mike_sea Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>Hi Shooters,<br> ADMIN NOTE: Please move this posting if a better place exists...this looked the best fit.<br> Firstly, this is not aimed at being a definitive test to determine what card to buy. It was simply me comparing a Sandisk card v a newer faster Lexar card. There are a number of faults in the testing procedure, (not the least being comparing apples with oranges) but designed to give some readers something to think about...nothing more.<br> <br />NOTE that speeds expected were in line with expectations however, there were a couple of LARGE surprises.<br> Computer: Asus G74S<br> Card reader: Lexar USB 3.0 (25 card reader)<br> Cards<br> Sandisk UDMA - 60MB/s (8GB)<br> Lexar UDMA 7 - 1000x (16GB)<br> Data transferred - 411 544 950 bytes</p> <p>RESULTS<br> Upload of files (from computer to Card)<br> ....................USB 3...................USB 2<br> Sandisk...1 min 50 sec.........3 min 11 sec<br> Lexar.......1 min 47 sec.........3 min 41 sec</p> <p>Interesting result...I had to repeat them!!! This does not contain a typo.</p> <p>Dowload of files (from card to computer)</p> <p>.....................USB 3...................USB 2<br> Sandsk......2 min 10 sec ........3 min 11 sec<br> Lexar........1 min 27 sec.........2 min 31 sec<br> These numbers have been checked, there are no typos.<br> I wont draw any conclusions but am interested in thoughts and other shooters results.</p> <p>Mike Sea</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>You can say that the Lexar speed is <em>up to</em> 167MB/s...like they say it is.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_henderson Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>There will be people around who are concerned by a difference of a few seconds here or there. I'm not one of them, and I make no real attempt to buy the fastest cards. Now a quantified survey of fault and data corruption incidences between brands would be interesting, even though I know the numbers would overall be small.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>The difference is not really just a few seconds...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>The way I transfer image files from card to computer is that I start the transfer and then go away for a while to do something else. I may come back in 5 minutes or half an hour. Therefore, whether the actual transfer take 1, 2, or 3 minutes or perhaps even longer makes little real difference to me.</p> <p>On the other hand, how fast a camera can dump its buffer into the card can potentially make some difference if you shoot in "machine gun" style.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <blockquote> <p>how fast a camera can dump its buffer into the card can potentially make some difference</p> </blockquote> <p>This will matter for many photographers, and if you are paying extra to get a card that is almost 3 times as fast as another card, you would expect the card to deliver accordingly.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>Ann, if you can quote my entire sentence rather than chopping it off in the middle, what I said would have been even clearer. In any case, what I wrote earlier is still there for everybody to read.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>I didn't alter the meaning of your words by not quoting everything, Shun. I wanted to add another perspective. There are cameras that require faster cards than others to be able to perform 'normal shooting rates' too.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_cooper Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>Interesting, but the only speed that attracts me is how fast the card responds in the camera (clears the buffer). It may be just me but I've always found enough time to plug the card into a reader and download it to the computer, but fast buffer clearing is always welcome. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_henderson Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>Ann, As far as I'm concerned its a few seconds, and pretty much irrelevent given how I photograph and upload. Saving a few seconds on loading to a computer has about as much utility to me as searching for the gas station with the fastest pumps, and I don't do that either.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_j2 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <blockquote> <p>Dowload of files (from card to computer)</p> </blockquote> <p>There is a typo on a word. Just joking! Moral of your topic is to go with the fastest card if money is not the issue. 5 months ago, I've switched from SanDisk to Lexar for it's write speed and (so far) zero corruption from camera to card. From card to card reader to computer normally is of less importance to me.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>David, I would have reacted if I paid three times more for a three times faster card and it was not faster (or whatever the additional cost is). Having a camera clear a buffer faster can hardly be compared to searching for a gas station with a faster pump. Except in your mind :-)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <blockquote> <p>Moral of your topic is to go with the fastest card if money is not the issue.</p> </blockquote> <p>Huh?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_j2 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <blockquote> <p>Huh? [Ann Overland]</p> </blockquote> <p>For example from B & H Photo's website:<br /><br />SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash 8GB UDMA 5. 400x Speed Rating. Maximum Read/Write Speed 60 MB/s. <strong>$33.95</strong> at B & H Photo.<br /><br /><br />Lexar Professional CompactFlash Memory Card Professional 16 GB 1000x UDMA 7. Maximum Read Speed 150 MB/s. Write Speed 95 MB/s. <strong>$74.90</strong> at B & H Photo.<br /><br /><br /></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter_degroot Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>a very recent review of a high end ( retro) fuji camera they suggest sandisk or fuji cards and </strong><br> NOT lexar ( specifically mentioned)<br /></strong><br> does that tell us something ?<br /></strong><br> is there a relability issue that is not revealed in speed tests?<br /></strong><br> Like If i buy a really high performance car , can i drive it for the next ten years or not.<br /></strong><br> is there a remote possibility that the lexar card will fail in the middle of a <br /></strong><br> $3,000.00 wedding shoot?<br /></strong><br> or is there some other factor related to that high speed fuji camera.<br /></strong><br> and will a lexar card work perfectly in other cameras?<br /></strong><br> </strong></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>Peter, what is your point?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_j2 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <blockquote> <p>Peter, what is your point? [Ann Overland]</p> </blockquote> <p>Is there something I am missing? Enlighten me. I've made my point.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_j2 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <blockquote> <p>does that tell us something ? [Walter Degroot]</p> </blockquote> <p>No. Unless they have numbers to prove their finding, then I don't read minds.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <blockquote> <p>I've made my point.</p> </blockquote> <p>And that point is what, Peter?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_m. Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 <p>Wow. What a thread.</p> <p>For me speed in the camera and reliability is all that matters. Since I am backing up in the camera with a couple of my bodies even reliability does not matter much at all. I recently bought a couple of inexpensive Delkin cards from B & H for my wife's Canon. (We have a mixed marriage.) They were rated at a read speed of 75MB/s write speed of 40 MB/s and they are very nice for very little money. Fast. 8 GB 500X $16.95 with free shipping.<br />I shoot a lot of sports so faster is better and I use speedy Sandisk cards but if one is not prepared to spend an arm and a leg on cards there are some good values out there.<br />Asd for download times? Not an issue for me. That is what beers are for.</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_j2 Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 <blockquote> <p>...but if one is not prepared to spend an arm and a leg on cards there are some good values out there. [Rick M]</p> </blockquote> <p>I agree, but from experience with the less expensive cards for under $20 is their plastic housing at the point of contact with my thumb will eventually fail with the housing separating. Adhesive tape is a temporary solution. The more expensive Lexar's have substantial housings. One gets what they pay for.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_sea Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 <p>Wow,<br> We are passionate about our cards.<br> I have both ends of the boot. At home I have what I tested...at work (photojournalist) I have "the system" to contend with. There, no matter how fast my cards are, the slowest common denominator is saving to the network...which is my ONLY option...AND it can be even slower if we are on deadline and lots of throughput (not bandwidth - this is the wrong term) is lagging the system.<br> To give you an idea, the other day, I shot 1.2GB. It took 55 minutes to upload those images. At my home office, I can hardly go to the bathroom to transfer that data.</p> <p>I am interested in testing the buffer speed though...RAW images on a d3s could be interesting...</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 <blockquote> <p>Like If i buy a really high performance car , can i drive it for the next ten years or not.<br /><br />is there a remote possibility that the lexar card will fail in the middle of a $3,000.00 wedding shoot?</p> </blockquote> <p>In the last decade or so, I use mostly Lexar and Sandisk memory cards. So far I have had one Sandisk 4G card died after 2, 3 years and one Lexar 8G card that was dead on arrival from B&H, and they replaced it. Both of those incidences happened like over 5 years ago. I have experienced no recent failures.</p> <p>There is certainly a small possibility that any memory card, be it Lexar, Sandisk or whatever, can fail in the middle of a wedding shoot, be it a $500 wedding shoot or a $10000 shoot. There is also a remote possibility (hopefully extremely remote) that the wedding photographer might have a heart attack in the middle of the ceremony ....</p> <p>In life, there are few guarantees.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_overland Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 <p>I have only had 4 original San Disk Extreme III 30mb/s 8GB compact flash with my D300. I numbered them and I always start shooting with number one. I format them in-camera. I don't know how to count the number of shots in my D300, but if I should guess I would think it is close to 150 000 shots. And I would say that 100 000 of those shots has been on the number one card. They have never failed me. I am a very happy San Disk customer.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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