CompactFlash Extreme Pro vs SDXC Memory Card Extreme

[Ryan Holmes]

I’d stick to CF cards as the controller that supports the CF cards is much faster than the controller supporting the SD card slot. This matters when you start shooting in burst mode for stills or for video. The faster the controller can write the data to card the less the buffer gets used. The less buffer used the cooler the camera. Cool cameras = happy cameras in my experience! 🙂

https://www.borrowlenses.com/blog/2013/01/tip-optimize-canon-5d-markiii-write-speeds-avoid-sd-cards/

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Craig Alan]

Thanks Ryan. I stayed with compact on my quote request. I really just figured it was physically more solid and less likely to get lost or damaged. But this article ended any second guessing that it was a waste of money. Canon should make ti clearer what the trade off is.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Chris Murphy]

It seems to me Canon is lagging on two fronts: Using CompactFlash where XQD is indicated, and then somehow getting CF to perform worse than SD when CF is ancient and inferior in every way compared to SD. CF is expensive to buy, and much more prone to causing bent pins in the camera which is also expensive.

[Craig Alan]

[Chris Murphy] “somehow getting CF to perform worse than SD when CF is ancient and inferior in every way compared to SD. “

Do you mean SD to perform worse than CF?

In what way is it inferior other than the possible bent pins?

SanDisk
32GB CompactFlash Memory Card Extreme Pro 600x UDMA

32GB Data Storage Capacity
600x Speed Rating
Read / Write Speed: 90MB/s

32 GB SDHC Memory Card Extreme Pro Class 10 UHS-I

32 GB Data Storage Capacity
Class 10 Speed
Max. Read Speed: 95MB/s
Max. Write Speed: 90MB/s

Not much difference on read/write speed specs.

But obviously the SD slots in the camera (assuming the article is correct) is not taking advantage of the SD’s card’s potential. I had a Nikon for a long time that used a compact card and it neither got damaged but I could see how it might when you are lining up with tiny pins. But I do think the compact card itself is less likely to get lost or damaged. Just seems like a tougher shell. I can’t recall Canon using Sony media.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Chris Murphy]

Do you mean SD to perform worse than CF?

No. Although SD does in practice in some cameras perform worse than CF, which is sad.

In what way is it inferior other than the possible bent pins?

They are more expensive to produce, bigger, heavier, unsizable, it’s an 18 year old spec that has been abandoned by the maintainer, they’ve moved on to CFast a while ago and XQD more recently but there are these hold outs like Canon for some reason using old things. It’s like the booger we can’t flick off because some companies keep holding onto it.

[Craig Alan]

Alright Chris, don’t mean to kick a dead horse but you said that Canon somehow got Cf to perform worse than SD. But in practice on the 5D, according to the link, the CF performs faster than the SD on the 5D.

Now Canon was trying to allow users to use both type of cards. Which is good for anyone who already has a collection of CFs. However the implementation did not work out well because the two card slots are not equally supported (at least according to the article).

Panasonic just came out with a mini version of their P2 cards. If I had a bunch of the very expensive P2 cards I would be a little put off if I couldn’t use them in the next version of their camcorder. Unless of course the new card was significantly faster. Which it’s not.

Also Nikon uses the compact flash cards as well in some of their high end cameras even though they were one of the companies who proposed the XQD format.

All that said it is curious that any high end cam maker does not use the fastest and most reliable tech possible. CF has proven its reliability but it it is long in the tooth.

I also find it strange that so many pieces of high end gear use HDMI instead of SDI HD. SDI and BNC plugs are so much easier to use than HDMI that it should have been the consumer standard as well. This need to come up with consumer standards that are worse than pro standards in today’s marker is misguided.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Chris Murphy]

Aha!
[I wrote] getting CF to perform worse than SD

Reverse that. Somehow getting SD to perform worse than CF.

Panasonic just came out with a mini version of their P2 cards. If I had a bunch of the very expensive P2 cards I would be a little put off if I couldn’t use them in the next version of their camcorder. Unless of course the new card was significantly faster. Which it’s not.

Which is why it’s totally fair game to reject the product soley on the grounds that the camera and storage medium are effectively inextricably linked. Otherwise it’s just rewarding companies for a nonsensical approach to storage.

I also find it strange that so many pieces of high end gear use HDMI instead of SDI HD.

We have DMCA to thank for this at least in part, and also for backward compatibility with DVI which in turn post-dates DMCA. So it’s really about the moneyed stakeholders of content wanting to have control over the consumer’s ability to manipulate that content.