NEW CF Cards for my 7D & 5D Mk III

When my 5D Mk III committed suicide last week by throwing itself off a 30m cliff into 10 or more of water, I lost my camera, lens and Sandisk Extreme III 32gig card.

I'm looking at replacing that now with perhaps two cards, one for each camera. Maybe a 16 and 32 this time and since I have had Sandisk all along am thinking about them again.

The Sandisk website recommends the Etreme Pro option for the 5D MkIII which is quite expensive at about $AU240 for 32Gig.

Any suggestions on why I ought to consider another brand or to stick to Sandisk?

Locations for best prices for genuine cards online would be great too.

Thanks.

Only get the Extreme Pro if you need that particular write speed for bursts (sports, dance, concerts, etc). If you are just going to be taking a few shots at a time you can go with a much lesser speed card like an Extreme or even an Ultra. People have had success with Transcend cards (although with a few bad ones). Lexar also makes some good ones. Personally I'm using a Duracell (rebanded Dane Elec) 300x card and have had no problems with it.

I would certainly look at other brand such as Transcend, Lexar Delkin and so on, as you do pay extra for the Sandisk name.

I use all of the ones I mentioned without any issues on my 1D IV

Something to think about is that the 5D III and 1D X are UDMA 7 enabled and so will be able to utilises the newer x100 cards enabling data transfer rates up to 167 MB/s , but like Wayne says only if your really going to need that extra speed.

As for buying online NEVER buy memory cards from ebay, make sure you go to a reputable dealer, or better still buy direct from the manufacture (Delkin and Duracell do this)

When I worked as a photographer for Kodak in the UK, they supplied us all with several Sandisk Ultra II - which I am still using 8 years later for little jobs. Reliable then, reliable now (although they are now rather small capacity). Not the latest speeds, no 'glory' in using the biggest and best - just completely trustworthy. Who needs 'street cred' anyway?

However, one point which they absolutely ENFORCED was that we never ever did a whole job on just one card. This on the basis that if one card went bad, if it was lost/stolen (oh, yes, it happens) or some other misfortune like dropping it off a cliff (!) then we hadn't lost the whole job. This was really only an extension of the ancient practice of not processing a whole batch of films in one go. Belt and braces approach. Yes, it's a bit frustrating having to remember to change cards but it may just save the day. From that day on, I've always tended to use smaller cards but several of them (in fact nearly all my cards are only 8Gb). Personally, I would always advocate having several cards and using them in rotation rather than just one, all-encompassing big one. Even for holiday 'snaps' which are of little real consequence, this is the approach I adopt.

I've always found KINGSTON to be a thoroughly reliable make, along with Sandisk of course. There were, years ago, issues with Lexar specifically in Canon cameras but these seem to have been resolved a while back. Much depends on what is readily available in Australia - different markets have different levels of availability and what I can easily get in the UK may be like rocking horse effluent where you are. What is easily obtained in USA (population 314 million) may be no more than a rumour in Australia (23 million) and scarce in UK (56 million). Market size has a very strong effect on availability.

A lot of the slightly less well-known brands (relative to Sandisk and Lexar, no denigration implied) are made by Samsung. I used to know how to determine the make, but old age fades the memory just a tad. Transcend, Dane-Elec et al do have their following, quite probably with some justification, but I've always taken the view that with the investment we all have in primary equipment, why cut corners on something which may work perfectly but may also always leave you with a feeling of disquiet.

Remember too that card makers are in business to make money and it is in their interest to persuade you that you absolutely must have the biggest/fastest/most prestigious. But do you actually need that? I certainly don't these days - and actually never have needed it.

eBay? Not unless there is absolutely no alternative. If it is worth people's while to make fake rechargeable cells retailing at $2 each, it's certainly a good bet that there are (literally) boatloads of fake Sandisk selling for considerably more. An alternative perspective on this: quality control throws out a proportion of anything we make. What do you think happens to these 'seconds'? Landfill? Recycle? Sold on under other brands - that is definitely what happened with film?? Spend your money locally - at least then you have some comeback if there's a problem.

so how did "it" commit suicide?

ps I use Lexar extreme....just feels cool

I say stick with Sandisk. Most of the time theres no need to buy their highest end currently on the market, so save your money and buy one of their "lesser" models.

What's the full story behind your camera's death?

Get the fastest cards you can find. That way you are prepared for shooting wildlife or sports.

For my 5DIII I use Lexar 32GB 1000x cards.
http://www.robgalbrait​h.com …i_page.asp?cid=​6007-12452


For my 7D I use Lexar 32GB 600x cards.
http://www.robgalbrait​h.com …i_page.asp?cid=​6007-10294


My card reader is a Lexar dual slot USB 3 unit that does UDMA 7 for max speeds with the 1000x (UDMA 7) cards.

I bought a Sandisk extreme 32gb card from eBay with no problem at all. Just look for sellers that have a good rating.

I also have good experience with transcend cards. Much cheaper and sometimes better then the Sandisks.

JelleVerherstraeten wrote in post #14761484
I bought a Sandisk extreme 32gb card from eBay with no problem at all. Just look for sellers that have a good rating.

Have you ever done a speed test (with a computer program) comparing that ebay CF card to the same card bought from a big box place like Amazon or B&H?