CF and SD Cards...where to buy
Discussion
Should have responded to the second part of the question earlier ...
I usually buy SanDisk but have other brands too and none have given any problems except one upper end US brand where the CF card crashed randomly on several occasions. Initially diagnosed as a camera problem the camera fix did not solve the problem but the UK end of the vendor for the card changed it (after several months of use since it did not always crash) and the replacement has worked perfectly for several years.
In general SanDisk, Lexar and one or two other brands tend to have products that consistently deliver at the faster end of the Read and Write performance scale although you will pay a little more for them. Write times may not be important for your needs but in some situations and for some cameras they can be the difference between success or failure to capture a shot. With some older cameras it may be the camera that limits performance in which case a fast card is of no benefit except for potential "future proofing" to some extent.
I usually buy SanDisk but have other brands too and none have given any problems except one upper end US brand where the CF card crashed randomly on several occasions. Initially diagnosed as a camera problem the camera fix did not solve the problem but the UK end of the vendor for the card changed it (after several months of use since it did not always crash) and the replacement has worked perfectly for several years.
In general SanDisk, Lexar and one or two other brands tend to have products that consistently deliver at the faster end of the Read and Write performance scale although you will pay a little more for them. Write times may not be important for your needs but in some situations and for some cameras they can be the difference between success or failure to capture a shot. With some older cameras it may be the camera that limits performance in which case a fast card is of no benefit except for potential "future proofing" to some extent.
Simpo Two said:
Then I'd go for speed as well as brand - the D810 has a lot of pixels to crunch.
#Yep.
And in this case the read speed and write speed could both prove to be points of frustration in practical situations if you pitch too low. Frankly I have always felt that a higher end camera should be provided with top end memory, perhaps one level down from the latest greatest ultra high speed gizmos just to be a little sensible about it.
LongQ said:
Frankly I have always felt that a higher end camera should be provided with top end memory, perhaps one level down from the latest greatest ultra high speed gizmos just to be a little sensible about it.
It seems slightly surprising that Nikon, Canon etc don't sell rebadged memory under their own brand (with suitable premium for the name of course!)Simpo Two said:
It seems slightly surprising that Nikon, Canon etc don't sell rebadged memory under their own brand (with suitable premium for the name of course!)
An interesting question but I would guess they would not be too keen if the stuff was peripheral to the central product (unlike, say, sensors) and subject to rapid technology changes and market pricing fluctuations. On the other hand that would not be such an obvious reason, historically, for not going into own brand film for example. They didn't do that either afaik.
Crafty_ said:
Have a look at Transcend, prices are good, never had an issue.
The only (genuine) Sandisk card I have has issues, its actually a replacement for one that had the same issues before buggering up completely.
I have a couple of Transcend cards, prices were good and they have worked well but if outright speed is an issue I am not aware of a product they offer at the top end of the performance range. The only (genuine) Sandisk card I have has issues, its actually a replacement for one that had the same issues before buggering up completely.
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