Which size memory cards for Canon 5D Mark ll?

[rfader]

<p>I'm about to purchase a Canon 5D Mark ll and wondering:<br>

If I'm shooting stills RAW + JPEG, no flash, how many photos will I get on any given size compact flash card?<br>

Also, if I'm shooting one hour of HD video, what size card would I need?<br>

Some way to help me figure out gigs-to-stills would be so helpful.<br>

Appreciating all input.<br>

Robin</p>

[stephan_matthies]

<p>Hi Robin,<br>

the answer depends a lot on how you work. Are you out in the field for endless shooting sessions and far away from a laptop or external disc to download your pics? Do you want to purchase 2 or 3 memory cards to be on the safe side in case on fails?<br>

I own the 5dII and work with two sandisk 16 GB cards. Each one gives me space for over 400 RAW images plus videos (although not an hour long). See to it that they are UDMA and fast (60 MB/s). You get them for around $100. If you loose one (yes, this happens) it is at least not such a huge monetary loss. If you buy 64 GB for over $ 500, a loss would be ....<br>

Regards, Stephan</p>

[tudor_apmadoc]

<p>I do a lot of field shooting and prefer not to be changing out cards in the middle of a dusty field. I have been using a 64GB card and have not been disappointed.</p>

[jaydesi]

<p>The 5DMkII will record video in clips up to 4GB, which is about 12 minutes. You won't be able to film for an hour straight, but doing the math, you'll need at least 20GB of card space for an hour of video across 5 clips. Remember that a card will hold somewhat less than it's stated capacity, due to other data that is required to be on the card.</p>

<p>Be sure that the card is fast enough to support the video write speed; I have a 7D and the Sandisk Extreme III is fast enough.</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>The Sandisk Ultra is also fast enough for HD video as long as you buy the latest version (30 MB/s). The older 15 MB/s doesn't cut it.</p>

[randallfarhy]

<p>I'd recommend at least a 16GB card @30MB/s (as others have said) if you're shooting video AND stills in RAW. 16GB cards hold ~600RAW files, with 4GB per 12m of video-it will go fast. My preference is to carry several cards, though the risk of failure or loss of an individual card is elevated. </p>

[mark_poseley]

<p>I chose to go with three of the SanDisk 8 GB Extreme IIIs when I upgraded to a new FF camera simply because SanDisk had an excellent rebate for them. Got an $80 Visa card for my trouble. Make sure you check around; B&H often has rebates that no one else seems to get.<br>

I still carry some 4 GB Extreme IIIs I had before, plus some older 2GB Ultra IIs (15 MB/s) that also work in a pinch. <br>

I recently got an excellent deal on a Canon Pro9500 MK II printer from B&H!<br>

My friend chose 16 GB UDMA cards for max buffer clearing but he shoots different things than I do.</p>

[dave_hoffmann]

<p>Depends on what ISO you are shooting as well, so there is no set answer to how many images you can save. Save some space and nix saving JPGs ... you can create them from the Raw files.</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>I don't use video; neither do I often shoot hundreds of frames a day and I shoot only raw. . I use several 8GB cards and a number of 4GB cards I has when I used the original 5D. I get rather more than 300 pictures on a 8GB card, and on a 2 week trip I travel with around 50GB of card space and they all stay on there till I load at home unless I delete on quality or interest grounds. </p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>I have used a cheap Kingston 133x 32GB card since I got my 5D2 over 2 years ago. It performs effortlessly and handles large video files with ease. When shooting RAW the card will hold around 1100 full res files. RAW + small jpeg will give you over 900 shots per card.</p>

[philip_wilson]

Like many people here I do not shoot much video and I usually just shoot in Raw (not Raw and JPEG). I use a mix of

8GB and 16GB cards from Lexar and Sandisk. While I have not lost one or had one fail the smaller cards mean you

have less at risk. The higher speed UDMA (300x or faster) are worth the extra

[rfader]

<p>Awesome info as always from photo.net.<br>

Many thanks to all who took the time to respond.</p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>The image, and your ISO determine the size of the file. I shoot straight RAW (what's the point in adding JPGs? IMO), but they vary in size between 22mb and 32mb depending on ISO and image content. Personally I shoot w/ 32gb cards, and that's always been enough. Next time I upgrade my CF cards though, I'll probably go w/ 64gb. IMHO, despite the potential loss if I were to suffer a 'card failure' The chances I'll get jostled while changing cards on site and drop it in a puddle that a car drives through are far <em>far</em> <strong>far</strong> higher than the chances of a failure in-camera. On like an order of magnitude.</p>