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



## jerodkaram (Mar 2, 2012)

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

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

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


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## Neeneko (Mar 2, 2012)

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

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


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## tooslick2k (Mar 2, 2012)

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

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


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## jerodkaram (Mar 2, 2012)

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

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

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


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## tivoboy (Mar 2, 2012)

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


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## neuroanatomist (Mar 2, 2012)

jerodkaram said:


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



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

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


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 3, 2012)

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

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


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## jrista (Mar 3, 2012)

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

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

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

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

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


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## kdsand (Mar 3, 2012)

Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC

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


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## h4ldol (Mar 3, 2012)

tivoboy said:


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



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


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## jrista (Mar 3, 2012)

kdsand said:


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



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


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## eeek (Mar 3, 2012)

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


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## Meh (Mar 3, 2012)

eeek said:


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



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


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 3, 2012)

eeek said:


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



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


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## ronderick (Mar 3, 2012)

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


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## kdsand (Mar 3, 2012)

jrista said:


> kdsand said:
> 
> 
> > Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC
> ...



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


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## kdsand (Mar 3, 2012)

ronderick said:


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



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


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## Old Shooter (Mar 3, 2012)

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

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

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

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

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

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


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## marvinhello (Mar 3, 2012)

Old Shooter said:


> I'm excited about the backup! Wedding shooters/Event photographers will appreciate the peace of mind!
> 
> You can get SanDisk's Extreme Pro (90 MB/s) 64GB SDXC for $190...
> 
> ...



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


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## tt (Mar 3, 2012)

*Best cards for 5D Mark III? SD & CF*

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

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

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

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

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



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



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





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


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## crasher7 (Mar 3, 2012)

CF has a huge durability factor in it's favor as well. I've cracked a few SD cards in my time. Not too mention what my kids have done to theirs!


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## Jamesy (Mar 3, 2012)

*Re: Best cards for 5D Mark III? SD & CF*

Rob Galbraith has always been a good resource for CF/SD card speeds as they relate to cameras, although there is no recommended cards yet for the 5D3:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007


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## Jamesy (Mar 3, 2012)

Rob Galbraith tests new camera and comes up with empirical numbers for most popular camera models. I am sure the raft of recent announcements will show up on his list shortly such as the 5D3. 1DX, D800, D4.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007

The only time I have seen issues with buying something faster than the device (or user for that matter) would be putting racing skies on an amateur skier ;D


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## Old Shooter (Mar 3, 2012)

marvinhello said:


> Old Shooter said:
> 
> 
> > I'm excited about the backup! Wedding shooters/Event photographers will appreciate the peace of mind!
> ...



Good point! But if the CF slot supports UDMA 7, why would they handicap the SD slot to not support UHS-1?

Also, the T3i supports UHS-1, so I would imagine the 5DIII would... But, time will tell!


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## darryl (Mar 3, 2012)

First post!!! At some point reading just isn't enough. ;D

I use a canon 60D so I know some about SD cards and close to none about CF. So I figured I'd share and then ask a question.

The Class on SD cards is a minimum writing speed which is supposed to be guaranteed even at non-optimal conditions. So technically you could have a class 4 that writes much faster than 4MB/s. Sandisk is known for having much higher write speeds then the class rating.

Also if you are looking for a review on SD cards on the 1D mark IV look here.
http://www.slashgear.com/sdhc-flash-memory-performance-on-canon-eos-1d-mark-iv-2082467/

And here for a good comparison site.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sdxc-sdhc-uhs-i,2940-12.html

Now for my question. I normally buy SDHC cards no bigger than 8gb for fear of "putting all your eggs in one basket". SD cards are known for going bad sometimes. Does this happen with CF cards as well? I'd love to get bigger storage CF cards (for a mark II i'll prolly buy soon once the "price drop" happens *crossing fingers*) if they are more reliable.


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## richard_mitchell (Mar 3, 2012)

I'm of the opinion that neither format (CF or SD) are superior. Of the SD/CF cards that I've had fail, they are usually of a very low quality, which is perfectly fine for some people as their career doesn't depend on the card.

I will most likely have this configuration:
- 64GB CF card: RAW originals
- 8GB Eye-Fi Pro X2: High quality JPG

The options are limitless if you have a laptop and know how to create scripts.


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## Old Shooter (Mar 3, 2012)

richard_mitchell said:


> I'm of the opinion that neither format (CF or SD) are superior. Of the SD/CF cards that I've had fail, they are usually of a very low quality, which is perfectly fine for some people as their career doesn't depend on the card.
> 
> I will most likely have this configuration:
> - 64GB CF card: RAW originals
> ...



Good observations!

For weddings/events/portraits, I was thinking:
-64GB CF card for RAW + JPEG Large
-64GB SDXC card backing up the CF card for insurance!

Are you using the Eye-Fi Pro now? I was wondering how that would work for things like dances, etc...?

Thanks!


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## wamsankas (Mar 3, 2012)

*Re: Best cards for 5D Mark III? SD & CF*

this is extremely confusing for me. on amazon the sandisk extreme pro 16gb SD at 95 mb/s is 70$ the CF card at 90mb/s is 110$ .... why would a faster/smaller card be cheaper? why wouldnt everyone just buy the SD?

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Performance-SDSDXPA-016G-A75-Packaging/dp/B006FKD01K/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1330793569&sr=8-15

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-16GB-Extreme-memory-card/dp/B002OL80UK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330793653&sr=8-3


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## wamsankas (Mar 3, 2012)

this is extremely confusing for me. on amazon the sandisk extreme pro 16gb SD at 95 mb/s is 70$ the CF card at 90mb/s is 110$ .... why would a faster/smaller card be cheaper? why wouldnt everyone just buy the SD?

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Performance-SDSDXPA-016G-A75-Packaging/dp/B006FKD01K/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1330793569&sr=8-15

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-16GB-Extreme-memory-card/dp/B002OL80UK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330793653&sr=8-3


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## Kernuak (Mar 3, 2012)

*Re: Best cards for 5D Mark III? SD & CF*



tt said:


> Looking at Sandisk cards in the 8-32GB range -
> 
> Does anyone have any recommendations between the 60MB/s & 90MB/s?
> £80 gets you 1x 60MB/s 16GB SanDisk Extreme 400x UDMA CF
> ...


Have a look at the prices on play.com, they have a 16GB Extreme Pro CF card at £89.99. I recently got one a bit cheaper again from Robert White, but it was during a special offer.

Robert White still have them on special at £78.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 3, 2012)

crasher7 said:


> CF has a huge durability factor in it's favor as well. I've cracked a few SD cards in my time. Not too mention what my kids have done to theirs!



As a connector design engineer, I'd be more concerned with damage to my camera, since a trip for repair and replacement of the CF header is very expensive.

I've had three cameras with bent or broken CF pins in the camera, plus one that was shorted by a bad CF card and needed a new internal power supply board. Two were p&S bodies that I threw out, I was able to repair the DSLR since I do have repair tools.

The pin in camera concept violates all the reliability and safety rules for pin and socket arrangements. The pin side of a connection should never have power applied while disconnected. Bend one against another and your camera can be damaged or ruined.

Cracking a SD card would be the least of my worries, it would let me keep on taking photos by merely using another card and tossing the broken one. Soiling one is nothing, just wipe it off. but contaminate the sockets of a CF card and you may not see they are blocked up, and it can ruin your camera.


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## kdsand (Mar 3, 2012)

wamsankas said:


> this is extremely confusing for me. on amazon the sandisk extreme pro 16gb SD at 95 mb/s is 70$ the CF card at 90mb/s is 110$ .... why would a faster/smaller card be cheaper? why wouldnt everyone just buy the SD?
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Performance-SDSDXPA-016G-A75-Packaging/dp/B006FKD01K/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1330793569&sr=8-15
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-16GB-Extreme-memory-card/dp/B002OL80UK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330793653&sr=8-3



The price of memory seems to rise and fall alot especially on Amazon. These new cards are not supported on necessarily all older devices, that would be my guess as to why they are not selling at a higher premium now. I would also not be shocked to see the price actually increase substantially over the next year though that is speculation .

I have had no problems with compatibility using 60D, Toshiba Thrive tablet (3 months old), H.P. laptop (7 months old)internal card reader and Costco & Walgreens photo centers _while on vacation_.

My frame rate is impressive with the 60D. The buffer never fills now even when writing RAW & L. JPEGs at the same time and surprisingly seems to actually surpass the 60D's indicated specks. 

I would like to clarify as to the cards going through the wash :-\ . It wasn't done on purpose  and the cards are fine  . I've always bought SanDisk higher quality cards and have not had any failures whether CF or SD _knock on wood_.


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## stuartblance (Mar 21, 2012)

anyone recommend this card for MKIII?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Extreme-16GB-SDHC-Card/dp/B005LFT3MA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1331475409&sr=1-2-fkmr0


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## prestonpalmer (Mar 21, 2012)

stuartblance said:


> anyone recommend this card for MKIII?
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Extreme-16GB-SDHC-Card/dp/B005LFT3MA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1331475409&sr=1-2-fkmr0




Yes, that is a great memory card! If you can afford it, get the 32GB version.


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## larryf (Mar 21, 2012)

My plan at this point is to use the CF card to record RAW images and the SD card to record a duplicate JPG image.


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## wamsankas (Mar 21, 2012)

stuartblance said:


> anyone recommend this card for MKIII?
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Extreme-16GB-SDHC-Card/dp/B005LFT3MA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1331475409&sr=1-2-fkmr0



5d Mark iii wil not use all 95mbps... only use 45 mbps. BEWARE


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## kennethpfeifer (Mar 21, 2012)

Picked up an Eye-Fi Pro card and threw it in my S100 while I wait for the 5DM3. After watching a few marketing videos from Eye-Fi, my thoughts were to have the EyeFi sync with my iPad and display the JPGs generated near realtime for things like studio headshot work. Figured I could give clients some assurance/feedback as the shoot progressed rather than stopping to show the back of my camera.

Just so you all know, even with the 12.1mp S100 jpgs, the transfer rate is pretty damn slow, even on my home network wifi. It seemed to take between 30 and 45 seconds per image. After a few images the pipeline seemed to stop, and I had to restart the S100 and iPad2 app a few times to get it going again. 

It was my first time playing with it all, so maybe I noobed it up, but my experience with it so far is a little less encouraging for those purposes. 

Hell, it's still incredible, just nowhere close to realtime.


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## pwp (Mar 22, 2012)

kennethpfeifer said:


> Picked up an Eye-Fi Pro card and threw it in my S100 while I wait for the 5DM3. After watching a few marketing videos from Eye-Fi, my thoughts were to have the EyeFi sync with my iPad and display the JPGs generated near realtime for things like studio headshot work. Figured I could give clients some assurance/feedback as the shoot progressed rather than stopping to show the back of my camera.
> 
> Just so you all know, even with the 12.1mp S100 jpgs, the transfer rate is pretty damn slow, even on my home network wifi. It seemed to take between 30 and 45 seconds per image. After a few images the pipeline seemed to stop, and I had to restart the S100 and iPad2 app a few times to get it going again.
> 
> ...



Just so you know there's a separate thread discussing Eye-Fi experiences started here:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,4621.0.html 
Did you use the iPad app Shuttersnitch to connect your S100 to the iPad? 
Just so you know, Rob Galbraith looks like he's spent a fair bit of time researching various Eye-Fi setups.

Paul Wright


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## Bosman (Mar 22, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The newer Canon model might write to a CF card much faster than the 5D MK II did. I'll need to see some tests before going out and buying a super fast card.
> 
> I believe that It takes SDXC cards which have larger potential capacity and speed, but you might need a new card reader for them.


UDMA 7, the latest fastest CF option. Def a plus for video but for photo 60mb/s up to 150 will all work fine. Chuck westfall says the faster the better just be above 30mb/s for the best experience. That is a synopsis of what i read on a post that he answered questions, not sure where.


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## Bosman (Mar 22, 2012)

darryl said:


> First post!!! At some point reading just isn't enough. ;D
> 
> I use a canon 60D so I know some about SD cards and close to none about CF. So I figured I'd share and then ask a question.
> 
> ...


My experiences with the 24 or so cards i have
Sandisk never fail

Kingston failed 2-32 gig cards out of 4 in a 4 card purchase were corrupt and unusable within the first 2 times i used them. Dont ever compromise on card quality if you make money in photography.

Lexar i have no experience but it will be my next card at 1000x 150mb/s, just not soon. Never heard complaints about that card brand.


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## Bosman (Mar 22, 2012)

*Re: Best cards for 5D Mark III? SD & CF*



wamsankas said:


> this is extremely confusing for me. on amazon the sandisk extreme pro 16gb SD at 95 mb/s is 70$ the CF card at 90mb/s is 110$ .... why would a faster/smaller card be cheaper? why wouldnt everyone just buy the SD?
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Performance-SDSDXPA-016G-A75-Packaging/dp/B006FKD01K/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1330793569&sr=8-15
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-16GB-Extreme-memory-card/dp/B002OL80UK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330793653&sr=8-3


Durability and size, easy to break easy to loose.


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## unkbob (Mar 22, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> crasher7 said:
> 
> 
> > CF has a huge durability factor in it's favor as well. I've cracked a few SD cards in my time. Not too mention what my kids have done to theirs!
> ...



I think it's like £100 to replace the CF component, so it's not the end of the world. Use a backup camera and you can carry on shooting, or you can possibly still use the SD slot. I've never had the CF card slot fail, touch wood, but then I'm never shooting in particularly difficult conditions.

I will probably stick to CF for video, although I am concerned about the increased storage requirements with ALL-i and the 64GB 45m/b Sandisk SDs look good value.


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## grahamsz (Mar 22, 2012)

My father worked on some of those photo kiosk things you see in grocery stores. This was probably close to 10 years ago, but he did observe something interesting about the technology.

CF works very much like a hard disk, there's a bunch of circuitry on the device that translates the signals coming in from the camera into signals that write to the physical memory chips.

SD is much more like RAM, there's very little in between the camera and the memory chips. This can be bad because there's a lot more potential for incompatibility between the SD card and the reader/camera. A faulty card reader could effectively wipe the card, and that's less likely on CF.

However, I suspect if you use Sandisk SD cards and a Sandisk branded reader (or just transfer off your camera via USB) then you'll be fairly safe. SD cards also seem more durable to me because they don't have pins that can bend.


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## m3tek44 (Mar 22, 2012)

If I am spending $3.5K for camera I want to make sure I am capturing photos without worrying if CF/SD cards are working. Over the course of the yrs. I have used MANY SD cards and CF cards. SanDisk is simply the best in my opinion and you get what you pay for. YES they are $$$$$. I have seen others used Transcend or some other cards but really??? You can ask professional and they will tell you to use SanDisk or Lexar cards. Last thing I want is to lose photos I took. Did I also mention SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash Cards 90MB/s (or 100 MB/s for 128GB) are FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Mike Ca (Mar 22, 2012)

marvinhello said:


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



On page 32 of the 5D III manual it says:

"Although the camera does not comply with the UHS (Ultra-High Speed) speed class standard, UHS SDHC/SDXC cards can be used."

I assume this means you can use UHS cards, but they will operate at some lower speed.


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## wickidwombat (Mar 22, 2012)

m3tek44 said:


> If I am spending $3.5K for camera I want to make sure I am capturing photos without worrying if CF/SD cards are working. Over the course of the yrs. I have used MANY SD cards and CF cards. SanDisk is simply the best in my opinion and you get what you pay for. YES they are $$$$$. I have seen others used Transcend or some other cards but really??? You can ask professional and they will tell you to use SanDisk or Lexar cards. Last thing I want is to lose photos I took. Did I also mention SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash Cards 90MB/s (or 100 MB/s for 128GB) are FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I had a lexar card fail and i've had sandisk cards fail i've never had a transcend card fail yet I used to use only sandisk but now i think they are much of a muchness


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## peederj (Mar 22, 2012)

And I've had transcend and lexar fail but never sandisk. Anecdata, no question...be sure to baby your cards because they are fragile! I do think Sandisk has earned a bit of a premium...better real performance I think...but I nearly never work in continuous shooting mode, and even the 5d3 ALL-I video apparently doesn't tax an old transcend class 6 SD card.


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## Bosman (Mar 22, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> crasher7 said:
> 
> 
> > CF has a huge durability factor in it's favor as well. I've cracked a few SD cards in my time. Not too mention what my kids have done to theirs!
> ...


Wow, to bend those pins you had the be shoving it in the wrong way trying to make it fit!


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## eeek (Mar 22, 2012)

Bosman said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > crasher7 said:
> ...



I agree with this. The design of the slot to accept cards is very tight. I've had 7 cameras that use CF, always used a CF reader, so I've taken the cards out 1,000's of times and never had any issue in the cameras whatsoever. Now, stand alone card readers..... I've broke a lot of those.


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## Bosman (Mar 22, 2012)

Just found this article on Rob Galbraith's site. He tested the 1000x Lexar.
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-11673-12268


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## CanineCandidsByL (Mar 22, 2012)

Bosman said:


> Just found this article on Rob Galbraith's site. He tested the 1000x Lexar.
> http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-11673-12268



Interesting but it was only 10% faster on canon. However I wish he would have used the more modern cameras, like the 7d. Thanks for posting that, but I still prefer sandisk (guess I'm a fanboy)


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## kdsand (Mar 22, 2012)

Bosman said:


> Just found this article on Rob Galbraith's site. He tested the 1000x Lexar.
> http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-11673-12268



Hip hip hooray
Hip hip hooray

Market competition is a wonderful thing for us.

Nifty interesting article.


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## wickidwombat (Mar 22, 2012)

i got a couple of these a few months ago they have been pretty good
they were half the price when I got them though
wish i had bought more now..

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/32gb-Compact-Flash-Card-Duracell-Memory-600x-/320746552853?pt=Digital_Camera_Memory_Cards&hash=item4aadfbfe15


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## kdsand (Mar 23, 2012)

wickidwombat said:


> i got a couple of these a few months ago they have been pretty good
> they were half the price when I got them though
> wish i had bought more now..
> 
> http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/32gb-Compact-Flash-Card-Duracell-Memory-600x-/320746552853?pt=Digital_Camera_Memory_Cards&hash=item4aadfbfe15



Duracell --
I'm in north america and I don't think I've ever seen duracell cards - duracell batteries sure. It's funny how things are the same yet different.


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## wickidwombat (Mar 23, 2012)

kdsand said:


> wickidwombat said:
> 
> 
> > i got a couple of these a few months ago they have been pretty good
> ...



funny they are from the USA


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## tt (Mar 23, 2012)

600x Sandisk CF card definitely clearing the buffer faster than a 95MB/s Sandisk SDHC card once you're shooting in bursts


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## kdsand (Mar 23, 2012)

wickidwombat said:


> kdsand said:
> 
> 
> > wickidwombat said:
> ...



Go figure.
Most electronics around here are from china.


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## vWings (Mar 24, 2012)

Mike Ca said:


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



I just ordered one of those and it was delivered today. SanDisk 16GB Extreme PRO SDHC-UHS-1

Now I am reluctant to break the seal and open the package because something ?? half the price may yield the same write result. Capped at 30 MBS really? If true, this thing is heading back for refund.

So where are we on the fast SD cards and exactly what product is top dog on the new 5Diii?


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## unkbob (Mar 24, 2012)

vWings said:


> I just ordered one of those and it was delivered today. SanDisk 16GB Extreme PRO SDHC-UHS-1
> 
> Now I am reluctant to break the seal and open the package because something ?? half the price may yield the same write result. Capped at 30 MBS really? If true, this thing is heading back for refund.
> 
> So where are we on the fast SD cards and exactly what product is top dog on the new 5Diii?



I would just stick to the 45mb/s read/write Sandisks, they are pretty good value.


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## vWings (Mar 24, 2012)

Thanks for that option to consider. Interesting how this plays out if firmware may later add support for USH-1 or if that is a hardware barrier.

I also purchased (got a pretty good deal) on eight SanDisk 8GB Extreme SDHC CLASS 10 (30MB/s), yes eight of them. I plan primarily plan on using the CF for raw and dropping a L jpeg on the SD, mainly as a poor mans backup. I figured those would be plenty fast enough to record the jpegs and video too for that matter. Really, I suppose if all I ever used the SD slot for was jpeg backup, those SanDisk Extreme cards would be plenty fast enough.

The idea of buying that USH card was having very fast write speed to back up my raw from time to time when continuous shooting is likely.

Thanks again Bob and Scrappy


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## kdsand (Mar 24, 2012)

SanDisk is dependable - unlike many other companies when they list info such as speed it has been accurate and most often on the conservative side whereas most other brands end up slower than they advertise.
I have not lost a single picture to a failed card. On two different occasions overly helpful family members have machine washed my clothes and :-\ a SanDisk SD card :'( (For some people pockets seem to be decorative). The results - nice a clean card. No damage & still ticking.  
And no I do not keep my cards in my pockets - they go strait into my case. The 2 instances were just unusual flukes.

I have to admit I definitely come across as a fanboy and it's a bit embarrassing :-[. It feels quite weird cos I'm normally jaded and pessimistic. ;D

Now I have to go knock on wood - no darn it I will go hug a tree just in case - better safe than sorry!

If you keep watch for sales you can find some awesome SD card deals.


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## brattymesler (May 6, 2012)

peederj said:


> And I've had transcend and lexar fail but never sandisk. Anecdata, no question...be sure to baby your cards because they are fragile! I do think Sandisk has earned a bit of a premium...better real performance I think...but I nearly never work in continuous shooting mode, and even the 5d3 ALL-I video apparently doesn't tax an old transcend class 6 SD card.



I put my Sandisk 16gb (in a case) through the washing machine by mistake. No damage, still kicking ass. I've (knock on wood) never had either a CF or SD card fail.


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## PhilDrinkwater (May 7, 2012)

Meh said:


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



That's what I'll be doing for weddings. I've bought 15 sd cards so I can hold onto the photos for a while and have an extra backup (I should already have 3 but you can never be too sure  )


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