GMcGrath@xxxxxxx wrote:
> I'm about to take the plunge and order a 510, but the number of different
> options in CF cards is mind-numbing. In particular, I see that there are
> various
> "levels" of write speeds available. I see that there are 60x, 133x, and 300x
> cards, to name a few. I want to use cards that are fast enough not to slow
> the
> camera down, but don't want to spend extra for speed I can't use.
>
The "x" speed designations mean little, other than generally ranking
speed within a brand and card type. And one of the biggest and best,
Sandisk, doesn't use them.
>
> I'd appreciate any advice the collective wisdom of the list can provide on
> card speed, as well as any brands members have had especially good or bad
> luck
> with.
>
The only independent resource I know of is Rob Gailbraith. His tests are
only with Canyon for CF cards, but are sufficient, it seems to me, to
rank the various cards. For example, I'd been happy with the Sandisk
Ultra II cards, there was a sale on Lexar 133x, the two are about the
same in RB's tests, I bought the Lexar, and I have noticed no difference.
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007
The second piece of your question, how to avoid paying too much for
speed your camera can't take advantage of, is possibly trickier. As RB
doesn't test Olys, his tests aren't enough. I think it's a pretty good
assumption that the 510 electronics for image process/storage are the
same as the 410. The DPReview test of the 410 shows 2gb Sandisk Extreme
IV and 133x Lexar cards to be the same speed, whereas the RB tests show
the Extreme IV to be faster on some bodies and the 133x to be about
equal to the Ultra II.
From that info, it appears that (as with my 5D) there is no advantage
to a card faster than the Lexar 133x, Sandisk Ultra II or any other card
with equivalent speed on the RB tests. The Calumet sale just posted
looks like a great deal for you (and me).
The slower save speed with the 16gb Extreme IV is due to the extra
overhead of FAT32 on cards of 4gb and up and possibly due to some
unknown issues with body, card and/or their combination, but you aren't
interested in that anyway - check the price.
Moose
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|