Surprising specification

[jaapv]

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Series: 12 exposures, after that "frequency depends on memory card properties"

 

Fair enough, but:

 

:confused: I thought the camera has 16 MB inbuilt memory....

[wattsy]

16GB surely. Which is storage not the buffer.

[jaapv]

So it appears the camera stores the series images directly to the SD card instead of emptying the buffer into the internal memory.

[stuny]

Either way there must be a throughput speed bottleneck.

[jaapv]

That can't explain it, as they refer to the properties of the card. I find it strange that it apparently does not write the buffer to its own memory, unless this is a mistake in the spec sheet.

 

Maybe somebody who is actually using the camera can shed some light on this? Can one get beyond the 12 frames without memory card? What happens to the fps after 12 shots then?

[wattsy]

I find it strange that it apparently does not write the buffer to its own memory

 

It must do if no SD card is present. However, even then the FPS will drop as the internal storage will be slower than the buffer and the latter will take time to empty. I guess Leica don't quote the FPS after the buffer is filled (12 frames) because the answer depends upon variables such as whether the user has an SD card installed, the speed of the card, etc. Easier to just to specify that the "frequency depends on memory card properties".

[jaapv]

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That is my idea as well, still there must be a fixed rate when the internal memory is in operation, How does the camera prioritize the memory btw.? Is that user-selectable (it is on my wife's video camera which uses internal memory and two SD cards) or does it switch to the card as soon as it is inserted?

[timde]

The internal 16GB memory is likely the same "kind" as one finds in an SD card - generally slower than the buffer memory.

 

Manual suggests that images are written to the SD-Card if it is inserted, otherwise the internal memory. Images can be copied between both.

[marknorton]

The internal 16GB memory is likely the same "kind" as one finds in an SD card - generally slower than the buffer memory.

 

Manual suggests that images are written to the SD-Card if it is inserted, otherwise the internal memory. Images can be copied between both.

 

I agree, the internal memory is not going to be the normal high speed memory used to buffer images; to begin with, it has to be non-volatile and non-volatile and high speed don't sit well together.

[rramesh]

Camera would probably have an internal buffer for at least 12 pictures which are then written to the an SD card (built in or removable). That's probably why there could be a slowdown after 12 continuous shots. Correct me if I am wrong.

[pico]

I think "internal memory" and "buffer" are two words for the same part which is volatile memory. You can take pictures until it fills, whether there is an SD card in the camera or not. Try it with an M9.

[jonoslack]

That can't explain it, as they refer to the properties of the card. I find it strange that it apparently does not write the buffer to its own memory, unless this is a mistake in the spec sheet.

 

Maybe somebody who is actually using the camera can shed some light on this? Can one get beyond the 12 frames without memory card? What happens to the fps after 12 shots then?

 

Hi there Jaap. The 16gb internal memory is not a buffer. You can choose to write to it instead of to the SD card ( but not as well as, sadly). My impression is that it's rather slow memory (this May be my preproduction camera). The really good thing about it is that you can use the camera when you forgot to put the SD card back!

 

In my experience the camera does really perform better with faster SD cards

[jaapv]

Hi Jono, thanks for your input. I realize that it is not a buffer. My question was based on me regarding it as a kind of built-in SD card, and thus of known write-read speed, So I wondered why Leica did not specify an FPS for using the built-in memory, possibly with the addendum that it might be faster using a fast SD card instead of just saying it may vary with the card used.

[pico]

Hi there Jaap. The 16gb internal memory is not a buffer. You can choose to write to it instead of to the SD card

 

Do you mean there is a menu item one selects to not write to the SD card? With the M9, capture occurs to volatile internal memory regardless of any menu option.

 

The confusion, to me, concerns the definition, the function of 'buffer' which in my experience means volatile memory.

 

When you take pictures without the SD card, then turn the camera off, then on again, are the internal images retained? If they are not retained, then there's your 'buffer'. No?

[jaapv]

As I understand it is an internal memory which will retain 16 Gb of images. Non-volatile.

[wattsy]

Do you mean there is a menu item one selects to not write to the SD card? With the M9, capture occurs to volatile internal memory regardless of any menu option.

 

The confusion, to me, concerns the definition, the function of 'buffer' which in my experience means volatile memory.

 

When you take pictures without the SD card, then turn the camera off, then on again, are the internal images retained? If they are not retained, then there's your 'buffer'. No?

 

The T has both a buffer and internal storage of 16GB which can be optionally used instead of an SD card.

[pico]

The T has both a buffer and internal storage of 16GB which can be optionally used instead of an SD card.

 

Thank you Ian and Jaap. That is something the M9 does not have.

 

You can use the internal 16GB until it is full, even transfer those images as if it were an SD card, correct? And we do not lose the images if we turn off the camera with no SD card inserted. Correct?

 

Sorry for belaboring this issue. I just wanted to understand.

.

[jonoslack]

Do you mean there is a menu item one selects to not write to the SD card? With the M9, capture occurs to volatile internal memory regardless of any menu option.

 

The confusion, to me, concerns the definition, the function of 'buffer' which in my experience means volatile memory.

 

When you take pictures without the SD card, then turn the camera off, then on again, are the internal images retained? If they are not retained, then there's your 'buffer'. No?

 

Hi Pico

As Jaap says, non-volatile. When you turn the camera off and on they're still there, and there are menu options relating.