Best CF for D70 ?

Hello!

I have one Compact Flash Ultra II 512MB from Sandisk. I've been using it for a while. I had no complaint. Now I shoot in NEF and the space is not enough for two dives in a day. I’ve to open the housing and download the card between dives...

I’ve decided to buy a second CF memory. I’ve 125€ to spend on it. I’m thinking on 1GB.

Can you help me choosing the best for the money?

thanks in advance,

Carlos Morais

I'd buy the cheapest one you can find in the capacity you need. The faster and more expensive cards add little or no value for UW use. The 2GB cards are pretty cheap now, I'd go for that size.

Dave

Ditto for the 2GB....I can shoot all day in RAW without opening the housing

Karl

Ditto to the cheapest 2 GB card you can get. The only difference would be download speed to your computer afterward.

D70 buffer and writing speed is pretty good so if you take one shot at a time, you should not have to wait for the next shot. The only time the card will make a difference is in a continuous mode where you keep your button pressed on the shutter. After the buffer is full then how quickly you can take the shots will depend on how fast the camera can write to the card however that is not going to be very essential for most uw application, I think.

Thanks to everyone!

Your ansewers were very usefull to me. I was thinking on faster cards...

Now I understand it's not the best choice for UW (unless the motive is a fast moving shark )... I'll buy one 2GB simple speed CF card.

Please fell free to visit this link of my personal page with some photos taken on a Atlantic Ocean's island near Africa (Cabo Verde):

http://www.azulprofundo.com/Carlos/Cabo_Verde/caboverde.htm

Hello all

just to add my comments and findings on this subject.

I personally use 512MB cards.

reasons

It takes a hell of a long time to download 1GB worth of images.

1GB worth of images is a lot to lose if the card goes down on , i've had a few various brands like PQI & Sandisk Fail on me mid flow, causing a total loss of everything.

So now i use 512MB 66x units, i get 88 RAW images from my D70. more than enough for one dive for me.

i carry 4 of these items around and split the images between these cards, so all four cannot fail at once, so a least i'll have some images should i get another failed CF card.

I have also 1GB Sandisk Ultra II's which are excellent.

just my views on it.... i'd hate to lose a 2GB Card full of images :-((

craig

I find 512MB a little small, so I use 1G cards. Right now I have about 6 1G Lexar 40x and 80x cards that I rotate between. The key for me is not having to open up the housing and camera between dives, as I often do two or more dives a day on a trip. Especially with the D70, having to switch cards is somewhat inconvenient while on a boat.

So now i use 512MB 66x units, i get 88 RAW images from my D70. more than enough for one dive for me.

 

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Ok. I agree is enough for one dive. But I usually do two dives a day. I take over 60 photos for dive so... Think in another case: when doing a liveaboard for one week you may do 3 or more dives a day... I rather prefer waiting a few more minutes downloading my memory card (to my Epson 2000 is even more minutes...) then to open my housing twice or more a day (sometimes in bad weather conditions )

thanks

I used to use 2 GB card with D70. I think chance of card failure is a lot less than flooded housing due to frequent opening and closing. Nowaday I use a regular 4GB card and it usually take 20 odd minutes to download all the pictures to my laptop.

Hi,

I highly recommend the SanDisk Extreme III, 2 GB. As far as I know this is the latest and most fast CF.

For a comparison of write speed, check out the D70 review on dpreview.com

I am using it on my D2x for huge RAW files and it is performing excellent.

My buddy uses the same CF on his D70 and is very happy.

I prefer to have a CF with enough capacity for a daytrip. Depending on lenses / ports I want to shoot, I might not necessarily need to open the housing outside on the boat.

This minimizes the risk of moisture and flooding.

Thilo