Sandisk CF Extreme III vs Extreme IV

[cfusionpm]

It seems online, prices for a 4gb EX IV are avbout 10-20$ more than an 8gb EX III. Is the speed increase worth the price difference and smaller size? It's listed as 30mb/s vs 45mb/s. Is that difference significant enough to be worth while?

 

[musicaleCA]

I don't know. You should be asking if it's worth it to you. If you shoot fast, and in quick situations where the camera HAS to keep up (sports comes to mind), then yes, it's worth it. In such cases any advantage in speed is worth it. If you don't, then just get a slower card and be happy.

 

[Derrel]

Robgalbraith.com is the source I consider to be *the* definitive source for tests of SD and CF media, and this is the place to find out that neither card writes as fast as their stated speeds in the EOS 50D. But the faster card does write faster than the slower card: the 50D,not being a flagship camera, does not have the write speeds of some of the higher-end cameras.

A look here,and an analysis of your own shooting habits and needs will tell you a tremendous amount about the performance of various CF cards in your 50D.

Rob Galbraith DPI: Canon EOS 50D

 

[astrostu]

I saw it on one of the 7D threads here that their Ultra II card couldn't keep up with the fps nor video. The poster ordered an Ex. IV now to see what happens. Since I just have 2 1GB I, a 2 GB I, and 2 4 GB Ultra IIs, looks like I'll need to buy some new cards, too. Thanks for that site, Derrel.

 

[DB83]

What cards do you use musicale?

 

[musicaleCA]

Lexar Professional "233x Speed" cards. They keep up just fine with my 7D's video. As for the fps that astrotu seems to hint at, there simply isn't any card that will be able to deliver speeds fast enough to shoot continuously at 8fps. That's when the photographer has to know when to stop pressing the darn shutter. Once the buffer on one of my 7D's fills-up, it comes back roughly in pairs (two shots at a time) in short intervals. Don't ask me why; it probably has something to do with the hardware setup (dual DIGIC 4's).

 

[benhasajeep52 50]

I have 3ea of 4gb and 8gb extreme III's, a couple Kingston Elite's 4gb, and some ebay no name 4gb (listed as 133x) compact flash cards. I have yet to hit the buffer limit on any of them with my D300's. Knock on wood, I have not had a single problem with any card I have. I don't shoot sports or anything that I need to click off at 6-8fps though. Most of the time I am shooting flash and can't even try too!

 

[rdlcr7]

I have learned the hard way it is best to buy 2 1GB Ultra II than 1 2GB Extreme III. Then rotate the cards in and out of the camera often, even during a picture taking session. A card will be lost, stolen, damaged, erased, formatted, vaporized, liquified, turned to stone, etc. You get the idea.