CF card: for Canon 350D: swift vs ordinary

[debasishroy]

I want to upgrade from a 2GB CF card to an 8GB CF card for my Canon 350D. Now what is the difference between a swift CF card and an ordinary one. What are the benefits or lack of the same? Why do the swift variety cost so much more?

[feppe]

It clears the camera's buffer faster, ie. you can shoot more RAWs back-to-back by keeping the shutter pressed before the camera needs to take a break to flush the buffer. JPEGs probably pretty much indefinitely (check DPReview for that, they usually include that info in their reviews).

If you've ever been frustrated with the 350D flushing its cache, then a fast card is worth considering. Unless you're shooting sports, wildlife or really machinegunning a fashion shoot, it won't probably make any difference whatsoever.

Not familiar with the tech, but I have a hunch that the high price of fast cards is due to price disrimination rather than the cost of producing them. In other words, the people who need fast cards are willing to pay more for them, although their production costs are essentially identical.

[Steve Weldon]

By "swift" you mean 'fast'?

Flash memory cards have few specifications to worry about:

a.  Capacity
b.  Read speed
c.  Write speed

Faster cards cost more.  Why?   Because they cost more to make, have the latest technology, etc.  Like any product.

What will they do for you?  They're write and read 'faster' than a slow one.  This means once you fill your camera buffer, then the camera buffer will clear and allow you to keep shooting sooner than with a slow card.  And when you transfer the files to your PC, they'll transfer faster.

There is probably some validity that the faster more expensive cards will be better made (physically), have more perfected firmware for their internal controllers, and receive better support from the factory like any leading product.  I'm sure this part is minimal, but probably present.

Also know, your 350d can only write/read so fast itself.  Because it's relatively old.. newer CF cards could easily write/read faster than the camera can write/read.. which means you could "overbuy" for that camera.

[debasishroy]

Thank you Feppe and Steve Weldon. This site luminous landscape is just great owing to people such as yourself

[NikoJorj]

See http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7700-7699 for actual measurements of swiftness...

And if you don't already know it, you'd better not go beyond 8GB in sizebecause of a formatting issue. For the 8MP/8MB raws of this camera, 8GB is already plenty enough.

[debasishroy]

Thanks so much NikoJorj. I think I should sell my 350D and buy a 550D as all of you keep pointing out that it is so old. I am afraid that one day it will be completely obsolete with no support.

[NikoJorj]

I think I should sell my 350D and buy a 550D as all of you keep pointing out that it is so old. I am afraid that one day it will be completely obsolete with no support.

On the other hand, if it ain't broken and still takes nice pics, without you hitting any camera-related limitation... And obsolescence may not come before long if you use major software (such as Adobe's).
Why not wait for it to pass away and then buy a 750D?

Nicolas, still using his good'ol & trusty 300D

[debasishroy]

Thanks. NikoJorj, what you say makes sense. If fact, that is what I thought initially as I never faced a limitation earlier. However, this time in the forest while I was taking pictures of the tiger and its habitat, the disc was full about five minutes before I reported out of the forest. It was very frustrating to miss a giant tusker who was creeping away from us just because I did not have disc space. I currently have a 2GB CF disc but never faced this problem earlier with my 18-55 lens. This was the first time I ventured with my Canon 55-250 lens and it filled up the disc in no time. After I put this up on this site (luminous-landscape) I found that the camera cannot go up more than 8 GB and it may not be able to accommodate a fast CF disc. All this set me thinking.

[Owin]

Previous post you said "I currently have a 2GB CF disc but never faced this problem earlier", so I am assuming you only have the one 2GB CF card. So let me get this straight, you're going to get a new camera because you ran out of card space on your one 2GB card? Just get more cards and not necessarily bigger ones.

I'm still shooting with my trusty Canon 350D and I use  several Sandisk Extreme III CF cards, the maximum size of which is 4GB, my limitation not the camera's. The camera and cards get on well enough for me.

If it ain't broke, why replace it? Wear it out to within an inch of its life and then replace it. UNLESS of course you WANT to replace it. Don't forget the old saying, "many a good tune is played on an old fiddle". If the camera is still working and you're happy with its results keep on using it. You don't need to get the latest and greatest, because someone said it is old technology. It's not the kit it's the images that are the important thing.

There that's enough 'old' clichés to keep you going.

[debasishroy]

Hey Owin, I completely agree with what you say. I was prompted by a post (reply) that said that my 350D could only read and write that much faster so it did not matter what fast CF card I bought for it, it would always write that much slowly or fast. Well, I am happy with the camera and don't want to change it for the sake of changing it. Your suggestion for a solution (more CF cards) is something that I did not think of earlier. I think it is the solution for me. Anyway, I never got a single offer for the camera.