What flash card in my new 7D?
Discussion
My old 400d used Sandisk 2 GB cards and never got close to filling or having speed issues......but I suspect my 7D, in RAW at 8 FPS may need something better.
I am rarley going to shoot more than a few hundred pics at once so I was thinking a Sandisk Extreme 60mbps 8GB (£40 ish) Sound about right?
I am rarley going to shoot more than a few hundred pics at once so I was thinking a Sandisk Extreme 60mbps 8GB (£40 ish) Sound about right?
Yup, had these in my 7D and perfect for all uses (I do did a lot of motorsport)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002NO7Q2...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002NO7Q2...
I use 30mbps Sandisk Ultra cards in my 7D.
My reasoning is that generating 25MB RAW files at full chat 8fps - the 7D is filling the buffer up at 200 mbps - so whether it writes to the card at 30mbps or 60mbps is fairly immaterial in terms of the number of shots I get before the buffer fills up - so I might as well buy the cheaper, slower cards.
The faster cards obvilously download quicker, and also halve the time for the buffer to clear to the card - but I don't really care.
Happy to be told the error in my reasonign though.
My reasoning is that generating 25MB RAW files at full chat 8fps - the 7D is filling the buffer up at 200 mbps - so whether it writes to the card at 30mbps or 60mbps is fairly immaterial in terms of the number of shots I get before the buffer fills up - so I might as well buy the cheaper, slower cards.
The faster cards obvilously download quicker, and also halve the time for the buffer to clear to the card - but I don't really care.
Happy to be told the error in my reasonign though.
Tiggsy said:
be interested if the above is sensible...sounds it!
Was hoping that someone would critique my arguement too - either one way or the other hence the bump !If using 60mbps cards rather than 30mpbs made the differene between being able to keep my finger on the button until the card filled up - rather than being constrained by the buffer - then I'll put my 30mbps cards in the bin and get onto Amazon right now - but it doesn't, far from it - the speed at which the camera fills up the buffer at 8fps is so much faster than even the faster card can empty it that I reckon all the faster card gets you is a 24 frame RAW burst rather than a 22 frame burst, if that.
Granted a full buffer will write down to the card in about 7 seconds for the fast card rather than about 15 seconds for the slower card, which I accept is something that may be of value to some people (assuming that the constraining factor if the speed the card can accept data from the buffer - big if). But that's about the only real advantage I can think of.
I reckon that pound for pound you're better off spending your money on bigger capacity 30mbps cards and more of them - than buying 60mbps cards.
Someone tell me if I'm right or wrong ?
IMO the time to empty the buffer is as important as the time to fill it.
That "7secs" could mean the difference between missing something and not. If you've managed to fill the buffer, you're obviously in the thick of it. And let's face it, that's a good chunk of the reason for having a quick camera).
My personal choice is to have smaller, faster, and if there's an option more robust cards in my camera. And more of them.
In my 7D I use Sandisk 8Gb 60mbps cards (can't recall the range name as the buggers frogged around with them over the last year or two! I think they're also the ones tested to temp extremes, and 30-40 quid sounds right). I have 3 of them when I'm out and about, and simply try and be careful monitoring how many exposures I have remaining, changing over in quiet times if running low. I also have a couple of older, smaller capacity Sandisks as further capacity backup (cf cards are easy to carry after all).
Another advantage of this, over a single large capacity card, is that they do fail. I've (touch wood) not had a branded card fail on me yet. But if I do, I only lose a fraction of what I have rather than the lot. On important trips, I'll also be taking an iPad with me as backup storage...
PS I was given an unbranded 8Gb card with the camera. Might as well not have bothered - it's s
t. And the time you notice most is when it's trying to write down while you're still trying to shoot.
That "7secs" could mean the difference between missing something and not. If you've managed to fill the buffer, you're obviously in the thick of it. And let's face it, that's a good chunk of the reason for having a quick camera).
My personal choice is to have smaller, faster, and if there's an option more robust cards in my camera. And more of them.
In my 7D I use Sandisk 8Gb 60mbps cards (can't recall the range name as the buggers frogged around with them over the last year or two! I think they're also the ones tested to temp extremes, and 30-40 quid sounds right). I have 3 of them when I'm out and about, and simply try and be careful monitoring how many exposures I have remaining, changing over in quiet times if running low. I also have a couple of older, smaller capacity Sandisks as further capacity backup (cf cards are easy to carry after all).
Another advantage of this, over a single large capacity card, is that they do fail. I've (touch wood) not had a branded card fail on me yet. But if I do, I only lose a fraction of what I have rather than the lot. On important trips, I'll also be taking an iPad with me as backup storage...
PS I was given an unbranded 8Gb card with the camera. Might as well not have bothered - it's s
t. And the time you notice most is when it's trying to write down while you're still trying to shoot.Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff