5D Mk iii CF Card Speeds

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dfarrall

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Dan
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I'm sure this will have been asked before but i can't find a definitive answer to what i'm looking for.

Which CompactFlash card is going to hit the limits of a 5D Mk iii - I.E. The write speeds to the card are not the limiting factor when taking PHOTOS. Not interested in video limits at all.

Thanks
 
Don't know if this is what you're looking for?

60MB/S Max RAW 13. Frames before FPS slowed 17. Time to clear buffer to Max RAW of 13 again 5.5 secs.

90MB/S Max RAW 13. Frames before FPS slowed 21. Time to clear buffer to max RAW of 13 again 4.0 secs.

160MB/S Max RAW 13. Frames before FPS slowed 25. Time to clear buffer to max RAW of 13 again 3.25 secs.

So the benefits of a faster card are there if you're prepared to pay the money.
 
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Add to that, if you've the right reader then there's a faster transfer to the PC.

Personally, I use sandisk 90mb/sec as a compromise between speed and price.
 
Just to say Dan that these figures aren't taken off the net but actual results from my own tests so I can be quite confident in them as I have repeated them several times.
 
Gaz J said:
Don't know if this is what you're looking for?

60MB/S Max RAW 13. Frames before FPS slowed 17. Time to clear buffer to Max RAW of 13 again 5.5 secs.

90MB/S Max RAW 13. Frames before FPS slowed 21. Time to clear buffer to max RAW of 13 again 4.0 secs.

160MB/S Max RAW 13. Frames before FPS slowed 25. Time to clear buffer to max RAW of 13 again 3.25 secs.

So the benefits of a faster card are there if you're prepared to pay the money.
Click to expand...

Hi Gary, that's very interesting as I am about to buy another bigger card for my 5Diii. One more question. Were any of the cards you tested UDMA 7 as looking at the specifications in the instruction manual this gives quite an advantage to the write speed.

David
 
The 160MB/S card is the only one that is UDMA7. The rest are 6
 
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Gaz J said:
The 160GB/S card is the only one that is UDMA7. The rest are 6
Click to expand...

Nope, the new Sandisk 120MB/s Extreme CF cards are UDMA7, although they're only 120MB/s read - they write at 60MB/s
 
Vertigo1 said:
Nope, the new Sandisk 120MB/s Extreme CF cards are UDMA7, although they're only 120MB/s read - they write at 60MB/s
Click to expand...

What I meant was the rest of the cards that I used were UDMA 6. Wasn't very clear.
 
Ah ok I'm with you now :)

I have three 32GB Extremes myself - two are the original 60MB/s ones and one is the new 120MB/s one (although still only 60MB/s write as noted above).

They do the job fine to be honest and I can't really justify the expense of replacing them with 160MB/s Extreme Pros.
 
I only have one that i use in my 5D3. Should really get another. Just use 60MB/S in my other body.
 
I might just splurge on a 64GB Extreme Pro to use in the 5D3 at some point.
 
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