Which CF Card?

[merrrrjig]

Which CF Card?
Sandisk 1GB CF Extreme III 3 CompactFlash Memory Card
Lexar 1 GB 80X WA CF Pro CompactFlash 1GB

Is one of them faster? It seems like the Sandisk is more.

[defordphoto]

SanDisk Extreme III.

[pcasciola]

On the 20D there is a negligable difference in JPEG performance between the Sandisk Extreme III, Sandisk Ultra II and Lexar 80X. In RAW mode the Extreme III edges out the other two by only about 8%. Sandisk Ultra II is usually the cheapest of the three, at $85 for the 1Gb last time I checked.

[defordphoto]

The reason I suggest the SanDisk Extreme III is that the UltraII has been redesigned and the reliability/speed is still under question. They've gone to a cheaper construction. There have also been some significant problems reported with the Lexar cards.

At the present time, IMO, the SanDisk is the cat's meow.

[cmM]

There have also been some significant problems reported with the Lexar cards.Yup, it worries me, because I just bought a 2GB Lexar 80x card.... no problems just yet however.

[pcasciola]

Interesting. I haven't heard that about the Ultra IIs, but I did hear the Lexar 80x went through a complete redesign because the first revision was hideously slow. I use all Sandisk now for that reason, both 1Gb Ultra II and 1Gb Extreme. I've had no problems with either one.

[pcasciola]

Yup, it worries me, because I just bought a 2GB Lexar 80x card.... no problems just yet however.
If you just bought it you should be ok, as long as you got the newer redesigned one, and not some old stock of the original 2Gb. If the edge stamp ends in A4B6, you most likely have the newer revision.

[OneManArmy]

What "was" the problem with the lexar 80x? I just got one from newegg...

[aikidoforever]

I've got the 1gb Lexar 80X. Not problems as of yet and lightning fast.

Ivan

[defordphoto]

What "was" the problem with the lexar 80x? I just got one from newegg...

Total unreliability. Lost photos for no reason.

[PekkaM]

I have Ultra II 1Gb and 2Gb models and no problems so far. According to Rob Galbraith's site the speed difference compared to Extreme III doesn't justify the price difference in my opinion.

[dobova]

Hey guys,
I import and sell CF & SD in my country (Italy).
I only say this:
Lexar, Sandisk Ultra II, Sandisk Extreme, Sandisk Extreme III all good guess. Kingston High Speed is getting good competitor.
But note this:
1. 1D MKII doesn't use 80x of Lexar in write acceleration. 40X can be enough (except the fact 80x is bit speedy in PC transfer). Be carefull to get 80x second edition (with red stick on the bottom, less problems). Return is less then 0.3% of lexar
2. Sandisk are good, particularly Extreme III. At the moment the technology of 1GB is relialable. 2GB is getting better in a couple of month. For 4 Gb wait at least 5 month. Sandisk use it's own flash chip. It choose by testing which CF & SD will be: Extreme III, Extreme, Ultra II then (sigh!!) normal
3. 300D and 10D goes really good with Lexar 40x, no need to go beyond.
4. 1D MKII goes good with all, but I suggest SD Ultra II 1GB at the moment (NOT CF). I use in raw and it is really performant.
5. 20D uses high bandwidth in w/r the CF (a bit more then 1DMKII). Extreme III is a nice choose, then Lexar 80x 2nd ed., Ultra II for seconf choice.

I prefer in any case, to own more small capacity cards. I think is better to have lot of 1GB cards instead of 1 4GB card, just in case you burn one, you have other 3 working ;-).

Merry Christmas
Dome

[photog]

Lexar 1 GB 80X WA CF Pro (second version) in a 20D.

Fast with no probelms.

[Ranger187]

Sandisk Extreme Ultra 3. Ultra 3 is the fastest card out on the market that I know of. 20Mbps

http://www.sandisk.com/retail/ext3-cf.asp

[photog]

Here's a CompactFlash database. Select your camera or other gear from the dropdown menu on the right to compare performance.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007