After holding the D800 today I'm now 99% sure I'm buying it. I own a D300 and have been waiting for a FX jump, so this is it.
But the question I'm asking myself atm, which cards should I go with? D800 offers both CF and SD and with it's massive 36Mpx produces huge file sizes, around 75MB NEF if I got it right.. so my old 4GB Extreme III CF cards won't really be enough. Need more space. But the question is, CF or SD?
I'm looking at the local store:
Sandisk Extreme 60MB Compact flash 8GB is around 55euro
Sandisk SDHC Extreme PRO 90MB SD 8GB is around 37euro
.. so by price comparison it's SD, same with speed 60MB vs 90MB transfer..
I'm disappointed that Nikon didn't put XQD cards in D800, but what can I do.
So, what's your opinion, which is better (I won't say future-proof since XQD is aready here), SD or CF for both full hd video and stills?
I have the D300s uses the CF & SD and the V1 uses the SD card. On my D3s I use the 64GB Extreme Pro CF Sandisk and I rarely hit the buffer. The D800 has large files/slower speed so I might be tempted to go the opposite route w/32GB CF @ $217 and a 64GB Extreme SD @ $190.00. I don't think buffer speed will be an issue.
This past year I tried Lexar and Transcend CF cards, The high end Lexar's performed well, not so with the Transcend esp. in the D3s. I use the slower cards in my D3x where the speed is not required and the Transcends are OK. May be the same w/the D800.
As far as the SD cards, my only concern is that they are small, I tend to lose small things too much. I have shot my D300s with only the SD card and it kept up very easy.
I assume the XQD cards will become more available and hopefully produced by other companies. I'm happy I don't have to convert for the D800.
Your D4 is a speed demon, I would buy the fastest CF I could and the best buy XQD card I could.
I swore I'd never use SD cards.....until I got the NEX5n. So I bought 5 SanDisk 16gb SDHC cards. Tried one in the 1ds2 for grins, and they work just like CF cards but take up 1/2 the space.
As far as speed goes I think you can get the same in both types (might be wrong) so I would not hesitate to get SDHCs, but I am careful about not dropping them.
John
john_edwards wrote:
I swore I'd never use SD cards.....until I got the NEX5n. So I bought 5 SanDisk 16gb SDHC cards. Tried one in the 1ds2 for grins, and they work just like CF cards but take up 1/2 the space.
As far as speed goes I think you can get the same in both types (might be wrong) so I would not hesitate to get SDHCs, but I am careful about not dropping them.
John
a poor choice for an example. i had the 1Ds2 and was a slow camera to begin with in its ability to transfer data. if you could squeeze 8MB/s out of it you were at its top speed. no UDMA support at all. so for that fleeting moment SD had its 15 minutes of fame or more like 5. now moving into the more modern cameras and CF cards you get 30MB/s and higher and left SD in the dust yet again via UDMA 6/7. with XQD using the PCIe pipe. SD is looking a little weak right now
I guess I'm kinda "worried" CF cards will slowly begin disappearing from future camera models, since XQD is already out. SD are (and probably will be for a long time) used in other devices as well, from camcorders to tablets, etc. Never saw CF in any of those..
The size factor is really not a problem for me. I've never lost anything and if I get 64GB (even if I hate such big sizes due to malfunction concerns) card, it would stay in most of the time.
And the price difference is also HUGE, almost twice the price for CF over SD :/
Sandisk SDHC Extreme Pro 64GB UHS-I 95MB/s.... 185eur
Sandisk CF Extreme Pro 64GB UDMA6 90MB/s....... 330eur
I'm also not sure I'll go with the top of the line cards. 30MB read/write rate should be more then enough for any in-camera job (and no, I'm not shooting sports, so 1fps is MAX for me), the rest is just for saving transfer time. So 60MB/s transfer speed should be plenty for me.. I'm not in a hurry
oh, eventually the CF cards we know will leave and XQD will replace them. it will be over an extended period of time. the inertia will take a bit to overcome and that will be years for existing product. but as XQD comes in newer models of cameras will have only a taste for them downline.
The size factor is really not a problem for me. I've never lost anything and if I get 64GB (even if I hate such big sizes due to malfunction concerns) card, it would stay in most of the time.
And the price difference is also HUGE, almost twice the price for CF over SD :/
Sandisk SDHC Extreme Pro 64GB UHS-I 95MB/s.... 185eur
Sandisk CF Extreme Pro 64GB UDMA6 90MB/s....... 330eur
I'm also not sure I'll go with the top of the line cards. 30MB read/write rate should be more then enough for any in-camera job (and no, I'm not shooting sports, so 1fps is MAX for me), the rest is just for saving transfer time. So 60MB/s transfer speed should be plenty for me.. I'm not in a hurry
worrying about other forms of memory is pointless. the Camera your talking about (D800) takes the CF & SD so why worry about XQD Etc.?
as for the prices above. why look at just sandisk. other very good brands are cheaper. and with such large file sizes I would go with the fastest you can . you never know when you will want the faster speed to clear the buffer quicker.
