Best Sandisk CF card for 40D?

[moldovamark]

Hi folks,


I need to pick up a CF card for my newly acquired 40D. I've used Sandisk stuff before for other applications and like their products. Is there a 4gb card that 40D users prefer with this camera? Extrememe II, Extreme III, Extreme IV? I remember reading somewhere (but now can't find) something about the faster cards maybe not being compatible.


Thanks,


Mark

[adrianholerga]

I use a 8GbExtreme III and a 2GbExtreme III on a 40D. These were the best I could buy when I needed some and I have never had any problem with them.


The Canon 40D works even with the 16Gb CF cards and the speed havenothing to do with compatibility.

[Mark Elberson]

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This is based on the Canon EOS 40D Owner's Manual:


Recordingmedia: Type I or II CFcard


Like adrianholerga said, you can use a faster card (Type III or IV) but I don't think it will give you any advantages in-camera. The 50D does benefit from a "UDMA" CF card in the respect that it will increase the number of shots that can be taken in succession (high speed burst).
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[moldovamark]

Maybe that's what I read---not that the Exteme III or IV would be incompatible with the 40D, but that they'd offer no advantage over the Extreme II.


Do I have that right?

[Mark Elberson]

Maybe that's what I read---not that the Exteme III or IV would be incompatible with the 40D, but that they'd offer no advantage over the Extreme II.


Do I have that right?
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That is my understanding. If you want to save some money you could get a slower but larger CF card that will do just fine with your 40D but if you want to spend the extra $$$ you could get a faster one that your next body will be able to take advantage of. My thoughts are to get the card that works for you now. By the time you get a new body that faster card will be much cheaper than it is now. Also, that Type I or II card that you buy now will work just fine on a newer body as well. For my 50D the difference between a Type I or II or III and a UDMA CF card is the difference between 60 or 90 maximum burst in JPEG and no advantage in RAW.

[moldovamark]

Thanks Mark and Adrian. That's exactly the information I was looking for.

[George Slusher]

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This is based on the Canon EOS 40D Owner's Manual:


Recordingmedia: Type I or II CFcard


Like adrianholerga said, you can use a faster card (Type III or IV) but I don't think it will give you any advantages in-camera. The 50D does benefit from a "UDMA" CF card in the respect that it will increase the number of shots that can be taken in succession (high speed burst).
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"Type I or II CF card" has nothing to do with SanDisk's designations. (They're the only company that uses Roman numerals in designations. Others may use "Class 6," "133x" or the like.) The "Type" refers to the thickness of the card, not the speed. All of SanDisks CF cards are Type I (3 mm thick). The thicker Type II (5mm) include the microdrives.

Maybe that's what I read---not that
the Exteme III or IV would be incompatible with the 40D, but that
they'd offer no advantage over the Extreme II.


Do I have that right?

First, there is no "Extreme II." SanDisk's designations are "Ultra II," "Extreme III," and "Extreme IV. I have several of each, plus a Lexar 133x card.


Second, yes, there may a difference between different cards in the camera, especially for 1) high megapixel cameras, 2) shooting RAW (much larger files), 3) rapid bursts and 4) HD video. If you don't believe this, get an el cheapo CF card and compare the performance to an Extreme IV.


However, the difference between Extreme III and Extreme IV may not be significant for many people. It's not for me with a 30D, though I do shoot in RAW + JPEG. For me, the camera is the limiting factor. For a 50D, 1D Mark III, 1Ds Mark III or 5D Mark II, on the other hand, there may be a measurable difference. I don't have any of those to test.


The major difference between Extreme III and IV isn't so much in the camera, but in downloading. However, you have to have a card reader that's capable of the speeds of the Extreme IV or UDMA cards. Most are not. SanDisk makes an "Extreme" CF card reader that does take advantage of the faster cards, IF your peripheral bus can keep up. I have their FireWire 400/800 model, which is fastest when used on FireWire 800. I can tell the difference in download speed between the Extreme III and Extreme IV


If you regularly download 1 GB+, you may benefit from the higher speed cards and readers. For most of us, the difference is a few minutes that we can spend doing something else while the photos download.

[Mark Elberson]

Thanks for the clarification George. I was speaking to the Roman Numerals on SanDisk CF cards as they relate to speed. They are correlated right? I was confusing it with the type though

[George Slusher]

Thanks for the clarification George. I was speaking to the Roman Numerals on SanDisk CF cards as they relate to speed. They are correlated right? I was confusing it with the type though
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Yes, they are related to speed: IV is usually faster than III, III than II. (THere is no "I," as far as I know.) They're even more strongly correlated with price. For example, using B&amp;H's basic prices, without counting rebates:

• 4 GB Ultra II: $24.95
• 4 GB Extreme III: $33.95
• 4 GB Extreme IV: $64.95

There is a rebate program in effect now (seems to be one much of the time), so the net prices (not counting shipping) for one card would be $19.95, $23.95, and $44.95. The rebates are higher per card if you buy more than one. If you bought three identical cards, the Ultra II would be $14.95 each, the Extreme III $13.95, the Extreme IV $34.95. At that price, it would be silly to get the Ultra II cards.


Be careful, though. Whomever managed an earlier series of SanDisk rebates on SDHC cards refused my application, saying that it was past the end date. They went by date the receipt was emailed, not the date I actually bought the cards, which was shown on the email invoice. When I inquired, they didn't even answer. It cost me $60. On the other hand, last October, I got three 8 GB Extreme III CF cards for a net cost of $12.20 [] from Adorama. The cards were $56.95 each. By getting three, I received a $160 rebate. The "bad" part was that it was in the form of a Visa gift card. I couldn't use that plus another form of payment for an online order, but I was able to put together an order for $158.65. (I may have been able to use two forms of payment by making a phone order, but the "loss" was only $1.35--figured into the net cost above.)