Flash Cards - DPChallenge Forums

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

08/08/2004 04:22:08 PM · #1

I am shook. Just spent $1000 for a Digital SLR Canon Rebel. I am pumped but have never bought this expensive a camera before. Have an Olympus 3.2 megapixel using Smart Cards...

So, I have to buy some Compact Flash cards...are there good ones and bad ones? I noticed on eBay that Sandisk are a lot cheaper. Are they as good?

Don't want to buy punk cards for such a great camera...

thanks...

BrennanOB

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

08/08/2004 04:49:50 PM · #2

Look at dpreview's comparison chart, and this offer of scandisk ultra II 512mb for $62 caught my eye. If you think getting memory is bad wait till the lens bug bites, the need for fast L glass made all my money seek the vanishing point.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

08/09/2004 12:10:27 AM · #3

Thank you Brennan...most helpful.
And that seems to be a great price on the Scandisk...I ordered it!
Thanks...

What lenses do you suggest are essential?

I will have a 18-55mm and ultra-compact standard zoom coming with it.

BrennanOB

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

08/09/2004 01:30:52 PM · #4

I think lenses are pretty personal, use what you have for a while and see what part of our repetoire you use the most and get better glass in that area.
my favorite lenses are

Tamaron 28-75 2.8 Xr Di spends the most time on my camera.
Canon 50mm 1.8 is my best low light lens, sharp and cheap.
Sigma 50-500 Slow & heavy but sharp over an amazing range.

I have a few lenses that were mistakes because they don't suit the way I shoot, but I bought them before I was sure how I was going to use this camera. Fortunately you can resell without getting hosed if you keep the lenses in good shape.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/09/2004 01:37:10 PM · #5

You all should note that the name is SANDISK -- no "c" -- (as in sans -- without disk); important since they are the inventors of the CompactFlash format, and should at least get accurate credit.

Message edited by author 2004-08-09 13:37:28.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/09/2004 02:24:10 PM · #6

When buying CF cards, make sure you are getting the speed that you want. A little homework on the manufactureres web site will reveal the speeds. All brands are different speed and they all sell different speeds. Some cards are much much slower then others. That could very easily be the difference between getting the shot and missing the moment.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/09/2004 06:42:57 PM · #7

Thanks, all, so is the Sandisk 512MB Ultra II CompactFlash Memory Card a good speed or not?

(Can you tell I am a novice?)

I am so pumped about this...and look forward to being active here...mostly learning from you all.

I just bought the Olympus Camedia P-440 digital color printer so I can do justice to 8x10s. Seven of my artist friends and I have studios in a warehouse downtown and just got 5000 sq. ft. of donated space for a gallery, so I want to have prints of our art to offer for sale there along with original art...along with photographic art if and when I get good enough.

Our website is //www.AwarehouseArt.com and you can see me there: Anthony Dallmann-Jones.

Again, thanks for all the support here. I am glad I joined already...and I don't even have the camera yet!

asdjones

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

08/09/2004 06:48:18 PM · #8

Welcome to DPC!

Yes, the SanDisk Ultra II is very fast (faster than your camera, actually).

08/09/2004 06:55:14 PM · #9

Welcome to Team Canon! I'm sure you'll have a great time with your camera. I have 512MB 40X Lexar CF cards and they're very fast.

As for lenses, my favorite is my 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens and I'm ordering the 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens as I type this. Since I like to shoot night scenes when I travel, I think the faster lens is better suited for me than the 17-40mm f/4. Anyway, your lens choice is ultimately dependent on your style of shooting and you should buy accordingly. If you tell us a bit more about your style we can help you narrow your choices down.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/09/2004 07:26:46 PM · #10

Thanks for getting back to me and with such good info...

I am going to be shooting art objects...some will be large canvases (my largest are 8-22 feet long)...then I have "normal" sized ones (4-5 feet).

Some of my artist friends who I will be shooting have 3D art, such as Steven's laminated paper animals...12-20 inches long, and John has 3D sculptures mostly 3-5 feet high.

So I want to make pics that look like the art and have some made into professional posters at a local graphics center with our studio name and the artist name on them, and others just 8x10 matted glossies.

Any help would be great! like I said, I already have the 18-55mm and the ultra-compact lens (no numbers given) that come with the camera.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

08/09/2004 08:04:55 PM · #11

The Canon 16-35mm and 17-40mm L lenses are your best bets for top-quality wide angle shots, but they're not cheap. I would suggest the 50mm f/1.8 for sharp low-light gallery shots (it's only $75 or so), but has a narrow field of view. If you're going to use a flash for indoor shots, spend the extra cash for the Canon 550ex (or the Sigma equivalent). Good luck.

wimbello

Canon EOS-10D

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Canon

08/09/2004 08:08:25 PM · #12

the "speed" isn't everything. the best thing you could possibly do is go with a reputable brand. Sandisk are reputable, seeing as they invented CF.
there was an article about sports illustrated photographers... they only use a specific brand, can't remember. they have hundreds of these cards.
anyone remember?

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/09/2004 08:17:00 PM · #13

SanDiscus?

Olympus 14-42mm f.3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital Zoom

08/09/2004 08:40:58 PM · #14

Originally posted by wimbello:

I agree about the speed and I think that between Lexar and SanDisk, you can't really go wrong. I've used Lexar Memory Stick Pro media for a long time without problems and so far my Lexar 40X CF cards are amazing. My parents have one Lexar and one SanDisk 256MB for their S410s and both perform flawlessly.

But if you're shooting many shots in burst mode you want a fast card to complete the writes especially if you shoot in RAW mode.

jxpfeer

Nikon D70

08/10/2004 10:23:02 AM · #15

the sandisk ultra II is probably one of the best cards out there right now. i have those for my d70, and i love it. write-speed is super, and all my sandisk cards have always been bulletproof. i'd highly recommend them to you.

tjandjwsmith

Nikon D800

08/10/2004 11:44:05 AM · #16

As for lenses, I've purchased all of mine used from KEH.com. They're excellent at acurately stating the condition of the lens and glass and you can get smokin' good deals if you watch for them. If you see something you can't live without, call them immediately! I had a lens plucked out of my shopping cart once and called to see what the deal was. Someone had seen it on the site and called in their order while I was still shopping. Just a word to the wise.

airatic

Olympus E-410

08/10/2004 12:18:36 PM · #17

Has anyone moved up to the larger (1GB-4GB) microdrive cards? I have a 1GB, but it is way slower than my 256 MB CF, and I'm suprised. Is it just my camera, or are they actually slower than standard CF cards?

skylen

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

08/10/2004 02:12:55 PM · #18

Originally posted by airatic:

The bigger cards are not significantly different in speed. But you may have a faster 256MB card than your 1GB is. If you have a 'standard' Sandisk 1GB, it will be super slooooow.

edit: oops, didn't notice you said Microdrive, not flash card. Yeah, those are slower than the high-speed CF cards. See my link to rob galbraith's benchmarks for details and numbers.

Standard (SLOW) Sandisk cards look like this: (Avoid at all costs!!!)

Sandisk Ultra II cards (SUPER FAST) look like this: (The best there is.)

Message edited by author 2004-08-10 17:15:10.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/10/2004 02:21:49 PM · #19

On a real quick search, this is what I found:
SanDisk regular: 1MB/second
Sandisk ultra: 9MB/s
Lexar 4x: 600KB/s
Lexar 12X: 1.8MB/s
Lexar 40x: 6MB/s
Lexar 80X: 12MB/s

skylen

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

08/10/2004 02:33:16 PM · #20

The best way to find the fastest card for your camera is the check this guy's benchmarks. They are extremely extensive covering all the major CF cards for tons of cameras:
//www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007

Strangely, different cards get different speeds in different cameras. So he benchmarks each card in each camera.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/10/2004 04:14:09 PM · #21

Originally posted by airatic:

My 40X Lexar cards are WAY faster than my 4GB Microdrive. I can write two or three (maybe even four) RAW images to my CF cards in the time it takes to write one RAW file to my Microdrive. The only advantage to the Microdrive over CF flash media is write speeds. OK, there's another and that's just sheer amounts of storage. If you're shooting fast-paced action like motorsports or a basketball game go with fast flash media. If you're shooting stationary objects like a building or a landscape or just don't care about time between shots due to write times, a Microdrive is fine since your subject isn't going anywhere.

PS: BH has the 40X Lexar cards for $139.95 after a $30 rebate (//www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=337610&is=REG)

Message edited by author 2004-08-10 16:17:07.

EddyG

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

08/10/2004 04:22:26 PM · #22

Originally posted by MrAkamai:

My 40X Lexar cards are WAY faster than my 4GB Microdrive. I can write two or three (maybe even four) RAW images to my CF cards in the time it takes to write one RAW file to my Microdrive.

That's interesting, because Rob's CF database for the 10D shows the Lexar 40X cards to write raws at 1.284MB/sec and the Hitachi 4GB microdrive at 1.115MB/sec. Are fairly insignificant difference. Even the old 1GB microdrive clocks in at 1.060MB/sec, and the fastest card in his tests (Lexar 80X "Second Edition") is only 1.356MB/sec.