CF card for 20d

[JTcooper]

hi everyone, recently been shooting jpeg but yesterday I had try to shoot raw and seem like my 20d did not write fast enough. I used sandis 2 and wonder if anyone had any ideas if do I need a faster camera or other better CF card. and I dont even know what my 20d would accommadate other card. thanks for any adviced..

[livin4lax09]

correct me if I'm wrong, but you're using a sandisk ultra II? If you're finding that you have low write speeds, there's a few things you can do. The first one is simple. Format the card. Formatting should get rid of any imperfections that are present in corrupted files and etc. the 20d should be able to write fairly quickly, but again, if you do have a higher end camera, it will write faster. or you can simply buy a faster card. an ultra II writes at about 66x and reads at 60x i believe. You can always go with a lexar 80x, or a new extreme III. YOu also should realize that that you ARE shooting raw, and that they are giant files, so it will take a little bit longer to record them on any camera you can buy.

[JTcooper]

I have been read the 20d manual for the write speed but did not find any imformation about it. so, how fast do yall think the 20d write speed. and also as you mention the lexar and the new extrem III which would you prefer

[masdog]

Before you run out and spend more money, check to make sure you don't have a problem with the card or the camera. I have a 20D and a bunch of SanDisk Ultra II cards, and I don't have any problems with the camera writing data to the card. Perhaps your memory card is bad.

Have you tried other memory cards of the same type? Do you have the same problems with those cards? Do you have problems with other types of memory cards?

[another view]

Write speed depends on which card you're using, so they won't be in the camera manual. Check this site for write speeds tested with a bunch of different cards. Generally I've noticed that the newer the camera, the faster the write speed when you're looking at similar cameras (20D is faster than the 10D it replaced, which is probably faster than the D60 that it replaced...). I'd also re-format the card in the camera and see if that helps. Really, this should be done every time you shoot.

Your write speeds are about three times faster than with my Fuji S2, which is a few years old. It isn't (and never was) a sports camera, but I've used it for sports occasionally and had decent success with it. Faster cameras mean more images, but not necessarily better ones. A fast 35mm SLR would run at 8 frames per second. If you're shooting action at 1/500 sec, then you're only capturing 8/500 of that second. You're missing 492/500 of it, if you think about it. Learn to anticipate the shot and when to hit the shutter release. If you see the action in the viewfinder you've missed it, because the viewfinder blacks out when the shutter is released. It'll take some time to get used to, but you'll probably be happier with your results.

[JTcooper]

oh wow, I did not know that you have to reformat the card each and every time before shoot. and Masdog, I have two of those sandis II card, I'll will try your method to see if that would be the problem. man, hope not the 20d. can't live with out it for a day!

[JSPhoto]

I reforormat the cards each time before using them. Just erasing them removes the first character of the name similar to the way it's done on a pc. Formating completly removes all data clearing the card and restting everything. It makes for a cleaner enviroment for the new data to be written too. And always reformat in camera, not through the PC.
FYI, following recent conversation with people at a camera store they stated they have had fewer problems with Kingston cards in Canon cameras.

JS