Steve'sDigicams

grumpy · Dec 30, 2003, 1:46 PM

When I take a photo with my Canon S330 digital camera, I have to wait about 10 seconds before I can take the next shot.

The compact flash manufacturers are advertising that their new flash cards are extremely fast and will solve this problem.

But, I've alread got a 128 and 512 compact flash memory card, and don't need another.

But, if purchasing one of these new cards would solve my problem, I'd surely buy one.

But, I have no way of know if these "speeds" claims are true.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

voxmagna · Dec 30, 2003, 5:21 PM

Sorry to enlighten you, but card speeds are tests done on the cards themselves. If the processor in the camera can't write the data in such a way and speed then faster cards are a waste of money - unless you're future proofing for the next camera.

I might have PC133 RAM, but if my PC architecture only supports PC100, I don't see the benefit of faster memory. I also might have USB2 readers, but if my pc is only USB1 capable I can't run faster. Get the idea??

You may be unlucky and just have a very slow card. Learn from other users of your camera where the 'sweet spot' in card speed is but don't assume there is a linear relationship to claims about cards. The only cards that come with consistent speeds are SmartMedia, I like them for their compatibility - but they're now regarded as out of date. VOX

grumpy · Dec 30, 2003, 5:46 PM

That answers my question well.
Perhaps the solution would be to purchase a camera that
has a more rapid "write" ability.

Thanks for you quick reply...
"Happy New Year"...

grumpy...

sjms · Dec 30, 2003, 6:38 PM

i think your going to be surprized there too. there are currently NO cameras that meet or come near that of the highest speed card transfers. not even the Nikon D2H (the current reigning speed king)which reaches about 1/2 that speed, and thats on only certain cards. that can be had for about $3500 w/o a lens

Ref: http://65.110.81.28/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-6555

there are other digicams like the minolta 7Hi and the A1 along withe the fuji 5000 and 7000 that will allow due to the way their buffers work 3+ fps for a limited amount of frames before the buffer fills and then is forced to dump. that means no picture until the buffer dumps enough to allow another frame to be executed. the time will vary from camera to camera. from my experience with the A1 in jpg it will shoot 3 hi res frames and then in about 1.5-2 secs you can start shooting again. in raw it will shoot 5 shots with the same recycle/shoot time roughly. it is optimized for raw image shooting. these times will vary with AF refocus and other minor little nits that affect our world as we currently understand it.

as with most cameras the less money spent it seems the less featuresand performance you will get.

Dec 30, 2003, 1:46 PM	#1
grumpy Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 11	Compact Flash memory speed When I take a photo with my Canon S330 digital camera, I have to wait about 10 seconds before I can take the next shot. The compact flash manufacturers are advertising that their new flash cards are extremely fast and will solve this problem. But, I've alread got a 128 and 512 compact flash memory card, and don't need another. But, if purchasing one of these new cards would solve my problem, I'd surely buy one. But, I have no way of know if these "speeds" claims are true. Any suggestions? Thanks

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Steve'sDigicams

Recent Camera Reviews

Most Active Forums

Most Popular Deals

Latest Feature Articles

Dec 30, 2003, 5:21 PM	#2
voxmagna Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,162	Sorry to enlighten you, but card speeds are tests done on the cards themselves. If the processor in the camera can't write the data in such a way and speed then faster cards are a waste of money - unless you're future proofing for the next camera. I might have PC133 RAM, but if my PC architecture only supports PC100, I don't see the benefit of faster memory. I also might have USB2 readers, but if my pc is only USB1 capable I can't run faster. Get the idea?? You may be unlucky and just have a very slow card. Learn from other users of your camera where the 'sweet spot' in card speed is but don't assume there is a linear relationship to claims about cards. The only cards that come with consistent speeds are SmartMedia, I like them for their compatibility - but they're now regarded as out of date. VOX

Dec 30, 2003, 5:46 PM	#3
grumpy Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 11	That answers my question well. Perhaps the solution would be to purchase a camera that has a more rapid "write" ability. Thanks for you quick reply... "Happy New Year"... grumpy...

Dec 30, 2003, 6:38 PM	#4
sjms Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 2,735	i think your going to be surprized there too. there are currently NO cameras that meet or come near that of the highest speed card transfers. not even the Nikon D2H (the current reigning speed king)which reaches about 1/2 that speed, and thats on only certain cards. that can be had for about $3500 w/o a lens Ref: http://65.110.81.28/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-6555 there are other digicams like the minolta 7Hi and the A1 along withe the fuji 5000 and 7000 that will allow due to the way their buffers work 3+ fps for a limited amount of frames before the buffer fills and then is forced to dump. that means no picture until the buffer dumps enough to allow another frame to be executed. the time will vary from camera to camera. from my experience with the A1 in jpg it will shoot 3 hi res frames and then in about 1.5-2 secs you can start shooting again. in raw it will shoot 5 shots with the same recycle/shoot time roughly. it is optimized for raw image shooting. these times will vary with AF refocus and other minor little nits that affect our world as we currently understand it. as with most cameras the less money spent it seems the less featuresand performance you will get.