Just ordered my 7D.....need advice..

[Taylor510ce]

I just ordered my 7D, and now need to buy all new memory cards since my T1i took SD cards and the 7D takes CF cards. Can anyone recommend a decent card thats not as steep as the highend ones? How fast of a card should I have as a minimum? I will rarely use video. I was hoping to get some reliable 8GB cards for maybe 15 bucks a piece if possible.

 

[cfusionpm]

I've had these thrown in as add-ons for combo sets I've bought from Adorama. I use them regularly and like them just as much as my SanDisks.

CF8GBS2 Kingston Technology 8GB, 133x Elite Pro Compact Flash Memory Card

 

[pbelarge]

I just ordered my 7D, and now need to buy all new memory cards since my T1i took SD cards and the 7D takes CF cards. Can anyone recommend a decent card thats not as steep as the highend ones? How fast of a card should I have as a minimum? I will rarely use video. I was hoping to get some reliable 8GB cards for maybe 15 bucks a piece if possible.

I do not know if you can purchase a decent card for that kind of money. I would spend a little more and get a fast card to keep up with your new, very fast camera.:mrgreen:


What lens(es) do you own?

BTW:
Congrats on the camera, I think you are really going to like it!

 

[Taylor510ce]

My lenses are in my signature.

Thanks for the recommendation on the Kingston, I actually had been looking at that but was not sure if 133X would be enough. Newegg.com has a Transcend 8GB 133x for 18.99. I may pick up one of each. From the reviews, a few people claim to have used them in the 7D without any problems and were able to atleast shoot a couple bursts before it bogged down.

 

[cfusionpm]

One thing I noticed was not to get caught up in the 133x or 200x or 300x or whatever they call it. Look at the mb/s. That one does 20mb/s write, which while not amazing, will keep up with at least a handful of shots. I never tend to shoot more than 10-15 at a time (in JPG), but after some testing with that exact card in my 7D, it took about 135 pictures at full speed non-stop before it slowed down. I took my finger off the shutter button and it took about 6-8 seconds to finish writing to the card (it shows a progress bar on the back screen and top LCD). That dual digic IV chip setup helps a lot with buffer and speed.

 

[Taylor510ce]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking. Everyone makes a big deal out of speed, but you have to realize that the buffer is really the biggest bottleneck to your speed. I mean, I doubt I am going to shoot nonstop constantly. If I am shooting fast sports I would probably take a few shots and pause for the next opportunity. So I didn't think it mattered that much. I mainly just want to balance price and quality. I do not want to go so cheap that I worry about losing a days take from a fault card. However, if it was extremely sensetive like a wedding, I would invest in top speed/reliability cards.

 

[j-digg]

One thing I noticed was not to get caught up in the 133x or 200x or 300x or whatever they call it. Look at the mb/s.

Hmm, isnt the "133x" label pretty much directly linked to the MB/s?
Ive read 133 = approx. 20mb/s and 400x = approx. 60mb/s. 600x = approx. 90mb/s etc.

 

[Derrel]

8-gigabyte cards for $15??????? Hmmmm.....

If you want to compare card speeds, check out Rob Galbraith's CF card database on his web site. That will give you a basis in fact for deciding what you can afford. I do not think $15 cards are the direction you'd want to go with a camera shooting 17.8 megapixel images.

 

[LCARSx32]

. . . 17.8 megapixel images.

How bout one that shoots 6MP? I need a new camera! :er:

 

[UUilliam]

Do not buy CF cards if you have SD cards, instead buy an adapter! that is what I did!

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/SD-CF-II-Type-Adapter-Supports/dp/B000YZGCIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1283414146&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: SD-CF II: SD to CF Type II Adapter (Supports SDHC MMC): Everything Else[/ame]

only $14 and you just put your sd card into it! and sd cards are cheaper than compact flash therefore it is much more handy!

The only thing is, if you want to do continuous shooting you need a fast card, and cf are usually quicker than SD but if you dont plan on taking 5 shots a second or w/e you are fine.

on my 20D (5.6fps.) i get a burst of 6 frames on RAW+jpeg but on jpeg small I get a burst of about 200 images. but my files sizes are smaller than the 7D

 

[Derrel]

Do not buy CF cards if you have SD cards, instead buy an adapter! that is what I did!

Amazon.com: SD-CF II: SD to CF Type II Adapter (Supports SDHC MMC): Everything Else

only $14 and you just put your sd card into it! and sd cards are cheaper than compact flash therefore it is much more handy!

Huh....and I thought caps lock was irritating...

 

[Taylor510ce]

Haha, well maybe $15 was pushing it. I am looking at around $25 now. The Kingston looks pretty decent and actually was in a 7D bundle I almost bought from Adorama ( just didn't need all the other crap that came with it ).

 

[bigtwinky]

I have had a cheaper card crap out on me once. Ever since then, I only buy either Sandisk or Lexar. Memory is so cheap these days compared to the days of old. I consider the memory a critical component in my overall photo workflow. Whatever is critical is worth the money.

I'd check online for deals on memory. There are so many photo and electronic stores. I bought from newegg.ca 8gb Sandisk Ultra (30mb)/s for $39.99 back in April. I bought two. I dont see them listed anymore.

I find 30mb/s enough for my shooting. At 8fps, I can drop something like 10 RAWs continous on the card before the buffer fills. So when shooting sports, I was fine with that.

Do some online shopping and see. Early August, I bought a 16GB Sandisk Ultra CF from BH for $65

 

[mostly sunny]

I paid so much for my camera-- I didn't want to cheap out on memory. I don't put anything cheap on my camera- I am afraid it will cause it to break.

I, too have the 7D

 

[UUilliam]

Huh....and I thought caps lock was irritating...

Guess your lucky I never used Caps lock too then?

I only done it to grab his attention, which clearly did not work.

but fix'd now anyways.

and I agree with you, it is annoying!