Where can I get smaller CF cards for older bodies? And do I need them?
Currently have 20D and 30D, I like to use the older bodies partly for nostalgia, to get away from the tech, etc. Interested in getting 5D at some point , maybe 40d who knows if I'll do it though. Some of old cards may have gotten "cleaned," pretty annoying but at some point they'll wear out and be no good anyway I suppose
16gb cf cards pretty huge in 2006 for instance, if even available, then but maybe too small to get name brand today ? I've been googling some but feel free to post links ,
Some of the old cameras may use an older FAT format, IIRC FAT16 rather than FAT32. I think my old 1D (the original) was something like this in that if you used a card larger than 4GB it would only use up to 4GB on it.
Some of the cameras might have a firmware update available that would allow them to use larger cards. A quick search pulled up a DPR thread about the 1DIIN where the FW update allowed use of >8GB. According to that thread, Canon stated the max card size for that camera was 64GB CF and 32GB SD/SDHC (not SDXC compatible).
Amazon shows me that there is a Verbatim 4GB CF card still available. Some time ago I noticed that CF cards aimed at industrial uses were often very low capacity, likely for legacy equipment.
20D was the only body that I remember having issues with CF size (it wouldn't take 32GB cards), 1D Mark II N was fine. 30D probably too (though the largest I've ever put into it was 8GB). I switched to SD as soon as I could, however. Still have a 32GB CF card inside the 1D Mark IV as backup, though.
Edit: the DPR review of 20D indicates that it supports FAT32 cards.
rscheffler wrote:
Some of the old cameras may use an older FAT format, IIRC FAT16 rather than FAT32. I think my old 1D (the original) was something like this in that if you used a card larger than 4GB it would only use up to 4GB on it.
Some of the cameras might have a firmware update available that would allow them to use larger cards. A quick search pulled up a DPR thread about the 1DIIN where the FW update allowed use of >8GB. According to that thread, Canon stated the max card size for that camera was 64GB CF and 32GB SD/SDHC (not SDXC compatible).
Amazon shows me that there is a Verbatim 4GB CF card still available. Some time ago I noticed that CF cards aimed at industrial uses were often very low capacity, likely for legacy equipment....Show more →
FAT16 goes only up to 2G.
The industrial CF cards would be the best bet - as for myself, I bought some 16G cards just in case in the past, as I planned to keep at least 1D2N, which I got in a state that recognized 16G CF cards.
I recently got my Rebel XT (400D) back from a friend to whom I lent it for quite some years. What a difference after 100/200/6D and R6/2 experience!
AmbientMike wrote:
Where can I get smaller CF cards for older bodies? And do I need them?
Currently have 20D and 30D, I like to use the older bodies partly for nostalgia, to get away from the tech, etc. Interested in getting 5D at some point , maybe 40d who knows if I'll do it though. Some of old cards may have gotten "cleaned," pretty annoying but at some point they'll wear out and be no good anyway I suppose
16gb cf cards pretty huge in 2006 for instance, if even available, then but maybe too small to get name brand today ? I've been googling some but feel free to post links , ...Show more →
My earlier remark notwithstanding, maybe there were different firmware versions for the 20D that added support for bigger cards? I distinctly remember having trouble on the road with 20D & 1D Mark II N where the former could only use 2GB cards but not 32GB. The card began overflowing midway and I had to find a computer to transfer some photos to a backup SD card.
P.S. For a real touch of good old times, I can heartily advise you to get a 1D Mark II N. Now that was a beast of a camera, whereas I felt the 5D was actually just a bigger, slower 30D.
rscheffler wrote:
Some of the old cameras may use an older FAT format, IIRC FAT16 rather than FAT32. I think my old 1D (the original) was something like this in that if you used a card larger than 4GB it would only use up to 4GB on it.
Some of the cameras might have a firmware update available that would allow them to use larger cards. A quick search pulled up a DPR thread about the 1DIIN where the FW update allowed use of >8GB. According to that thread, Canon stated the max card size for that camera was 64GB CF and 32GB SD/SDHC (not SDXC compatible).
Amazon shows me that there is a Verbatim 4GB CF card still available. Some time ago I noticed that CF cards aimed at industrial uses were often very low capacity, likely for legacy equipment....Show more →
that's what one thread or site said on the 20D, if you format in computer you get the full ~15gb amount on 16gb card, in camera you get 8gb. Different threads and posters say different things, though, I know I used 8gb no problem. one time B&H or adorama had a sale/low price on cards (32gb?) the guy asked me the camera I used (probably 30D at the time , 32gb should be ok?) and refused to sell me the cards!!
I had better luck entering a specific card capacity or brand name most of the "Extreme" or Ultra II" cards didn't seem to say SanDisk, so look out for no name & knock offs, if anyone else is doing this. I found the Verbatim should be one option, also Transcend, older SanDisk closet to $40, potentially more than the camera lately!!
One time older cars reader etc couldn't handle 64gb I thought it was due to FAT32 but a lot of sites say that FAT32 has 8TB limit
AmbientMike wrote:
One time older cars reader etc couldn't handle 64gb I thought it was due to FAT32 but a lot of sites say that FAT32 has 8TB limit
It theoretically has the limit of 16T, but under Windows the limit was set to 32G, according to wikipedia. Nevertheless, these increasing sizes are attained by cluster size increase, which may not be something that Canon cameras or various operating systems expect...
The industrial CF cards would be the best bet - as for myself, I bought some 16G cards just in case in the past, as I planned to keep at least 1D2N, which I got in a state that recognized 16G CF cards.
I recently got my Rebel XT (400D) back from a friend to whom I lent it for quite some years. What a difference after 100/200/6D and R6/2 experience!
That's interesting 2gb used to be a big card. Paid about $100 for no name.
I guess some of these get used in industry, read about stuff that still uses floppy disks, including some 747's that
haven't been upgraded but apparently work fine
Definitely different using older bodies, often find it to be positive though
https://i.ibb.co/rx3HVBJ/IMG-0936.jpg
Wifi adapter works well. I use a non-manufacturer IOS app for better UI. The D700 is my weekday workhorse and everything is reliable enough.
A selection I found in a drawer... These would have been used with my first digital camera, the 1D. IIRC, back then (~2002) the 256MB cards were around $300. I also found some 2, 4, 8 and 16GB cards. Should be some 1GB kicking around too... If I ever have nothing to do, I'll run file recovery on these to see what is recoverable.
https://i.ibb.co/rx3HVBJ/IMG-0936.jpg
Wifi adapter works well. I use a non-manufacturer IOS app for better UI. The D700 is my weekday workhorse and everything is reliable enough.
I've had 3 or 4 of those bodies throughout the years, and shot enough to require 2 of the shutters to be replaced, and I have no idea that particular menu/display exists on the d700.
rscheffler wrote:
A selection I found in a drawer... These would have been used with my first digital camera, the 1D. IIRC, back then (~2002) the 256MB cards were around $300. I also found some 2, 4, 8 and 16GB cards. Should be some 1GB kicking around too... If I ever have nothing to do, I'll run file recovery on these to see what is recoverable.
I started out using 2 512mb (mb not gb) cards. Borderline miraculous to get 140 or so joegs on a card, empty it and go shoot more! Jpegs actually sharper on the rebel xt although hopefully I can find the old files I tested on using better pp.
It may have been $300, 512mb ~$50 in 2005, the early twisty 3mp coolpix apparently cost $3k at one point
