So from what I see, no media comes with the camera. Okay, so what are people getting with this thing? I've never used the SD family for media, so reading up on it is a bit confusing. SDXC is the new big thing, but right now there's not really any media for it just yet, but SanDisk is about to come out with a $350 64 gig card, but that will probably be quickly outsold by others soon, blah blah blah...

...so what are people's thoughts on that? Let's say for now I buy the T2i and I just need to record 1080i 24p footage. What's my cheapest working option? Can I get some no name brand off ebay that's rated a minimum of ___ write speed?

What's the minimum recording speed needed for 1080/24p? 30p? Does SDXC provide any advantage over other formats if that's all you are shooting? Or can you buy a cheaper... I don't know, SDsomething card instead? When does SDXC come into play with a T2i?

You'll probably want a Class 6 SDHC card. 16 gig cards run around $50, 32 gig cards around $100. They're not as much of a name brand, but I've had good luck with Transcends. I'm sure someone will come out with a rundown of all the options eventually, if you're really interested in top quality you may want to dig into the Sony XDCAM forum, the EX1 and EX3 can use SD cards via adapters and there has been a lengthy discussion there about cards and quality.

Amazon.com: Transcend 16 GB Class 6 SDHC Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC6E [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]: Electronics

Amazon.com: Transcend 32 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS32GSDHC6: Electronics

Canon recommends that you should use Class 6 cards as Jeff says. They warn you that any lower class card can affect the recording or playback of the video (in the manual). The T2i doesn't record 1080i, it's either 1080p24/25/30 or 720p50/60 (for HD) and record at 330 MB/minute.

right- that was a typo from typing "1080i" so many times in the past. Not sure what an interlaced-progressive frame would even look like!

So this might be a dumb question, but- the new SDXC standard is useful how? In this camera, I mean... is it only in that it has a higher theoretical storage capacity (2 tb)? I realize in the future, new cameras will be all over this, but for the Rebel, I just want to confirm that until SDXC sizes surpass other Class 6 SD card sizes, there's no advantage to the SDXC... just want to differentiate between hype and practical reality...

right- that was a typo from typing "1080i" so many times in the past. Not sure what an interlaced-progressive frame would even look like!

So this might be a dumb question, but- the new SDXC standard is useful how? In this camera, I mean... is it only in that it has a higher theoretical storage capacity (2 tb)? I realize in the future, new cameras will be all over this, but for the Rebel, I just want to confirm that until SDXC sizes surpass other Class 6 SD card sizes, there's no advantage to the SDXC... just want to differentiate between hype and practical reality...

Sorry... I didn't realize you said "24p"... I was in a hurry and only read the "1080i". Woops. SDXC cards potentially offer up to 300MB/sec and a maximum capacity of 2TB. I haven't been able to find too much about them but I'm sure the ups and downs will become clearer once they are more commercially available. Click Here! (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0901/09010803sdxc.asp)

An additional feature of SDXC is that they can be formatted with a file system (exFAT) that allows individual file sizes to exceed 4GB.

SDXC Capabilities - SD Card Association (http://www.sdcard.org/developers/tech/sdxc/capabilities/)

exFAT - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExFAT)

The SDXC cards are available now:

SanDisk | Products | DSLR | SanDisk Ultra® SDXC? Cards (http://www.sandisk.com/products/dslr/sandisk-ultra-sdxc-cards)

Of course, any device would need to be able to read and write exFAT formatted cards, so either they have to come that way from the factory or they would need a firmware update to do so.

An additional feature of SDXC is that they can be formatted with a file system (exFAT) that allows individual file sizes to exceed 4GB.
I'm confused on one thing about that limit. Does that 4GB/file limit impact continuous recording time or not? Meaning, if I have a 16GB card, can I shoot continuously until I fill up the 16 GB, or do I have to stop/start each time a clip hits the 4GB limit?

Thats about it I'm afraid. 4gb = about 12 minutes

What's my cheapest working option? Can I get some no name brand off ebay that's rated a minimum of ___ write speed?

What's the minimum recording speed needed for 1080/24p? 30p?
Have a look at p135 of the (downloadable) manual.

It talks about an indicator appearing to the right of the v/f with five bars. If the card can't keep pace with the data speed the camera is generating, the internal camera buffer starts to fill up, and the amount is indicated by the five bar display.

In other words, NO card is too slow for recording - but below a certain point, the slower the card, the shorter the continuous recording time

Thats about it I'm afraid. 4gb = about 12 minutes
So, even with a 16GB card, once I hit "record" it will only record until it hits the 4GB threshold and then stop (like hitting the end of tape)? It will not continue recording, making a new clip as it goes?

Mike,

What actually happens when you record long "continuous" videos on a FAT32 file system is that the camera will actually automatically split the content into multiple files no larger than 2GB in order to circumvent the limitations of that file system. (You can still continue to record "continuously", in this situation.) To properly stitch them back together into one long video you will need software which can do this correctly; otherwise, you may end up with audio sync problems.

Yikes, that sounds awful! Or, is it really as bad as it sounds? What software is there that does this correctly? The impression I am getting is that this particular limitation makes these cameras bad choices (practically speaking) for documentary shooting; is that fair to say?

You cant record anything over 4gb as a continuos clip, about 12 minutes. There is no splitting of clips, just 4gb, thats it. There is a workaround to this.
When shooting wedding services, this is what I do.
1. Record a continuos sound track on a recorder such as the Zoom H4N.
2. I use 2 cameras, and record 11 minute clips on cam 1. Whilst cam 1 is on the bride and groom, cam 2 is taking infills on the congregation etc
3. Make sure cam 2 is recording before you stop cam 1, when cam 1 has finished writing to card hit record again, stop cam 2, make sure you have an overlap of recording.
3. Bit awkward this, you will need to be editing with Vegas on PC or Final cut Pro on a Mac.
sync all the clips to the audio track with Plural eyes Singular Software (http://www.singularsoftware.com) It works like a charm.
There is, at the moment no way round this 4gb limit, Using 2 cameras and the method above is one of the best solutions at the moment. The benefit is your Number 2 cam does not have to be continuously recording, it really is a lot easier than using the multi cam feature in NLEs.

You cant record anything over 4gb as a continuos clip, about 12 minutes. There is no splitting of clips, just 4gb, thats it. There is a workaround to this.
When shooting wedding services, this is what I do.
1. Record a continuos sound track on a recorder such as the Zoom H4N.
2. I use 2 cameras, and record 11 minute clips on cam 1. Whilst cam 1 is on the bride and groom, cam 2 is taking infills on the congregation etc
3. Make sure cam 2 is recording before you stop cam 1, when cam 1 has finished writing to card hit record again, stop cam 2, make sure you have an overlap of recording.
3. Bit awkward this, you will need to be editing with Vegas on PC or Final cut Pro on a Mac.
sync all the clips to the audio track with Plural eyes Singular Software (http://www.singularsoftware.com) It works like a charm.
There is, at the moment no way round this 4gb limit, Using 2 cameras and the method above is one of the best solutions at the moment. The benefit is your Number 2 cam does not have to be continuously recording, it really is a lot easier than using the multi cam feature in NLEs.

What I said only applies to a true camcorder. DSLRs have their own limitations due to the heat generated by their larger sensors.

In addition, even if you use SDXC on the T2i, you're still limited to 4GB per video due to the limitations of the camera.

I realise that Randall. My post was specific to the questions regarding Canon DSLR

Thanks for the clarification, Colin.

The 4 GB limit on these cameras really isn't that big of a deal. You'll find it very difficult to string 12 minutes of continuous content while managing focus, exposure with limited controls, and just the form of the camera. You'll find these cameras excellent for cinema and art, but not very good for documenting long lectures or active shoots over long periods of time.

If you are going for continuous footage, you'd be much better off with a dedicated video camera IMO. I'll put my 7D and T2i down every time for an A1 for such content. For artistic content in anything but good light, its the other way around. With good light, depends.

This is a big confusing mess. There are dedicated solid state camcorders recording to the same SDHC cards that can go until full. They chop the stream into 4GB chunks and they do not drop frames. The reason that Canon has not implemented that proven technology is the EU Tax code. Lots of geeks get hung up on the file size issue but camcorders have solved it. It's all about the bloody EU tax code.

Spot on. Bloody taxes.

Taxes? How much of a tax could there be on recording length (or specifying a camera is a video camera vs a still camera)?

Maybe we need to organize a worldwide tea...ummmm... SDXC party.

Keep in mind, that you are limited to 4GB sized files for now. The US version of the camera (2Ti) is rumored to be eventually getting the firmware upgrade to allow formatting the cards with exFAT. But look how deliberate Canon was before it issued the 24p/25p firmware for the 5DII. They seem pretty concerned with giving their customers upgrades that work as promised and not upgrades that create additional problems.

At this point, the SDXC compatibility has good potential, but the details will be important, such as heat, tax restrictions and maybe even card speed. The 1Ti/500D was required by Canon to have at least a Class 6 card, but most people found that a Class 4 card worked fine. With the higher video bit rates, used in the 2Ti/550D, that may not still be true.

I shot an entire birthday party this past weekend with a class four card and had absolutely no issues. Now I'm not recommending this, I ordered two class six cards from newegg and paid for overnight shipping but still didn't get them in time for this event. So I used what I had which was a 8gig class 4. I filled it up with video and didn't have an issue. Again, I'm not saying this this will always be reliable but it did work for me, for what it's worth.

I would not worry too much about the sdxc unless you really want more than 1 hour storage worth of video. A 16gb sdhc is about 48min and a 32gb, close to 2 hours and 32gb being the limit of sdhc. That's a lot of memory and time shot already. I see no reason to get the more expensive 64gb or higher sdxc at this time. Even if I could afford it, I'd probably keep 16gb sdhc's if only to spread the 'eggs' into many baskets in case of card failure. If you want longer, 32gb is already plenty.

Also, by staying with SDHC at this time, you just don't save money, but at this early, you won't have problems getting the newer card readers or drivers for you OS that might prevent it from reading these new cards.

I shot an entire birthday party this past weekend with a class four card and had absolutely no issues. ...

That's good to hear. With SD cards, the "Class" matches up to the numeric speed. Hence, a Class 4 card has a write speed of 4 MB/sec or 240 MB/min. Canon claims that the variable bit rate H.264 codec will record 4 GB or roughly 12 minutes per file, so that averages out to 330 MB/min for the 1080p and 720p modes. That's why they recommend a Class 6 card, which has a speed of 6 MB/sec or 360 MB/min.

The fastest, readily available cards are usually Class 10 (10 MB/sec or 600 MB/min).