torrenova Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 I've got a Sandisk 256mb card and a Canon IXUS 400. I need a new camera (thinking about another Canon) but will also need another card. Looking at http://www.sandisk.com they seem to have a few versions. There is the basic, then the Ultra I and II then the Extreme. My only fault with the current camera is the lag between shots. I am told this would improve with a faster card. but, do I go for an Ultra or an Extreme ? Still a bit (very) of a newbie to this fandangled world of digital cameras so any help most appreciated. One thing on cameras though, it has to be Japanese (the camera, not the card). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thai3 Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Well I am only a beginner in dgital cameras but i don't think the delay in shots gets quicker with a faster card. I think faster cards are used for video. For example the one I have does video ar 30fps but it needs a fast card for this to write properly.-peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short-time Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 I don?t know about the newer Sandisk cards, but their older 256 MB SD versions were notorious for having problems. I would avoid these for sure although I?ve heard their CF versions are OK. The lag or write time between shots will probably not improve much with a faster card as that is usually not the bottleneck, nevertheless I would go with a faster card if shopping for a new one. Lexar now offers the WA series with 80X technology that claims 12MB per second transfer rate which is about as fast as I have seen. Panasonic makes some fast (10MB/sec) cards that are made in Japan and are inexpensive. Also, I?ve had good luck with PNY and Kingston. Many (if not most) cards are now made in Taiwan and increasingly China, and you can?t be sure where they are made by specific brand ? you have to look what?s stamped on the back of the card. Given a choice I prefer the ones made in Japan. BTW, 256 MB card prices have dropped dramatically over the past few months, why not consider moving up to a 512 or even 1GB? I?m looking at buying the new Canon S70 at the moment and may go with a Hitachi Microdrive as they are getting pretty cheap and have memory capacities up to 4 GB (although a bit slow at 7MB/Sec). ST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddave Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Anyone up to date on current prices for Flash Memory 512K cards at Pantip or MBK? I'm not sure whether to buy here in the U.S. or wait untill I return to BKK next month. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 All depends how many pixels you use for one pix. If your camera allows anything over 4 million pixel and more, and you use that when you take shots, what the ultra, extreme cards do, is meorizing the shot faster, between the time you click the shutter down and the time it takes to record the pix. A slower card may also take the shot slighly delayed too, a problem when people are not standing still, posing. If you take lower pixel shots, might not be necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short-time Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Sorry, but I think you are confusing shutter lag with the time it takes the camera to process the CCD image information and transfer it to the memory card. Shutter lag is a completely different issue and is indeed a problem with many digital cameras. Shutter lag is basically the time from the instant you press the capture button to the time the shutter actually open to capture the image. It takes time for the cameras electronics and optics to process, focus and adjust the many variables necessary to hopefully capture an acceptable image. Some cameras perform these tasks much better than others and having a faster storage card will make no difference here. Once the shutter closes and the CCD image is captured, the number crunching begins and the image is usually written temporarily to a buffer area in the camera and then transferred to the memory card. Again, this all takes time and some cameras perform these tasks faster then others. And here is where a faster memory card can make a significant difference, but only if the camera can process and supply information faster then a slower memory card can write it. So, if there is no bottleneck here then there is little to be gained by having a faster memory card. To make use of the faster memory, the camera must be capable of delivering the highest transfer rate the card is capable of accepting. And many aren?t up to this challenge. And it gets a lot more complicated than this as cameras can be very picky when it comes to memory; some seem to prefer one brand while others prefer another, sometimes even when the better performer clearly has inferior specifications. It would be nice if there was one brand that out performed all others, in all cameras, all of the time, but unfortunately, this is just not the way it is in the real world. Still, it doesn?t hurt (except maybe your wallet!) to buy the fastest memory modules available, but you may see little to no shot-to-shot speed improvement with a given camera/memory combination. ST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted November 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 St, You seem to be clued up on this so I've another couple of questions if I may. The camera I have in mind in the Canon IXY (IXUS) 500. I have the 400 but have to "lend" it to the ex. Great little camera but perhaps slow in between pictures and slow to take the picture after pressing the button. What I need is to get something faster (wish/desire, not particularly necessary usually) but how do I find out the "transfer" rate which could be improved by a superior card. Also, do Canons like Sandisk ? All I really want is something Japanese (has to be), small, high mxpl and easy to get the shit into the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Pickles Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Buy your CF cards from B & H Photo and Video in New York as they have the best prices generally. Of all the cards I've seen for sale here in LOS I think they are over priced and you would be hard pressed to find the latest in CF technology readily available. As for the Microdrives, yes they are cheaper but like you said they are slower and use more of your battery power as well. The biggest drawback to the micro drives I find is their durability. Unlike conventional CF cards, if you drop a microdrive there is a good chance of not only loosing all of your data but the card may be toast too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 I bought (2) 512 meg sandisk for $69.00 at Office Depot in US. It was a super special. Final price - less then $35.00 for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short-time Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 Mr. T, sorry for the late reply, been kind of out of it the last couple of days as I fell off the wagon following the election results, guess I landed on my head . Anyway, am feeling a little better now. Sounds like you have both problems to me ? shutter lag and slow write time. Sorry, I can?t answer any of your questions. But, if you visited a camera store perhaps they would let you stick a faster card in your camera to try out and you could then judge for yourself if you detect any improvement in the shot-to-shot performance. Other than that sounds like you may need a new camera. If shutter lag really bothers you (and it does me) you might want to consider a fixed focus camera like one of the super small Casio Exilim series. They are much faster as they do not have the focusing task to perform. I have the EX-M2 and there is virtually no shutter lag, I believe they claim 0.01 seconds and although its only two megapixels it still takes amazingly good pictures. And, yes, it?s made in Japan and even functions double duty as a great little MP3 player ::. ST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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