Compact Flash Card for 1dMKIII

I just got a 1dMKIII and would like to get a 16gb CF card and would like to know which one to get? I do a lot of bird photography so would like to use a fast card. I have read that the UDMA cards are not a real advantage with this body?

Thanks,
Norrie

I don't have a 1D3 but a friend of mine has. He finds the SD cards work very well if not better than CF. He is comparing a pair of 4Gb Sandisk Extreme III's to his 4gb Sandisk Extreme 4 CF card. These (and similar SDHC cards) cost next to nothing and should give you the speed/capacity you want. I believe the 1D3 is not UDMA compatible and the Digic 3 processors do not require the latest cards to achieve max performance - his a re Class 6 if memory serves.
In my 1D4 I use a 16Gb Transcend Class 10 SD card which is pretty good but with the Mk4 CF is faster - this is not necessarily the case with the Mk3.

Have a look at this: http://www.robgalbrait​h.com …ti_page.asp?cid​=6007-9256
Hope it helps.

remember that there are distinct parts to card speed. First, there is the speed you can write to it from the camera body buffer. Second there is how fast you can read the puppy in a card reader. For me that second item is very important. I want big fast cards first to keep up with my 7D buffer dumps and second to minimze card downloads. At the end of day of shooting and the wife and I have 64GB+ to download, "I have the need for speed.".

Here, this should answer all your questions:

http://www.robgalbrait​h.com …ti_page.asp?cid​=6007-9038

johnf3f wrote in post #12453623
Have a look at this: http://www.robgalbrait​h.com …ti_page.asp?cid​=6007-9256
Hope it helps.

LOL, you beat me to it!

I use Extreme III's in both my 1D3 and 40D and they work very well.

I tested Lexar 233x, 400x and 600x cards in my 1D3 - the 233x was all it needed. Fast downloads.... who needs them... make a cup of joe and chill.

I use Transcend 64Gb 400X (5DMKII, 50D, 1DMKIII) ... working perfectly, very interesting to sort pictures quickly on a laptop and do some PP when working to send pictures during jobs..
I use also Trascend SD 32Gb Class 10 .... results are a bit slower with SD, but really usable with any bodies .. but on a Laptop for post processing !!!! really not in the same league ! ...

I am waiting for a CF/SD USB 3.0 cardreader, so I am expecting a fluent working with 400X CF card on the laptop (50Mb/s ? or better ?) so twice the actual limitation of 30MB/s in UDMA5

Transcend 600x...my buffer clears much quicker with the 90mb/s card than a 60 mb/s card on the 7D. I'm sure the results would be similar in the 1D.

A faster card will only help so much. Ultimately it is up to the speed of the camera's processor. Kinda like putting 16GB of RAM in a computer with a slow processor, it won't make any difference. Once the processor speed is maxed out faster read/write cards are not going to make a difference.

The reason the 7D is faster is because it has a newer processor than the 1D. Just like the 1D3 is faster than the 1D2. Even though the images are larger, the processor is faster. Putting a 600x card in a camera with an older processor is a waste of money.

The only advantage you will gain with a faster card is faster download speeds from the card to the computer. This is why it is best to research the fastest read/write times of you camera and then but the card that is slightly above that. Anything faster is not going to magically speed up your camera's ability to clear the buffer. You are limited by the camera more than you are by the card. Again, think of the computer scenario. If you are working with an older single core processor, it doesn't matter how much RAM you pack into that computer, the processor dictates the speed at which you can process data. It is the same with your camera.

Thanks everyone for the info, I was worried mainly about using the UDMA cards being the 1dMKIII does not call for them. Sounds like I should use the Extreme III card or something similar.

The 1D3 is faster with SD than CF.

Anecdotally, I found no difference with Sandisk Ultra II vs. Extreme III cards, at least.

I tested ... and with transcend, that's not ! CF seems to be at least equal or faster .. et I get 1 raw images more with CF(400X) than SD (class 10) before stopping.

I have used nothing but sandisk BUT B&H convinced me to give the lexar professionals a try. They have a sale going right now.(2) 16Gb cards were $120.00 v/s $200.00 for the sandisc. Great customer support, someone you can talk to on the phone and B&H has never seen one fail made it a try for me. Sandisc built a great name but i think in the end, they are pretty close. Stayed away from transend--made in china im told