One Big CF CARD of 4 Smaller ones

[james_green6]

Just out of interest, I am shooting with a Canon 1DS and am now starting to

shoot RAW.

 

I can either get 1 4GB card or get 4 1GB cards. My thinking is that if the

card buggars up I have got 3 more to use, and at worst lost 80 shots. Does

anyone else do this? Or do just put the biggest card you can in?

 

Jim

[v.anisimov]

That's the common wisdom - all eggs, one basket.

 

However, I suspect the likelihood of card failure skyrockets with each insertion/removal in the camera's CF slot. Dust particles and corrosive liquids will surely love frequent changes and use each opportinity to get inside both the card and the slot. Hence, I vote for one 4gb card.

[kevin cook - stratford upo]

I wouldn't take the chance especially for weddings. I use 1Gigs, I may go to 2 G if I feel the technology is now proven never more than that. You turn up and the card fails on shot one, that's you finished for the day.

 

Each to his own.

[nicola inglis]

Hmmm, I'm pondering this one myself. I'm leaning towards bigger because of the potential for confusion with several smaller cards...I just figure I'm more likely to format the wrong one (not that I format in the field) or something. On the other hand I can share with my second shooter more easily with smaller denominations, If the 4gigs are on two cards we can both use them. And then I think about what it's like to run out in the middle of something important (it tends to sneak up on you) and having to change cards seconds before the kiss or whatever and I think that I don't need that kind of stress :-)

 

So I'm not sure what the definitive answer is but I'm leaning towards larger denominations.

[mike dixon]

<i>I suspect the likelihood of card failure skyrockets with each insertion/removal in the camera's CF slot.</i><P>

If that were the case, by now there should be a clear pattern that CF card failure is strongly and positively correlated to the number of times the card has been inserted/removed from a camera or card reader. I've never heard any evidence of such a pattern. My own limited experience is that the one card I've had fail was one of my newest and least-used cards.<P>

I'd go with multiple smaller cards, though I'm now getting 2GB cards instead of additional 1GB cards. If you're shooting weddings, you should be using more than 4GB of memory--the old adage of "bring at least twice as much 'film' as you plan to use" is still a wise strategy.

[chris_leck]

I shoot mostly sports and dance, not too many weddings. There are similarities, such as real-time action that can't be re-done.

 

I started with 512 MB cards and currently use 4 GB cards. I much prefer the larger cards. Now that the 8 GB cards can match speeds with the smaller cards, my next card will be an 8. With smaller cards, you are more often faced with the choice of swapping out before the card is full or missing shots when your card fills. It's also nice to be able to shoot assignments that never require a card swap.

 

The only time I have ever lost images was when I loaned one of my cards to the primary photographer at a wedding and someone else stole it. Any time that you are juggling cards, it is a risk. I have a set routine that I follow. Loaning my card threw me off my routine and I allowed the card to be stolen, not my partner.

 

I *never* have had technical failures. I use only Sandisk Extreme III or Lexar Pro CF cards. This includes ~80K images on a D100 and ~10K images on my new D200. FWIW, I regularly delete bad captures while shooting, which some claim will corrupt cards. It's never happened (knock on head).

 

All my eggs are going into bigger and bigger baskets....

[v.anisimov]

"...the one card I've had fail was one of my newest and least-used cards..."

 

Technical devices are more likely to fail in the initial period. I'd use a card for a few days first before doing something important with it.

[jfr]

I use 1 Gig always except for the ceremony, where I use 2 gig cards. I shoot a 5D that can hold 57 photos on a 1 gig card.

[mike dixon]

<i>Technical devices are more likely to fail in the initial period. </i><P>

I had used it (a Lexar 80x) for about two months, alternating it with a Sandisk UltraII (which is still going strong more than a year later).

[ken c oshkosh, wi]

I take 3 4GB cards for my 5D and 7 1GB for my 20D. All sandisk Ultra II.

[joenieters]

I strongly believe in using smaller media to prevent catastrophic loss of more images than necessary. Not just during the shoot but also to prevent failure of long term backups. I use CD (no plan for using DVD) for backups and I match my memory card size to that. Currently I am using a 6mpx camera with 512mb cards and back them up (twice) to CDs which hold one memory card per CD.

 

If you have time to delete images during the shoot then you also have time to swap cards. For me, I keep track of cards by placing blank cards consistently in right-front pants pocket with used cards in left-front pocket. I get the next card ready and have it in my hand as soon as I notice the current card is nearing full.

 

With some practice you will be able to swap cards very quickly.

[v.anisimov]

"...I use CD (no plan for using DVD) for backups and I match my memory card size to that..."

 

How many hard disks have you got on your PC? Will hundred and fifty 1gb hard disks be safer than one 150gb?

[j_c38]

4 1gb. Better to lose a handful of images, for one reason or another, then loose hundreds.

 

I've gone up to the D200(10meg) and I purposely bought more 1GB cards. I just don't want that many images on one 4GB or even 2GB card.

 

Granted coruption or misplasing a card is minimal, but still something I can minimize damage if it happens. On FredMiranda theres a discussion on a lost card. To think if the whole wedding were on that card.

[BrettPrucha]

Vladimir,

 

To answer your question, YES! I would never have a critical computer system with only one hard drive. 2 is a minimum and 4 installed in a RAID 0+1 configuration is preferred. It boosts performance and if one drive dies you can swap it out and not lose any data because of the way RAID works.

[joenieters]

Vladimir,

 

I should have added that I use the CDs in addition to hard drive storage. The CDs are effectively backups number 2 and 3. Backup number 1 is hard drive with number 4 being backup to an on-line service.

 

But to answer your specific question, yes, a hundred and fifty 1meg hard drives would be safer than a single 150meg drive.

 

My photo bag always includes a portable CD/DVD backup drive. This allows me to make backups in the field and allows me to free up memory cards if I should start to run low. When on assignments that require travel, I make 2 backups to CD before I return and I ship one copy by FedEx while the 2nd copy accompanies me as I return.

[35mmdelux]

lrg cards are more likely to freeze than smaller cards. Always consider worst case scenario when making these choices. Best - Paul

[neal_thatcher]

After a recent near catastrophe involving a 2GB card and all the formals, I think I will be going back to my 1GB cards or shooting 2 cameras for formals too. $200+ later in recovery costs, all is good, except my routine. The manufacturers tech support say that you should never fill a data card more than 90% or you have a high chance of data loss...that would be nice to know. He claims it is for any drive. Wouldn't you think they would put that on the card or somewhere? If you don't think CF card data loss is common...search Google for "cf data recovery services" and see what you get.

[wedding-photography-denver]

Well the common wisdom is not always as wise as it may seem, IMO.

 

Many insertions get you closer to faliure faster. Many cards being handled may cause droppage or loss of the actual card(s). Many cards may also mean you accidentally trade out a card and format one you had not intended to.

 

A single card puts all your eggs in one basket, yes. However, if it never leaves your camera for the duration of the event, there is almost zero chance of loss or droppage or overwriting. It is not conclusive that the smaller cards offer better protection against loss of any kind. Neither is it true that a larger card offers better security. It is something that has had many debates and no real conclusions.

 

For me, I use (primarily) two cameras, each with an 8gb card in them. I have had to recover files that were 'corrupt' before, but to date that has been easy to do. Sandisk will get the information from just about any card if you ask nicely too.

 

I currently own:

 

2-8gb

 

8-4gb

 

6-2gb

 

4-1gb

 

Think about this for a minute. When we use a 4gb card to record RAW on an 11 MP cam. theres enough room for about 300 shots right? If you shot jpeg onto a 1gb card with the same camera, you get about 300 shots, right? So, you stand to loose the same number of images as before you shot RAW. The larger the MP of the camera/file, the lower the count. Hence I generally think to shoot some where around 400 per card is acceptable.

 

YMMV.

[wedding-photography-denver]

BTW, I can fit 600+ on an 8gb card. When I not there are about 100 - 150 images left, I trade out the card for a 4gb and that usually finishes the day even on long days.

[wedding-photography-denver]

haha, 'not' should read 'note'

[will_perlis]

I don't think there's a general rule to follow, the choice is probably best based on being honest with yourself about yourself.

 

If you're the sort of person who misplaces or loses things then bigger and fewer cards would cut down on that risk at the expense of increasing the risk of losing lots of images if anything does happend to the big cards. If you don't fumble with or lose things, then more and smaller cards would cut down the risk of losing many pictures at once.

 

My personal choice is 1Gb SD cards for the 1Dmk2. Shooting RAW those hold almost the equivalent of three rolls of 35mm film. That's more than I would like to lose anyway. The thing is, my manual dexterity is as high as my artistic sense is low, and I don't have any problems keeping track of the cards. IMO, you need to analyze your own situation and make up your own mind.

[lb-]

"Lrg cards are more likely to freeze than smaller cards."

 

and the smaller cards get better gas mileage. haha. where do you come up with this stuff

paul?

 

I'm guessing the number of cards that get LOST far outweighs the number of cards that

completely fail without being recoverable so personally I'll take a 4 gig card over 4 smaller

ones.

[jon jacobson]

I'm moving toward 4GB cards. I've got five of them. Plus a 2GB, a handful of 1GB cards and a couple 1/2GB cards.

 

As far as eggs in baskets, I think the bigger baskets are required for bigger eggs, so this issue is less a concern for me personally.

 

The reason I decided to move to 4GB is because that's just under the size of a DVD. I'm considering a portable CF to DVD burner.

 

And on a side note (speaking of 4GB cards failing): The 5d has issues with 4GB cards if you're still on firmware version 1.0.1. This needs to upgraded to 1.0.5 (I think that's it, or maybe it's 1.5.0). The 5d shooting verticle with a 4G card tends to occasionally record a 1.7 GB file, taking up nearly half of the space of a 4GB card.

[v.anisimov]

I agree with Jon Jacobson. A proper fail to fail-safe your photography is to use two cameras, not one camera with many cards. Cards are only one of the components that can go wrong. A large card per camera and you're laughing