Is this a good deal?

[alcina]

I haven't checked that link, but there is a link somewhere that shows the card AND the camera as the combos perform differently. If you are really getting into it, I would check there first.

I use a Lexar Pro 1GB and a Transcend 1GB - no problems with either and I don't notice any write delays in any of the Canon As, the Oly 5050 or the Canon 20D.

 

[BrantD]

For those with Oly C-5050 camera....they will take the 1g cards but nothing bigger. :11: Wish I COULD use the 2+g cards.

Actually Dee, the 5050 can use up to a 2 gig card. I use one, and have a 512 xd card.

 

[Ishie]

I get pretty good write speed with the Ultra 2, which I think you can pick up for 85 bucks now for the 1 GB. I thought about the 2 GB.

I'm still shooting SHQ jpgs, so the 1 GB works really well for me. If I were shooting RAW, I'd probably move to the 2 GB? Though the write time on the RAW, even with the new chip, is a killer!

 

[RonFrank]

Yup..the old story

I am still playing around - trying to figure out how all the bells and whistles work and every thing is filling up - FAST. The 2 gig card costs $139 and the 4 gig costs $239....it is lots cheaper than the rest and I was wondering why it was so much cheaper than the others...

1 gig at $67 = $134 to get 2 gigs...

So the 2 gig card is about $5 more for the same amount of storage, IOW's NOT more expensive.

As you go up in space, and new technology (8 gig is very recent) than the card becomes more per gig, but that will change. Actually at $239 the 4 gig card is better deal then 4 1 gig cards.

8 gig cards are still running over $600, and in fact in most cases over $700, so right now the 4 gig is the point where you retain value, and I'd go with 2 4 gigs over 1 8 gig.

Of course this all depends upon what you are shooting. Sports shooters generally have the most STUFF. The biggest fastest most expensive lenses, the fastest most expensive camera's (in the 35mm DSLR format), and the biggest CF cards because they actually shoot a LOT of images at 8FPS.

Fortunately for us OTHER photogs, we don't generally need stuff like a 400mm f4 lens, or 8 gig cards! The right tools for the job....

 

[RonFrank]

Hey guys,

I was doing some research on memory cards online earlier.
All memory cards aren't created equal...
This might explain the ridiculous lag between shots with my current camera.

Check this out
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6451_7-6296352.html

There are several factors that limit the write speed to a CF card.

In PnS camera's, it's generally the camera not the card. The link above does NOT take into account the buffer in the camera, and write speed of the camera.

In recent DSLR's the card can make a huge difference, but most newer cards perform well even if the best may perform a bit faster. Some CF cards (like the Lexar WA - Write Accelaration) require the camera to support the technology to actually take advantage of the faster card. This type of trend fortunately is NOT catching on, and cards today are as fast or faster than even most DSLR's can handle.

So certainly if you have a camera like the 5D, I STRONGLY suggest attempting to find some comparisons using various cards.... However that depends a LOT on if having all that speed is really necessary.

Remember you are limited by your SLOWEST component.

In the UW world that is ALWAYS going to be your FLASH, NOT your CF card speed, or Buffer in ANY DSLR.

 

[bobf]

Remember you are limited by your SLOWEST component.

In the UW world that is ALWAYS going to be your FLASH, NOT your CF card speed, or Buffer in ANY DSLR.

An Ikelite DS 125 recycles in about one second for a full dump........faster on shorter dumps..........

 

[Jamdiver]

There are several factors that limit the write speed to a CF card.

In PnS camera's, it's generally the camera not the card. The link above does NOT take into account the buffer in the camera, and write speed of the camera.

In recent DSLR's the card can make a huge difference, but most newer cards perform well even if the best may perform a bit faster. Some CF cards (like the Lexar WA - Write Accelaration) require the camera to support the technology to actually take advantage of the faster card. This type of trend fortunately is NOT catching on, and cards today are as fast or faster than even most DSLR's can handle.

So certainly if you have a camera like the 5D, I STRONGLY suggest attempting to find some comparisons using various cards.... However that depends a LOT on if having all that speed is really necessary.

Remember you are limited by your SLOWEST component.

In the UW world that is ALWAYS going to be your FLASH, NOT your CF card speed, or Buffer in ANY DSLR.

Thanks for the info there Ron, cleared up some questions I was having.
Do you think a 40x card would be sufficient for the Canon A610, or should I go for a 60x card?
Or for that matter are the plain vanilla Sandisk cards alright?
I have a feeling that they will be, considering that I'll be limited by flash recycle time underwater, but I just want to be sure.
Canon uses SD memory btw..

Not really someone who takes a lot of shots in quick succession but I intend to use the video feature of the camera..

 

[bobf]

..........
Or for that matter are the plain vanilla Sandisk cards alright?
I have a feeling that they will be, considering that I'll be limited by flash recycle time underwater, but I just want to be sure.............

When discussing recycle times, what flash are you referring to? Unless you are referring to a full dump with a Sunpak or similar, card write times will most often always be longer, especially if shooting the highest jpeg option or RAW, regardless of write time speed.

Recycle times, full dump of popular strobes (battery chemistry, age of battery, temp, are all variables not taken into consideration):

Ike DS 125 1 second
Inon D 2000 1.8 seconds
Ike DS 50 3 seconds
S&S ys 90 3 seconds
Sunpak G 9 seconds

If your strobe is not listed above, then check out recycle times in the strobe finder:
http://www.digitaldiver.net/strobes.php
for your particular strobe.

Again, these times listed are for full dumps. Full dumps are not the norm for general digital underwater photography. That means that recycle times will usually be faster than the table above indicates.

If you are using the internal flash, check the recycle time specs for your camera ( if not listed in the manual that came with your camera) at dpreview.com or imaging-resource.com or steves-digicams.com.

Depending of course on digicam resolution setting, I highly doubt you will be limited by flash recycle time............

 

[Warren_L]

Ridata 1GB 80X Pro II Compact Flash Card

Price: $67.99

I have a ridata and am happy with it...but can't imagine a 1 gig card being so cheap...

Lisa,

Here is a great resource that has tests of various flash cards with specific camera models. I don't know if the 5D is on there yet, being so new, but you can certainly compare against a number of other camera makes and models.

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

Just select your camera model in the drop down box on the right of the screen. Check it out.

W

 

[RonFrank]

An Ikelite DS 125 recycles in about one second for a full dump........faster on shorter dumps..........

A D70 shoots 3fps, for about 4 images (RAW) 12 images (JPG), and then can shoot an image per second basically as long as you want.

The D2x Can do 5FPS for 17 RAW and 22 jpg. That's flying for 12mpix camera, and that pushes the limits of the CF cards. Most camera's do not.

Most flash systems out there do NOT recycle in 1 second on a full dump.

I'm not exactly sure what the point of your post was other than to report the recycle times of the D125?

Cheers!