Entire wedding on one CF card? Risky?

[snyper77]

I have been shooting weddings on 2GB cards but it's a nuisance to always be worried about "how many shots are left on this card". Then, taking the time to swap cards, although only a matter of seconds, you must ask yourself "how long does it take to miss a great shot?".

Finally, when transferring contents of the cards over to my PC, again, it's time consuming to have to start the transfer of one card, then come back to my PC, and start another card, and so forth. I'd rather have the entire wedding on one card and make all this much more simple.

I know a card can get corrupt, but I've never talked to someone who totally lost images due to a corrupt card (even after running the recovery software).

Your thoughts please.

[tim]

I have an 8GB card in each camera, I rarely need to change them during the day. I use Sandisk Extreme III cards and I do a full read/write test before I trust them.

[form]

I use sandisk, 85% extreme III (which go in my 5D and 40D) and the other 15% ultra II (which go in my 20D). I have 3 8gb cards, 3 4gb cards and 2 2gb cards. I have to change them out often on my main camera, and almost never on my backup.

We'll see what happens when I put all 3 cameras in commission on the same job (when my 40D returns from Canon).

[wallybud]

WAY TO RISKY? You should also be backing up onto a portable HD like colorspace or w.e

[BestVisuals]

You are tempting fate, IMHO. I shot weddings professionally for 6 years and only used CF cards big enough for about 125 shots each. Yes, I had to change cards but every 125+ shots you can plan for.

CF cards DO fail, DO get lost, DO have problems. Tell me - if someone made a 500-picture roll of film, would you use it? I sure wouldn't. What if the lab screwed up? What if it got lost? The same applies to CF cards...don't put all your eggs in one basket.

As for external backup devices, don't waste the time. I run-and-gun at an event, I don't have time to wait for a slow device to duplicate files. And most of those are moving disk devices anyway! That's more unreliable than a solid-state CF card. Not to mention easy to steal.

Mark your cards, put them in a zippered fanny pack when changing them and you'll be better off.

[wallybud]

easy to steal, slow? lol what about the 10s of thousands of dollars worth of gear at the event? also when your done and all your cards are on the HD all you have to do is plug it into the computer and download from one source...instead of running back and forth a bunch of time to change them out and check on them...its a workflow thing;)

[acousticvibrations]

I used to use multiple cards, Lost one once full of formals. One card man now!:mad:

[bnlearle]

I use 16gb Extreme III's ;) I bring two external drives and double back up at the wedding (usually at the rehearsal).

Last season I shot about 60gb's per wedding. That was with 5D's. 5DMKII's will now be pushing me much higher than that. I sure don't want to keep track of fifty 2gb CF cards, that's for sure. Seems like more risk to change out cards than it does to cycle through a bunch of cards.

Bobby

[mkuriger]

I use a 16GB card and never take it out of my camera. they are more likely to fail when removing and re-inserting them, however I've never had a card fail if left in the camera.

[tim]

It's hard to lose a card you leave in the camera. I rarely have time to do backups, maybe while i'm eating dinner but even then I often eat on the run. In 4 or 5 years of professional wedding photography I don't think i've lost a single image.

I lost a container of cards once, in a dark colored cardsafe, fortunately empty. I have a new one, fluroscent yellow. I don't use it since cards rarely come out of my camera.

[hard12find]

extremely risky and unprofessional, gotta ask yourself, how long would it take to get sued for losing all of their photo's verses one shot. I use several 1 GB during the wedding, have my assistant download to laptop and confirm as we progress throughout the day. Memory is cheap, lawyers are expensive.
Jim

[g-money]

I shoot on multiple cards and glad I did. Last summer I was helping a friend out shooting second for him. He was in one part of town with the girls I was hanging with the groom and his men doing their group and individual shots across town, then we sent the guys up town to be with the bride and all the bridesmaid came to me for some shots with the groom.

I cannot tell you how bad I felt when after the wedding I went to upload those shots and there were only about 30 shots or so on the disk. None of the bridesmaids w/groom shots were there. I know they were at one time as I tend to chimp a lot and being an outdoor wedding I was watching exposure etc and was viewing them on the screen.

No recovery software I tried or the main photog tried was able to get them back. Single worst feeling I have had during my brief time of shooting weddings.

Greg

[Bartek]

Wow. I would never ever consider putting the wedding on one card. Ever!

We have about 25GB worth of memory cards each (50GB in total) and most are Sandisk Ultra II 2GB cards. It takes seconds to change a card, and if one goes missing (never happened) or goes corrupt (happened a few times!), then you still have a piece of mind.

What if you shoot a wedding on one card and it goes corrupt? Or someone steals your camera with it inside?

Big nono in my opinion for any pro.

[lil_miss]

I use 16gb Extreme III's ;) I bring two external drives and double back up at the wedding (usually at the rehearsal).

Last season I shot about 60gb's per wedding. That was with 5D's. 5DMKII's will now be pushing me much higher than that. I sure don't want to keep track of fifty 2gb CF cards, that's for sure. Seems like more risk to change out cards than it does to cycle through a bunch of cards.

Bobby

Wow 60gb :eek: yikes.. lol :)

we use mostly 4gb cards, but will prob invest in a couple of 8gbs for this upcoming season

[Jim G]

If you shoot everything onto only one card and then you do lose the card.... how are you going to feel explaining to the wedding couple that you didn't have backups and no, I'm sorry, everything's gone, here's a refund and please don't spread word of this to my future clients?

[tim]

If you shoot everything onto only one card and then you do lose the card.... how are you going to feel explaining to the wedding couple that you didn't have backups and no, I'm sorry, everything's gone, here's a refund and please don't spread word of this to my future clients?

It's hard to lose a card that's in your camera, it's much larger and you tend to have it with you. Cards not in the camera have to be in a bag, or a pocket, or something, if you lose one of them you're just as likely to lose them all.

Really it's about everyone's comfort level with their equipment and their ability to keep track of multiple objects at a busy wedding. I test then trust my equipment, whereas I occasionally lose small things at weddings. It's an easy choice for me.

[bnlearle]

The EXACT same thing can be said the other way around. If you have 30 2gb CF cards, store them in your pocket, and then misplace them or slip into a pool at the reception or they get stolen.

If you're TRULY worried about this you'll put your money where your mouth is and shoot with 1 series cameras (as they can backup on a second card as you shoot). Aside from that, it's a lot of people blowing smoke about how THEY do things the most professional way...

And remember, some of us shoot under 1000 JPG images (or even less) on 8mp or 10mp cameras while some of us shoot 6000 RAW images on 22mp cameras ;) 2gb or even 4gb cards just aren't reasonable for some of us - a 2gb card is 60 photos on my 5DMKII's, by the way ;)

Point is, it just depends on shooting style. There are potential losses on both sides - none of which being more significant. For every person that has card failure there's a person who misplaces a card, gets it stolen (photographers get pickpocketed too), drops it while switching, shoots over a card that was already shot on, falls in a pool, etc.

PS just read Tim's post above... well said ;)

[Jim G]

It's hard to lose a card that's in your camera, it's much larger and you tend to have it with you. Cards not in the camera have to be in a bag, or a pocket, or something, if you lose one of them you're just as likely to lose them all.

Really it's about everyone's comfort level with their equipment and their ability to keep track of multiple objects at a busy wedding. I test then trust my equipment, whereas I occasionally lose small things at weddings. It's an easy choice for me.

To clarify - by lose there I'm meaning data corruption - not physically losing the card. Though I wouldn't put the latter past me if I had more than a handful of cards. :p

Any wedding I do I shoot with CF/SD mirroring each other.... though I am an infrequent wedding photographer so take that as you will.


Edit: I suppose the way I look at it is that it's the same sort of thinking that makes you shoot with two bodies for a wedding; backup whatever's critical. Two bodies, at least two batteries etc...

[DigitalSpecialist]

I only use 1,2G cards for the wedding ceremony. Trust me, once you have had a card fail and you have lost the images you won't think about using ONE card for the entire wedding and reception. I was lucky, I only lost 16 images!

[bnlearle]

A friend of mine died because she WAS wearing her seatbelt. I still wear my seatbelt. I lost images. I still stand by my above post ;)

Again, I could never imagine all the shots I'd miss if I had to switch out my cards every 30 photos (for a 1gb card). I'd need over 100 1gb cards, by the way.

As Tim points out, it's a personal choice that comes down to trust and shooting style. I shoot too much to be constantly changing cards (about 6k photos per wedding). I would need too many CF cards in order to keep shooting the same. Like Tim, I misplace small things occasionally and don't want to put the trust on me (where I CAN be sued) as opposed to the trust on electronics (where I CAN'T be sued - unless I formatted over the images, of course).

[BestVisuals]

And if you lost the ONE card that had the ENTIRE event?
I used to use multiple cards, Lost one once full of formals. One card man now!:mad:

[tim]

And if you lost the ONE card that had the ENTIRE event?

Aside from being a disaster, this is why we have insurance - not that it would help the couple much.

[razyl]

I have about 6-8 4GB cards at a wedding - I dont like the 8GB as it's too many eggs in one basket I reckon.....and NO way would I use just one card.

[gheesom]

I personally don't see a right or wrong answer.....I use multiples, but I'd happily shoot a complete wedding on 1 card. Although I use 2 bodies as I'm too lazy to keep changing lenses constantly.

[jgoodstein]

I use a 16GB card and never take it out of my camera. they are more likely to fail when removing and re-inserting them, however I've never had a card fail if left in the camera.

I keep hearing this on this forum but have seen no hard testing evidence of this. Is this what you've heard, had happen to you, or just repeating? I've looked at plenty of studies and have yet to find any data that supports this issue. I have found data that says if you pull a card while data is being written it can cause issues but none whatsoever as to pulling a card or re-inserting it correctly.

Humor response: You should shoot tethered to a system with a raid 10 configuration ( carry around a computer with 4-8 HD's in it) and burn to DVD on the fly. Don't forget to add a 3G network card to upload while you're at it so you have all you images on the card, hard drives, and the web.

Real response:
I use 2-4 8gb cards shoot raw, and carry them in a case close to me. I haven't done to many weddings but do lots of other events, and this hasn't failed me yet. Also buy brand name cards with warranties.

[Lonnie]

With the current cameras, a 2GB card is like a big roll of film if you shoot RAW. The 2GB cards which seemed infinite when I shot JPGs on my Rebel XT - they are now good for 53 RAW images on the 5d2.

The photographer I shoot second for - We use 1 GB cards, but they shoot JPG only, on 40D's last time I worked with them.

[_Jo_]

Kingston elite CF cards for me - and I use x2 8 GB & a 4 GB. I shoot until the CF card is full then change. I would much prefer an entire wedding on one card then a handful of cards. That is my comfort level.

[SuzyView]

I have 4 4gb & 4 2gb Extreme or Ultra cards and they are used in priority with numbers to tell me which I used first. My Extreme IV card failed on me for 3 images the last event I shot, so I am very nervous. What I do now is use 2 bodies, take similar pictures at each part of the wedding shoot and that way I have 6-8 cards I use and I know I will have back up just in case. I download onto a hard drive and then make CD or DVD's before formatting the cards for the next shoot.

[picturecrazy]

Not really stating an opinion. But just posting a couple pics from my CF collection for a bit of food for thought to add to the discussion.

http://www.nightanddayphoto.ca/misc/forumpics/potn/badCF1.jpg

http://www.nightanddayphoto.ca/misc/forumpics/potn/badCF2.jpg

[bnlearle]

That last card...

"We make digital cameras go... BAD!" :lol:

[Permagrin]

I've only had one card fail and thankfully it wasn't on a job. Nonetheless it has made me definitely not put all my shots on one card. I use many, often switching at a pause in the shoot. (after bridals or formals or ceremony etc) and since I carry my cardholders with me, it's a fast change. For me it's too risky to put everything on one card. (plus I back everything up on my epson right after the event)

[mchong75]

I have two Sandisk Extreme III 16GB on both of my 50D's and two 8GB for back up.

[Lonnie]

I have 4 4gb & 4 2gb Extreme or Ultra cards and they are used in priority with numbers to tell me which I used first. My Extreme IV card failed on me for 3 images the last event I shot, so I am very nervous. What I do now is use 2 bodies, take similar pictures at each part of the wedding shoot and that way I have 6-8 cards I use and I know I will have back up just in case. I download onto a hard drive and then make CD or DVD's before formatting the cards for the next shoot.

OUCH. Double shooting would drive me nuts. I'm sure you've considered getting a 1D body that can write to two cards for you. It'd be expensive, but the peace of mind might be worth it for you.

I used to use 2GB Dane Elec cards with my XT. Every now and then I'd get a corrupt image or two. I wasn't shooting once in a lifetime moments professionally though.

[tim]

I haven't had a card fail yet. Lloyd, do you carry kryptonite in your shirt pocket by any chance?! :p

[bnlearle]

I had one fail (at a wedding).

I still know that I'm better off trusting technology (where my contract also covers me, mind you) as opposed to trusting myself (where my contract doesn't cover me if I just plumb lost a card).

If contracts could somehow cover gross negligence, than it would be considerable for me (still wouldn't do it). But since they don't cover me making an unjustifiable mistake (such as losing a card), I won't even consider shooting with however many freaking 2gb cards I'd need to cover 5000 RAW photos on 5DMKII's.

Bobby

[tim]

My contract covers me for anything. It doesn't even guarantee i'll take photos, though I usually do ;)

[bnlearle]

My contract covers me for anything. It doesn't even guarantee i'll take photos, though I usually do ;)

In the states you can put stuff in your contract that courts will overrule. Such as a 90% deposits, or something. Which is why it's really important for photographers to word deposits as "non-refundable retainer which is payment for the service of marking off my calendar (something I don't do for free) and turning away other clients (something I don't do for free)." A judge is going to have a harder time seeing a problem with that than a simple "deposit is non-refundable."

But I'm the same. I cover myself for just about anything that I am fairly confident would hold up in court :)

[SuzyView]

OUCH. Double shooting would drive me nuts. I'm sure you've considered getting a 1D body that can write to two cards for you. It'd be expensive, but the peace of mind might be worth it for you.

I used to use 2GB Dane Elec cards with my XT. Every now and then I'd get a corrupt image or two. I wasn't shooting once in a lifetime moments professionally though.

When you have to shoot a once-in-a-lifetime event, it would be less stressful to have back ups for everything which is why I like having a second shooter as well. I've heard horror stories even here in the forum about cameras and other equipment failing at the event. My own 580 flew out of my bag and onto the parking lot and broke as I was preparing for a wedding shoot. Glad I had a 430 in the bag.

[snyper77]

Well, it seems more people are saying "Use several cards instead of one single card". That's just depressing! LOL I was hoping to be able to load a 16GB in a 5D and a 16GB in a 40D and forget about "keeping up with cards, swapping cards, etc."
Tim, tell me again "it's safe", please. LOL

[bnlearle]

I'm not Tim, but It's safe ;)

[tim]

In my opinion it's safe, but do test the cards with this software (http://sourceforge.net/projects/usbmst/) before you trust an entire wedding to the card.

[adam8080]

Two cameras which an 8GB card in each and a second photographer with two cameras and an 8GB card in each. They get changed if they fill up but it doesn't normally happen. Between the 4 main cards I'd like to think that I'm covered.

[Bobster]

i've had a 2GB Ultra II go bad on me, but it came from HK so not sure if it was a real SanDisk..

i have 12x 4GB Cards, i swap out when i have a lull (even if it has 8 shots left on it)

and also about having all your eggs in 1 basket, last month i lost all my cards, they were in my card wallet, we were on our way to a portrait shoot in a forest, my client said that instead of walking we should take push bikes.. my new coat (i got for chrimbo) has a shiny texture inside, but quite deep pockets, i didn't even think about the wallet falling out of a pocket (i usually wear combat trousers, but i was wearing jeans that day and didn't have the room for the wallet). Anyway we got to the location to start the shoot, i reached inside my pocket to get my wallet.. it was gone!! 4 hours of searching the route we took to get there and i couldn't find it.. i made up some posters and put them up around the entrances to the forest (luckily a dog walker had found them! and i got the wallet and cards back 5 days later).. i now have a wallet with a lead on (it attaches to the belt loop etc and is bright blue instead of black and grey like my last)

[Bobster]

another thought, for those photographers who shoot weddings on a regular basis, how many have a backup, or shoot with more than 1 camera?

i see having multiple cards the same as having multiple cameras

[TheHoff]

I keep hearing this on this forum but have seen no hard testing evidence of this. Is this what you've heard, had happen to you, or just repeating? I've looked at plenty of studies and have yet to find any data that supports this issue. I have found data that says if you pull a card while data is being written it can cause issues but none whatsoever as to pulling a card or re-inserting it correctly.

Every time you remove and insert a card you risk damaging the camera's pins, which certainly would put a damper on your shooting that day,


-----------------


For ease of numbers, let's say that the average CF card will fail once every 10,000 read/writes. It shouldn't matter whether you put those r/w activities on one card or on eight cards. If you put all of your files on one card it will be used eight times as much so it will have greater odds of failing than any of the eight individually.

But you must first examine the original statistics of failure rate. Are those "odds" something will fail or is it an "average" across a large sample of when they will fail? Do you believe that failures happen at random and can strike any card at any time or do you believe manufacturing defects leave a card more prone to failure? Is it a 1 in 10,000 random chance or is it caused by a slight internal physical issue?

I believe it is NOT random. Cheaper cards from lesser manufacturers fail more often because they likely use cheaper components and processes. I believe cards that eventually fail are destined to fail from the start because they have a minor flaw or are more flawed than other cards yet still pass QC.

When you use multiple cards instead of one larger card you are putting yourself more at risk of finding one of those flawed cards rather than depending on one larger card.

Knowing that, we can then reduce the problem to other factors. Using multiple cards instead of just one introduces the following other risks:

- Removing and inserting a card risks damaging the camera's pins, rendering the body useless for the remainder of the shoot.

- Removing a card means you must handle it and store it, increasing the risk of physical damage or loss. Using only one large card means it stays inside of the body the entire time.

- Removing and inserting a card is the most often cited reason by Canon CPS for why professional level bodies "fail" their weathersealing in inclement weather. If you run out of space on a smaller card in the rain or snow you need to shield the body from moisture.

Now to the other side.

If you use only one card it has the increased risk of losing all of the shoot vs. losing only part of it. So weighing those two options and looking at all of the increased risks that multiple cards offer, I would go with the larger, single card every time (and have insurance with a clause in your contracts and backup, backup, backup).

[picturecrazy]

Interesting theories hoff... but I've had too many failures to have confidence in just one card. I've lost up to 120 photos at one time... but thankfully, never 800. I would jump off a cliff if that happened to me.

Most of my failures have happened midway through shooting a card, not when changing cards. I also can't figure out how one bends pins? There is a track that the CF card slides through that doesn't permit lateral movement. You'd have to shove a card in quite violently to break it off it's course.

[TheHoff]

Any type of handling you do with a memory card is a bad idea. In the best of worlds, we'd all use card safe holders and kid gloves to move the card from camera to computer or to the holder. But in reality I bet sometimes the cards get put in pockets or straight in the side of the camera bag. One speck of grit plugging a hole in the card and you've got a bent pin.

Bent CF pin threads on POTN:

http://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Aphotography-on-the.net+bent+pins&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

It does happen. Even if it is a small chance, it does happen and you increase that chance by using smaller cards.

I thought of another reason while out today. If you use multiple small cards and often fill them up, rotating cards, but then sometimes you go out and do a quicker project and don't fill up a card -- you are now at risk for 'losing your whole shoot' even if the card isn't full. So if you reduce the argument to 'do I want to lose an entire shoot or just part of a shoot by using multiple cards?' realize that if the card fails during the beginning of a shoot or anytime you haven't filled up a card, you've just lost the entire shoot.

While instinct might say use multiple cards to spread your eggs around, I think the logical arguments I've presented here today should sway you back to using one larger card that has been thoroughly tested.




:D :D :D

[mchong75]

Honestly, it doesn't matter 1 card or 10 cards.

The 100+ shots you already took, they're lost. What are you going to do? Ask the bride and the groom to reenact the wedding? :)

[cdifoto]

If you're TRULY worried about this you'll put your money where your mouth is and shoot with 1 series cameras (as they can backup on a second card as you shoot).
That's what I do. My primary is a 1D II. My backup/2nd is a 10D but I use it much less. It has a 2GB card in it that seldom gets half filled.

[cdifoto]

My own 580 flew out of my bag and onto the parking lot and broke as I was preparing for a wedding shoot. Glad I had a 430 in the bag.
Yeah damn them full featured 580EX's. Thank goodness the 430EX's weren't built with wings. :D

[razyl]

Hoff, I'm not sure your probability mathematics works out quite right :) And I agree with Lloyd that my cards have failed not because of the pins, just wouldnt read or write.

But regardless, I'd never shoot a whole wedding on just 1-2 cards like you suggest. I use 5-6 cards depending on the coverage time, and explaining to a couple that you lost photos on just one bad card would be terrible..... but at least you'd have another 4-5 cards worth of photos to ease the pain.

If you shoot with just 1-2 cards per wedding you potentially risk losing 50% of the photos taken. That's way too high for my liking, 50% would be a disaster to my clients, so using more cards spreads the risk out.

Darryn

[TheHoff]

I'm no scientician, but I think my conclusion is correct. If you use more smaller cards you run a higher risk of losing SOME photos more often vs. losing ALL photos less often. The probability of losing some of a shoot increases with the more cards that you use. I'd personally rather explain once why all photos are gone than explain more often why some photos are gone.

Looking at the fact that if you use 4 GB cards you may not fill one up and if you lose it, you've lost the whole shoot anyway, adding in the hassle and possible loss and damage involved in switching cards out, I'll stick to larger cards. And you can't argue against Google in regards to bent CF pins; it does happen. For ultimate safety I would think you should switch out cards every few dozen shots and back up the card to an external array... maybe every 36 shots or so would be prudent?


so using more cards spreads the risk out.

Exactly right. You're spreading the risk around to more of your clients that some of their shots will be lost.


(In reality I'd use a 1 and have a back-up card, so this is all hyperthetical.)

[Lonnie]

Just mount two cameras on a bracket, and run a cable from the PC port of one to the shutter release of the other. Double coverage! You could even use different focal lengths if you wanted.

I'd call it the double-wide camera.

For ultimate safety you could daisy chain PC ports/Shutter releases on 4 or more cameras, creating an array of cameras. Sure it might be heavy, but what are the chances of losing 4 cards at once?

This deluxe model would be the Double-Wide Double-Stack.

[adam8080]

Just mount two cameras on a bracket, and run a cable from the PC port of one to the shutter release of the other. Double coverage! You could even use different focal lengths if you wanted.

I'd call it the double-wide camera.

For ultimate safety you could daisy chain PC ports/Shutter releases on 4 or more cameras, creating an array of cameras. Sure it might be heavy, but what are the chances of losing 4 cards at once?

This deluxe model would be the Double-Wide Double-Stack.

Maybe something more simplified like this, but digital recording on separate cards.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BTC8Z6J8L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

[oomus]

I have been shooting weddings on 2GB cards but it's a nuisance to always be worried about "how many shots are left on this card". Then, taking the time to swap cards, although only a matter of seconds, you must ask yourself "how long does it take to miss a great shot?".

Finally, when transferring contents of the cards over to my PC, again, it's time consuming to have to start the transfer of one card, then come back to my PC, and start another card, and so forth. I'd rather have the entire wedding on one card and make all this much more simple.

I know a card can get corrupt, but I've never talked to someone who totally lost images due to a corrupt card (even after running the recovery software).

Your thoughts please.


Ive lost images but always able to recover with bad copy pro.

Although I have recently been getting partially written files and other errors with 2 different makes of CF cards all 3 are 8 gig 133X and 233X versions.

I feel you should not put all your apples in one bowl though. Maybe compromise and go with 4 gig cards or use a 1D where you can use 2 different cards at the same time and change when you get down time.

just my opinion... but thats why I dont do Weddings but motocross can be just as fast!

[oomus]

Honestly, it doesn't matter 1 card or 10 cards.

The 100+ shots you already took, they're lost. What are you going to do? Ask the bride and the groom to reenact the wedding? :)


Thats why you bring extra gear and competent people to run it.

Redundancy is the key here. It may not be the best shot from the moment but it is a shot from the moment, maybe better a better one.

Check check and recheck your gear, but still, life happens.

Like I stated before thats why I dont do Weddings!

[cdifoto]

In my opinion it's safe, but do test the cards with this software (http://sourceforge.net/projects/usbmst/) before you trust an entire wedding to the card.
Nice link tim. Thanks.

Have you encountered a bad card with that software? I'm curious about what kind of error message(s) it would display. Also, how many passes do you have the software make?

[stathunter]

I personally have found for me that I function better by reducing the number of times I am changing cards. I have been using 16gig cards for the majority of this past year--- no problems (knock on wood) -- I carry a thinktank thingy clipped to my belt--- with lots of cards to change quickly-- I have another one full of cards in my gear bag.

For me the larger cards work-- I back them up at the reception--- but have found that the fewer times I change cards the better.

When I find a card that gives me the slightest problem--- it gets marked and put in a collection of cards to be used for decoration some day.

[tim]

Nice link tim. Thanks.

Have you encountered a bad card with that software? I'm curious about what kind of error message(s) it would display. Also, how many passes do you have the software make?

Nope, and one.

[Bobster]

When I find a card that gives me the slightest problem--- it gets marked and put in a collection of cards to be used for decoration some day.
if they're SanDisk, send them back and get replacements :)

[howzitboy]

ive had cards corrupt on me and it was a battle getting the shots off it!

now we buy new cards each year just in case. when u shoot 100k exposures a year, u really wear out those cards.

[snyper77]

ive had cards corrupt on me and it was a battle getting the shots off it!

now we buy new cards each year just in case. when u shoot 100k exposures a year, u really wear out those cards.

What brand of cards were corrupt??

[howzitboy]

sandisk ultra 2 2gb. card totally whacked out on me. all the files were corrupted and we lost more then a few shots. files were all names weird names/symbols. only way i got any shots out of it was to copy whole card to drive, then rename them to jpgs. it was like it split some pictures into 2 files!
so, now after bout a year, we buy all new cards. safer that way.

[tim]

Any brand of card can fail. All brands of cards will fail eventually.

[howzitboy]

just as any brand/make of camera will break lol. its just luck of the draw....

[jhcanon]

I can't believe that anyone is stupid enough to risk an entire wedding on a single card! And there are smoe on this thread that seem to be "Pro's"!
What does it take to swap a card and put in the bag, pocket r card wallet?!

[TheHoff]

If you don't want to listen to logic, that isn't my fault.

[oomus]

I can't believe that anyone is stupid enough to risk an entire wedding on a single card! And there are smoe on this thread that seem to be "Pro's"!
What does it take to swap a card and put in the bag, pocket r card wallet?!


Yeah well the alternate school of thought has already been discussed. Use a large card and back it up to alternate portable media devices regularly.
I use a epson P-2000 but I dont do weddings.

remember save early save often.... redundancy rules!

besides I also have a copy of "bad copy pro" that has never let me down if the card fails!
and trust me sooner or later it will happen.

[bnlearle]

I can't believe that anyone is stupid enough to risk an entire wedding on a single card! And there are smoe on this thread that seem to be "Pro's"!
What does it take to swap a card and put in the bag, pocket r card wallet?!
Who is saying shoot a WHOLE wedding on one card (I know I'm not shooting with 100gb cards - which is what I'd need to shoot one card per wedding)? Remember, some of us aren't shooting JPEG on 20D's. Some are shooting full RAW with 22MP files. My 5DII files have been around 40mb's so far - that's about 25 images per 1gb card. I'm not going to shoot on 100 2gb cards. If you think that makes me a pro with quotations, fair enough ;)

Also, why don't you recognize the human error potential? Dropping, losing, getting stolen, falling in a pool, etc... These are ALL legit possibilities that can EASILY happen - and likely cannot be covered by your contract (electronic failing can). Not to mention many card failure's can be recovered. Can't recover lost, stolen, liquified, etc., cards.

I'm not saying that 16gb cards are the right way. I am saying that they, just like 1gb cards, are just legitimate a choice as 1gb cards. We (on the large card side) acknowledge that there are risks. Why some of you on the small card side can't admit there are risks is what boggles me.

It just comes down to what you're comfortable with and who you trust more. The photographer or the machine. I trust the machine as the photographer is not covered for making negligent mistakes. The other way is just fine, as far as I'm concerned.

My advice? Just share your opinion next time. No need to be a jerk ;)

Bobby

[tim]

Well said Bobby.

[Bobster]

i think finding a happy medium on Card Size vs File Size is a must, i use 4GB cards because i only shoot with an 8MPx camera, if i were to shoot with a 50D then id be on 8GB and a 5D2, i'd be using 16GB

[snyper77]

I've decided to purchase a few 16GB Extreme III cards. Can anyone confirm that 5D's are compatible with 16GB cards? There's lots of posts on here saying that they are not. But, those posts are dated back in 2007. Canon's website says the firmware 1.1.1 for the 5D will allow for "use with larger capacity cards", but I need concrete info as to whether or not they are talking about 16GB? Thanks!

[bnlearle]

All I used with my 5D's were 16gb Extreme III's ;)

[Brideshooter]

I wouldn't shoot an entire wedding on one card, I dump all my images on a laptop at the event

[mmahoney]

This year I thought maybe we'll go to larger cards, from the 4 GB to 8 GB. But I changed my mind.

I shoot with two cameras all day (40D's, RAW) and usually take about 1,200 frames per wedding. So with about 250 files on each 4 GB card we use maybe 5 cards per wedding.

That means I have to generally change cards just once, and generally will never have more than half a wedding either in my camera or in my pocket. The most efficient way to spread the risk, imo.

I don't see mid-wedding backups to laptops or other devices as being workable .. just introduces another thing to go wrong on a day that there are already far too many things that could go wrong.

[stathunter]

I have shot several weddings earlier this year-- my season starts this weekend and I have two weddings lined up. I experimented with 16gig cards last year--- and will be shooting with all 16gig cards- and then have lots of other 8gig,4gig and even 2gig cards in my bags.
I am thinking about selling all of my 2gig cards and having the smallest being 8gig ------ I will decide after the weddings this weekend.

For me if a card gets "goofy" I remove it from my lineup and label it and put it into a drawer in my desk. I do not want to take any risk with customers images.

I can see when prices drop on 32gig card -- using them-- I shoot a lot of images during a wedding and would rather have extra space then changing them out frequently.

[JackLiu]

I use Lexar Professional 300x Speed 4GB CF memory cards. They are very rugged and reliable. On assignment I believe in using multiple memory cards in the event of failure (heaven forbid). Your clients are depending on you and you're depending on the reliability of the memory cards.

[bnlearle]

I wouldn't shoot an entire wedding on one card, I dump all my images on a laptop at the event
I've had three laptops crash in about a year. No reason to trust that drive over the CF card's drive. You need another backup if you're going to empty the card and shoot on it again.

[snyper77]

Sure would like to find a good deal on a 16GB Extreme III card. If anyone hears of an online deal, please PM me.

[tim]

Sure would like to find a good deal on a 16GB Extreme III card. If anyone hears of an online deal, please PM me.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FDeals-Camera-Photo%2Fb%3Fie%3DUTF8%26node%3D761198%26ref_%3Dbf% 255Fcamera&tag=headphonerevi-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325

[PMCphotography]

I think the failure rate of cards these days are extremely low, but I still don't want to take that risk. I use a wallet full of 4gb & 8gb cards.

ANd yeah, unless you are then going to backup from your laptop to a cd, I wouldn't dream of formatting a card then shooting on it again. I've had a laptop crash or the hard drive fry 2 or 3 times now. A memory card? only once, and I was able to recover the vast majority of the images on the card.

[vibin247]

I use 4GB cards that total up to 32GB of memory. I try to space everything out (usually leave about 15 to 20 shots per card) so I have an idea how to organize for PP. I've had corrupted images, but not an entire card. It's understandable to use higher capacity cards with the newer bodies pumping out larger files, because changing cards can be time consuming. My Think Tank Pixel Pocket Rocket and other card holders are easy to organize if you've got a lot of cards to handle.

[Red Tie Photography]

Tim, i am trying that program and find it to be extremely slow. You said you do one pass, and what is the test size you use? I am using it for a 4gig now and i can see it taking up to about an hour or so, i dont really even want to try an 8 or 16gb card. How exactly do you use the program?

[tim]

Tim, i am trying that program and find it to be extremely slow. You said you do one pass, and what is the test size you use? I am using it for a 4gig now and i can see it taking up to about an hour or so, i dont really even want to try an 8 or 16gb card. How exactly do you use the program?

Are you talking about the CF testing program? I just do a single pass, and it takes as long as it takes. Overnight perhaps. It has to write then read every bit on the card. My 16BG card with a good fast USB2 card reader only took an hour or two, from memory, single pass.

[Red Tie Photography]

Alright, thanks tim. Ill run them over night then to check. Maybe i need a faster reader, or maybe even a firewire reader? I have a SanDisk extreme reader now USB 2.0

[NickSimcheck]

I update my cards when I update cameras, I like to keep the ratio no more then 200-300 images per card.

With a wedding for example... my shooting style is not too selective nor too trigger happy, so I still could loose important details of the day but not enough to completely ruin the event. Cause 1 card will contain 1/4th of the day. (200 X 4)

[tim]

Alright, thanks tim. Ill run them over night then to check. Maybe i need a faster reader, or maybe even a firewire reader? I have a SanDisk extreme reader now USB 2.0

I have the same reader. Make sure it's working at USB 2.0 speeds - not sure how you do that though. Just leave it to run overnight.

[RT McAllister]

I update my cards when I update cameras, I like to keep the ratio no more then 200-300 images per card.Ditto here. I shoot a 50D and an 8gb card will hold about 350 RAW pics. Just about right for me.

That 128mb card that came with the camera was an insult. :confused:

[PMCphotography]

a 128mb card on a 5d will hold what, 10 RAW files?

[tim]

a 128mb card on a 5d will hold what, 10 RAW files?

Not sure. It'd hold three or four 7D files.

[Bobster]

i've had 1 card totally die on me, was a 2GB SanDisk - it got a crush indent near the top of the card, that pretty much killed it!

[TheHoff]

i've had 1 card totally die on me

Well that isn't fair to judge the card if you killed it!

[PMCphotography]

a 128mb card on a 5d will hold what, 10 RAW files?


OOps, I meant 50d. It's 15mp or so, isn't it?