Looking for CF memory card for DSLR

[flameangel88]

I was looking to pickup additional memory for the Nikon and came across this 4gb Seagate CF type II Photo Drive and was wondering if this is any good? Or should I stick with regular CF cards with 120-150X R/W? Does this drive drain the battery more? TIA!

http://www.buy.com/prod/Seagate_4GB_Compact_Flash_Type_II_Photo_Drive_2MB_cache_ST64022C_RK/q/loc/15579/202014817.html

[DebsSisterFlo]

yes! great thread! Please post your recommendations for additional CF cards!
I have a canon rebel xt and my CF card is a 1gb CF card, it says "pqi" and "hi-speed".
Are there CF cards that are just no good?

[BlueCorn]

I use a 4gb micro drive as my main camera media. That being said, they are slower, use more power and aren't as rugged as good name brand CF media. At the time I bought mine I was buying for capacity only and 4gb cards were pretty expensive. I like it and still use it but my next purchase will be CF.

Be careful with resellers that you've never heard of, and ebay sellers, as there are a ton of counterfeit CF cards on the market. They take el-cheapo cards, slap a stick on them and sell them as high speed name brand cards.

[flameangel88]

beerguy:

Thanks for the info and warning. That's what I was afraid of on the extra battery drain. At this time I can't justify for the cost on the Sandisk Extreme IV kit and will stick with the fast CF cards for now. I've been playing with burst mode and love it so I need large memory and writes fast otherwise I have to wait for the buffer to clear.

FA

[Ebn]

Take a look over at Rob Galbraith's CF/SD card database and match that up with the camera to see what kind of write speeds the cards can be written to.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007

Use the pull down menu and select your camera.

Unless you really need the write speeds of Extreme IV or shoot in demanding conditions (e.g. extreme cold), then you can get away with slower cards. The older Extreme III has taken a beating due to the Extreme IV lines and the Ultra II are even cheaper than that. Also, take a look at your camera. Most cameras can't utilize the speeds of the higher end cards (look at the database linked above).

[rbaker]

This is a pretty solid deal backed by an amazing warranty...

http://content.costco.com/Images/Content/Product/872544L.jpg

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11033696&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&N=4001366&Mo=63&No=20&ViewAll=64&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=2109&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&Sp=C&topnav=

[flameangel88]

Ebn:

Thanks for the link. I currently have the Transcend 120X 4GB card (paid about $90 shipped) and it's pretty good in terms of price/performance. After looking at the chart I think Ridata 150X 2GB would be a very good backup for me.


Rbaker:

Yes, Costco's policy is very difficult beat.

[BlueCorn]

Keep in mind that while your camera may not be able to avail itself to the maximum speed of your CF card, it can make a big difference when downloading pictures to your computer.

[flameangel88]

This is the spec for the one I'm currently using and downloads to the computer pretty quick. Let me know what you think. I was looking for a backup card to carry around just in case but if I can find a better card at an affordable price then I'll use the current card as backup. Thanks.

Transcend CF 4GB 120X
Speed: 120X (Read 20 MB/sec, Write 18 MB/sec)

[gregr]

I've been very happy (no problems) with the somewhat off-brand cards I have too- like Transcend, Ritek and PQI. They've all given me reliable service and cardreader to computer transfer speeds of at least 6mp per second. I have a couple Sandisk Extreme II cards that are plenty fast. Guess what I'm saying is, unless you're shooting sports with a Canon 1D MarkII or Nikon D2X you probably don't need anything faster than 50-80x. 80x by the way equals approximately 12mb/second. Anyone have a camera that processes data that fast?

[intenseimage]

The Extreme II or III card is the way to go.

I will be upgrading to a 2 GB Ultra III for my XTi/400D

[flameangel88]

gregr:

Thanks for your input. Ritek 2gb card was pretty fast in that test and I guess I'll pick one up. If I'd the money to own one of the two cameras you mentioned than I probably wouldn't be asking the memory question here and would have goten the Extreme IV. :) Untill then, I still have tons of questions to ask here.

Again, thanks for all the help here.

[gregr]

But that was my point- I do have one of those cameras and it's my opinion that a super fast card isn't necessary.