AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I've searched the Hog for recent posts on this topic, but there isn't anything recent on the topic of SD card speed and capacity. Several links in the pinned topic on the subject are broken, so I'm asking for advice here.

I have a Nikon D7100, which will take both the SDHC and SDXC cards, according to the manual. I currently have Sandisk 32Gig SDHC cards with the "3 in a box" mark, which I assume indicates Class 3. When shooting RAW in burst mode, I find that the camera is not shooting at the rated 6 FPS burst speed, and I'd like to be able to take advantage of it for some of our grandkids' school sports. The online buyers' guides I've found are sometimes conflicting or contradictory in their advice. For example, the Best Buy online guide suggests a 3 class card is sufficient for burst shooting of RAW images, which it really isn't, at least from my experience. The B&H guide is slightly more helpful, but it doesn't even show a 3 class 32G SDHC card in its list.

So my twofold question:

1) Will I need to go to SDXC or just a higher "class" SDHC card to achieve 6 FPS for more than a couple of seconds at a time?

2) Is there a good online guide to buying SD cards for various types of photography? I haven't really been enthusiastic over the ones I've found.

Thanks in advance for any advice or insight. It was easier picking film!

Andy

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

This may help: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-564196-1.html

You would need optimum conditions to achieve 6FPS and I doubt your card is much of an issue.

The 7100 will shoot 6fps for 8 to 10 frames in 14 bit with a fast card before slowing to around 3 fps and I believe that would be with a battery grip. I'm sure others will weigh in.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I'm getting about 2-3 shots at 6FPS, and then slowing down considerably. That's in good light with my Nikon 70-300 zoom. I have the "C-low" set to 3 FPS and the high at 6. I haven't done much shooting with this lens, which is new to me, as it's been pouring here since it arrived. I'm not completely sure whether this is a function of buffer space, shooting 14b RAW, or card speed.

Andy

krashdragon

Wouldnt it just be better to buy an inexpensive video camera?
Yeah, 2 cameras, but ..... if the gkids are in a bunch of sports, it might just be easier...

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Is your release mode dial set for max fps..CH ?

Have you tried jpeg with the second slot set to overflow?

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Yeah, you could hire a movie crew too, but that is not what he's looking for.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I'm not shooting video, but the D7100's video performance is fine for me. I'd like to get a few more than 3-4 shots at a time in burst mode.

Andy

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I only shoot RAW, as I do a lot of PP work. And yes, I have the second card set for overflow.

I've got the CL set for 3 FPS and CH for 6. Tried both, but haven't seen much difference. As I said, I'm just test shooting at the moment, but I want to eliminate any possible card speed issues first. I'll dial back to JPEG (which fires away at the full 6 or 3 FPS when I try it) if I have to, but with the poor lighting at many fields and arenas, I'd really like to stay in RAW mode.

And no, a camera upgrade is not in my short-term future! Still have to get a D7100 or 7200 to upgrade my bride, first!

Andy

chase4 Loc: Punta Corona, California

Andy - Perhaps info here might help, or not.............chase

https://www.cameramemoryspeed.com

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Interesting - the SanDisk SDXC 256G shows a sustained write speed of 90+ MBS and is under a hundred bucks. Winner, winner, chicken dinner?

Andy

howlynn Loc: pueblo west, co

Hi Andy, I have been shooting with the D7100 since it came out. I found that
when shooting in RAW the buffer was very limited. There is information
in the D7100 manual at the very end - Memory Card Capacity. It does
cover information about the buffering of images, check it out page 348 in
my manual. Shooting Jpeg for BIF worked for me.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

After going through your camera's user manual for compatible mem cards, I recommend you pick up one of these. It will get the best fps rate your camera can get. It's what I use on my D7200.

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-UHS-I-Memory-SDSDXXG-064G-GN4IN/dp/B01J5RHD58/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543785467&sr=8-2&keywords=sandisk+sdxc+64gb+class+10

Another way to get the frame rate up is to store smaller image sizes, which can be selected in the menu under the little camera under "image size" (at least it is on my D7200).

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

I was just grabbing at straws to facilitate optimal conditions, but as you know there are other factors. Cl and Ch should not be the same rate...My cameras shoot at a faster rate and most of the time I could care less. My 7100 was quite satisfactory for wildlife kids and BIF and my wife now enjoys it. I'm sure someone will come up with a reason, but we already know that if you get to 6FPS, it's not for long.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

That's the first place I looked. It shows buffer capacity as 6 for 14bit RAW, but I'm slowing down after 2 shots. That's why I initially thought it might be a card speed problem. I can live with 6, or even cut back to 12b compressed RAW and squeeze out 7!

Andy

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

How fast is the 7100 capable of writing??

I have tires on my car that are VR rated, but my car still won't do 200 plus miles per hour!

With good conditions, the 7100 will be hard pressed to exceed roughly 70mbs, so a faster card means nothing and the buffer will quickly load up anyway. If I am incorrect, hopefully someone can correct me.