SDHC Card Timings

[wparsonsgisnet]

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Well, I posted this in another thread and now can't locate it. Here we go again.

 

I wanted to verify the SDHC timings that others have posted. This week my 1st M8 came back from Leica-NJ with a replaced shutter/switch circuit board -- and an upgrade to fw 2.0. I asked them to do the upgrade because of the various posts that a corrupted file broke the M8. Now that I have one M8 functioning in fw 2.0, I'll do the other upgrade myself.

 

Anyway, here are the timings for an 8GB SDHC card, all picture review turned OFF:

 

DNG only -- 10 files in 8 seconds, plus 19 seconds for the red light to go out. This is consistent with what I got for a 2GB SD card with fw 1.x.

 

DNG + hi-res JPG -- 5 pairs of files in 10 sec, plus 101 seconds for the red light to go out. Again, this is consistent with what I got for a 2GB SD card with fw 1.x.

 

hi-res JPG -- 5 files (NOT pairs) in 10 sec, plus 27 seconds for the red light to go out.

 

JPG's are dogs! (probably dachshund's, of course)

 

So, I don't see a pickup in write speed with the HC cards in comparison with a standard SD card (that is in spec). I got similar timings to these when using either a 1GB or a 2GB SD card that was so-called "high speed." The cards I tested were 1GB and 2GB Sandisk Ultra II, as well as a 2GB Ridata 150x card.

 

It may be that the computer will read the HC cards at a faster speed, but machs nicht (or, max nix, as my dad would say).

 

Of course, I now have an 8GB card in my M8. There was space for around 187-190 DNG files on the 2GB cards. Therefore, there must be room for a whole lot more in this card. The indicator reads 999, as posted elsewhere.

 

Regards to all,

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[cbretteville]

Ultra II SDHC cards have 15 mb/sec speed. Older Extreme III (non SDHC) 20 mb/sec and the newer Extreme III SDHC cards have 30mb/s. I have't tested this my self, but you might be seeing the speed the M8 is capable of.

 

- Carl

[farnz]

Bill,

 

With the greatest respect it's sort of understandable that the dachshunds are slow compared to dngs because of the grooming the M8 has to do. On the other hand - when you use jpegs - it cuts out a whole lot of time spent gazing your monitor ... if I could just find a way to process my dngs as fast as my M8 processes the dachshunds I'd be a happy man!

 

Pete.

[barjohn]

Bill,

 

Whatever the interface timing is capable is all you can get no matter what the interface on the card is capable of performing. What that means is there is no point in getting faster cards as far as the camera is concerned; however, it will help when you go to transfer the files to a PC or Mac that can handle the faster read speeds.

[wparsonsgisnet]

I just used my existing Sandisk 12-in-1 Image Mate to read from the SDHC card. Works just fine, which is nice news.

 

I also have the little reader that came with the card, and which is nicely backward compatible, tho it only read SD cards.

 

Nice to have camera #1 back. I'll upgrade the other guy before too long.

[barjohn]

Bill,

You will see a significant difference in performance with different card readers connected to your computer. I have both an older and a newer one and with the older one, even fast cards are slow.

[wparsonsgisnet]

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BTW, someone posted in another thread how nice it was to have a b-i-g card in the M8.

 

I've been using the 8gb hc card in some shoots recently and it's *wonderful* not to have to change the card -- or even watch to see if it's going to fill during the next dance number.

 

I agree about the risk of having to many images one card, but boy is this a dream. I just ordered 2 more Transcend 8GB class-6 cards (Amazon @ $15 n change).

 

You know, it takes forever to upload files from a card this size!

[Overgaard]

Bill,

 

For comparison I filled a B&W film in my Leicaflex SL over the weekend and suddenly - I mean suddenly! - the "card was full" and there were no more shots on the film.

 

It's interesting to experience just how fast one get used to hundreds of shots on one card. And how surprising it is to learn that a 36 exposure film one once regarded as plenty, is like nothing now.

[wparsonsgisnet]

I noticed that the Transcend 8GB, class 6 SDHC card that I just bot from Amazon at $15.97 or so, is $9.28, today. These prices are amazing!

 

BTW, I like the first card a lot. Nice and fast, and b-i-g.

 

I hope the pair that I bot gets here soon so I can enjoy their greater value!

[boy_lah]

I have the latest Transend class 6 8 gig and also recently bought the 4g 30mb/s Sandisk Extreme III.

 

The Sandisk is faster. On my DP1 it's more obvious but i also detect it on my m8.

[wparsonsgisnet]

I have the latest Transend class 6 8 gig and also recently bought the 4g 30mb/s Sandisk Extreme III.

 

The Sandisk is faster. On my DP1 it's more obvious but i also detect it on my m8.

 

Would you do the following test:

 

1. Set M8 to Continuous

2. Hold down shutter release untill buffer fills (count the number of images).

3. Record the time until the red light stops blinking (buffer is empty).

 

With dng only, and preview set to off, you should get 10-11 images, and about 17-20 seconds for the red light to stop blinking.

 

I believe the M8 only works as fast as this, and that you should not see any difference in the speeds for these 2 cards.

 

tnx,

[TimF]

Just tried your test Bill, with 8GB SanDisk Extreme III 30mb/s card.

 

I got 12 frames before buffer filled. Approximately 18 seconds before the light stopped flashing.

[wparsonsgisnet]

Just tried your test Bill, with 8GB SanDisk Extreme III 30mb/s card.

 

I got 12 frames before buffer filled. Approximately 18 seconds before the light stopped flashing.

 

Tim, one little question for clarification: did you let go of the shutter when the buffer full message appeared? It is possible that the 12th image came after that message appeared.

 

I have only gotten 11 images on a class 6 card or on 2GB SD cards at Ultra II speed or higher (133x, 150x). I believe the Ultra II is a 60x card.

 

If the 12th image got there before the message appeared, then the Extr III is slightly faster -- AND the M8 takes advantage of it.

 

I still get the 18 seconds or so, but there is one additional image if the E-III is actually faster. It depends on when the 12th image got into the buffer: before or after the msg appears. If you continue to depress the shutter button, the 12th image will go in after the buffer full msg appears (when another, earlier image clears).

[boy_lah]

Sorry but i'm not interested in the test you performed because i don't usually shoot like that. When i shoot normally, i detect a small improvement on the sandisk before i can pre-view on the m8. We're talking 10% if that. on the DP1 it's much more obvious, perhaps 20%. Either way, for me it's a worthwhile improvement - but at the end of the day, we're talking fractions of seconds.

[wparsonsgisnet]

The reason this is important is not for people who use the machine-gun approach but for those who shoot action.

 

I shoot a lot of dance (read: action) and find that I fill the buffer constantly. If you are somewhere and need to shoot a series of photos, for instance in a modeling session, this will be important to you.

 

This test also provides a way to measure the throughput of the card-camera system.

 

You may be interested to know that although you may be able to get 12 dng images recorded this way before the buffer fills, you will only be able to record about 5 jpgs. Since the M8 will only capture one image in 1.5 seconds, and it takes 18 seconds for the buffer to clear, this means it takes about 5 seconds to record a jpg in the M8.

 

So, you probably can't shoot 5 jpgs in a hurry. That may not seem so outlandish to you.

[wlaidlaw]

I just ran the same test on two cards. A new Sandisc Extreme III SDHC 4GB and an elderly Apacer 1GB- 60X that I bought in backwoods Australia about 4 years ago. The Sandisk took 11 shots in DNG only and took 18.5 secs afterwards for the red light to stop. The Apacer only took 10 shots and then took a yawn-making 39 seconds for the red light to stop flashing. I am guessing that this shows that the M8 buffer is 10 shots big and the extra shot or two people are getting on new fast cards are due to one or two of the 10 shots in the buffer already being dumped down to the SD card during the shooting process.

 

I rarely use continuous but when I do, I wish it was a bit faster to catch a split second action. Someone was showing me an otherwise quite ordinary camera from Casio, which he had bought in Japan (EX-F?) that captures something like 60 x 6 MP images in a second. For people who are into taking sports or dance photography, I would guess this would be quite a boon. My friend takes pictures of his daughters show jumping and I have to say some of the pictures at the precise instant of them falling off, were quite impressive.

 

Wilson

[TimF]

Tim, one little question for clarification: did you let go of the shutter when the buffer full message appeared? It is possible that the 12th image came after that message appeared.

 

I have only gotten 11 images on a class 6 card or on 2GB SD cards at Ultra II speed or higher (133x, 150x). I believe the Ultra II is a 60x card.

 

If the 12th image got there before the message appeared, then the Extr III is slightly faster -- AND the M8 takes advantage of it.

 

I still get the 18 seconds or so, but there is one additional image if the E-III is actually faster. It depends on when the 12th image got into the buffer: before or after the msg appears. If you continue to depress the shutter button, the 12th image will go in after the buffer full msg appears (when another, earlier image clears).

Bill, apologies for delay in replying - I'd rather forgotten this thread!

 

Anyway, I just repeated the test twice and got the 12 frames before the Data Transferring message appeared both times. On both occasions the camera paused briefly after the eleventh frame before the twelfth was shot. I will confess that I lifted my finger from the release at that pause, but the message appeared immediately after frame 12. The card, for what its worth is the latest 30 MB/s version.

 

A Third time with same result, and this time I kept my finger firmly down until after the twelfth frame.

[ho_co]

... Someone was showing me an otherwise quite ordinary camera from Casio, which he had bought in Japan (EX-F?) that captures something like 60 x 6 MP images in a second. For people who are into taking sports or dance photography, I would guess this would be quite a boon. My friend takes pictures of his daughters show jumping and I have to say some of the pictures at the precise instant of them falling off, were quite impressive.

Reichmann: Casio EX-F1 Review

 

Pogue: Casio Catches Video Before You Shoot It

 

The camera ended up being available in the US only through Hammacher-Schlemmer, as I recall, for $100 more than Reichmann and Pogue anticipated.