CF card capacity - how much do you need?

[steved110]

Like many of us I have watched the cost of CF cards tumble dramatically over the last 18 months. Browsing on Amazon UK today, I found this 12 Gb card, for a price not much more than I paid for a 1Gb card about a year ago.
HERE (http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-CompactFlash-Extreme-III-Card/dp/B000KKMNIC/ref=sr_1_21/202-7993492-9617442?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1176546416&sr=1-21)
Staggering!

Then I thought - how much storage do you actually need on a card? I have a 1Gb, 2Gb and 4Gb card and feel that is more than enough - I only ever once filled a 2Gb card, and that was because i went a bit crazy with new gear. Post processing blues set in later and since then i use my 20D in a more restrained way! Still shoot way more than I ever did on film though.

Anyway this got me wondering - how much CF capacity do most of us need? do we prefer smaller or larger capacity cards? Are we worried about card reliablility?

So I thought i'd post a little poll....

[Bill Roberts]

Prices have certainly dropped. I'm managing quite well with 2 x 4GB, 1 x 2GB and a couple of 1GB cards. I probably use the 2GB more than anything else though. And there's always that slight worry that if it's a very large capacity card, and it fails for some reason then you've lost a lot of shots. So there's a reasonable argument for splitting them over a number of smaller cards. Give it a couple of years though and we'll look back at this a wonder how we managed with cards a small as this :)

[calicokat]

I like the 2 and 4 gb cards, lots of them though

[Juan Zas]

With the 350D, I prefer several 1 & 2 Gb CF´s. Just to keep me safe if something rules out ...

I have a bad experience with a 4Gb in my travel to Scandinavia, after 350 shoots it occurred a problem and I have to take it out to preserve the photos already taken and recovered them at home after, so the amount expected of remained shoots did decrease drastically. Consequence, I had to buy more cards locally in Stockholm (a little dramatically at the end, but I got them ...) and at tourist price of course !!. So, never more ... I have learned the lesson. Too big, not good if you only relay in them ... (BTW, all my other CF were already occupied, more tha 2500 photos taken, I did not expect to take so big amount)

[René Damkot]

I have 2x 512Mb, 2x 1Gb and 2x 2Gb.
I wouldn't use anything over 4Gb, since that won't fit on 1 DvD ;)

[_aravena]

What about the 16GB? It's insane.

When I got my first 4GB card and had to it set to jpeg couldn't believe it read 999. But I have 1 1GB 3x 2GB and 1 4GB (11GB CF) and I have 4x 1GB SD.. I use the 4GB the most right now. Don't think I'll get anything larger. Not sure why you need it. So impossible to carry more then one card?

[foxbat]

2Gb and possibly 4Gb are the sweet spots for me. Anything more and I'd be concerned about too many eggs in one basket.

[Accentor]

Like many of us I have watched the cost of CF cards tumble dramatically over the last 18 months. Browsing on Amazon UK today, I found this 12 Gb card, for a price not much more than I paid for a 1Gb card about a year ago.
HERE (http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-CompactFlash-Extreme-III-Card/dp/B000KKMNIC/ref=sr_1_21/202-7993492-9617442?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1176546416&sr=1-21)
Staggering!



It would certainly be staggering if you had it almost full while "on safari" and it became corrupted and you lost the lot. I really cannot understand this philosophy of buying bigger (but certainly not better) and cheaper cards when this is the medium on which your expensive gear is going to record your shots.

I have the 1Gb card (never used) which came with the camera and three 2Gb Sandisk Extreme III cards.

[Jman13]

I have 2x2GB and 2x1GB for 6 GB total. That's usually enough for a 3-4 day trip for me. I just picked up a new 150x 2GB for $22, and I needed it since I was filling cards more quickly when I went to the 30D from the DRebel. I don't know how much more I'd need, especially because I have a laptop now that I can backup shots to in the evening if I'm traveling.

[Hermeto]

1x4GB, 2x2GB, 3x1GB here, more than enough for me, at this time.

[Jim G]

Personally 2 gig is getting a little too small for me when I go on long trips so I'm investing in another 2 gig card sometime soon. For long camping trips with many interesting and varied sights I may end up getting a third 2 gig considering they're about AU$100 each for a 2 gig Extreme III.

[boink]

I have a 2gb Extreme IV and two 1gb Ultra IIs.

I never really used the Ultra IIs, I only own them because I got them for $8 a piece :lol: The first time I ever used one of the 1gb cards was yesterday when my 2gb card, though I deleted all the pictures off it originally, decided it was "full" after just 35 pictures. I pulled those 35 off when I got home and formatted the card, works fine now. :confused:

[Az2Africa]

I use mostly 2 and 4 gig card, as the 5D fills them pretty fast. I recently got a 12 gig because it was cheap, but I just plan to use it on safari to back up some of my files from my epson P2000 if it starts getting full. I don't take a laptop to Africa, so it's an ectra 12gigs of storage.

[fensterbme]

Divide and Conquer
I think for me 2GB fits as much as I really want onto one card. The large capacity cards make me really nervous, if I loose a card I loose a much larger chuck of photos which is something I can't accept nor can my clients.

Being primarily an IT wonk I try as much as practical to mitigate data loss risk and for me I'm comfortable that while any loss would suck, loosing 2GB is the sweet spot I can shoot a decent amount of shots without having to change cards (to the point where it's annoying) but still spread my shots across enough cards IMHO as I shoot RAW and do weddings, event stuff which means I need lots of cards.

What I use (lots of cards):
Currently I have 10 SanDisk UltraII 2GB cards, 1 Lexar Pro 80x 2GB card and one 'oh sh*t' SanDisk UltraII 512MB card, for a total CF card capacity of 22.5GB. I have used all of those up once on a really long day of shooting (I was using the 'oh sh*t' at the end of the day).


Gettin Cheap: The last set of CF cards I bought were SanDisk UltraII 2GB cards that I paid $30 for at Costco after coupon and instant rebate.

Won't Pay for Super Fast Cards: I also don't really feel like paying a premium for faster cards... I *do* need really reliable cards, and even the pretty slow SanDisk Ultra II cards write at 60x and are fast enough that even the next generation of camera's will write slow enough that the camera will still be the weak link.

[condyk]

I shoot very lean normally so my storage needs are not huge. My card of choice would therefore be 2GB as there is room to shoot all I need even during a long day of walkaround, such as on holiday. I have a 4GB but prefer not to use it unless I am in a situation, such as several days camping on safari, where I need to because of no power to backup smaller cards to my laptop or Zen V 30GB. I have several 1GB cards too and they get lots of use.

[Stooge_UK]

One 4gb, three 2gb and four 1gb cards.
I have found if you shoot raw on 5d you need a bit.

I think 4gb is as large as I would want to go, then swap cards

Stu

[liza]

With my 20D, I'm using 1GB cards right now because I wouldn't want to lose a lot of data if the card corrupted. If I go full frame, I'll probably invest in 4GB cards due to the sheer size of the 5D files.

[Jon]

I have 2x 512Mb, 2x 1Gb and 2x 2Gb.
I wouldn't use anything over 4Gb, since that won't fit on 1 DvD ;)

With my 20D, I'm using 1GB cards right now because I wouldn't want to lose a lot of data if the card corrupted. If I go full frame, I'll probably invest in 4GB cards due to the sheer size of the 5D files.
I use 4 GB in the 5D, 2 GB in the 20D. I'm satisfied with 4 GB as an upper limit since, as René says, they'll fit on a single DVD. Currently around 5x 4 GB, 8-9x 2 GB and a scattering of smaller ones. Anything under 1 GB or slower than Ultra II is being phased out as I get new Extreme III and Extreme IV 4 GB.

[two-wheel]

I try not to go over 4GB and keep a handful of them on me. I'm paranoid about losing a card full of images so I like to limit my losses if one goes south. We just keep a close eye on the rebates and can usually build a pretty sizable arsenal of high speed CFs pretty cheap.

[SWPhotoImaging]

My main camera bag contains two CF card holders. One has 4x4G cards, and one has 4x2G cards. I have another 4G in my main camera (5D), and I shoot RAW (sometimes RAW + JPG). This means I get +/- 200 shots on a 4G card and about 100 on a 2G card. Although an average day of wandering won't fill a 4G card for me, one hour of shooting in an interesting location can easily result in 200 shots., filling a 4G card. I have filled four 4G cards in one walk, over a period of five hours.
For now, 4G is my sweet spot for CF cards for the 5D.

All of my 1G cards are now relegated to the "second" bag, where my 10D lives. I must have a dozen of them in there. They hold on average somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 RAW shots from the 10D.

I would be hesitant to use higher capacity cards in my 5D because I wouldn't want to risk that many shots to a lost or failed card.

[Tapeman]

To date I have four 2g CFs & one 1g SD. I plan on getting two 4g CFs & one 2g SD. That will hold me untill I get a second body.

[mechengr154]

Two 2G Extreme III CFs and three 1G Ultra II CFs.

[tekkie]

I have 2 x 2GB, 1 x 1GB, 2 x 512 and I just ordered an 8GB but only because it was so cheap

[SHOWSP]

2 Two-gig 3 One-gig Have a 80gig hardrive for transfer when needed

[Ruffio]

I have 4X2GB Ultra II and 2X1GB Ultra II cards. I used these originally with my XT. I find that I don't really use that much unless I'm shooting wildlife. Now that I moved up to FF, it doesn't seem to be as much as before.
Still it should be enough for my needs right now. I often travel with my laptop and transfer the images daily including burning the raw files to DVD.

[Tom W]

I use a couple of 2GB and a couple of 1GB, though I'm probably going to snag a 4GB or two soon. The 2's do fine for most shooting, though I do shoot them up pretty quickly at events.

Some of the choice is dependent on what body you're shooting - more MPX = more GB in general.

[Riff Raff]

I just bought two 4GB Sandisk Extreme III cards. They cost less than ONE of the 512MB cards I bought three years ago. I couldn't believe how much they cost back then, when I was glancing at my B&H order history.

[jacobsen1]

I don't care about all my eggs in one basket because I've run recovery software on formatted cards before just to see what it would dig up.... Everything from that shoot, AND MORE, so yeah, no worries for me there.

But since I bough most of my cards 1+ year ago, I have 2x4gb CFs and 2x2gb SDs and then one older 512mb CF. Between the 12gb I have more than enough. I usually never need to swap with 6gb in the camera at once. That's one of the big things I'll mis from my 1DmII, but oh well.

Ben

[davidcrebelxt]

I use mainly 1gb cards... I'm not averse to 2-4gb cards, but the 1gb cards are sooo cheap right now, they're hard to pass up when you see a Lexar or Sandisk for < $20.

I'm not so concerened about the bigger cards, personally, since I would be downloading to computer every evening (even when on vacation, if I bring my laptop.) And I don't mind carrying around a bunch of 1gb cards either... they're alot smaller than those film canisters, and each holds considerably more pictures! (plus the take seconds to switch out... its not like waiting for film to unwind, and then loading a new one.)

[cbock]

i've got a couple 2gb and a 4gb card. i prolly won't get anything bigger than a gb card as long as i've got my 30d. i'll just get another 4gb card or two when there are good deals on them. i recently picked up my 4gb card for $22. i like not having all my eggs in one basket. got burned that way once. not trying to allow it again.

[davidcrebelxt]

Where'd you find a 4gb for $22?

[_aravena]

Maybe it's a slow one. I got an 4GB Ultra II on here for $50

[CyberDyneSystems]

I use mostly 4GB now, but with the prices on 8GB they are the ones to buy if you are shopping for todays 8+ MP DSLR IMHO.

[Galaxy99]

im getting a 8gb since it is only $5 more than 4gb... heard 400D will take it without problem...:)

[EOS Man]

I found that I could easily whallop at least 4 GB to no memory left (thus having to use my crappy PnS) on a busy day... so I just picked up another 2 GB Ultra II yesterday. I feel better with about 8 GB on hand now, yet I still feel the need to pick up another 2 X 2GB cards ;) . A lot of faith into multiple 2 GBs because "same eggs into multiple baskets" and a single 4 GB for uninterrupted shooting. Anything 8 GB or above to me is currently a potential, unneccessary risk (until I get a 1D Mark III that is :lol: )

[johnstoy]

I need uninterrupted shooting...so now I start with 4gig cards...and resort to the smaller cards progressively...

As Rene' says... if 8gigs, doesn't fit onto a CD/DVD than, I'll wait for technology to catch up.

My present card inventory is:
2 x 4 gig
2 x 2 gig
4 x 1 gig
1 x 512

Good Luck...

[EOS400D]

Many 2G. I have been in IT for some time and I know that many small disks are better that one big one. ;)

[ryleung]

Where are the 256MB and 128MB cards? :p

Honestly, I use three 256MB cards and a 1GB card with my 300D, and I shoot RAW as well. With a bit of chimping, I've managed some 3 - 4 hour shoots without running out of space.

But thank god I got an 8GB baby now. 8)

-Lik

[nicksan]

I've got 2 x 2GB, a 1GB and a 512MB. They get filled up quickly with the 5D's RAW + Small jpeg. I can get about 100 shots per 2GB card so I figure my total capacity is something like 275 - 300 shots. I usually bring my laptop to my trips so no probs...however I am looking to get a 4GB card. That'll max me out at 500 shots, which in typical situation will more than likely be enough for my needs.

[ScottE]

I usually shoot RAW. Those shooting JPG only need much less storage.

I have 2 - 4 gb Extreme III, 2 - 4 gb microdrives, 2 - 2 gb Extreme and Ultra II, 2 - 1 gb microdrives. I used to have 2 - 512 mb Lexars, but both failed.

Shooting sports events, such as cross coutry ski races I have often filled more that one 4 gb card, but never quite filled the second one. I would consider an 8 gb card for this application, but have never gotten around to buying one. I seldom use the 4 gb microdrives, but carry them for back up in case my other cards are full or giving problems. My D60 cannot use large CF cards, so I usually use the two 1 GB microdrives in that camera.

I have become a believer in carrying lots of capacity in memory cards. I usually carry two hard drive type storage devices to download my CF cards to, but both failed when I was in Uganda in August. The FlashTrax failed because I reformated it using my daughter's lap top an used the wrong format. The Hyperdrive just stopped working. I switched to shooting JPG and managed to capture 3 weeks in Uganda and a week in Holland on the way home on my CF cards and microdrives. I would have been stuck if I didn't have those 4 gb cards and microdrives.

Fortunately a computer technician managed to remove the harddrive from the Hyperdrive and retrieve the first week of RAW photos when I got home.

[nyy]

I have a a 2gb and 1gb, though I'll probably be adding another 4gb soon.

[Vinni]

I've got a 1GB and I'm alright with it right now. It can take about 110 RAW images so it should last me a normal trip. I presume that I'll need more storage for a more important trip.

[cbock]

Where'd you find a 4gb for $22?
got a deal on adorama last month. it was actually $25. it's certainly not the fastest at 45x. but, plenty fast enough for me.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=18&threadid=713571

[PhotoJourno]

2x2GB for 30D
2x4GB for 1DII

I then use Epson P-3000 for on-the-go storage, and if a card is getting old, I am planning on just replacing it.

(The thought of an 8GB/16GB card going out on me is simply terrifying, and transfer times can also be quite interesting -I often start looking at the contents of one card while the second one is still downloading).

Cheers,

[mshill]

I have 4 1GB Cards. I also have an 80GB Wolverine Data Bank. After each CF is full I back them up to the Wolverine. None of them get erased until the Woverine is backed up to my network drives. Nothing comes off the Wolverine until it is burned to DVD.

I have previously shot in RAW but want to start shooting RAW+JPEG so I think I need to jump up to a 4 or 8GB card. Eventually, I want to get good enough to drop the RAW and not have to PP most of my work. I just got a new (to me) 20D and from what I can tell I am getting more keepers right out of the camera than I did with the 350D.

[Lani Kai]

I've gotten very close to filling up a 4GB CF on one shoot but I've never actually done that. I might get a 4GB SD though... Right now I have the cheap, standard Sandisk 1GB in the SD slot of my 1D Mark II because I got it at Circuit City for $2.99 the day after Thanksgiving.

[Sydor25]

I'm up to 3x 2GB and 4x1GB. I hardly use the 1GB cards any more, but I always bring them with me if I need them. I also have an Epson P-2000 (40 GB) to backup my shots on-site.

[narlus]

3x2GB, 1x1GB as a safety backup. i shoot RAW.

[nburwell]

I have 8GB of memory total. However, I have (3) 2GB CF cards and (2) 1GB cards. I'm always looking for deals on memory on the time. I believe in the notion that you can never have enough memory.

[davidcrebelxt]

I have 8GB of memory total. However, I have (3) 2GB CF cards and (2) 1GB cards. I'm always looking for deals on memory on the time. I believe in the notion that you can never have enough memory.

sometimes I wish I had as much biological memory as I have physical memory.

[ForeverUnknown]

I just bought a 8GB Lexar from Adorama. At the price after rebate, I couldn't refuse. I know there's a worry about losing images, but really, how often does that happen? Just wait, I'll lose a bunch next week now ;) The 8GB will be for non-super important photos. Anything critical will be on 2 and 4GB.

Anyway, right now I will own:

1 x 8GB
2 x 2GB

Also I just sold off my 3 1GB cards. Shooting RAW with these high res cameras, these cards don't hold enough for me. 2GB is my lowest with 4GB my preferred.

[ScottE]

I just bought a 8GB Lexar from Adorama. At the price after rebate, I couldn't refuse. I know there's a worry about losing images, but really, how often does that happen? Just wait, I'll lose a bunch next week now ;) The 8GB will be for non-super important photos. Anything critical will be on 2 and 4GB.


Just because you have a bigger card doesn't mean you have to fill it every time. If you are worried about losing images, put in a new card after you gave 2 gb on your 8 gb card. However, if you need to shoot a quick succession of shots and go over 2 gb, you won't miss any pictures while you are replacing a card.

[BigDan]

I have 1x2gb, about 4 or 5x 1gb, and a few 256mb cards. Theses all stay in the camera bag for days out/small trips. I also have an 80Gb portable hard drive for the longer trips.

[Hoof Hearted]

I've just upgraded my 10D to a 5D and moved my 2G card into the 5D . I wasn't suprised to find that if I set the 5D to write raw+jpg, the number of images that can be stored has fallen from 210 to 92. I prefer to have one card that can store all the photos I take in a day. So I've just ordered one of those Sandisk 8G cards.

[Thornfield]

I've currently got 7gig and find it's only just enough on an average shoot. It usualy takes me a gig just to get the most obvious shots out of the way and get the blood going, after that inspiration usualy kicks in and things start to flow.

[johneo]

All totalled, I have about 9gb worth of CF cards for my 10D's. By my calculation, I should be able to shoot 3600 (+/-) lg/fine jpg's before I have to make an emergency purchase for more. With the exception of an extended trip, I think this should do me for a while.

[elbirth]

I have a handful of older 128MB and 256MB cards that sit unused for the most part.. maybe I'll sell them off to someone at some point if anyone wants something that small.

Right now while shooting with my 20D I have a 2GB Lexar card and two 4GB cards (a SanDisk Extreme II and a Ridata Pro 150x). Even when I shoot RAW, I don't think I've filled up a 4GB card yet in a single time frame of shooting... but I like having the space available to me to avoid changing cards.
Am I worried about putting every single shot on the same card and potentially having it go corrupt and lose everything? Yeah... but luckily it's not for pay right now so it wouldn't be *quite* a tragedy.. plus data recovery software is usually pretty good about recovering lost data on memory cards.

Ideally, once I get my 1D Mark III (will it ever come out??) I'll have a 4GB CF card alongside a 4GB SD card in the camera. I'll have the camera mirroring the images to each card so I have 2 copies in case one of the cards dies (very unlikely both would give out at the same time). Then when I copy them to my computer and know I have uncorrupted images, I can just wipe both cards and go again

[tacos3]

I have five 2 Gb Extreme III CF and one 2Gb SD card that I use in my 1DMkII and 20D. 2 Gb is as much as I want to loose from one shoot.

[steved110]

Thjanks to everyone who responded - it's interesting to see that most people prefer 2 and 4 Gb cards, loads of us have 1Gb cards, probably the very first cards we ever got - and very few have the mega capacity ones - mainly due to reliability concerns, although the CF format is nevertheless accepted as very reliable indeed - there can always be accidents. Exactly the same applied to film, you could always have a bag full of exposed film disappear; personally I feel a pocket full of CF cards is far more secure!

I didn't include the smaller CF cards in the poll simply because they are probably just too small for anything over 6 MP these days - and that's pretty much most of us.

[GTogs]

I have 5 - 2GB Ultra II's that I use with my 5D. I also have 5 - 1GB Ultra II's that I use with my 20D.

This gives me about 100 raw plus small JPG per card.

[YosemiteJunkie]

All of mine are one Gig cards but I have 5 of them. Hate to think what it would be like if the card failed for some reason and I had 4 gigs of photo's on it. :shudder:

[coreypolis]

It would certainly be staggering if you had it almost full while "on safari" and it became corrupted and you lost the lot. I really cannot understand this philosophy of buying bigger (but certainly not better) and cheaper cards when this is the medium on which your expensive gear is going to record your shots.

I have the 1Gb card (never used) which came with the camera and three 2Gb Sandisk Extreme III cards.
the chance of a full card failure is 1 in ten trillion. with recovery software you'll be able to get everything off.

a card IS FAR MORE LIKELY TO GO BAD with repeated inserting and removing, something that occurs far more often with smaller cards.

I have 1, 2, 4, and now 8gb cards. 4 and 8 will be what I continue to buy from here on out untill the price point of larger comes down.

[milleker]

Just upgraded to two 2gb Extremes but still use a Hyperdrive and Epson P2000 HDD units while in the field.