mb/sec will be overkill if a class 10 SDXC card is installed.



Lexar 1000x gives you MUCH more than just a frame or two extra compared to the Sandisk 60MB/s cards, heck it gives much more than that even compared to the 90MB/s cards.

Of course it depends what you shoot. If you do tripod based landscapes it's a total waste of money (other than mayeb saving a little time uploading to the PC later). If you are doing anything that can need lots of bursts at times man the lexar 1000x can be well worth it, yes, noticeably longer burst even compared to ExtremePro 90MB/s and insanely different compared to say older Extreme III cards.

The $120-$150 deals on the 32GB lexar 1000x make the price OK.

But it depends, for some it's more than worth it, for some a total waste and a 32GB card on some $15 deal will be fine.


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## jabbott (Sep 22, 2012)

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this link yet, but someone did some fairly exhaustive benchmarks of CF and SD cards for the 5D3 here: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_wb_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-12452


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## kaihp (Sep 22, 2012)

pwp said:


> B&H has a deal on Lexar 32Gb 1000x CF cards at the moment which just can't be ignored.
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/841573-REG/Lexar_LCF32GCTBNA10002_32GB_CompactFlash_Memory_Card.html


Either Lexar or B&H are backlogged (or both), because I'm still waiting for my shipment notice of the Lexar 1000x 32GB cards I order on Aug 30th. They were supposed to be shipped on Sept 7, but got a "sorry, they're delayed until Sept 21" mail. Now it's Sept 22, and I have received neither a shipment notice nor a delay notice.

I'd say pick Adorama instead. Here's a link to their 2-pack deal ($240): http://www.adorama.com/ILXPCF1K322.html


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## AKCalixto (Sep 23, 2012)

In case you want to check the performance of a 5DIII and a memory card

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


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## Axilrod (Sep 23, 2012)

I have 10 Sandisk 16GB and 32GB that I have had zero troubles with over the last couple years. I shoot video mainly and they run all day long no problem. 

And $84 for 32GB is not bad at all, a year ago I paid $99 for the 16GB.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646870-REG/SanDisk_SDCFX_032G_A61_32GB_Extreme_CompactFlash_Memory.html


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## cocopop05 (Jan 10, 2013)

I have just purchased a 16GB Lexar 1000X UDMA7 CF card and get the following performance. 

With auto-focus on, I get no worse than 19 frames at 6fps when using auto-focus, get on average 23 frames at 6fps, at most get 25 frames. When using manual focus get no worse than 24 frames at 6fps, on average 25 frames and at most get 30 frames.

This compares with 12-13 frames at 6fps using a Sandisk Extreme Pro 16GB 95MB/s SD Card (taking note that the 5D Mark III does not support the UHS transfer speeds of SD cards)


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## zim (Jan 10, 2013)

What's the fastes SD Card that can be used before the speed advantage of the card is limited to the slow SD slot in the 5D, is it simply any 133x card?

https://www.sdcard.org/developers/overview/bus_speed/


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## vmk (Jan 10, 2013)

Using 64GB sandisk extreme pro 90MB/s for my Mark iii
was using the same for 7d.

For the faster frame rate you need faster memory cards


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## Jesse (Jan 10, 2013)

I've been using 2 Transcend 32 gig cards for over a year and have never had a problem with them. Way cheaper.


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## zim (Jan 12, 2013)

vmk said:


> Using 64GB sandisk extreme pro 90MB/s for my Mark iii
> was using the same for 7d.
> 
> For the faster frame rate you need faster memory cards



As long as your not using the SD?


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## vmk (Jan 12, 2013)

I use the sd for backup as jpeg for important occastions.


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## FTb-n (Jan 12, 2013)

I've been using Transcend UDMA 32 GB 400x cards in my 7D for the past year. The card keeps up with my burst rates. I have gone through about 16,000 images on my main card without any problems. They are currently selling for $45 on Amazon (down from $65).


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## eyeland (Mar 7, 2013)

I am currently in Geneve, filming the 2013 car expo and I passed by a local photo store to pick up a few extra cards. They have a very nice deal (relatively) on Lexar Pro 400x 32GB (~50 euro). For some reason, this card is not on the list of http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_wb_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-12452 as far as I can tell. Any reason to stay away from it? If it performs similar to the other Lexar/Sandisk 400x it it is fine for my current use, anyone got experience with that particular card?


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## TexasBadger (Mar 7, 2013)

I have been using Lexar 16gb 1000x for almost a year. No problems whatsoever. I also have the usb 3.0 card reader. Very fast and it reads both CF and SD cards.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 7, 2013)

zim said:


> What's the fastes SD Card that can be used before the speed advantage of the card is limited to the slow SD slot in the 5D, is it simply any 133x card?
> 
> https://www.sdcard.org/developers/overview/bus_speed/


It really doesn't matter, the fastest ones write at 10MB/sec in a 5D MK III unless low level formatted. A regular format does not erase old files, just marks them as ready to overwrite.

The higher speed specs are only for a new and fully erased card. This means that you would need to do a low level format perodically (depending on the card use). Otherwise, it will drop to 10mb/sec once it starts overwriting old files. If you get a very large one, you can do a low level format less often, be aware that low level formatting takes a very long time, you do not want to do a low level format for a large card in camera, it may run your battery down.


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## 360_6pack (Mar 10, 2013)

Is there any way to low level format a cf card in a 5DIII?


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## eyeland (Mar 10, 2013)

eyeland said:


> They have a very nice deal (relatively) on Lexar Pro 400x 32GB (~50 euro).


Meh, turned out to be a "typo" (or so they said)... they were really SD and not CF 
Guess the best deal is something like http://www.ebay.com/itm/SanDisk-Extreme-Pro-32GB-Compact-Flash-cf-Card-600X-90MB-s-UDMA6-32G-GENUINE-/281074150591?pt=Digital_Camera_Memory_Cards&hash=item4171532cbf 
I have bought quite a few cards from china so far and they always seem to be genuine quality, but I guess you can never know


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## lolo0476 (Mar 12, 2013)

360_6pack said:


> Is there any way to low level format a cf card in a 5DIII?



As said before, it's better to do it from your computer than from your camera. It's long enough to use a lot of battery. And maybe down your battery before finish to format.

You can do it looking in your menu and do "format".

But maybe you will prefer to use it to shoot than to format


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