Maximum PC

Hello Everyone...

I should be getting my Canon A80 soon (today, hopefully) and I was wondering how much difference there is between different Compact Flash cards. Example: Would I notice a difference between getting just a regular name brand (SanDisk, Lexar, etc.) compared to a "premium" version (SanDisk Extreme, etc.).

I know I will get one of the name brands common to memory cards, I just wonder if there is a noticable difference in performance to pay a little bit more for a higher end card.

Thanks,
Tony

They tested CF cards in the Speed Issue (May?) of MPC; Sandisk Ultra II came out on top, followed by (I think) Kingston Pro Elite.

I have a Sandisk Ultra II and a Crucial CF card. I can tell a noticable difference in write speed to the card, especially if I'm shooting in RAW format. (I use a Canon 300D)

Hi. My take on the CF thing is pretty simple. Works a little like this. When you take a picture the image is loaded to the card. The file size of the image is a matter of how the camera is set up. For example Large, Fine or whatever. These are Quality settings such as Large, Medium, Small or in some cases RAW.

The camera will use its firmware to transfer the file to the card. The process now becomes a matter of how fast the firmware can transfer the data and more so how fast the card will accept and store the data. Cards are tested frequently with different cameras. Here is a link to the speeds observed using a Canon EOS 10D:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_ ... =6007-6111

The list is sort of general. You will see pretty much what Ghostwheel pointed out. I shoot with an older Nikon Coolpix 990 as well as a Canon EOS 10D. I use a variety of CF Cards. Personally, I don't see much difference. Then too, most of what I shoot, I am not in a rush. I use mostly basic San Disk and Lexar media. Granted the 10 D takes longer than the 990 but the file sizes are much different. As to the difference between the San Disk or Lexar media in a given camera, I don't see it. Then again, I am not paying that much attention.

I shoot a lot of Fauna, Floral and still scenes which aren't going anywhere real fast. Landscapes and waterfalls don't run off. If I were doing action sequences I would likely want the camera to cycle ASAP so I could get another shot fast.

I guess it comes down to how much you want to pay and that is not to say more expensive media is better media in every case. Also, what you plan to shoot and how fast the scene changes. LOL.

Hope that helps a little.

Ron

I'll second Ghostwheel/DEA. I have an A80 and the SanDisk Ultra II cards and they are blazing fast. Worth the extra $10 or so bucks IMO.

Another Scandisk Ultra II user. I also use my ibm microdrive but for solid state cf Ultra II cant not be beat in my Nikkon. Smaller pitful resolution shots i dont see a differeence in but the time you kick the camer in normal or anything above it shows the difference alot. That is using a 8 megapixel nikkon... But I also noticed the same in my 5 megaixel Fuji Finepix. Which i like as it has a CF2 slot and can handle XD cards.