Should I buy extra CF cards?

[SteveBrown]

Going to Hawaii in a week, I only have one CF card, but it is scandisc extreme III,16gigs. It is too late to order one online so I would have to buy one locally which will be more. Should I have a back up, or are these things pretty flawless?

[Pete]

No, they're not flawless and they can fail.

And they can get lost.

[h0rde]

Yeah having one CF card, especially one that big, is really putting all your eggs in one basket (or all of your images on one CF card.) It's always better to have a backup, regardless of what it is. I wouldn't buy another 16 gig one, but at least get another one just in case.

[Woodja]

look through ads that come w/ your weekend newspaper you can find cards on sale at best buy circuit city etc... pretty cheap as well as far as instore purchasing goes

[macro_shooter]

I think carrying multiple smaller cards is better than carrying one larger card. Cards do fail or get lost, so I'd rather lose 2gb of photos rather than 16gb.

[eigga]

I think carrying multiple smaller cards is better than carrying one larger card. Cards do fail or get lost, so I'd rather lose 2gb of photos rather than 16gb.

And I think it is easier to lose something if you have to keep up with 8 rather than one.

But you should carry a backup and/or the ability to back them up like the Epson P-3000

[SteveBrown]

How do you lose a card if it is in the camera? Then the whole camera is lost. Anyways, I think I will get a extra one just incase.

[stathunter]

You can never have enough cards. I shoot 40gigs each weekend!

[Jamie Holladay]

I would have several. Using one that large is a risk. If it fails you loose everything. I personally have 6x2gb 2x1gb & 1x4gb. I change them as either they fill or conditions change. That way if one fails I only loose that portion of the event (say the middle of a race) and the whole event. I even did that at the one wedding I shot, changed them at different times for different things even if they were not full.

[Tandem]

I think carrying multiple larger cards is better than carrying multiple smaller cards. :) You can get a $300 rebate when you purchase 3 16GB Sandisk Extreme III cards until 6/29/08. That works out to about $100 each based on the B&H price.

You can change out large cards if it makes you feel better or leave them in under harsh conditions. Large cards give you more options. I avoid changing cards in the field whenever possible. Usually when I take out a card it is to copy the files to a laptop or hard drive.

By getting the best card I could afford at the time I've ended up with (3)x16GB, (2)x8GB, (2)x4GB, (2)x2GB, (2)x1GB, and (1)x256MB. I am SO glad I didn't end up with a whole bunch of 256MB cards. :)

Edit to add: I think I might have a smaller (16, 32 or 64MB) card somewhere from the early days of digital. I splurged to get the 256MB card. :)

[Dan-o]

They sell them in Hawaii also.

[scorpio_e]

They sell them in Hawaii also.
Thats what I was thinking ;) In a pinch go buy one there..

[osamu]

we make them out of coconuts here though.

[ed rader]

No, they're not flawless and they can fail.

And they can get lost.

not if it's your only card :D.

ed rader

[ed rader]

Going to Hawaii in a week, I only have one CF card, but it is scandisc extreme III,16gigs. It is too late to order one online so I would have to buy one locally which will be more. Should I have a back up, or are these things pretty flawless?


i'm going to africa i n a week. i'm taking five 8-gig extreme IIIs and a 4-gigger.

ed rader

[crazyskillz07]

I have 3x 2G cards now and I am going to buy 2 more this summer. I think with cards it is better to have more with less storage than one with a lot of storage.

[theimagepoint]

You may look into a PhotoBank, or Smart Disk, I travel all around and carry a few cards, but if you use Photobank its well worth the price..
here is a link to help out.

http://www.smartdisk.com/staticpages/PhotoBank2.asp

[_aravena]

Shoot, I switched between my 3 4GB cards just to be safe on my honeymoon. Couldn't imagine losing all those.

[Ralph Merlino]

i usually carry four 2gb cards at all times.

[tgara]

we make them out of coconuts here though.

I thought they were made from Spam. Hawaii locals love Spam for some reason. Osamu, why is that?

Seriously, get a couple more cards before you go. You'll pay a bit more for a CF on the island because everything is more expensive there. If you have to buy it locally, try Costco or do it in a shop near you before you leave.

[Dan-o]

Also it is good to have more then one just in case you leave your only card at home in your card reader.

[GSansoucie]

I carry 2 - 2GB and 2 -1GB cards and a 256MB "Just in case" card.

I am thinking about adding a 4GB to the mix, but so far I've never run out of space (I do have the luxury of downloading to my laptop in the evenings when on trips though.

No way I'd get a 16GB for my 40D, I might get lazy and fill it up then lose it. . .

[ed rader]

Also it is good to have more then one just in case you leave your only card at home in your card reader.


i leave a card in the glovebox of my truck. i'll bet i've had to use it a half dozen times in the past couple of years :D.

ed rader