D700 and capacity of CF flash cards

<p>For a number of years I have used a D700 and delighted with the results. So far, I have only used 8Gb capacity or lower cards and looking at the manual it makes no mention of the higher capacity cards.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience of 16, 32 Gb cards and a D700. Thinking now in terms of reliability, speed etc.</p>

<p>I do not buy cheap cards as I feel it is a waste of money in a quality camera with first class optics.<br>

Have just found the answer to the above question in the Nikon forum. Next time will remember to check the site first before posting :(</p>

 

<p> </p>

<p>I have a 32GB in the camera now, and (2) 16GB cards in my Black Rapid Strap compartment. They work perfectly and they are all Lexar Professional.<br>

Speed is the log jam with the D700. It can only buffer 17 RAW images, so when doing bursts you will run out of space faster than the camera can keep up. With JPEGs it just goes and goes......</p>

<p>There is also no point to buy expensive, high-speed CF card to be used on the D700, unless you'll also use the same cards on a D4, D4S, or D5. The D700 is based on the now ancient 2007 D3 technology, which is not UDMA 7 compatible. The D3, D700, and D300 can dump at most 1 NEF file to the card per second. The limitation is on the camera body side.</p>

<p>You need D700 firmware version 1.02 or later to use 64G CF cards on the D700: http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00VQYU</p>

<p>Thanks guys for the feedback much appreciated.</p>

<p>I will be adding to my cards and have now decided on at least 2 32Gb and the only decision now is which brand. I will stick to the established brands and not skimp on cost.</p>

<p>Thanks again.</p>

<p>Exactly Shun!<br>

My 32GB is a 1000X card and saves no faster than my 400X cards. Nice to get 1,500 shots on one card, I must say.</p>

 

<p>Extra data point: I have 8, 16 and 32GB CF cards, all of which I used in my D700 (when I still had it). At least during image review, the camera is appreciably slower with a larger card (irrespective of the number of images on the card) - I assume something to do with the file system. Unless you're really shooting long sequences and want to avoid being caught with the card out of the camera, I'd suggest sticking to the 8 and 16GB sizes. It's certainly possible to buy a card which is slow enough to slow down the D700, but very fast cards are cheap these days. You won't max the best on the D700, but at least you'll have a better experience with a card reader.</p>

<p>I buy fast cards for use in my cameras including my D4, D300 and D300s not for the speed in camera but for the speed on the download side. When you are dealing with the number of images (10 to 15K from a weekend of shooting) every little bit helps in getting them into the computer. I stick with 16 Gb cards because they are a good balance between size/speed and cost</p>

<p>Original SD has a limit of, I believe, 2GB. That is how many address bits are supplied. That was increased in SDHC, and, I believe, again in SDXC. (I haven't tried SDXC yet.)</p>

<p>CF, originally based on the IDE/ATAPI interface, started out with a larger limit. </p>

<p>I now have an CF to SDXC adapter card in my D200, with a 32GB SDHC card in it.<br>

I rarely shoot raw, and rarely multiple shots in a short time, so don't notice any speed problems.<br>

So far, the adapter card seems to work just fine. Mine is a type II, but type I are available.</p>

<p>Glen - interesting solution. I'll note that should you upgrade from your D200 and still wish to use a CF adaptor, you'll need a new one, since the D300 and later only have type 1 CF slots. (The only difference, I believe, is the size; nonetheless my move from an Eos 300D to a D700 lost me the use of a couple of type 2 microdrives.) Of course, most newer cameras could just use the SD card directly. While I'd be wary of ensuring that the CF adaptor was not slowing down the SD card to the extent that it was detectable, if we really believe that CF is a format without a future (or the future is either CFast or XQD and therefore incompatible), it may not be a bad idea for someone considering buying a stash of CF cards at this point to go down the SD-with-adaptor route. I'd buy from somewhere that accepts returns, though - and bear in mind that you're increasing the number of connections in the chain, which has the chance of affecting reliability.</p>

<p>Incidentally, the D300 accepts type 2 CF cards (and therefore also the thinner type 1 CF cards). However, when Nikon went to CF + SD on the D300S, it becomes type 1 CF only. The D700 also only accepts type 1.</p>

<p>Very belatedly, which will teach me to check the threads I post to... oops. Sorry for the misinformation; Shun is quite right. Now he mentions it, I remember this being a consideration for me when I was deciding between a D3 and a D700. (Not a serious enough consideration to stop me getting the D700, however.)</p>