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Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Canon 1D X Mark II Firmware 1.0.2 Update Fixes SanDisk CFast Card Problems

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Canon 1D X Mark II with CFast Card and Reader

Canon has issued a firmware update for the 1D X Mark II that addresses the recently-published image corruption problem with certain SanDisk CFast 2.0 cards. The firmware update specifically provides the following improvements:

  1. Incorporates countermeasures for a phenomenon in which the bottom part of still images recorded to SanDisk CFast cards become corrupted.
  2. Enhances communication reliability between the camera and CFast cards.

If you are using the affected CFast cards, after having updated the Camera Firmware to Firmware Version 1.0.2, please make sure to use the camera to format the CFast card.

You can download the new firmware update here on Canon’s website.

 

Canon 5D Mark IV to Use CFast 2.0 Cards?

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5D Mark IV Rumor PB

New info from a “reliable source” at Canon Rumors points to the upcoming Canon 5D Mark IV and its change over to a CFast 2.0 card slot for its primary storage. The rumors note that it would feature both a CFast 2.0 card slot and a SDXC UHS-II card slot – both of which are a substantial upgrade from the 5D Mark III.

UHS-II Cards with Second Row of Pins

The UHS-II bus interface offers the ability to build cards with up to 312MB/s transfer speeds, which is a big jump from the maximum theoretical speeds on the UHS-I interface at 104MB/s. Of course, the UHS-II card slot will still be compatible with older UHS-I and non-UHS bus cards. You just won’t get the speed benefits that UHS-II cards offer.

CFast Card

Of course, CFast 2.0 offers even faster speeds with its SATA-3 connection at 6Gbps (up to 600MB/s) max data throughput. That is the fastest current mainstream memory card (XQD’s PCIe-based theoretical limit is 5Gbps).

Either of the card slots should be more than competent for whatever kind of compressed 4K video the Canon 5D Mark IV throws at them. The biggest question remaining to the bottleneck is Canon’s processing capability for still images. Is Canon simply going to build a 1D X Mark II Jr. as the 5D Mark IV?

Pro Camera Manufacturers Need to Get on the CFast Bandwagon

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Lexar Pro CFast Memory Card

I was shooting some video using the Atomos Ninja Star yesterday, which uses CFast cards. When it came time to download my footage, I had 27GB of footage. It took 2 minutes to transfer to my Mac Pro using a USB 3.0 card reader.

I hate plugging in a CF or SD card to a card reader and look at 10+ minutes of transfer time remaining. CFast cards are still pretty pricey but there’s just not much demand because the more popular cameras don’t support them yet. Right now, they seem to be mostly limited to pro video cameras.

The pins on devices that use CF cards are the worst design possible and expensive to repair when bent ($275 in a Canon 7D if you’re wondering). CF cards are reaching their limits in terms of transfer speeds. SD cards are even passing them up with the new UHS-II bus and we’re seeing more and more cameras add UHS-II compatibility. I’d like to see CFast cards implemented in cameras that are on the level of the Canon 5D series and higher.

CF cards have served their purpose well but it’s time to move on.

Atomos Releases Affordable CFast Cards for Ninja Star ProRes Recorder

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Atomos Ninja Star

The Atomos Ninja Star was announced at NAB 2014 and touted as a ProRes recorder for the GoPro. The immediate downside that everyone saw was that it only recorded to CFast cards.

CFast cards are great from a speed standpoint; however, a 60GB SanDisk CFast card still costs $650! That’s a tough pill to swallow for a $300 recorder. While some more recently released cards are lower, they are still well above CF card prices. [Read more…]

SanDisk Introduces the Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 Memory Card Into a Very Odd Format Civil War

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SanDisk CFast 2

SanDisk has unveiled the world’s first CFast 2.0 memory card with its new Extreme Pro model that is available in 60GB and 120GB capacities.

The Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 just laid claim to the world’s fastest memory card, with read speeds of up to 450MB/s and write speeds up to 350MB/s, offering up to double the shot speed of today’s fastest cards. [Read more…]

SanDisk Developing CFast2.0 Memory Cards, Not XQD Cards

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SanDisk revealed at Photokina 2012 that it will be pushing toward memory card production on the new CFast2.0 specification memory cards and will not be delevoping XQD cards.

As of today, the only camera to support the XQD memory card format is the Nikon D4.  And while it is a great camera, no doubt, the single high-end model is not enough to push the demand in the market towards XQD as “the other memory card.”

CFast2.0 is a specification from the CompactFlash Association, which also designates the specification for current CF cards and the newer XQD cards.  CFast2.0 specs offer a theoretical performance up to 600MB/s data transfer speeds.

SanDisk is currently sampling new CFast2.0 cards to camera manufacturers to see if they will bite on the new specification in spite of the overwhelming move toward the SD card standard.  Medium format camera maker Phase One has already committed to putting the CFast2.0 cards to work in new cameras due to the higher performance over other card formats.

Pretec CFast Compact Flash Card – Transfer Rate of 160MB/s

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I think Pretec just dared Canon, Nikon or anyone else to produce some higher resolution video and faster frame rates.  The new Pretec CFast series of compact flash cards quadruples the write speed of the SanDisk Extreme IV.

And, if the performance lives up to the specs, the CFast series will eat as much HD video as your Canon 5D Mark II can throw at it.  Maybe we can stop referring to CF card specs as 133x, 266x and so on, since the CFast will be something like 1064x speed card.

Check out the details in the press release below. [Read more…]