Compact Flash?

[TheBoombaGnome]

Hey guys!

Well, I finally got my first dSLR! Canon EOS Digital Rebel 300d. Nice little camera. But it uses something I'm not so familiar with - Compact Flash...

Now I had a few cards laying around because I had to use them for music recording, but speed didn't really matter much. Now, I was talking to a buddy and he said I need a faster card so that I can record more pictures concurrently. Right now, I'm only really able to shoot about 3 pictures with my regular card and about 5 with my Ultra II....Is there a better card out there I should be using that will let me get more shots fired off at once?? Or is there a certain speed I should be looking for...I see like 133x or 600x cards, but that means nothing to me....any explanation or advice would be great!!

Thanks guys! And i'll be posting some shots soon with the new camera

TBG

 

[Scatterbrained]

How often do you find yourself shooting in burst mode that it really matters that much? To me more often than not memory is more important.

 

[Big Mike]

The number of continuous shots that you can fire off repeatedly, has a lot more to do with the camera, than the card. Specifically, the camera's buffer.

As the camera records the images, the data is put into the buffer, where it waits until it can be written to the card. A faster card can help to clear the buffer faster, but as the buffer is only so big, you will still be limited.

Buffers on these cameras have improved significantly since that model came out.

 

[TheBoombaGnome]

The number of continuous shots that you can fire off repeatedly, has a lot more to do with the camera, than the card. Specifically, the camera's buffer.

As the camera records the images, the data is put into the buffer, where it waits until it can be written to the card. A faster card can help to clear the buffer faster, but as the buffer is only so big, you will still be limited.

Buffers on these cameras have improved significantly since that model came out.

So would it basically not be worth my while to even try and find a faster card?? Just stick with an Ultra II? Or would there be a better step to take to make it move just a wee bit faster?

 

[Big Mike]

Ultra II cards are decently fast, not super fast, but fast enough.
I would think that spending a lot of money on a faster card would not give you much of an improvement in speed, with that camera. So my advice is to just stick with what you have.

Save your money toward a better camera. Not only will a more 'modern' camera give you a bigger buffer, but many other advancements like fast start up, much better noise performance (especially at higher ISO) etc. You might be able to find a used 20D for a decent price, which would be a big improvement on your 300D.

 

[TheBoombaGnome]

Alright, fair enough...then I'll pick up a bigger Ultra II (mine is only a 512 that came with it, when shooting raw is a pain in the ass...only get like 60 shots) and learn how to use the camera as far as iso, shutter speed, etc go...then look into upgrading...thanks Mike!