CF Compact Flash cards

Guy Cochran · January 21st, 2009, 12:47 PM

While I was shooting some shots of me as the talent at 1am with no camera op - I came back to find that the recording stopped in the middle of the take. Talk about frustration. I thought I had nailed it and was calling it a wrap. So, yeah, my 32GB Transcend 133x just got the "unreliable stamp" put on it for shooting critical HD footage with the 5D Mark II.

Jesse Morgan · January 22nd, 2009, 12:13 AM

I had some issues with a Lexar card on my old Nikon. About a half dozen of my JPGs would be corrupted with every shoot. I have been using Sandisks ever since with no issues. You get what you pay for. Sandisks are the Hondas of CF while it sounds like you bought an early 90's Hyundai.

;)

Chris Barcellos · February 19th, 2009, 06:51 PM

I see some cheap Compact Flash available out there, like Kingston 133 at 8 G for $20. I search our threads here, and haven't seen much comment on problems with particular media. Have I missed somewhere ?

Toenis Liivamaegi · February 19th, 2009, 07:11 PM

Chris, I have some sub $20 16GB "blue noname" cards from the bay, that are suposedly 133X speed and for film making those are fine. I tested all three and one of those has actually about 250x write time so I assume those are the leftower chips from QA...
... you can not take pictures (well, sometimes you can and sometimes not) with those lame cards when recording video but for one task at a time they are fine as long as you can write to it faster than 5mbps.

As I understand the faster speeds are desired for shooting video and constantly interrupting it with picture taking - I assume you don't want to do that anyhow.

OT: It's good to see all 35mm "adaptor" (that's actually a typo) oldtimers here on the 5D MKII forum :)...

T

Ray Bell · February 19th, 2009, 07:12 PM

The guys over at Convergent Designs are recomending the Transend 32GB X133 for their tapeless recorders..... good price ($84).. I'm using two of them without issue...

Transcend 32GB 133X - 300X UDMA Enabled Compact Flash Card Transcend 32GB 133X - 300X UDMA Enabled Compact Flash Card Detail Page

Here's the thread...

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/convergen...-us-100-a.html

Chris Barcellos · February 19th, 2009, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toenis Liivamaegi

OT: It's good to see all 35mm "adaptor" (that's actually a typo) oldtimers here on the 5D MKII forum :)...

T

Yeap, we keep looking for that perfect combination... we're getting closer !!!

Daniel Browning · February 20th, 2009, 12:23 AM

I'm using a mix:

Lexar 8GB 300X UDMA (bought some for $200, later $100)
Lexar 8GB 133X (recent free after rebate deal)
Transcend 32 GB 133X ($80).

I've heard of some people having trouble with their Transcend 133X, but mine has been good to me so far. Lexar and SanDisk are well regarded for reliability.

Mike Toy · February 20th, 2009, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

I see some cheap Compact Flash available out there, like Kingston 133 at 8 G for $20. I search our threads here, and haven't seen much comment on problems with particular media. Have I missed somewhere ?

If you have a Fry's nearby you can get the 32GB 133x Kingston for $29. It works with video on the 5D2. The buffer meter will occasionally show it being 1/4 full during video taking but never reaches full.
http://shop4.frys.com/product/566925...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Cody Dulock · February 20th, 2009, 08:48 AM

I have been using the Ritek Lightning cards and haven't had any issues YET... I'm using the 8gig cards. I believe they are 233x UDMA for $25 or so at supermediastore.com

Keith Paisley · February 20th, 2009, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Bell

The guys over at Convergent Designs are recomending the Transend 32GB X133 for their tapeless recorders..... good price ($84).. I'm using two of them without issue...

Transcend 32GB 133X - 300X UDMA Enabled Compact Flash Card Transcend 32GB 133X - 300X UDMA Enabled Compact Flash Card Detail Page

Here's the thread...

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/convergen...-us-100-a.html

Interesting, I bought one of these a couple of weeks ago and while I haven't examined every frame of the footage I have shot with it, it seems to work fine. I ran several clips right up to the 4GB limit with no issues.

Keith Paisley · February 20th, 2009, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Toy

If you have a Fry's nearby you can get the 32GB 133x Kingston for $29. It works with video on the 5D2. The buffer meter will occasionally show it being 1/4 full during video taking but never reaches full.
FRYS.com*|*KINGSTON

the link you pasted goes to a 16GB card for that price. Was it a typo or is there really a 32GB card for $30 somewhere? Still, it's not a bad price for 16GB.

Garry Garza · March 16th, 2009, 08:42 AM

What's your recommended compact flash speed for 5D? For faster .mov file transfer, does card reader brand matters?

Chris Hurd · March 16th, 2009, 08:59 AM

For HD video recording, you'll want a CF card rated for UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access). I use HoodMan RAW cards; they're UDMA 300x and guaranteed zero-failure. For card readers, a FireWire 800 CF reader will transfer card contents about twice as fast as a USB2 reader (2 gigabytes per minute compared to 1 gigabyte per minute).

Chris Barcellos · March 16th, 2009, 01:27 PM

I bought 2 very inexpensive 8gb 133 Kingston CF Cards for $ 29.00 apiece at Frys here locally. It captures without drop. I occasionally see the write indicator show up with one bar of 3 or4 highlighted. Have not experience any drops.

Steve Maller · March 16th, 2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

I bought 2 very inexpensive 8gb 133 Kingston CF Cards for $ 29.00 apiece at Frys here locally. It captures without drop. I occasionally see the write indicator show up with one bar of 3 or4 highlighted. Have not experience any drops.

Same here, but if you try to interrupt the video by grabbing a still photo (which is supposed to cause a 1 second gap, then continue video recording) it might not work.

I had to switch to the Kingston 266x card in order to get that to work (16GB cards).

January 21st, 2009, 12:47 PM	#31
Guy Cochran DVCreators.Net Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 892	While I was shooting some shots of me as the talent at 1am with no camera op - I came back to find that the recording stopped in the middle of the take. Talk about frustration. I thought I had nailed it and was calling it a wrap. So, yeah, my 32GB Transcend 133x just got the "unreliable stamp" put on it for shooting critical HD footage with the 5D Mark II. __________________ Guy Cochran DVinfo Sponsor, Cool Gear - DVeStore!

February 19th, 2009, 06:51 PM	#33
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Compact Flash- What to get. I see some cheap Compact Flash available out there, like Kingston 133 at 8 G for $20. I search our threads here, and haven't seen much comment on problems with particular media. Have I missed somewhere ? __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

March 16th, 2009, 08:42 AM	#42
Garry Garza Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philippines Posts: 67	CF Speed What's your recommended compact flash speed for 5D? For faster .mov file transfer, does card reader brand matters?

March 16th, 2009, 08:59 AM	#43
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	For HD video recording, you'll want a CF card rated for UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access). I use HoodMan RAW cards; they're UDMA 300x and guaranteed zero-failure. For card readers, a FireWire 800 CF reader will transfer card contents about twice as fast as a USB2 reader (2 gigabytes per minute compared to 1 gigabyte per minute). __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

March 16th, 2009, 01:27 PM	#44
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	I bought 2 very inexpensive 8gb 133 Kingston CF Cards for $ 29.00 apiece at Frys here locally. It captures without drop. I occasionally see the write indicator show up with one bar of 3 or4 highlighted. Have not experience any drops. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

January 22nd, 2009, 12:13 AM	#32
Jesse Morgan Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Geneva/Toronto Posts: 42	I had some issues with a Lexar card on my old Nikon. About a half dozen of my JPGs would be corrupted with every shoot. I have been using Sandisks ever since with no issues. You get what you pay for. Sandisks are the Hondas of CF while it sounds like you bought an early 90's Hyundai. ;)

February 19th, 2009, 07:11 PM	#34
Toenis Liivamaegi Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tartu, Estonia Posts: 579	Chris, I have some sub $20 16GB "blue noname" cards from the bay, that are suposedly 133X speed and for film making those are fine. I tested all three and one of those has actually about 250x write time so I assume those are the leftower chips from QA... ... you can not take pictures (well, sometimes you can and sometimes not) with those lame cards when recording video but for one task at a time they are fine as long as you can write to it faster than 5mbps. As I understand the faster speeds are desired for shooting video and constantly interrupting it with picture taking - I assume you don't want to do that anyhow. OT: It's good to see all 35mm "adaptor" (that's actually a typo) oldtimers here on the 5D MKII forum :)... T

February 19th, 2009, 07:12 PM	#35
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	The guys over at Convergent Designs are recomending the Transend 32GB X133 for their tapeless recorders..... good price ($84).. I'm using two of them without issue... Transcend 32GB 133X - 300X UDMA Enabled Compact Flash Card Transcend 32GB 133X - 300X UDMA Enabled Compact Flash Card Detail Page Here's the thread... http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/convergen...-us-100-a.html

February 20th, 2009, 12:23 AM	#37
Daniel Browning Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 949	I'm using a mix: Lexar 8GB 300X UDMA (bought some for $200, later $100) Lexar 8GB 133X (recent free after rebate deal) Transcend 32 GB 133X ($80). I've heard of some people having trouble with their Transcend 133X, but mine has been good to me so far. Lexar and SanDisk are well regarded for reliability.

February 20th, 2009, 08:48 AM	#39
Cody Dulock Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: arlington, texas Posts: 420	I have been using the Ritek Lightning cards and haven't had any issues YET... I'm using the 8gig cards. I believe they are 233x UDMA for $25 or so at supermediastore.com