Compact Flash Card Speeds?

Melissa Royal · Aug 15, 2012

Hello Everyone,

I finally decided on which DSLR to get. I went with the Canon 7d because it seemed to be worth the extra money from the Canon 60d.

Anyway, now I'm looking into a Compact Flash Card for it. I haven't bought one yet because it's still shipping. So I'm using the time waiting to figure out which card to buy.
There are so many different speeds and brands that I'm not sure which would be best. What are the differences between speeds? I know it has something to do with
the buffering or refresh time but that's about it. I'm looking for something to save the images quickly but not too quickly. I don't need it to save the images in like
one second if that's even possible. Also, please correct me if my perception of this is wrong. =P

On the low end I've seen 133x or lower and the highest I have seen is 600x. What's the difference between these?

Also is there really a difference between the brands?

Thank you,
Rachael

Derrel · Aug 15, 2012

YEs, there can be HUGE differences between CF Card performance, both between brands, and between specific models of CF cards within the same brand. Like bottles of WINE, CF card vary--tremendously by vintage!!!

GO here, and see some incredibly useful performance data!

Rob Galbraith DPI: CF/SD/XQD Performance Database

MLeeK · Aug 15, 2012

If you aren't going to be shooting in high speed continuous mode or wanting to use the video features to the fullest get a good, solid brand, middle of the road card.
As for capacity my 8G cards hold just shy of 300 RAW images and over 1000 JPEG images. You may say you don't care about raw now, but chances are you will down the road.
I shoot mostly with 8g & 16G cards in my 7D. I do not want to have ALL of my images on one card should something happen. I've lost a card before!

KmH · Aug 15, 2012

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a print lab lost a roll of film that had 36 exposures on it.

I was devastated. The images could not be re-shot.

I cringed at the thought of losing 200 - 225 Raw files on a 4 GB card. I never had a memory card go south on me because I was very careful with them.

Many don't understand that as far as memory card speed goes, the speed is defining the upload to a computer speed, not the speed image files can be written to the memory card.

The camera's image file buffer is usually what limits the write to the memory card speed. Any card that is class 6 or higher will generally accept write data quicker than any current camera's write buffer can deliver the data to be written.

Melissa Royal · Aug 15, 2012

Thanks everyone! You have all been extremely helpful!

What are your opinions on Maxell Compact Flash Cards? I'm not sure if they are good or not but I'm pretty sure they aren't a popular brand. That may be why they're much cheaper than others I have seen.
I found an 8gb card at 400x for only $10 (on sale; $15 if not). Here's the link: Maxell 8GB CompactFlash Memory Card maxdata 400x 504402 B&H

Derrel · Aug 15, 2012

KmH said:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a print lab lost a roll of film that had 36 exposures on it.

I was devastated. The images could not be re-shot.

I cringed at the thought of losing 200 - 225 Raw files on a 4 GB card. I never had a memory card go south on me because I was very careful with them.

Many don't understand that as far as memory card speed goes, the speed is defining the upload to a computer speed, not the speed image files can be written to the memory card.

The camera's image file buffer is usually what limits the write to the memory card speed. Any card that is class 6 or higher will generally accept write data quicker than any current camera's write buffer can deliver the data to be written.

This does not seem to be what the data at Rob Galbraith's database shows; today's high-speed cameras paired with high-speed cards show HUGE variation in write-to-card speeds, and in fact, the MAJORITY of less-than-class-leading CF Cards severely hold back pro-level cameras...

Some cards suck. Some cards are good. A FEW Cards are offer exceptionally good performance. As Rob Galbraiths's CF Card Database proves...look at the Nikon D3s page just for ONE example: The 1000x-speed Lexar cards listed provide approximately 15 MORE FRAMES written to memory in the same time as do the next entire batch of CF Cards...and moving on down the list are numerous "fast" cards that absolutely SUCK at write-to speeds. A 1000x Lexar can write a 73-frame burst, in the time a 600x Transcend card can only write 58 frames. Sustained write-to speed on the Lexar is about 48 megabytes per second, while the 600x is around 28 megabytes per second...a HUGE difference...

bratkinson · Aug 16, 2012

As I never shoot other than single shot, and I don't do movies, I'm not terribly concerned with how fast the card is. But I also know my needs will change as I get more experienced, so I may one day try auto-bracketing, or continuous shooting (sports?) or something that memory writing speed, as well as buffer speed within the camera will become an issue for me. This could become a problem as I shoot RAW + large JPEG. So, I got the fastest I could find from my preferred (one and only) brand I've used for the past 10 years.

I've read horror stories from those who've lost data due to a cheap brand, or 'knock off' name-brand equipment. To me, it's all about reliability. Having spent over 35 years as a mainframe computer consultant, reliability is what makes the difference. Memory failures almost ALWAYS happen at the worst possible times. My old-age memory is proof, as well!

So, I went with the same brand of memory cards as I've been using for 10 or more years with thumb drives...Sandisk. I've never had any of the 20 or so Sandisk products I've bought through the years fail in any way. Yes, many times software can 'recover' most if not all your pictures from a failing card. But I don't need the hassle or aggrevation...or worry.

sovietdoc · Aug 16, 2012

I've considered Lexar 128gb UDMA 7 1000X card when I was buyin but shellin out $700 for a CF card seemed excessive.....even for me...
They didn't have any other capacities out at that time so I was kinda pissed. So I went and got a 32gig UDMA 6 600x Lexar Pro for 117 bucks. Been rock solid and no problems at all. My friend uses cheaper CF's and his 5D3 can't keep up with mine on continuous high speed bursts.

Maybe even this card is overkill but I also needed to make sure HD video wouldn't choke up...
Pretty soon with 40+ mp DSLR's at 8-10 fps even 65meg writes won't be enough. Maybe should just go with Sonys new standard.

Derrel · Aug 16, 2012

One of the web's real treasures have been Rob Galbraith's memory card performance database!!!! "Some people" really want or need exceptional card performance. "Some" cameras, like say, the Fuji S5 Pro, as one specific example, have slow write speeds AND write large (25 megabyte) image files. "Some people" shoot their RAW shots in 14-bit capture mode, and watch their .NEF files balloon from 25-megabytes to 75 megabytes per shot (D3x)...so, with one's own needs kept in mind, Rob's card performance database has, for literally years, been a very valuable resource. Even outdated older cameras like my Nikon D2x can benefit from a better CF card that is not cheap, but which is nowhere near expensive.

This past weekend I shot some lengthy bursts with the D2x, a 12.2 megapixel cam, with fast throughput and a pretty deep buffer, using an older 2-gigabyte SanDisk card, instead of my NORMAL, 8-gig 45/MB-second class SanDisk cards which were "the shizz" back in 2009...I had forgotten how dog-slow the old SanDisk CF cards, the Extreme II (!!!) actually WERE, compared against much newer, better CF Cards. When I got the D2x in May of 2005, the Extreme II cards were "the shizz"...today, that type of performance can be found for $12 in almost any name-brand CF card...ACK!

If one is going to shoot high-definition video, there are quite often various performance levels that MUST be met for decent video. The card used CAN make an absolutely HUGE difference in performance.

sovietdoc · Aug 16, 2012

That site is my bookmarks now.

For a lot of things, most expensive isn't always the best. But with CF cards, you get what you pay for.

Melissa Royal · Aug 17, 2012

Thanks everyone!

I just ordered 2 8gb Lexar 400x's. 400x seemed a decent speed to me, Lexar has a great reputation (product quality/reliability, warranty, and customer service), and thanks to the database (Rob's) it also seemed to consistently write faster than even other 400x cards. Also, I took into consideration that one shouldn't only have one memory card at a time. That's why I got two. I got them for a great price at adorama.
They're having a sale. Check it out if you're interested: Lexar 8GB Professional 400x CompactFlash Card, Two-Pack LCF8GBCTBNA4002 Best price I was able to find on them from a reputable company!!!