Buying Rebel XTI ... but what type of CF?

[Deforrest]

In the next few days I am going to head down to the local camera store ( http://www.porters.com/ ) and I am going to get a Cannon Rebel Xti. My biggest question at this point is is it worth it to get the X133 cf card or will a X80 card do? What is the diff betwene CF CF2 and CF3? I ask the people but thay say that there is little difference....If there is no difference then why give a different name? I am going to be using this camera to take pictures of dogs. I believe that the 9 seconds that the 3FPS burst mode will last should be more then enough to get the picture(s) that I need befor the pup wiggles out of what ever pose I have it in and will need to take a break to repose or switch to a different dog.

 

[DSLR noob]

I have a SanDisk Ultra II 2gig for my XT and I love it. Fast write times, and plenty of pics as a hobbyist on medium format JPEGS (and a couple hundred RAW if you shoot in RAW but you'd want larger if you shot mass quantities of photos, such as a professional or amature) I just do it for fun.

the "xnumber" is the speed of the card(this will effect your buffer time, and the write time of each individual photo, as well as read time if you use a card reader)

CF1 and CF2 differ in thickness (I assume 3 does too) higher numbers are thicker cards (the XTi takes 1 and 2)

and as for FPS, it doesn't effect burst speed at any noticable rate but it will effect buffer (time you have to wait after a burst sequence)

If you shoot on the small setting (plenty big for web) you'll have a buffer of what I counted as high as 48 shots. Large JPEG is around 25 shots (and the XTi has larger buffer than my XT), if you do RAW then you'll have about 4 or 5 shot bursts.

 

[Big Mike]

For shooting...you probably won't notice much of a difference between those speeds of cards.

I have noticed that slower cards are also slower to bring up the images when you are reviewing them. So if you shoot a burst, then when you got to check them (to make sure you got the shot, eyes open etc.)...it's a little faster with a faster card. It's probably not something you would even notice...but sometimes when shooting, I have to switch from a fast card to a slower card...and that's when the difference becomes apparent. It's nothing more than annoying.

 

[Innocence]

I've also noticed what Mike said.

Also it's slower when you're trying to get them onto the computer.

 

[snownow]

SanDisk Ultra II 2gig on sale at staples for like 44 bucks.

 

[Pauky]

Search Ebay for good deals. I picked up a Scan Disk Ultra II for $80. I see a big difference in speed from 1 to a 2. I also picked up an Ultra IV, for half price, but I"m still waiting for it to show up.

 

[Jayson Prentice]

I definitely wouldn't buy the CF cards off ebay, as there have been way too many scams with the cards on there. As snow said, Staples or Amazon are probably the cheapest you can find for now...

Pauky, I assume your Ultra II was a 4 GB one?? Otherwise you got ripped off big time...

 

[Orgnoi1]

Buy from a reputable dealer... and really get whatever suits your size requirements... most people never know the difference when it comes to the speed... and most people who shoot as a hobbyist wouldnt know the difference in uploading since they arent uploading 2gig at a time anyways... you should be ok with just about anything you get...

Side note: that deal posted above on the UltraII looks like a good deal... and its a great card...

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

CF I is a solid state memory card. CF2 is a very small Disc Drive(Micro Drive) and as such is thicker. It was used originally to boost the available size of the cards. It is slow and not particularly stable. While very good 4 or 5 years ago it has been passed by and really should be avoided. I have never heard of a CF3.

An Ultra II or extreeme III, should be fine. I have the Canon 400D (Rebel XTi) and any faster card would be an expensive waste as The camera cannot write to them as fast as the card can perform.

It depends on how often you wish to down load your card (s). and how many images you shoot and if you shoot RAW/RAW+JPEG.

I would advise at least 2 smaller cards, so that if one goes down , you still have the other to work with. (I shoot RAW and down load after every shoot) I get by with three Sandisc 2Gig Extreem IIIs which I used to use on my now dead 5D. But a friend of mine uses Ultra IIs. and to be honest I have not timed them but there is not an obvious difference other than he paid £20 less than I did for each of his cards...

 

[rls2002]

Just ordered two - 2 GB A-Data cards online from NewEgg. Under $51 after shipping -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820211046

Good reviews. Should receive them in a couple of days. I've bought not so famous CF cards from NewEgg before at very good prices and have had excellent results. By the way this is for a Canon 10D or a Rebel XTI.

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

should be fine

 

[DeepSpring]

I have been shooting a normal sandisk card for a while and it seemed ok. Today I got a Lexar Professional and already just viewing pictures is muuuch faster.