Thanks Blake, I downloaded the utility and will use it to see if it makes a difference. It's weird they don't even include an instructions sheet with the card telling users about this app!
Wonder if Lexar has an equivalent ?.. seems like a good idea with this technology... Time to search .. I needed to upgrade to a larger CFast... guess what brand I chose given recent issues ( and I've used Lexar CF for years without issues) .. ?
snoylekim wrote:
Wonder if Lexar has an equivalent ?.. seems like a good idea with this technology... Time to search .. I needed to upgrade to a larger CFast... guess what brand I chose given recent issues ( and I've used Lexar CF for years without issues) .. ?
I am not sure about Lexar, but technically, you shouldn't really need such workarounds. My guess is SanDisk CFAST cards do not perform what is called "garage collection" operation thus they need to be "sanitized" manually by the user. A CFAST card is essentially a miniture SSD with SATA interface. all SSD's now perform GC and TRIM automatically without any intervention by the user to keep the performance high at all time. It should be done internally by the card's controller when you format the card in-camera. If it doesn't it's a bad card design or an obsolete controller.
Hopefully I well get to fully compare SanDisk and Lexar CFAST cards for use in the 1DX2 and make a recommendation to the users. I have always used SanDisk cards and been very happy, not even one failure in the past 13 years. With Lexar I've always had a failure when I tried their cards, maybe I was just unlucky
best
Fantastic positive review. Will have to seriously consider upgrading.
I plan to visit Bolsa Chica tomorrow to see what's I can find there. Hope there are still some Terns around. I've seen Peregrines there only once. The last time, a few weeks ago, there the weather conditions were quite adverse. Hopefully better tomorrow.
Yeah, I'm familiar with SSD architecture .. not so much CFAST (yet) . I do agree that the form factor supports the need for the camera and card controller to handle the GC,. wear leveling and all that neat stuff . I've never had a failure with either Sandisk or Lexar myself , and haven't experienced the latest .. It's great to see to 20 Gig shoot transfer to the computer in around 2 minutes ( with an NVME SSD at he other end of the trip)
I'll add my thanks for an informative and useful review, and I'll also add my personal "Wow" for the photos. Getting great results from peregrines in flight is outstanding regardless of what gear you are using -- it is good to hear that the 1DX2 is a step forward for that kind of challenge. Especially since I flung my credit card at one a couple of weeks ago. Mine should show up next week. I'm afraid you have set the bar pretty high but I'll see what I can do with it.
Mark
Still waiting for the 1DXII vs D5 AF shootout. I just hope the 5DIV AF is similar to 1DXII. I suspect due to CPU differences etc it won't be quite as good as 1DXII but hopefully still better than 1DX.
Awesome shots Ari, so jealous you have a peregrine hotspot.
speedmaster20d wrote:
I am not sure about Lexar, but technically, you shouldn't really need such workarounds. My guess is SanDisk CFAST cards do not perform what is called "garage collection" operation thus they need to be "sanitized" manually by the user. A CFAST card is essentially a miniture SSD with SATA interface. all SSD's now perform GC and TRIM automatically without any intervention by the user to keep the performance high at all time. It should be done internally by the card's controller when you format the card in-camera. If it doesn't it's a bad card design or an obsolete controller.
Hopefully I well get to fully compare SanDisk and Lexar CFAST cards for use in the 1DX2 and make a recommendation to the users. I have always used SanDisk cards and been very happy, not even one failure in the past 13 years. With Lexar I've always had a failure when I tried their cards, maybe I was just unlucky
best ...Show more →
There is an SDformatter.app available at this linked article below. They seem to think the in camera GC and TRIM slows down the camera recording. Any thoughts?
Vancouver47 wrote:
There is an SDformatter.app available at this linked article below. They seem to think the in camera GC and TRIM slows the camera recording down. Any thoughts?
I think SD cards are different as they have a very simple controller (given the tiny for factor) . But a premium top of the line CFAST card shouldn't make any compromise. Even the previous generation SanDisk Extreme Pro UDMA CF cards never required manual GC/TRIM. Just in-camera format was sufficient and I had no issue using these cards for many year.
After using this utility that Blake kindly referred to, it seems the cards are now running at full speed. I haven't filled the card yet but shaving shot 1700 frames this morning, the performance was as good as day 1.
Now I need to contact SanDisk again and verify if the use of this utility is mandatory every time the card is filled. It's a bit of an annoyance having to do it every time after download!
That's pretty rough- TRIM on SSDs usually relies on the SSD being powered by the system during downtime. Cameras are a bit different, and a reliable solution in firmware would likely affect battery life.
Canon also recommend the refresh tool being used with SanDisk CFAST cards to avoid slow down of the performance. Lexar cards do not have this issue and can be just formatted in-camera
In addition, if an affected SanDisk CFast card has already been formatted with a computer or another device, please format the card again with a camera with the above step 1 applied.
About the "Refresh Tool" of SanDisk cards:
Q1: Whenever the camera is used to format a SanDisk CFast card, is it mandatory to use the refresh tool? If the refresh tool is not used, will the bottom part of still images become corrupted?
A1: The refresh tool is not related to image corruption that appears at the bottom part of still images. We are informing users about this tool as SanDisk recommends regular use of the refresh tool when using SanDisk CFast cards. For details about the use of the refresh tool, please inquire with SanDisk.
Q2: How often does the refresh tool have to be used?
A2: For details about use frequency, and the use of the refresh tool, please inquire with SanDisk.
Q3: What will happen to camera operations if I continue using a SanDisk CFast card without using the refresh tool?
A3: The speed for continuous data writing may decrease. If the data writing speed seems to have decreased during high-speed continuous shooting, please try to use the refresh tool to alleviate the problem. For any other technical questions concerning CFast cards, please inquire with SanDisk.
