CF Compact Flash cards

Don Miller · December 10th, 2008, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Martin

I just got a 32GB 133x Transcend cf card for my 5D2 and it shoots video just fine.

Taking a RAW photo while shooting a video clip, however, will force the video recording to stop.

I would be concerned that this card will choke on video as it gets full. If it's choking on a still shot during video it may not be emptying the buffer sufficiently.

edit : Don't buy sandisk on ebay. Actually, don't buy any memory on ebay. There's little margin in CF cards. Buy from known places.

Don Miller · December 10th, 2008, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Min Lee

Don,
That card got awful review on new egg:
Newegg.com - RiDATA Lightning Series 16GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card Model CFR16G-233X-LIG2 - Flash Memory

This concerns me.
I've had no problems, but its certainly not a fast card.
I'l see if the mydigitaldiscount card is the same series.

Edit: yep, it is. So much for buying another one of these. Back to Extreme III!

Barry Goyette · December 10th, 2008, 08:07 PM

Rob Galbraith has perhaps the most exhaustive speed testing of CF cards on the web. He just updated his CF/SD performance database with the 5dMarkII. Looks to be about the fastest camera on the market currently. Check out the link to see speed comparisons of various cards in this camera.

Rob Galbraith DPI: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Josh Dahlberg · January 19th, 2009, 06:40 PM

Hi all. I went shooting over the weekend with 3 x new 16GB 133x Transcend cards, each freshly formatted for the 5d mkII.

Upon returning to ingest footage, I discovered around a dozen files on one of the cards (about 20% of the shots taken on the card) contain errors, and either won't open at all, or open and freeze after a few seconds of playback. These corrupt files are fairly evenly spread between good files.

I tried to recover the files using Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery for mac, to no avail. It seems to me the card is a dud, as the camera performed flawlessly with the other cards.

I'd like to know if the Sandisk Extreme IV cards (for about five times the money) are going to prove more reliable, or in fact, what the most reliable cards might be shooting video on the 5d MkII.

I'm thinking maybe there's a good reason for the premium on SxS cards!

Barry Goyette · January 19th, 2009, 06:51 PM

I've been shooting with the 8gb extreme IV's on my hasselblad H3d and Canon 1ds mk III for the past year and a half. Not one problem. I've even put a couple of the 2 gb cards through the washer AND dryer (and all data was still intact after that)...any card that costs 1/5 of what the sandisk cards cost I would be highly suspicious of (unless working "most of the time" works for you.)

Barry

Greg Laves · January 19th, 2009, 09:32 PM

I have used Sandisk exclusively in my Nikons for years and have not experienced a single problem. I was on a video shoot last week and talked to the still photog briefly about CF cards and he has also used only Sandisk with zero defects in his Nikons.

OTOH, I have 2 - Transcend 300x 16 gig CF cards for my video camera and have not had a problem at all, with either of them.

Chris Hurd · January 19th, 2009, 09:47 PM

Sorry for your trouble, Josh... I'm using HoodMan RAW cards, guaranteed zero failure.

Jon Fairhurst · January 19th, 2009, 10:15 PM

FWIW, I've been using SanDisk Extreme IV cards without problems.

We had an old 256M CF card that we used in the MicroTrack II, and it died within the first few uses just last week. I had a couple of other cheap cards die in my P&S.

Matthew Roddy · January 20th, 2009, 12:20 PM

Unfortunately, I have to report errors with my SanDisk Extreme iii and iv cards.
I shot a run-n-gun event and after putting them onto a Vegas 7 and/or Vegas Pro 8 timeline, there were clips with errors so significant, they'd lock Vegas (both version).
The errors showed up as red frames of some kind.
My eventual work-around was to use Gearshift and convert the MOV files to CineformHD files.
That turned the offending frames to black, but the file now played back.

This has been my only experience with editing footage from the 5DMii, so my experience level is weak at present.
My hopeful workflow will be to use HDLink to convert the files to Cineform and edit in either Vegas or PremierPro (CS3, presently).
Working with 720-30p files was amazingly smooth in Vegas 8. I got 29.97 playback consistently, even with some LIGHT CC work (either a Levels or Curves effect). Once the files were Cineform 720-30p, I was stylin' and couldn't be stopped. That was one of the most fun experiences I've had editing HD or HDV footage. I never knew 720p was soooo smooth. I always tried to edit HDV, which always gave me around 18FPS playback and less with CC.
For what I presently do, my new workflow is 720-30p.

Cody Dulock · January 20th, 2009, 07:04 PM

I have been using the Ritek Ridata Lightning 8GB card for a week now and haven't noticed any issues yet. I typically try and check all of the footage often though (good practice no matter what format you shoot). These cards are cheap too on DVD-R,DVD R Media,DVDR Blank Media,DVD R,DVD+R,Dual Layer,Double Layer,Printable DVD,DVD Case,Duplicator,USB Flash Memory,Ink Cartridges (I buy tons of stuff from here). I guess I will post later on down the line if I start having errors.

Josh Dahlberg · January 20th, 2009, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew Roddy

Unfortunately, I have to report errors with my SanDisk Extreme iii and iv cards.

Ouch, last night I ordered a pair of 16gig Sandisks after reading the first couple of responses. I guess the potential for failure is just something to be mindful of, and when possible, to check for.

I originally bought the Transcends, not based on price, but on good feedback from others using them in video applications.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Christopher Witz · January 21st, 2009, 07:12 AM

the only problems I've had is when I pull the card out to soon after shooting.... I think the camera still writes to the cards for a few seconds after shooting?

Jim Miller · January 21st, 2009, 09:32 AM

I too have had problems with Transend cards to the point I will not use them for anything. I originally tried them to save a few dollars but they ended up costing me far more than they saved. I have had zero problems with SanDisk Extreme III 8gb cards.

Jon Fairhurst · January 21st, 2009, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christopher Witz

I think the camera still writes to the cards for a few seconds after shooting?

Yes. There's an indication when data is still being written to the card. It's described in the manual.

Alister Chapman · January 21st, 2009, 12:23 PM

The only problem I have ever had with Transcend cards has been with fakes I inadvertently purchased via fleebay.

January 19th, 2009, 06:40 PM	#19
Josh Dahlberg Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 513	CF card failure - worrisome Hi all. I went shooting over the weekend with 3 x new 16GB 133x Transcend cards, each freshly formatted for the 5d mkII. Upon returning to ingest footage, I discovered around a dozen files on one of the cards (about 20% of the shots taken on the card) contain errors, and either won't open at all, or open and freeze after a few seconds of playback. These corrupt files are fairly evenly spread between good files. I tried to recover the files using Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery for mac, to no avail. It seems to me the card is a dud, as the camera performed flawlessly with the other cards. I'd like to know if the Sandisk Extreme IV cards (for about five times the money) are going to prove more reliable, or in fact, what the most reliable cards might be shooting video on the 5d MkII. I'm thinking maybe there's a good reason for the premium on SxS cards!

January 19th, 2009, 09:47 PM	#22
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Sorry for your trouble, Josh... I'm using HoodMan RAW cards, guaranteed zero failure. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

January 19th, 2009, 10:15 PM	#23
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	FWIW, I've been using SanDisk Extreme IV cards without problems. We had an old 256M CF card that we used in the MicroTrack II, and it died within the first few uses just last week. I had a couple of other cheap cards die in my P&S. __________________ Jon Fairhurst

January 21st, 2009, 12:23 PM	#30
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	The only problem I have ever had with Transcend cards has been with fakes I inadvertently purchased via fleebay. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

December 10th, 2008, 08:07 PM	#18
Barry Goyette Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: San Luis Obispo CA Posts: 1,195	Rob Galbraith has perhaps the most exhaustive speed testing of CF cards on the web. He just updated his CF/SD performance database with the 5dMarkII. Looks to be about the fastest camera on the market currently. Check out the link to see speed comparisons of various cards in this camera. Rob Galbraith DPI: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

January 19th, 2009, 06:51 PM	#20
Barry Goyette Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: San Luis Obispo CA Posts: 1,195	I've been shooting with the 8gb extreme IV's on my hasselblad H3d and Canon 1ds mk III for the past year and a half. Not one problem. I've even put a couple of the 2 gb cards through the washer AND dryer (and all data was still intact after that)...any card that costs 1/5 of what the sandisk cards cost I would be highly suspicious of (unless working "most of the time" works for you.) Barry

January 19th, 2009, 09:32 PM	#21
Greg Laves Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Corpus Christi, TX Posts: 640	I have used Sandisk exclusively in my Nikons for years and have not experienced a single problem. I was on a video shoot last week and talked to the still photog briefly about CF cards and he has also used only Sandisk with zero defects in his Nikons. OTOH, I have 2 - Transcend 300x 16 gig CF cards for my video camera and have not had a problem at all, with either of them.

January 20th, 2009, 12:20 PM	#24
Matthew Roddy Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca Posts: 307	Unfortunately, I have to report errors with my SanDisk Extreme iii and iv cards. I shot a run-n-gun event and after putting them onto a Vegas 7 and/or Vegas Pro 8 timeline, there were clips with errors so significant, they'd lock Vegas (both version). The errors showed up as red frames of some kind. My eventual work-around was to use Gearshift and convert the MOV files to CineformHD files. That turned the offending frames to black, but the file now played back. This has been my only experience with editing footage from the 5DMii, so my experience level is weak at present. My hopeful workflow will be to use HDLink to convert the files to Cineform and edit in either Vegas or PremierPro (CS3, presently). Working with 720-30p files was amazingly smooth in Vegas 8. I got 29.97 playback consistently, even with some LIGHT CC work (either a Levels or Curves effect). Once the files were Cineform 720-30p, I was stylin' and couldn't be stopped. That was one of the most fun experiences I've had editing HD or HDV footage. I never knew 720p was soooo smooth. I always tried to edit HDV, which always gave me around 18FPS playback and less with CC. For what I presently do, my new workflow is 720-30p.

January 20th, 2009, 07:04 PM	#25
Cody Dulock Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: arlington, texas Posts: 420	I have been using the Ritek Ridata Lightning 8GB card for a week now and haven't noticed any issues yet. I typically try and check all of the footage often though (good practice no matter what format you shoot). These cards are cheap too on DVD-R,DVD R Media,DVDR Blank Media,DVD R,DVD+R,Dual Layer,Double Layer,Printable DVD,DVD Case,Duplicator,USB Flash Memory,Ink Cartridges (I buy tons of stuff from here). I guess I will post later on down the line if I start having errors.

January 21st, 2009, 07:12 AM	#27
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	the only problems I've had is when I pull the card out to soon after shooting.... I think the camera still writes to the cards for a few seconds after shooting?

January 21st, 2009, 09:32 AM	#28
Jim Miller Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa,Florida Posts: 236	I too have had problems with Transend cards to the point I will not use them for anything. I originally tried them to save a few dollars but they ended up costing me far more than they saved. I have had zero problems with SanDisk Extreme III 8gb cards.