I hadn't looked at memory cards for a while, but thought I would with the Sandisk rebates now out there.

I'm looking for some 8GB cards. I checked the Rob Galbraith database for RAW write speed in the 1dmk3 and was surprised to see that the SD cards to about 25-30% faster than the CF cards.

Which should I buy? SD or CF?

J.

SD cards are indeed faster on the 1D3 than CF. If you want the best performance for you 1D3 get the SD cards.

buy em both + backup in camera.

The Transcend 16GB class 6 just came in second on a review site. It's the most bang for your buck at under $40 delivered with the high-speed reader, which is key.

http://tinyurl.com/ysmndo

You should use both CF and SD. There is no reason to never use one of the two card-slots in your camera.

That's a good point. All my other cameras are CF only, so I thought I'd buy some 8GB SD. Sandisk has a rebate going now where if you buy two of them you get $50 back - so that is sort of like buy one get one free. B+H has the SD for $54 so if I buy two, they send me a $50 visa card.

I much prefer the CF form factor just because I shoot outdoors a lot and it's easier to handle with gloves or to just put in your pocket. But, for that performance hit it would make sense to shoot to the SD card.

J.

Lars Johnsson wrote:
You should use both CF and SD. There is no reason to never use one of the two card-slots in your camera.

I wish that were the case in the 1Ds MK III. CF+SDHC cards slow it down compared to CF alone.

EBH