Joelbarton87 Loc: Hereford u.k

Hi all i have just bought 2 x Lexar 32gb 1000x cf cards for my 5D mk III now i have been waiting for ages for these to turn up in the post so until now i have been using my sandisk extreme 32gb 30mb/s sd card with this card my camera said my maximum frames in a burst was 13... so with the Lexar cf card boasting speeds of up to 150mb/s i was expecting the maximum frames in a burst to increase but removing the sd card an inserting the cf card the burst count stayed at 13 even after formatting the cf card. can some one tell me if this correct or not please or have a bought a card advertising a higher speed than it can go. it is a 32gb card or 29.8gb i have checked that but just confused as the the frame burst count. if it helps my iso was 100 shutter speed 1/40 and shooting RAW
Kind regards
Joe.

traveler90712 Loc: Lake Worth, Fl.

I do believe that it is your camera that determines the burst speed (burst speed being what the camera can record to the media installed). As for the cards, some can record faster then what the cameras capabilities to record the picture information.

JPL

Your camera can not do better than this I guess in full res RAW mode. It is the camera and file type selection that control the burst speed and number of shots in one burst, not the memory card.

catfish252

Here is a link to Canon's website and this is a table about which cards have been verified to work with the camera:
For some reason I cannot link directly to that page - the link brings me to some sd card page however in support there is a table with the brand names and speed values that have been tested with this camera

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

I think you have just not set the camera right or as said have raw set

Fast cards DO make one hell of a difference

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-155255-1.html

Joelbarton87 Loc: Hereford u.k

I stated in my post I shoot raw

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Yeah sorry, in which case there will be much less difference, and I don't think you have been caught, the cards in JPEG

WAL

Try comparing the download speed to see if here is a difference

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Burst speed, measured in fps (frames per second), is a function of the camera. If the camera is capable of 13 fps, that's all it will ever do, regardless of the card you insert. However, if you put a cheap, slow card in the camera, it may be that the camera will never be able to reach its advertised rate.

It sounds like you had a card inserted that would accommodate the burst speed, then you inserted a faster card. All that means is that your camera will continue to reach its maximum burst speed.

GeneS Loc: Glendale,AZ

Frames for the burst rate are first stored in the buffer memory installed in the camera it self. The camera will write the pictures to the card from this buffer, what a faster card will do is allow the camera to clear this buffer faster so more pictures can be taken. This is true up to a point, that point is how fast the camera buffer will write to the card. After that write speed is reached it doesn't do any good to have a faster card.
I have the same problem with my Sony A77 it gives me about 17 frames to a burst then slows to about 3 fps unless I stop and allow the internal buffer to clear.
Hope this makes sense to you.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

Joe, my Canon 7D is rated for 15 frames in continuous burst and that is what I get using 30 MB/s cards. When using the Sandisk Extreme Pro 90 MB/s cards I can get 23 or 24 in a burst before the camera slows down. Additionally, when using the high speed card, the recovery time is very fast and the camera will continue to take pictures in 2 frame bursts with about a half second pause in between. The 7D has the Dual Digic 4 processor. I see the 5D MkIII is the newer Digic 5 but it doesn't indicate it is a Dual processor. I wonder if that is the limiting factor?

The burst length is a function of the ability of the camera's processor to write data to the card. If the card write speed is the limiting factor, then a higher speed card will improve the burst length. If the Card is not the limiting factor but the camera's processor is, then the high speed card will not help.

The larger sensor of the 5D with higher megapixel count means that the files are larger too and that may affect burst length.

Make sure your camera is not set to "High ISO Speed Noise Reduction" as this WILL negatively affect burst length.

coco1964 Loc: Winsted Mn

In your manual what does it say the maxium FPS is for that particular model?? Not trying to keep it simple but with any camera you are only going to get what the max is for the camera. I shoot Nikon and it's stated in each manual what the max FPS is for that camera no matter what card you put in it and I'm guessing Canon's manuals say the same. Just wondering what the max FPS is for that camera---sorry if you stated this and I didn't catch it. If it's 13 that's the most you're going to get no matter what card you put in it. Are you getting 13 or trying to get 13 max??

darkmanCANADA Loc: Calgary, AB Canada

I have a d7000 and even with a 45mb/s card I can only get about 6 frames when shooting 14bit RAW uncompressed. If I shoot in JPEG basic I can get over 40 frames before the buffer locks up.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Joel, you will never achieve full fps rate. It's been several years since I verified this, so those that know better can correct it.
BUT, the manufactures certify frame rate shooting large RAW, with absolutely no presets and with the LENS CAP on. So they are only testing the shutter mechanism, since their is actually minimal data being transferred. Not exactly the stuff of real world photography. You may want to look into that. But as long as they all test the same, the playing field stays level.
And as mentioned, use the cards that are recommended by your manual.
Good luck.
SS

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

SS, Joel is not asking about Frames Per Second but burst length i.e. the number of frames that can be taken before the camera must pause to let the buffer empty sufficiently to take additional pictures.