p.2 #1 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
Whatever you do, you have to realize some people will tell you that you are wrong. Some will tell you that you are right. Most won't give a dam what you do.
p.2 #2 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
For the way I shoot, I like to be able to fit around 200-300 pictures per card. I seldom shoot one event with out a break of over that many shots (of course this may very for others). I like the flexibility of pulling the card and having a manageable (for me) amount of pictures to download and work with on the computer. I've upped my card size as I've gone to cameras with higher resolution, but have stayed at the 200-300 picture range.
p.2 #3 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
Life waits for no card swap. I get 2x the largest, fastest card that I can afford and set the 2nd slot to backup on my D7000. If I run out of room, then I go to my older sets of cards (usually half the size of the newest). Panning cars can eat up cards (and buffer!) quick.
p.2 #4 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
Hope everyone saw the BH sale the other day, grabbed myself a new SanDisk Extreme Pro 32Gb CF card for $138. Getting great download speeds from both the SanDisk and Lexar CF cards and my fast SDHC cards with a USB3 reader, though I think it's time to upgrade some parts in my computer...pretty sure my disk drives are the bottle neck now!
p.2 #5 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
I stick with name brand cards and the two that have failed did so immediately so I have learned to do a full write to a card from a drive and then move the image files back to a hard drive and then open them in bridge. If they all open normally then the card is good and likely to stay that way.
People spend more than is necessary by getting faster cards than needed, like a Class 10 card when a Class 6 will work just as well or when the get a 90 Mbs card when a 45 Mbs is half the price and the only performance difference is when uploading the files to a computer and only then if USB 3 or Firewire 800 card reader and computer ports are being used.
The card makers need to keep the cost of cards as high as possible for as long as possible to make as much money as possible. For that reason they will come out with faster and higher capacity cards and these are priced usually 4x that of other cards on a gigabyte per dollar basis.
The ideal would be to have two full size CF card slots and use two 32GB CF cards and be able to write files to both cards. No changes for many hundreds of shots and if one card has a defect the files are still being captured to the second card. Unfortunately the only two cameras to have this feature, the D3 and D3s, are no longer in production.
Apr 29, 2012 at 02:19 AM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.2 #6 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
elkhornsun wrote:
I stick with name brand cards and the two that have failed did so immediately so I have learned to do a full write to a card from a drive and then move the image files back to a hard drive and then open them in bridge. If they all open normally then the card is good and likely to stay that way.
People spend more than is necessary by getting faster cards than needed, like a Class 10 card when a Class 6 will work just as well or when the get a 90 Mbs card when a 45 Mbs is half the price and the only performance difference is when uploading the files to a computer and only then if USB 3 or Firewire 800 card reader and computer ports are being used.
The card makers need to keep the cost of cards as high as possible for as long as possible to make as much money as possible. For that reason they will come out with faster and higher capacity cards and these are priced usually 4x that of other cards on a gigabyte per dollar basis.
The ideal would be to have two full size CF card slots and use two 32GB CF cards and be able to write files to both cards. No changes for many hundreds of shots and if one card has a defect the files are still being captured to the second card. Unfortunately the only two cameras to have this feature, the D3 and D3s, are no longer in production. ...Show more →
p.2 #9 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
I don't know what the answer is (see my post just above). For every point there is a counter point.
GroovyGeek wrote:
1) If you loose one you loose less photos
2) If one gets corrupted you loose less photos
The counter argument is that:
1) If you have many cards, you are more likely to lose one. It is easier to keep track of fewer cards
2) If you have many cards, it is more likely that one will get corrupted.
2b) Even a corrupted card can usually be salvaged for almost all of the photos.
411) The word you are looking for is "lose", which is the verb. The word "loose" that you used twice (therefore not a typo) is an adjective. Switching the two is a common error, but it is very easy to get it straight and rise above the common mass.
411b) "Loose" can be used as a verb, but it means "to release"; for example the command "Loose the hounds!" meaning let the go free, not meaning for them to get lost and never be found.
p.2 #10 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
What can go wrong ? Either...
1. You lose a card, most likely while swapping cards
2. You damage a card, most likely while swapping cards
3. You use the wrong card, most likely while swapping cards
4. A card just dies, regardless of whether or not you swapped it
5. You mess up the cameras card connector, while inserting a card
Most of the risk arises from using more cards but you must balance the consequences against the likelihood. If you have pairs of cards in a camera with dual card slots then no single card failure is likely to lose you too many images but using the wrong cards could.
My own inclination is to opt for the largest "affordable" card of suitable speed. i.e. I won't pay 4 times the price to get twice the capacity, but nor will I pay half the price to get only half the capacity. I tolerate 60 MB/s even though 90 MB/s would be nicer - if I had a camera and card reader that could use the extra speed, but 30 MB/s is getting too slow regardless of price.
Also, I don't re-use a card until it has been copied with verification to two separate portable HDDs (Hyperdrives). Far more often than not I stop shooting long before a card is full and that allows me to avoid the very largest and relatively expensive cards.
When I have a D800 I might wish for 32GB cards instead of 16GB but even then there'll be no more risk in terms of the number of shots per card.
p.2 #11 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
I guess I have had good luck over my 6 year digital experience because I can't remember a card failure. But then I buy my cards, new, from established retailers. There are counterfeits and those can come through various resale sources. Note, I once bought 2 pricey Shure microphones on eBay to learn sometime (too much) later they were fakes.
However, I have run out of card space and that is more than inconvient since you lose the opportunity to capture that moment. But then if I had had card failures that would, certainly, influence my card opinions. I try to match the card speed and capacity for each camera I use but I don't "Pay Up" for a faster readout to my computer. My new 16Gb Sandisk is only good for less than 200 shots on my D800e but, even at 4 fps, I hope that will be enough for inanimates.
I mostly shoot dancers and some singers that move quickly. I just shot a Jazz singer in a night club-handheld no tripod allowed. Available light meant I set my D4 to somewhere around ISO 6400, F2.0 and 1/200 sec (upon observing successive frames it was apparent that the digital light source varied as to color temp and level). I used 10 fps because that is as fast as a D4 will go (FF/mirror down).
I shot over 700 frames woth a 200mm lens (or 340mm with 1.7Tc) becaise I wasn't allowed to get in front of the audience (house rules). Pretty much each frame was different and I picked 8 possibles and two heros. I was, certainly, thinking, framing and trying to put the AF box on the near eye. Nevertheless, many shots were not in optimal focus because this lady moved so very quickly and her expressions changed in an instsnt too.
But if there's a better way to cover such a candid subject I am certainly willing to learn. However, it's not anticipated a candid moment (mirror lag) and shooting 10 or 20, unposed, frames unless there's some camera that comes with a time machine as an accessory.
p.2 #12 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
hi!
i have a different question: larger or faster? got a 550d with a 8 gb sandisk extreme hd video. i don't know if i should buy an extreme pro 16 gb or an ultra 32 gb. could somebody share his own experience?
p.2 #13 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
I tend to split the difference - I don't get the largest or smallest.
I'm highly partial to Lexar Professional for both their performance, quality and support.
I have three sets of cards - two new and fast (1 1000X CF and 1 600X SDHC) and one backup set that is older/slower as a "just in case" set. Like my batteries, it is one more set than I think I need, and I don't go for cheap/knockoff. Both places are a singularly bad place to go cheap (but that is another thread).
I don't buy the 1000X/600X for in-camera performance, I bought them because pulling photos off my cards is so much faster and convenient.
p.2 #15 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
kukulec wrote:
hi!
i have a different question: larger or faster? got a 550d with a 8 gb sandisk extreme hd video. i don't know if i should buy an extreme pro 16 gb or an ultra 32 gb. could somebody share his own experience?
I doubt the 550D can make much use of the difference between the Sandisk Ultra SD and the Extreme Pro SD. I would personally buy 2 Ultra 16GB SD cards, or wait for one of the usual SD card sales on Amazon. I bought my Extreme Pro 32 GB (90 mbps) on such a sale in August for $69.99.
p.2 #16 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
I shoot movies. I use 16 GB cards. They're getting traded for 32 GB as soon as SanDisk has another sale. That's the other key point: I only buy SanDisk. They're like Apple products. I've never had one mess up in six years and they retain high resale value. No one wants your old Kingston cards.
p.2 #18 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
Unless I'm machine-gunning lightning, meteors, or some other unpredictable subject, my 4GB card's ~600 image capacity is enough for many days of shooting.
In principle, I'd rather have one big one, and leave it in the camera. Every time you handle a card, you risk damaging or loss.
Sep 20, 2012 at 08:02 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.2 #19 · Memory cards: larger capacity or more of 'em?
Greg Campbell wrote:
Unless I'm machine-gunning lightning, meteors, or some other unpredictable subject, my 4GB card's ~600 image capacity is enough for many days of shooting.
In principle, I'd rather have one big one, and leave it in the camera. Every time you handle a card, you risk damaging or loss.
But to be a bit fair also. No 4GB card will give you 600 images in any DSLR bodies they are selling today
I get 2x the largest, fastest card that I can afford and set the 2nd slot to backup on my D7000. If I run out of room, then I go to my older sets of cards (usually half the size of the newest). Panning cars can eat up cards (and buffer!) quick.