New CF cards from SanDisk

KillerbobKillerbob Posts: 732Member
edited September 2013 in Nikon DSLR cameras
With the emergence of new CF cards from SanDisk (256GB/160MB/s/UDMA7), I wonder if the D800 would take full advantage of that?

I know the SD card will not be near that fast, but I use the CF card for RAW files and the SD card for JPGs, and I assume dropping the pictures onto the cards is at least part of the bottleneck in shooting fast sequences...

Comments

  • PB_PMPB_PM Posts: 4,494Member
    Considering Fast CF 2.0 is a brand new standard (released well over a year after the D800) it is very unlikely that the D800 could fully utilize the speed.
    If I take a good photo it's not my camera's fault.
  • KillerbobKillerbob Posts: 732Member
    I was not referring to the newest format, the "Extreme PRO CFast 2.0", which as you point out is a new standard. That one has an entirely different interface, a pinless design which by default require a new interface in our cameras.

    What I was referring to is the new/updated Compact Flash card, the 256GB, 160MB/s, UDMA7 card, which is "just" a further development of the usual CF cards (128GB/100MB/s/UDMA7).
  • PB_PMPB_PM Posts: 4,494Member
    Ah. Yes I just saw about that one. It's still unlikely that the D800 would be able to take advantage of the speed, unless there was some kind of firmware update for the card slot.
    If I take a good photo it's not my camera's fault.
  • AdeAde Posts: 1,071Member
    The D800 supports UDMA-7 and can take advantage of the speed.

    However, from a capacity perspective, I don't know if the D800 can format and use 256GB CF cards. It should be able to... but I'm not prepared to spend $1,800 on a CF card to find out for sure. :)
  • haroldpharoldp Posts: 984Member
    Rob Galbraith publishes tests on performance of various CF and SD cards in different cameras (including D300).
    They are very useful and help avoid wasting money on speed that may not be realized.

    The interaction between the camera's interface and the cards controller may yield results that vary from nominal speed ratings.

    it is at:

    http://www.robgalbraith.com/multi_pagee519.html?cid=6007

    Regards ... H
    D810, D3x, 14-24/2.8, 50/1.4D, 24-70/2.8, 24-120/4 VR, 70-200/2.8 VR1, 80-400 G, 200-400/4 VR1, 400/2.8 ED VR G, 105/2 DC, 17-55/2.8.
    Nikon N90s, F100, F, lots of Leica M digital and film stuff.

  • KillerbobKillerbob Posts: 732Member
    Actually the price is closer to USD1K; http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1001262-REG/sandisk_sdcfxps_256g_a46_256gb_extreme_pro_cf.html

    That's not too bad considering a 128GB SanDisk CF card costs about USD550...
  • PB_PMPB_PM Posts: 4,494Member
    Rob Galbraith publishes tests on performance of various CF and SD cards in different cameras (including D300).
    They are very useful and help avoid wasting money on speed that may not be realized.

    The interaction between the camera's interface and the cards controller may yield results that vary from nominal speed ratings.

    it is at:

    http://www.robgalbraith.com/multi_pagee519.html?cid=6007

    Regards ... H
    That site has not be updated for some time, so don't count on it for data on newer cards.
    If I take a good photo it's not my camera's fault.
  • AdeAde Posts: 1,071Member
    @haroldp

    I think we also need to distinguish between maximum "burst" speed vs. sustainable write speed. Rob Galbraith's tests measure a combination of both, so the results can't be directly compared to a card's speed specifications.

    According to SanDisk, the guaranteed sustainable write speed of this new card is 65 MB/s. That is actually slower than the sustained write speeds of many CF cards listed in Galbraith's database.
  • Golf007sdGolf007sd Posts: 2,840Moderator
    edited September 2013
    Glad to see ScanDisk up their performance and capacity within the CF storage media. I just might get one of the 32Gig for my D4. Having a fast memory card is always welcome news for me...after all, the XDQ-S series has a tendency to spoil a D4 owner.
    Post edited by Golf007sd on
    D4 & D7000 | Nikon Holy Trinity Set + 105 2.8 Mico + 200 F2 VR II | 300 2.8G VR II, 10.5 Fish-eye, 24 & 50 1.4G, 35 & 85 1.8G, 18-200 3.5-5.6 VR I SB-400 & 700 | TC 1.4E III, 1.7 & 2.0E III, 1.7 | Sigma 35 & 50 1.4 DG HSM | RRS Ballhead & Tripods Gear | Gitzo Monopod | Lowepro Gear | HDR via Promote Control System |
  • KillerbobKillerbob Posts: 732Member
    For the D800 test in Galbraith's DB, 65MB/s is slower than 3 CF cards, the Lexar Professional 1000x series, but faster than all the rest. And the Bust speed in this new 256GB SanDisk CF card I suppose would be higher than the others. So, it is a must-have for me.
  • cholsoncholson Posts: 17Member
    i bought one of these CF cards to use in my nikon d4... no luck. the camera would work if the CF was the only card in the camera, but as soon as i put the XQD card back in i was presented with a card error. i contacted both nikon support and B&H support, given that it's such a new card, they were unable to find a solution

    instead, i returned the CF card and will replace it with the slower 90Mb/s version (which is on the approved list for the d4). hopefully, this new version will be supported on the d4
  • Golf007sdGolf007sd Posts: 2,840Moderator
    @cholson: Thank you so much for the heads up on this new memory card. I will wait as well...hopefully an updated firmware will address this.
    D4 & D7000 | Nikon Holy Trinity Set + 105 2.8 Mico + 200 F2 VR II | 300 2.8G VR II, 10.5 Fish-eye, 24 & 50 1.4G, 35 & 85 1.8G, 18-200 3.5-5.6 VR I SB-400 & 700 | TC 1.4E III, 1.7 & 2.0E III, 1.7 | Sigma 35 & 50 1.4 DG HSM | RRS Ballhead & Tripods Gear | Gitzo Monopod | Lowepro Gear | HDR via Promote Control System |
  • AdeAde Posts: 1,071Member
    @cholson Was it the 256GB card or one of the new smaller versions? As I mentioned above, I'm not sure it's the speed that might be problematic -- but rather the capacity. So it would be interesting if the problem also appears with smaller capacity cards.
  • KillerbobKillerbob Posts: 732Member
    So has anyone tried the new SanDisk 256GB CF card in a D800 as of yet? The interfaces in the D800 (CF & SDHC/XC) of course are entirely different than the D4 (XQD & CF), and it may work fine in the D800.
  • Golf007sdGolf007sd Posts: 2,840Moderator
    @Killerbob: The CF slot should be the same on the D800 as well. So I would really make sure it works before spending the funds. A call of SanDisk or an email to their tech support is in order.
    D4 & D7000 | Nikon Holy Trinity Set + 105 2.8 Mico + 200 F2 VR II | 300 2.8G VR II, 10.5 Fish-eye, 24 & 50 1.4G, 35 & 85 1.8G, 18-200 3.5-5.6 VR I SB-400 & 700 | TC 1.4E III, 1.7 & 2.0E III, 1.7 | Sigma 35 & 50 1.4 DG HSM | RRS Ballhead & Tripods Gear | Gitzo Monopod | Lowepro Gear | HDR via Promote Control System |
  • kanuckkanuck Posts: 1,300Member
    Yes can you honestly imagine for one second spending $1800 on a CF card? Wow that's pretty unreal even though I am sure they are very fast and durable. The video boys and girls must be very happy right now until they saw the price tag I imagine...
  • spraynprayspraynpray Posts: 6,545Moderator
    edited September 2013
    $1800! :O I'll wait until they are $30 next year...
    Post edited by spraynpray on
    Always learning.
  • KillerbobKillerbob Posts: 732Member
    @Golf007sd, I disagree. The card worked on its own in the D4, so it's not the CF interface, but rather the interaction between the two interfaces on the D4. That's entirely different on the D800...

    @Kanuck, it's NOT $1'800. It's about half of that, just shy of $1'000 at BHP.
  • AdeAde Posts: 1,071Member
    These new cards are only a tiny fraction faster than existing cards in the market (which are proven to reliably work in the D800). Maybe only 3 or 4% faster on write, which I doubt is enough to make a noticeable difference in shooting.

    So unless one must have 256GB in a single card, it seems better to shop for other cards. Plus the price/capacity ratio favors smaller cards.
  • PB_PMPB_PM Posts: 4,494Member
    From what I can see, the 16GB cards are the best in terms of value.
    If I take a good photo it's not my camera's fault.
  • cholsoncholson Posts: 17Member
    to be clear, it didn't appear to be an issue with the CF card (32Gb size). i was able to take over 75 photos at 10 fps before the buffer filled up. it's only when i inserted the XQD card back into the camera that CF card issues showed up. there appears to be an issue with the XQD + CF card combination with this new series

    my guess... power draw is higher on the new CF formats? but i'm not a nikon tech so i don't really know and i didn't have time to wait on nikon support to find out as i needed additional CF cards for my video shoot next week
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