What size CF card do you use in your Canon 1D Mk IV?

[Jason Hurst]

I'm just curious as to what size CF card do you use in your Canon 1D Mk IV camera?

I'm hoping to purchase a 1D Mk IV in the very near future, and am trying to decide between 16 GB and 32 GB CF Cards. (for the moment...I might look into larger cards down the road.)

I shoot a variety of subjects from wildlife, birds, macro, landscapes, sports etc. I usually keep my camera on High speed FPS, shoot strictly RAW, and am rather impatient, so I would like the buffer to clear A.S.A.P.

I am not stingy with my shooting, aka I like to shoot a lot. When I shot film, it wouldn't be unusual for me to go through a brick of film per outing.

One reason why I'm asking is that B&H currently has their Lexar Professional CF cards in both 400x and 1000x speed (UDMA 6/UDMA 7 respectively) on sale in both 16 GB and 32 GB sizes until the end of August, and I would like to purchase one while they're on sale, and would appreciate some feedback so I could make the best possible purchase.

I was thinking of the 2 pack of Lexar 16 GB 1000x UDMA 7 cards for $141.66. Which financially would be very reasonable to me at this time.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,
Jason

[Jason Hurst]

I apologize for what must have been a stupid question since no one cared enough to reply.

I was just looking for some helpful information.

[Dan Brown]

I apologize for what must have been a stupid question since no one cared enough to reply.

I was just looking for some helpful information.It must be a busy day for the Canon shooters out there! Be patient my friend. I can't be of much help. I shoot Nikon and just acquired a D800. I am waiting on a Delkin Devices 32GB CompactFlash Memory Card 1000x UDMA which should help hold the 36mpx files for me.

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks Dan.

I guess I was a bit impatient but I just thought after 25 views, someone might have been a 1D4 user.

BTW did you know that B&H has the Lexar 1000x 32 GB UDMA 7 CF cards on sale until the end of August? 1 for $132.24 and a 2 pack for $238.22.

Just thought I'd let you know. They feature the same read speed as the Delkin but much faster write speeds...145 MB/second vs 50 MB/second according to B&H.

[Humberto Ramos]

In the MK IV I use SanDisk 16GB CF Extreme Pro 90mb/s and also SanDisk Extreme Pro 16GB SD 95mb/s, have several. Never had any problem...

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks Humberto! Much appreciated.

So I shouldn't have any fear of running out of card space with a 16 GB CF card. Good to know.

[Doug Brown]

I go with 32 GB cards, and I just picked up the ones that you mentioned above after one of my Sandisk Extremes shot craps.

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks for the input Doug.

I'd love to pick up a pair of the 32 GB Lexar 1000x CF Cards, but right now my finances will only allow me to get a 2 pack of the 16 GB cards. Better than nothing I suppose.

[Gary Irwin]

16GB cards were enough for my 12MP Nikon cameras which supported lossless NEF compression, but found it was not big enough for the 16MP 1D4 which doesn't support lossless CR2 compression, so for the 1D4 I use 32MB Sandisk Extremes. You can save money by staying away from the fastest. I find the 60 MB/s model are plenty fast for the 1D4 and if you want faster download speeds go with USB3.

If always stuck with Sandisk just because I've never had a problem with them.

Gary

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks Gary. Very helpful information. So you don't find that there's any problem with the buffer clearing by using "slower" cards as compared to the faster ones? Esp when shooting at 10 FPS? Just curious.

If not, then the 2 pack of 32 GB 400x Lexar might be a better choice for me.

Thanks.

[Gary Irwin]

Sorry Jason, I don't know how big the 1D4 buffer is when shooting raw (I guess I should look it up). Though I rarely shoot more than 8 frames in one burst, I have shot several bursts back to back and have yet to hit the buffer limit. Anyway, the 60 MB/s seems is fast enough for me, and they're much less expensive than the 90 MB/s units. If I thought future cameras would still use CF I might be persuaded to spend the extra, but I'm not so sure they will so I tend to buy the least expensive "decent" performing RELIABLE cards I can at the time. I don't like having to off-load my cards to a secondary storage device when I'm on a trip and prefer to just rely on card storage which is one reason capacity is more important to me that speed.

YMMV of course.

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks again, Gary. That makes a lot of sense. I myself think...and hope that CF cards will be around for a while, plus the fact that I like/tend to keep my cameras for at least 10 years before upgrading, so CF cards will serve me well into the future. LOL.

Yeah I think I'll go for the twin pack of Lexar 32 GB 400x CF cards. I can't believe the price difference between Canada and B&H though. With shipping, and taxes it's going to cost me $206.85 for the twin pack of 32 GB Lexar 400 CF cards from B&H. If I bought them here in Vancouver, it would cost me $201.59 for 1 Lexar 32 GB 400x CF card!! Unfreakinbelieveable!! Heck 2 1000x 32 GB Lexar CF cards would only cost me $288.44 including shipping & taxes etc. Here they want $391.94 for ONE!!

[David Stephens]

With my 7D and my 5D MkIII, I use the Lexar 32GB cards and quite often put more than 16GB on a card in one outing. Take advantage of the sale. Those Lexar CF cards are fast.

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks for the input, David. I think I will go with the 32 GB cards. Just haven't decided if I'll go with the 1000x or 400x to save a bit of money, and give up a bit of speed.

[Andre van As]

Hi Jason
I have been using a 16GB Sandisk Extreme Pro 90MB/s UDMA 6 card on my 50 MP Hasselblad for 2 years now and never had any problems with buffering. I stayed with the 16GB as that gave me 198 images which coincides with the life of my battery when I am not working tethered. However I see that there are faster cards now such as the 1000X UDMA 7. Has anyone had experience with this card and how does it compare?

Andre

[arash_hazeghi]

If you shoot action you need the faster card. With 400X card you will hit the buffer @ 10fps frequently and miss the peak of action. According to Murphy's law best action happens when your buffer is full :bg3:. It's between saving a bit and missing great frames over and over again or paying a bit more to get a faster card.

I also have a 16GB extreme pro SD card in the SD slot. It always stays in the camera. It is my insurance policy. If my CF card gets filled in the middle of action I won't miss any frames trying to replace the card, or if I accidentally forget to bring my CF cards I will have something to work with. They go for real cheap these days.

[David Stephens]

+1 for the faster card. It speeded up both my 7D (with latest firmware) and 5D MKIII.

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks everyone. Looks like the faster card is the way to go. Sure it'll cost me a bit more now, but will likely pay off down the line by allowing me to capture images I would have likely missed with a slower card.

[Gary Irwin]

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1140318

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks Gary. That's actually me who started that thread. LOL. I want to get as much information, and as many responses as I can get. I think I've almost settled on 32 GB, 400x speed cards. (Approx 60 MB/sec). I just have to decide between Lexar, Sandisk, or Transcend.

[Ed Cordes]

I have been using a Sandisk 16 GB UDMA 6 Extreme Pro card since January 2010 when I bought the camera. At the time it was the fastest card out there. I do back it up with an Extreme III 8 GB SD card in the alternate slot. My shooting style has never filled up the card shooting in RAW even on a trip to Africa. While I am not stingy with my shooting I don't blast away either. Too much time editing later!

If I were shooting birds in flight more often I would go for the 32 GB.

[Chris Martinez]

I use Sandisk 16GB Extreme Pro.

[Ken Watkins]

In my MkIV, I use 16 gb CF from Sandisk, the fastest available, I also use the SD slot in case I happen to run out it happened once to my great regret, again I use Sandisk but this time an 8gb. I am glad my new 1DX has two CF cards!

[David Stephens]

Check here to find the "fastest available" for your camera body:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_wb_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-10549

[Jason Hurst]

Thanks for the link, David.