MicroDrive or Smart card for the EOS 10D?

[John Locke]

I'm probably going to get the EOS 10D I've had my eye on next month. What do you guys that use it recommend? The MicroDrive or Smart Card...and which model?

Any other must-have accessories?

[Matt Betea]

Eww, Microdrives <g>
Stick with CF type I cards. Mechanical storage can't compete with solid state. I would personally stick to Lexar or Sandisk media. I've tried a few other brands and I must have bad luck or something, I've always run into compatibility issues between cards and readers. The newer Sandisk cards that are out (1gb and some 512mb) are up there with the top Lexar cards for read/write speed. Though Sandisk has no mention of this, the cards dated 2003 are the faster ones.


I don't have the 10D, but I would say one accessory I couldn't see living without is the battery grip. I got mine the day I got my D100 and never taken it off. I assume you have a tripod. Stock up on Pecpads and Eclipse, the sensor isn't hard to clean at all.

[Jeff Donald]

I, too, use only CF cards. I don't like to put all my eggs in one basket either. So, I use several smaller CF cards as opposed to one large card. If I lose or damage one card, I still have images on another card. I use an assortment of 128, 256, and 512 MB cards.

I would agree on the grip, it's a must have. You'll need a total of four batteries, also. The grip takes two and you'll need a spare set. I use a Lenmar Mach 1 quicker charger (AC/DC) so I'm never without power.

I think the cleaning issues will depend on the humidity where you live. People in dryer climates seem to have more problems with dust on the sensor. I have virtually no problem with dust. The occasional dust spot I clone out in PS.

Get a decent strap, the Canon strap is pretty, but not very comfortable for all day use. Hoodman makes a hood and screen cover that I find useful at the beach. If you don't do real bright sunny shoots, it may not be necessary. The LCD screen cover I use, so my glasses don't scratch the LCD.

If you have a laptop, you might find a CF to PCMCIA adapter useful for transferring your files. Laptops are great for use on the road. If you don't have a laptop, you might want to look into the digital wallets that will store your images from your CF cards, until you get home.

[John Locke]

Thanks, Matt and Jeff!

I got out of photography just before digital was introduced, so this is all new stuff to me.

With the CF cards, how many "RAW" exposures can you get on one 512MB card? (The CF Pro Series 40x WA - 512MB for $259.99 and the 40x WA - 1GB for $429.99 on the Lexar site look good based on your suggestions)

Also, with four batteries as Jeff suggested, how much shooting time/exposures will I get out of that?

I'd already spotted the Hoodman cover...I'll definitely grab one of those now that it's usefulness has been confirmed.

One last question...there are a jillion comfy-looking straps out there now...any one in particular you recommend?

[Adrian Douglas]

Guitar straps are a good option Tex, they are wide and long and usually quite comfortable if you get a good one.

[Jeff Donald]

John, look for straps with a bold paisley, or a Disney character theme. That's what all the pro's are using, sure to get you into major events without a press pass. Kidding. I use a Tamrac (so it doesn't slip off the shoulder) leather, padded strap. My wife likes the neoprene, stretchy material. She says it makes the camera seem much lighter.

If you get the grip, you're good to go for about 1000 exposures, depending on flash usage (built in flash), temperature etc. At least that's what the book says. In practice, I get far fewer exposures, but none of my batteries are brand new.

The 10D embeds a JPEG file in the RAW file. You can select the size JPEG it embeds. I have little use for JPEG's so I set it to the smallest JPEG file size. The camera uses dynamic compression and I get about 80 files to a 512 MB file. If you up the JPEG file size, you'll get less total images.

The 10D has a built in 9 frame file buffer. In my usage, this buffer helps eliminate the need for the super fast CF cards. I don't shoot sports etc., where the faster read, write times could be an advantage. I also use my laptop to transfer images and the PCMCIA CF adapter transfer files much quicker than USB. The transfer time with USB and a 512 card is about 10 minutes, maybe longer. Lexar makes a FireWire CF card reader also.

I don't use a Hoodman hood, except in really, really bright sunlight. They get in the way the rest of the time. But I do use the LCD screen covers, I think they are sold in 2 packs.

[John Locke]

Well, I looked for a guitar strap with Disney characters on a paisley background but didn't find one. ;) But I did find the KATA strap which is the bee's knees.

I ordered the Lenmar Mach I charger and four of their batteries for the camera, but I was wondering what kind of rechargeables you recommend for the 550EX flash? I see Lenmar has a recharger for AA size NiCds... one thing I haven't found yet is a cluster NiCd arrangement designed to pop in the 550 in one move rather than loading and unloading individual batteries each time. Know of one? Or do you guys prefer external battery packs?

[Jeff Donald]

I use NiMh 2000ma to 2200 ma AA. No particular brand. They last a couple of years and then I get new ones. They've really gotten cheap. The Lenmars are probably as good as the rest.

[John Locke]

Thanks, Jeff. I see on the Lenmar site that they now have 2300 ma AA batteries.

[Jeff Donald]

They'll probably have dilithium crystals soon and I'll run my house and car off them.

[John Locke]

By the way, Jeff...beautiful wildlife photos! The Tricolored Heron shot (2035.jpg) is really striking.

[Jeff Donald]

Thank you John. All shot with a Canon 10D. Since I got the camera in June, I've shot about 6,000 images.

[John Garcia]

Ive had the digital rebel for about a week now, and i too agree that the extended battery grip for these cameras makes a lot of difference. not only does it allow for an extra battery, but it gives the camera a little better feel to it IMO. Ive already shot about 2000 pictures.

I have the Lexar Pro series 1 gb 32x C/F card, and I find it pretty quick. I got it for 260 from a local camera shop.

I too am looking at the 550MX flash, and I wanted to know where the cheepest place to get it is, and how long batteries last. Is it worth getting rechargables?

[Steven Digges]

As always, Jeff’s advise is good. Buy only name brand flash cards. The only two cards I ever purchased that were not Lexar or Sandisk both crashed with pictures on them. Be careful about the Lexar cards you buy. Their fastest cards are labeled WA for Write Accelerated. This looks good at first until you find out that the extra speed only works with a few cameras with WA compatibility built in. There are no Canon cameras on that list. You are paying a lot of extra money for nothing.

With that said, I do not know what is the fastest speed card the 10D’s buffer can utilize without waiting for the card. Does anyone know?

Batteries – I shoot a lot of sports and cover corporate events as well as many other things. I will never try an external battery pack again, I hated mine. Having a camera tethered to me by a cable does not work for my style of shooting, two bodies around my neck and a 40 pound pack on my back.

Steve

[Jeff Donald]

Rechargable batteries are a good investment for flashes. No way to estimate the number of flashes, because the power output (battery consumption) varies with each shot. I would suspect 50 to 75 full power, manual flashes.