Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

 

5D Mark III SD Card Speeds are Slower Than They Should Be

By

5D Mark III w/ SD Card

Image Credit: Jeff Cable

Jeff Cable noted a curious fault of the Canon 5D Mark III and its rather sluggish SD card write speed.

. . . for some reason unbeknownst to me, Canon decided to build the 5D Mark III with one very fast CF slot which supports the newer UDMA7 protocol and a standard SD card slot which does NOT support the high speed standard (called UHS – for Ultra High Speed).

Jeff lays out the full details on his trials with the SD format over on his blog.  Note that Jeff works for Lexar and knows more details about memory card specifications than the average photographer.  Word from the horse’s mouth is also available on page 32 of the 5D3 manual with the express disclaimer that the camera does not support the UHS speed class standard.

I’m with Jeff on this one.  It’s a real head scratcher why Canon wouldn’t support UHS-I in its cutting edge 5D Mark III.  (The standard was announced way back in 2010 and has been pretty widely adopted thus far, including prosumer shooters like the Nikon D7000.)  While it’s not as big a deal as a crippled AF system (ahem, 5D Mark II), this certainly is annoying and makes the SD slot unusable for some shooters out there.

Of course, Canon updated the 5D Mark II to provide support for the CF card spec UDMA-7 over 2.5 years after the camera was released.  So, maybe we can hope a little bit that a similar firmware update would come to the 5D3 in order to put the SD card slot on nearly equal footing with the CF card slot.  However, Jeff says that this could be a hardware limitation and not possible to update.

Has anyone else been plagued by the sluggish SD card problem on the 5D Mark III?

More memory card geekery explanation on Demystifying SD Cards.

Don’t Buy Anything Less Than a Class 10 SD Card

By

No More Slow Memory Cards

I’ve seen a lot of deals lately on Class 4 and Class 6 SD cards mixed in with deals on Class 10 SD cards.  The price difference between these classes of SD cards is now nominal and, as a result, there’s really  no reason you should buy a Class 4 SD card anymore.

The prevalence of this problem came to light recently when a friend brought his Canon 60D to me, stating that it wouldn’t record video for more than a couple of seconds.  My gut told me to check the SD card first thing.  And, sure enough, he had an old SanDisk Ultra Class 4 SDHC card in it.  I swapped it out with one of my SanDisk Class 10 SDHC cards and it worked like a charm.

He ordered a new Class 10 SDHC card that day.  His 60D has captured video just fine ever since.

If you don’t already know, the Class-ratings on SD cards relate to a minimum write speed. When recording HD video, you need a minimum-sustained write speed in order to dump the data off the camera and onto the card.  In many cameras today, Class 4 (4MB/s) and Class 6 (6MB/s) cards just can’t handle the data transfers.

Class 10 cards are currently the fastest rated for minimum write speeds available and will handle video capture for most, if not all, current HD video DSLRs and camcorders today.

If you want to know more about SD card speed ratings and classifications, check out my article on Demystifying SD Cards.

If you want an easy recommendation, go with SanDisk Extreme Class 10 SD cards.

Canon 60D Firmware Update 1.1.1

By

Canon 60D

Canon has issued a firmware update for the 60D.  The new firmware version 1.1.1 includes the following updates:

  1. Fixes a phenomenon where the camera’s serial number that is displayed in the shooting information of the image does not display the correct serial number. *1)
  2. Corrects errors in the Greek, Italian, and Portuguese menu screens.

You can download the update from Canon’s website.

Canon 7D Mark II as Low-End Full Frame Camera? 70D Coming as APS-C Flagship?

By

Canon 7D

After the leaky Nikon D600 made its recent waves, rumors of the next generation of the Canon 7D emerged as its potential as a full-frame shooter on the lower end of Canon’s arsenal.

Additional rumors suggest that a Canon 70D would serve as a replacement for both the existing 60D and 7D APS-C models – thus making the 70D the top tier APS-C camera from Canon.

No other specs seem to have emerged in the rumor mill thus far.  Both cameras are rumored for an announcement around Photokina 2012 in September.

[via Canon Watch]

Canon 5D Mark III Firmware Update 1.1.3

By

Canon 5D Mark III

Canon has issued a firmware update for the 5D Mark III.  Version 1.1.3 adds the following:

1. Supports the single focal length EF40mm f/2.8 STM lens that is to be released at the end of June, 2012.
2. Fixes a phenomenon in which an image may become underexposed when using the Auto Lighting Optimizer for continuous Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) shooting.
3. Fixes a phenomenon in which the backlight of the LCD monitor may not turn off depending on the camera settings and timing.
4. Fixes a phenomenon in which the camera’s power may not turn on when a super-telephoto lens*1) is mounted to the camera with an extender*2).
*1) EF 300mm F2.8L IS II USM / EF 400mm F2.8L IS II USM
*2) Extender EF 1.4X III / Extender EF 2X III
5. Corrects mistakes in the Dutch, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, and Swedish menu screens.

You can download the update from Canon’s website.

Satechi WTR-A Wireless Timer Remote

By

Satechi WTR-A Wireless Timer Remote

The Satechi WTR-A Wireless Timer Remote this a third-party remote that is designed to work on most Canon DSLRs (including the 5D Mark III) in place of the RS-80N3.  It also offers intervalometer functions for timelapse photography.  The remote gives you wireless functionality up to 50-feet away.

Satechi WTR-A is now available on Amazon for $59.99.

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

Nikon D400 Rumored for Fall

By

Nikon D400

Amidst a flurry of recent rumors about a Nikon D600 and new lenses, the rumor mill has been relatively quiet about a replacement for the Nikon D300s.  However, Mansurovs has posted a detailed spec list attached to a rumored Photokina 2012 announcement for the Nikon D400 – sporting a 24MP APS-C sensor and a $1799 price tag.

Check out the spec list below and let us know your thoughts about such an APS-C pro shooter in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

[Read more…]