SDXC & Rebel Confusion

Randall Leong · February 28th, 2010, 08:23 PM

Thanks for the clarification, Colin.

Roger Shealy · February 28th, 2010, 08:28 PM

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.

Konrad Haskins · February 28th, 2010, 08:35 PM

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.

Colin Rowe · March 1st, 2010, 05:42 AM

Spot on. Bloody taxes.

Roger Shealy · March 1st, 2010, 05:44 AM

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.

Jay Bloomfield · March 3rd, 2010, 09:51 PM

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.

J. Chris Moore · March 3rd, 2010, 11:13 PM

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.

Mel Enriquez · March 4th, 2010, 07:42 AM

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.

Jay Bloomfield · March 4th, 2010, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Chris Moore

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).

March 1st, 2010, 05:42 AM	#19
Colin Rowe Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cornwall UK Posts: 793	Spot on. Bloody taxes. __________________ Colin

March 4th, 2010, 07:42 AM	#23
Mel Enriquez Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 129	sdhc and sdxc 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.

February 28th, 2010, 08:23 PM	#16
Randall Leong Major Player Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Melrose Park, Illinois, USA Posts: 936	Thanks for the clarification, Colin.

February 28th, 2010, 08:28 PM	#17
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	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.

February 28th, 2010, 08:35 PM	#18
Konrad Haskins Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 148	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.

March 1st, 2010, 05:44 AM	#20
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	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.

March 3rd, 2010, 09:51 PM	#21
Jay Bloomfield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Voorheesville, NY Posts: 433	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.

March 3rd, 2010, 11:13 PM	#22
J. Chris Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 96	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.