Memory Card Speed Question ...

astrostu · Aug 22, 2007

I have a Canon Digi. Rebel 350D. It came with (or I bought right away ... don't remember) a 1 GB SanDisk Ultra II memory card which features 10 MB/sec data transfer. I'm looking into other cards and SanDisk is up to "Extreme IV," which is 40 MB/sec transfer (and Extreme III which is 20 MB/sec).

My question is: Does anyone know what the actual write speed is in the 350D? Is it worth spending an extra $5-10 to get the Extreme IV over the Extreme III, or is the write speed limited such that the Ultra II is as fast as it can access and there's no point in getting something faster?

TCimages · Aug 22, 2007

astrostu said:
I have a Canon Digi. Rebel 350D. It came with (or I bought right away ... don't remember) a 1 GB SanDisk Ultra II memory card which features 10 MB/sec data transfer. I'm looking into other cards and SanDisk is up to "Extreme IV," which is 40 MB/sec transfer (and Extreme III which is 20 MB/sec).

My question is: Does anyone know what the actual write speed is in the 350D? Is it worth spending an extra $5-10 to get the Extreme IV over the Extreme III, or is the write speed limited such that the Ultra II is as fast as it can access and there's no point in getting something faster?

I upgraded from an Ultra II to the Extreme IV, I saw no difference at all in my continuous burst speeds (30D) or how quickly the buffer emptied. I shoot RAW tho. Complete waste of money. It wasn't 5-10 dollar difference tho. I could have gotten an 8GB Ultra II for the price of the 4GB IV. I know now.

I didn't even see a difference in the transfer speed with my card reader. MAYBE, a one second difference. Hardly worth the money to me.
I do know this, going from 2GB to 4GB really slow down the format process a lot.

Garbz · Aug 22, 2007

On the computer you may see a difference. If you're lucky. Entry SLRs like the 350D I doubt it.

S2K1 · Aug 24, 2007

The problem with the Extreme IV is that it's too fast for USB, so you won't notice a difference. It needs a firewire connection to fully utilize the 40mb/sec. USB despite have a 'burst' of 480mb/sec. usually only transfers at 20mb/sec. which is what the limit is of an Extreme III card. I shoot RAW+JPEG and the Extreme III more than suits my needs on a 30D, so an Ultra II is fine for the 350D. I have some Ultra II cards and I can say the Extreme III is faster at downloading than the Ultra II, but not by a significant amount.

S2K1 · Aug 24, 2007

Also forgot to mention that the transfer rate is through a card reader. You won't notice a difference between the two if you are transferring from the camera itself.

Big Mike · Aug 24, 2007

I agree, paying more for a 'faster' card usually isn't worth it.

I will say that I see a difference between my 'cheap' cards and my Ultra II & Extreme III cards. The cheap cards are rather slow in comparison...especially when looking at the images on the camera's LCD screen.

I find that Ultra II cards offer very good value for the money. The Extreme cards are supposed to be faster & more robust...but I haven't noticed any difference.

astrostu · Aug 24, 2007

Alright, looks like I'll go for the cheaper alternative.

Question now is, do I get a 4 GB or two 2 GB where the two 2 GB are more expensive, but the 4 GB will be slower ...