Mark II Performance with CF & SD Cards

Robgalbraith.com has a nice list of the write speeds for the various compactflash and secure digital cards, and the SD cards in some cases have write speeds that are about twice as fast as the equivalent CF cards.

Has anyone shooting high speed sports tried these, and do you really notice a difference in performance with these cards in the Mark II? I'm not shooting high speed action right now, but basketball season is coming.

Thanks.

Mike

I haven't tried using an SD card yet but think I will pretty soon. My new laptop has an SD card slot, so if it works at all well, the CF card reader becomes one less thing I have to carry.

I shoot high speed.. (not sports) on occasion and with the MkII's insanely fast buffer and write speeds i have NEVER topped of the buffer and had to weight no matter card is in the Camera...

My Ultra2 and Ridata SD cards are indeed faster though... but as I say.. even with relatively "slow" Cf cards.. I have not bottomed out.

I also use Ultra II's, Ridata and also Extreme. Blazingly fast. I have also never topped out the buffer. And, unlike the 10D, it writes as you shoot. SD's are super quick. Even when using the IBM Micro, the writes just scream.

RFM, are you saying that you've never topped out the buffer using Ultra II, Ridata, and Extreme compactflash cards?

Does using the SD card allow you to review images sooner? I'm wondering if one can chimp sooner with SD cards since the camera will write faster with SD cards than with CF cards.

Thanks to everyone that responded.

Mike H

Or SD cards. I have Ultra II and Extreme SD cards. I haven't timed them, but they do appear slightly faster than the CFs. Either way if I shoot a photo and want to view it on the LCD, no matter how fast I am on the buttons, the file is written long before I can get the LCD turned on.

However, shooting say, 10-15 or more multiple frames, I can flip on the LCD real quick and "watch" them being written from the buffer. And they are written in fractions of a second.

So whether CF or SD, it's fast. Simply fast.

Thanks, RFM.

I think I might stick to CF cards, then. They're a bit cheaper, and they work in more cameras, so it looks like an easy choice.

Mike

I have both, and use the SDs as backups, if needed. And I have rarely needed them. I always have a 512 SD plugged in along with the CFs.

Like many folks, I have a significant investmetn in 1-gig CF cards and a 4-gig microdrive. Still, I see my new laptop has an SD slot. It's a small consideration, but if I was using SD cards, a card reader would not be necessary. If there's no penalty in performance, either in write speed when shooting, or on transfer rates to the PC, I might just consider buying SD cards from here on, or at least buying enough for a day's shooting.

Defiantely get ONE SD card of 512 or more.. it's handy to have a spare opn board and it gives you a card on which to store all you persoanll preferences.