CF cards

D40 · Jul 15, 2008

Well I just upgraded from the D40 to the D200, so I will now be needing some CF cards. I was useing the SanDisk Exteme III cards in my D40 and had no problems. I see I can get a 4GB SanDisk Extreme III CF card for $54 and a SanDisk Ultra II 4GB card for $59 but they also have the SanDisk Ultra II 8GB card for $79? I plan on shootin RAW as much as possible so.... Any advise on the difference between the Extreme III and the Ultra II?

icassell · Jul 15, 2008

This is under discussion right now on another thread, but my personal opinion is not to get too big a card -- you stand to lose more if the card fails. I don't know what the threshold should be -- I use 4 GB cards with my 8 Megapix 30D (I only shoot RAW) ... this gives me plenty of images plus security.

D40 · Jul 15, 2008

I think as you said, you stand to loose more on a large card. 4GB seems right. What about the Extreme III vs Ultra II?

timbearden · Jul 15, 2008

I would have to also agree with large cards. I do use an 8 gb IV, but I always worry about loosing images if something happens to the card. Since I am so worried, I usually download the images around 4gb, switch to a 1gb, and back to the 8gb when it has been erased.

I would assume that you are not bracketing, or shooting multiple frames per second. If that is the case then the Ultra II, would do fine, even for RAW. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I heard mention that the Ultra III's have issues with certain cameras. If I were you I would buy a bunch of II's (4 gb) and save some money.

However, if you plan to upgrade to another camera anytime soon, then that must also be a consideration. Say something like the Nikon D300, shooting 5-8 fps, with a grip, then something like an Ultra IV could be bought. I got an 8gb Ultra IV from ebay, for $65. However, it is probably a gray market card.

Village Idiot · Jul 15, 2008

Check Circuit City. I found an Ultra IV for $10 less than the Extreme IV.

keith204 · Jul 15, 2008

Don't be scared of large cards, just be cautious about the amount of photos you keep on it. If you find a good deal on an 8gb that has good reviews & is reliable and fast enough, get it!

I've been messing around with RAW lately, so I am thrilled about my recently-ordered 8gb cards. Also, they make great flash drives when moving large files from computer to computer.

D40 · Jul 15, 2008

So the Exteme III are a notch about the Ultra II as far as speed? I think the Extreme III 4GB was $54 at CC.

keith204 · Jul 15, 2008

D40 said:
So the Exteme III are a notch about the Ultra II as far as speed? I think the Extreme III 4GB was $54 at CC.

yes, Extreme III's are faster :thumbup:

icassell · Jul 15, 2008

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDCFX...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1216168073&sr=8-3

cheaper on amazon - bulk package means you don't get the recovery software, so you might consider spending a bit more for your first card and get this for additional cards.

manaheim · Jul 15, 2008

icassell said:
This is under discussion right now on another thread, but my personal opinion is not to get too big a card -- you stand to lose more if the card fails. I don't know what the threshold should be -- I use 4 GB cards with my 8 Megapix 30D (I only shoot RAW) ... this gives me plenty of images plus security.

D200 is a CF device. CF devices have pins. Pins can get pulled. Pins being pulled means a $500 repair. Get a big card and just unload it frequently. Trust me. I know four people who have lost a pin on a Nikon CF camera. It reeeeeeeeeeeally sucks.

I have an 8 gig in my D300 and on 12bit raw it holds about ~385-400 pictures. I rarely have more than 200 in it before I unload it, but the one time I needed to take 400 pics (helicopter flight around Boston), I was VERY glad that I had it.

icassell · Jul 15, 2008

manaheim said:
D200 is a CF device. CF devices have pins. Pins can get pulled. Pins being pulled means a $500 repair. Get a big card and just unload it frequently. Trust me. I know four people who have lost a pin on a Nikon CF camera. It reeeeeeeeeeeally sucks.

I have an 8 gig in my D300 and on 12bit raw it holds about ~385-400 pictures. I rarely have more than 200 in it before I unload it, but the one time I needed to take 400 pics (helicopter flight around Boston), I was VERY glad that I had it.

Interesting thought. I use CF in my 30D. I have always downloaded from the camera to the computer rather than using a card reader -- even though it's slow. Many here say I should be pulling the card and using a reader because it is so much faster.

manaheim · Jul 15, 2008

icassell said:
Interesting thought. I use CF in my 30D. I have always downloaded from the camera to the computer rather than using a card reader -- even though it's slow. Many here say I should be pulling the card and using a reader because it is so much faster.

I wonder if they would also suggest that you play Russian Roulette.

icassell · Jul 15, 2008

... spins the chamber on the Colt ...

The other argument is that many dSLRs need repair of the mini USB connector

Dweller · Jul 15, 2008

I am of the opinion that you should get the fastest card you can in case you find yourself in need of using burst mode for something. With that in mind, I stumbled on this rather cool site that does performance testing with different camera and card combos.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-9406

The SanDisk Extreme Ducati 8GB was the fastest at 9.546MB/sec

icassell · Jul 15, 2008

Dweller said:
I am of the opinion that you should get the fastest card you can in case you find yourself in need of using burst mode for something. With that in mind, I stumbled on this rather cool site that does performance testing with different camera and card combos.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-9406

The SanDisk Extreme Ducati 8GB was the fastest at 9.546MB/sec

Yes, that site's the reason I didn't go for the Kingston deal