Storage

[DisneyExplorer]

I have a Canon 400 SLR (or Rebel) and looking for storage advice.
i was getting a compact flash card but just wanted to know if there is anything specific i should look for?
is it the same as buying a SD card?

thank you

 

[AndrewWG]

It is essentially the same as buying an SD card. I would personally try to buy the fastest card that you can afford. I use the Canon 30D and have used the Ultra II cards almost exclusively, but a faster card would even be better in my opinion. I would also try to stick with nothing below 2GB. 4 or 8GB would be preferable. I like the 4GB as it usually gives me more than a day of shooting at the parks. Everyday shooting (non-WDW) would probably never fill it with my usage. There are varying opinions on this as the larger the card that you get, the more pics could be lost if the card fails, but I think that with file sizes being what they are nowadays, you have to balance this fear against the inconvienience of changing out your card everytime you fill the smaller ones. I have never had an Ultra or Kingston card fail. I have heard that Lexar (I think) have the tendency to fail in Canon SLR's but I have also heard people say that they work fine. Either way, there are file recovery programs that can usually save your pics even if the card fails.

 

[DisneyExplorer]

think i'm a bit thick! what do you mean about fastest?

 

[AndrewWG]

Memory cards are usually rated by an "X" factor. You will see things like 60X, 100X, 133X, 266X etc. The higher the number, the faster the card is. By this, I mean that the card can write files and upload files to your computer at a faster rate (usually somewhere from 9MB/sec to 20MB/sec depending on the card). It is a time saver if you shoot a ton of pics. Otherwise, it is not all that useful, but I would at least try for a middle of the road speed.

 

[DisneyExplorer]

is there a best firm eg lexar,ultra etc

 

[boBQuincy]

See Rob Galbraith's website for a review of different CF cards and their real speeds.

 

[AndrewWG]

is there a best firm eg lexar,ultra etc

I wouldn't say that there is a "best" of anything nowadays. I personally only use Ultra or Kingston. Those are my personal choices, but there are many good brands.