Best cf card for sports photography

hollis_f wrote in post #16326491
No it won't. The 7D can only write at around 55 MB/s. The 40D is even slower. Besides, who fills the 7D's buffer?

I am looking for a direct comparison, maybe someone here can prove that a 7D won't benefit from a faster card?

Here's a Sandisk 400x vs Lexar 1000x on a 5D3 - http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=aIG2JUW-mOw

Buffer craps out @ ~21 shots with 60mb/s Sandisk, whereas the Lexar can pump out ~28 shots.

Also the red light stays on longer (taking longer to write) with the 400x card compared to the 1000x.

Also let's not forget how much quicker when you transfer the files to your computer.

For $20 more, I'd say it's worth every cent.

kin2son wrote in post #16326605
I am looking for a direct comparison, maybe someone here can prove that a 7D won't benefit from a faster card?.

When I did my comparison that showed that card speed had no effect on the number of shots to fill the buffer I also measured the time taken to empty the buffer. My slowest card took 4 min 20 sec, a Sandisk 45 MB/s card took 11 seconds and a Sandisk 60 MB/s card took 10 seconds.

I've since seen other people estimate a top speed of 55 MB/s for the 7D, but I base my assertion on my own evidence.

Yeah, like ^ the above post said - faster cards have no effect when filling the buffer. It matters when you empty the buffer.

When I had the Lexar 1000x 32GB for my 50D it only took 3 seconds to empty my 15 shot RAW buffer. I also use my regular Kingston 600x 32GB and it takes ~8 seconds to fill the buffer. I do shoot some sports but never hit the buffer limit so even the 600x works fast enough that I couldn't justify keeping the 1000x card.

The point is that the 7D isn't capable of utilizing card speeds faster than about 60 MB/s. Thus UDMA 7 capable cards will cost you more, but give no additional benefit in that camera.
And the 40D isn't UDMA capable at all, so there it makes even less sense.

Cameras like the 5D Mark III and the 1DX are UDMA 7 compatible, so they can take advantage of even faster cards than 60 MB/s.

Thanks for weighing in. I ended up ordering the Sandisk. Loving the 7D compared with the 40D, BTW.

it's like filling 91 octane on a car that only requires 87.

k-lo wrote in post #16327721
it's like filling 91 octane on a car that only requires 87.

I agree

7D is three years older than 5DIII.... the 7D uses Digic 4 processors and the 5DIII uses Digic 5, so the two aren't comparable.

7D (with Firmware 2.x) cannot take full advantage of any faster than UDMA 6 memory (per Canon), and tops out around 90 MBs/600X. Spending additional for any faster than that won't gain you any speed in the camera. You likely wouldn't see much diff with 60 MBs/400X, for that matter. I use some 45 MBs/300X in my two 7Ds and while they are a bit slower than the faster, it's barely noticeable in real world shooting situations. Of course I don't shoot more than 5 or 6 frames in a burst, and even that is rare.

For video, you actually don't need anywhere near as fast. I don't use my 7Ds for video, but apparently 8 MBs/40X is adequate (HD video only... I guess you need a bit faster for video + audio).

Depending upon what you use to download your images, you might see faster downloads with faster memory. And buying faster memory might have some benefit if and when you upgrade cameras (assuming it uses the same type of memory).

You also have to be careful what you buy... there are counterfeit cards (especially Sandisk). Also, some cards ratings are misleading. A while back I was looking at some Duracell Cards made by Dane Electric that seemed too good to be true. Turned out, they were. They were rated 300X, but that was their download (read) speed. I found online test reports showing their true write speed was less than 100X. Those would really have bogged down the 50D I was using at the time, or a 7D.

Buy the fastest card that you can afford, plain and simple.

eulerk wrote in post #16598405
Buy the fastest card that you can afford, plain and simple.

...is great advice if your aim is to waste as much money as possible. Sane people should aim to buy the fastest card they need.

hollis_f wrote in post #16598486
...is great advice if your aim is to waste as much money as possible. Sane people should aim to buy the fastest card they need.

I know what you mean but I'm with Eulerk on this. The biggest return on speed of the card is not in camera but dumping the files in post. Most events I have to download the images on location to their media staff and it's great to have 10+ gigs downloaded (USB 3) before I finish my water break. Man, I remember only a couple of years ago it was taking like 1/2 hour or more.

BTW, I use/prefer Lexar 800x cards.

EmaginePixel wrote in post #16598500
Most events I have to download the images on location to their media staff and it's great to have 10+ gigs downloaded (USB 3) before I finish my water break.

So you need a super-fast card. Not everybody does.

mmauthor wrote in post #16325495
I shoot night football, basketball and volleyball all with a 7d and a 40d. What cf card should I be using? I have a 70-200 2.8af

The 7D write speed maxes out at about 55mb/s. So, any 60mb/s (400X) card will be just fine.

Faster cards will shorten the time to clear out the buffer if you shoot multiple fast frames and fill up your buffer frequently.

Lexar is leading the pack in most classes. Sandisk is much more affordable and works just as well.

k-lo wrote in post #16327721
it's like filling 91 octane on a car that only requires 87.

+1