Canon 5DIII Memory Card

[Dave410]

<p>Hey Gang,</p>

<p>Thanks again for all your help with my previous questions about lenses for the Canon 5DIII. Much appreciated. Well, I pulled the trigger and my 5DIII arrived from B&H a couple of days ago and I chose the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 with VC to hang on it. I think the VC will add to the sharpness for what I shoot and, anyway, I have 30 days to play with it to make sure it was the right choice.</p>

<p>Now my question is about what memory card to use. The camera will take both SD and CF, and B&H included a 90 MB/s SD card, but there's talk on the Internet about the 5DIII not being able to write to SD cards at high speed and using a CF card is better. What's the real story and what should I use? For reference, the CF cards I was using with my 7D are rated at 60 MB/s and I never had any trouble with them.</p>

<p>Thanks,<br />Dave</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>If you are machine gunning the shutter, the CF card will run faster. In most normal circumstances, you won't run into a problem, the buffer is decent sized. If you are shooting sports, it is probably better to use a CF card.</p>

[steve_dunn2]

<p>The speed at which the camera can access the card really only matters if you fill the buffer or when you're chimping. If you're shooting, but not quickly enough to fill the buffer, the camera is always ready for the next shot, and the only difference between a faster card and a slower one is how long it takes for the little "card access" light to turn off.</p>

 

<p>For what it's worth, you have to scroll a long way down Rob Galbraith's <a href="http://robgalbraith.com/camera_wb_multi_page7de5.html?cid=6007-12452" target="_blank">performance test of various cards with the 5D III</a> to find the first SD card; the top few dozen cards are all CF, with even the fastest SD being only about a quarter as fast as the fastest CF and none of the fastest SD cards coming anywhere near the speed their manufacturers claim. So there is probably something to what you've read about this camera being unable to use SD cards at full speed.</p>

[alan_bryant1]

<p>I shoot a 5D3 with a CF card and an SD card installed; I send RAW to the CF and JPEG to the SD. It works fine for me but I don't do a lot of fast shooting; normally I keep the camera in quiet mode which limits it to 3 fps.</p>

<p>You may find rumors on the internet that using both CF+SD will throttle the speed of the CF card down to the SD card speed. I did tests with a very slow SD card and was unable to replicate the problem. I don't believe it happens.</p>

<p>Card speed probably won't make much difference for you unless you shoot sports, or if you're using something like Magic Lantern to shoot RAW video.</p>

<p>Shooting RAW+JPEG reduces the buffer size to much smaller than just shooting RAW or just shooting JPEG. This doesn't affect me much so I shoot RAW+JPEG anyway, but it's something to be aware of. On the occasions when I know I'll need a long continuous burst, I switch to RAW-to-CF only, and can get 20+ shots at 6 fps with a fast CF card. I've done that when shooting building implosions.</p>

[peter_j2]

<p>My 5D3 uses a 256 GB Lexar Professional 150 MB/s 1000x SDXC UHS II/U3 card and a 32 GB Lexar Professional 1000x UDMA 7 CompactFlash card. I shoot in RAW at the fastest Drive for runway fashion work. When the CF card is full, the camera will write to the SDXC card. The CF card will allow up to 14 frames per second continuous before it slows. The SDXC card will slow to a crawl after 10 images. Therefore, the CF card will not choke like the SDXC card.</p>

[Dave410]

<p>Many thanks, guys. It looks like a fast CF card is the way to go, although I'll probably leave the SD card in the camera too and find a use for it. Or not.</p>

<p>BTW, maybe the Tammy wasn't such a good idea. I immediately got an error message saying the camera wasn't communicating with the lens and my brand-new camera refused to take its first picture. I'll do an Internet search to see if there's an easy solution, but the Tamron may go back to B&H and I'll get the Canon 24-70 instead. Probably should have stuck with Canon in the first place.</p>

<p>Cheers.</p>

[paddler4]

<p>You didn't say what you are shooting. Unless you are shooting long bursts, I don't think it will make any difference at all. I keep a 90Mb/s CF and an 80 Mb/s SD in my 5DIII, and I can only tell which I have set the camera to use by looking. Given what I shoot, both have been fine. I vaguely recall reading that the 5DIII has a higher max rate for CF cards but won't use it if there is an SD card in the camera, but it has never been an issue for me during the 2 years I have had the camera. </p>

<p>It's very odd that your new lens and new body won't talk with each other. I used a cheaper Tamron lens with a cheaper canon body for years with zero problems, and I have never read of anyone having a problem with the 24-70. Sounds like maybe there is a defective contact or some such.</p>

[Dave410]

<p>Hi Dan. I'm not sure what the problem is because I only had a few minutes to play with my new toy before I had to leave town. I'll do some experiments when I get home to include attaching a Canon lens that I have. But I'm taking it as a sign from the Photography Gods that I need the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 instead. I was a little uneasy buying the Tammy in the first place, but I really wanted the VC. Cheers.</p>

[roger_barnett]

<p>Dave, I hope the lens/body communication issue gets solved. Heck of a way to start out, eh?</p>

<p>Anyhow, this is a great card and price. I have it and two 1000x 64 gb cards as well.<br>

http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Professional-CompactFlash-Software-LCF64GCRBNA1066/dp/B00IAYFDIC/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1457068755&sr=8-1&keywords=64+gb+Lexar+CF+card</p>

<p>As well, Samsung now makes some fast SD cards, and inexpensive. As others stated, CF cards are faster in the 5D MkIII than SD cards. </p>

[roger_barnett]

<p>Dave, I hope the lens/body communication issue gets solved. Heck of a way to start out, eh?</p>

<p>Anyhow, this Lexar is a great card and price. I have it and two 1000x KomputerBay 64 gb cards as well. These are supposedly cards that didn't pass Lexar's QC....but feedback from card owners say they work well. Both mine have. Here's the 1066x version:</p>

<p>http://www.amazon.com/Komputerbay-Professional-Compact-Flash-Extreme/dp/B00J9OS4V0/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457069995&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=KomputerBay+64+gb++CF+card+1000x<br>

http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Professional-CompactFlash-Software-LCF64GCRBNA1066/dp/B00IAYFDIC/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1457068755&sr=8-1&keywords=64+gb+Lexar+CF+card</p>

<p>As well, Samsung now makes some fast SD cards, and inexpensive. As others stated, CF cards are faster in the 5D MkIII than SD cards. </p>

[Dave410]

<p>Many thanks, Roger. I'll check it out. Cheers.</p>