Which memory card for 30D

[RichNY]

I need to decide on which memory cards I should purchase for a Canon 30D shooting RAW. All of my shots will be for amateur use and I don't expect to be away from a computer for downloading for long periods of time so I'm leaning towards buying (2) 2GB cards to start.

Am I correct in that the 30D won't take advantage of the speed of the Extreme IV?

Should I buy (2) Extreme III cards or (1) Extreme III card for when shooting sports and one Ultra II for snapshot use? It's not the $23 difference I'm trying to save, I'm asking more to gain an understanding of the CF and the camera.

SanDisk CF (type 1) $ 66.95
SanDisk Ultra II 2GB (9mb/sec r/w) $ 79.95
SanDisk Extreme III 2GB (20mb/sec r/w) $102.95
SanDisk Extreme IV 2GB (40mb/sec r/w) $149.95

SanDisk Ultra II 4.0 GB (9mb/sec r/w) $159.95
SanDisk Extreme III 4GB (20mb/sec r/w) $199.95
SanDisk Extreme IV 4GB (40mb/sec r/w) $299.95

[ktixx]

You really aren't going to ever need the speed of a CF Card unless you are transferring to your computer. The 30d has a buffer capable of holding 30 JPEGs, therefore you would have to shoot over 30 JPEGS in 5 seconds to see any real benefit of the faster CF cards. I have a 20d (slightly smaller buffer) and use Sandisk Ultra II cards. I have never had a problem with lag - or been in a situation where I wanted the CF cards to be faster.
I say go with 2, 2GB Ultra II cards.
Ken

[shoey]

i too have a 20d and just a week ago got the 2gb extreme III.

I went for the extra speed for transfer to pc and for reviewing in camera. my old card seemed to take an age to go through the pictures, although i did skip past the ultra II, that might've been fast enough, i just thought the extreme III was worth the extra money, its not that much more.

also, the only reason i'd splash out for 4gb is if you plan on shooting all RAW, or combo jpeg and RAW, 2gb has planty of space for jpeg alone.

Hope that helps a little:)

[ktixx]

also, the only reason i'd splash out for 4gb is if you plan on shooting all RAW, or combo jpeg and RAW, 2gb has planty of space for jpeg alone.


I say go with Two - 2GB cards - Don't put all your eggs in one basket. It only takes a second to switch out for another card...

[Jim Liedeka]

I use a 2gig Extreme III with a 20d. I get over 130 shots with Raw+Large Fine Jpeg. I'll probably think about getting a spare soon but what I have is adequate.

Jim

[timmciglobal]

I've been happy with this Ritek card I got off newegg. Much cheaper then the sandisk name brand and works quite well.

Picked up an 8 gig for 150$, you can find 4 gig for 70, 2 for 40.

It's the 150X card, There is a benchmark done online by Rob Galibratih (? on spelling) and it came out quite well.

Tim

[D Thompson]

You really aren't going to ever need the speed of a CF Card unless you are transferring to your computer. The 30d has a buffer capable of holding 30 JPEGs, therefore you would have to shoot over 30 JPEGS in 5 seconds to see any real benefit of the faster CF cards. I have a 20d (slightly smaller buffer) and use Sandisk Ultra II cards. I have never had a problem with lag - or been in a situation where I wanted the CF cards to be faster.
I say go with 2, 2GB Ultra II cards.
Ken
I agree with the Ultra II. I shoot only RAW and have not had a problem. I have a 1gb & 512mb and they seem to work fine. If I do fill them then I have a 40gb portable hard drive that I copy them to.

[DonSchap]

with a CF card that is just nuts with speed and storage... here it is...

14958

Life is good... LOL

$549.00 at B&H

[cwphoto]

You really aren't going to ever need the speed of a CF Card unless you are transferring to your computer. The 30d has a buffer capable of holding 30 JPEGs, therefore you would have to shoot over 30 JPEGS in 5 seconds to see any real benefit of the faster CF cards. I have a 20d (slightly smaller buffer) and use Sandisk Ultra II cards. I have never had a problem with lag - or been in a situation where I wanted the CF cards to be faster.
I say go with 2, 2GB Ultra II cards.
Ken

What about RAW? The buffer can fill pretty quickly if you're doing RAW.

[ReF]

i just got a 2gig ritek/ridata 80x a week ago for a mere $38. it's not as fast as my sandisk ultra II's according to rob galbraiths' tests but it's like 1/2 the price.

i also second ktixx's suggestion of getting two smaller cards instead of one larger unit. if your one huge card fails, gets lost or smushed, not only do you loose all the images on it, you also won't have anything to shoot with.

[BonjiB]

I have four 1 gig cf cards. Two are lexars and two are ATP's. The atp's are rated at 60x and the lexars at 40x and i never have a problem with either even shooting raw as i do most of the time. Unless i'm shooting in burst mode I never fill my buffer up from shot to shot. I just can't shoot that quickly unless of course i'm bursting which i rarely find a real need for with the type of photography i do. I don't think the 20d or 30d can write faster than 40x anyways (that's around 6 megs per second) so it doesn't do me any good to have anything faster anyways. Save your cash and buy more space rather than faster space. With the 20d and 30d's buffer you'll prolly never find yourself saying "wow, i wish this camera would write faster so i can take another picture."

[cwphoto]

I don't think the 20d or 30d can write faster than 40x anyways (that's around 6 megs per second) so it doesn't do me any good to have anything faster anyways.

I think you'll find the 20D et al are actually about a quarter of that speed at best. But remember data is a two way street and writing time is only half the story.

[Rex914]

I currently use a 512 MB Ultra II for my camera, and it works well. If I were going for a 30D, I would use a combination of 1 GB and 2 GB cards depending on how much I was shooting. In some cases, you might even be able to buy an Extreme III for the same price as an Ultra II since those are being cleared out for the Extreme IV's.

The best non-online place to get cards from is Costco. They sell them cheap, and they usually have coupons to knock off $10-$20. No messy mail in rebates. Just simple coupons and you're done.

Assuming you for for the Ultra II's, they cost $48, $90, $165 and $270 for 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB respectively. They also sell alternate brand cards (Kingston) for prices like $42 for 2GB and $97 for 4GB.

[Scott6]

all you need to know.. (screw sandisk)

2gb 150x (something like 14mbps) 40 bux
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820183019

4gb 150x 70 bux
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820183020

Ridata is good stuff too.

[RichNY]

Card Speeds:

Canon EOS 30D- 5.9MB/sec
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-8478

Canon 5D- 6.8MB/sec
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-8198

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II -7.2MB/sec
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-7344

Nikon D50-3.5 MB/Sec
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-7905

Nikon D70-4.6 MB/Sec
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-7906

Nikon D200- 7.8 MB/Sec
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-8197

Nikon D2Xs- 8.7 MB/Sec
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-8479

Nikon D80- 9.4 MB/Sec!
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-8531

[Scott6]

Card Speeds:


I was lookin for that site.

but yea, why waste money on sandisk ultra bull cards, when there are faster cards of great quality, and when the camera arnt even touching speeds of the 80+x cards

[ktixx]

You really aren't going to ever need the speed of a CF Card unless you are transferring to your computer. The 30d has a buffer capable of holding 30 JPEGs, therefore you would have to shoot over 30 JPEGS in 5 seconds to see any real benefit of the faster CF cards. I have a 20d (slightly smaller buffer) and use Sandisk Ultra II cards. I have never had a problem with lag - or been in a situation where I wanted the CF cards to be faster.
I say go with 2, 2GB Ultra II cards.
Ken

What about RAW? The buffer can fill pretty quickly if you're doing RAW.
SanDisk Extreme IV 2GB
JPEG - 5.858MB/sec
RAW - 6.780MB/sec
SanDisk Extreme III 2GB
JPEG - 5.352MB/sec
RAW - 6.415MB/sec
SanDisk Ultra II 2GB
JPEG - 5.425MB/sec
RAW - 6.406MB/sec

The difference in speed between the most expensive Sandisk (Extreme IV) and the Ultra II is only .374 MB/s which basically translates to 1 extra frame every 20 seconds or so. Again I state that the only real benefit will come when transferring the data to your PC.


I was lookin for that site.

but yea, why waste money on sandisk ultra bull cards, when there are faster cards of great quality, and when the camera arnt even touching speeds of the 80+x cards

I would also suggest not going with lesser name memory cards, I read a few articles (of course none of which I can find) where a test was done on the useful life of a memory card. All the lower quality (cheaper) cards had sorter expected lives and normally the lower cost memory is just the name brand memory that failed to pass the rigorous testing done by the brand name company. Paying $10 to $20 now will save you in the long run...