Compact Flash...SanDisk Ultra or Kingston Elite?

Dec 4, 2002
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Ok, I need to get some compact flash for my camera. I have to get it from dell and I want to get the high speed memory.

SanDisk Ultra II 2 GB CF(9MBps/10MBps)
$60

Kingston 2 GB CF Elite Pro(8MBps/10MBps)
$52.5

The only thing is that the SanDisk has an EST ship date of 3+ weeks while the kingston ships with 24hrs or so. This normally would automatically make me not choose the sandisk, but my camera is also on backorder so the wait time doesn't scare me that much. A CF card isn't much good by itself. My camera's wait time is 2 weeks but I have a feeling it could be pushed back further.

Or I also could get the 2GB non-ultra(slower) for $10 after a $20 MIR.

Has anyone used the Ultras/Elites compared to the regular and noticed a huge difference? It will be used with a Rebel XT so I want the speed...I just don't know if its worth the $50 difference.
 
Dec 4, 2002
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Originally posted by: aceO07
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/page12.asp

I'm not sure if it's going to take full advantage of the speed. Also, tt has a pretty big buffer for continuous frames. Maybe if you know you'd be taking that many in a few seconds.

Thanks, lexars 80x CF is rated faster than both of those at 12MBps. Im worried that the regular CF card will struggle even on normal shooting and be a PITA if im doing any bursts.
 
Dec 4, 2002
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Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I :heart: my 5GB Seagate Microdrive (CF Type II)....not that that helps you any. :p

I have 2 2.2 GB microdrives but I will be selling them as I want to get type I CF
 

aceO07

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2000
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Originally posted by: CheapArse
Thanks, lexars 80x CF is rated faster than both of those at 12MBps. Im worried that the regular CF card will struggle even on normal shooting and be a PITA if im doing any bursts.

I have a 300D and 512MB Sandisk (regular). I rarely do burst shots so it's not a big deal for me. It takes less than a second to empty the full buffer enough for an extra shot.

For normal shooting it won't matter what card you use. If it hasn't been written to the card by the time you want to shoot again it'll just put it into the buffer.

For your camera, the site lists a 6sec delay to clear out the entire buffer. But in a fraction of a second you'll have a small portion of the buffer to play with again.
 
Dec 4, 2002
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Originally posted by: aceO07
Originally posted by: CheapArse
Thanks, lexars 80x CF is rated faster than both of those at 12MBps. Im worried that the regular CF card will struggle even on normal shooting and be a PITA if im doing any bursts.

I have a 300D and 512MB Sandisk (regular). I rarely do burst shots so it's not a big deal for me. It takes less than a second to empty the full buffer enough for an extra shot.

For normal shooting it won't matter what card you use. If it hasn't been written to the card by the time you want to shoot again it'll just put it into the buffer.

For your camera, the site lists a 6sec delay to clear out the entire buffer. But in a fraction of a second you'll have a small portion of the buffer to play with again.

So, in reality...the memory speed will only come into play when clearing out the buffer which, unless you just did a burst, will clear out and let you continue to shoot at the same time....which means the increased speed of the other cards wont see the light of day.(except when doing bursts)?
 

screw3d

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2001
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Don't get Lexar.. I'm pretty sure Canons do not support Write Acceleration that makes the Lexars fast
 

HiTek21

Diamond Member
Jul 4, 2002
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I have a 1gb Kingston Elite Pro in my Camera S500 camera, it doesn't seem to write or read any faster than my regular 512mb San Disk compact flash.
 

aceO07

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2000
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Originally posted by: CheapArse
So, in reality...the memory speed will only come into play when clearing out the buffer which, unless you just did a burst, will clear out and let you continue to shoot at the same time....which means the increased speed of the other cards wont see the light of day.(except when doing bursts)?

Yup. That's right.
 

DBL

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: aceO07
Originally posted by: CheapArse
So, in reality...the memory speed will only come into play when clearing out the buffer which, unless you just did a burst, will clear out and let you continue to shoot at the same time....which means the increased speed of the other cards wont see the light of day.(except when doing bursts)?

Yup. That's right.

Get the faster card. IMO, it's silly to buy such a capable camera and then handicap it with a slow CF card. If you use the camera with any regularity, you most likely will come across situations where the faster card will prove advantageous.

However, the three choices you provided should all be fine.
 

aceO07

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2000
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If you want to be really cheap, the sandisk regular is fine for non burst stuff. However, the Ultra is a lot faster if you ever do need it to clear off the full buffer quicker. The XT has a 14frame jpeg buffer or a 4frame raw buffer.

I would get the Ultra ii just for coolness factor. The 300D doesn't speed up too much with it, but it'd be cool. :)
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
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I have a 1GB Sandisk Ultra II CF card for my 300D. I think the camera is the limiting factor though and not the CF card.
 

tami

Lifer
Nov 14, 2004
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link us to the goods. i might want a regular 2GB sandisk for $10 after a 20 MIR. :p
 
Dec 4, 2002
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Originally posted by: aceO07
If you want to be really cheap, the sandisk regular is fine for non burst stuff. However, the Ultra is a lot faster if you ever do need it to clear off the full buffer quicker. The XT has a 14frame jpeg buffer or a 4frame raw buffer.

I would get the Ultra ii just for coolness factor. The 300D doesn't speed up too much with it, but it'd be cool. :)

Doh, I ordered the regular last night. Maybe i should cancel and change my order to the ultra II.

For those that are wondering, this is not a public deal. These prices are ones I can get b/c I have a $90 concessions coupon code.