Camera Labs

How fast does a CompactFlash card have to be before the speed of the camera's hardware/software limits transfer speeds while taking photographs in very quick succession?

I note that the new SanDisk Extreme® Ducati Edition CompactFlash 8GB can transfer data at 45MB/sec. Jolly impressive but does anyone have an idea whether your average DSLR can supply data at these speeds?

I know that this will vary from camera to camera but I wonder if there is a general rule of thumb.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Well, if you do the math: 1xRAW+1xJPG-fine = 15MBx3pics per sec.=45MByte per sec if the cam support continuous shooting.
So the fastest card is just good enough for 3pics/sec!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Nice one Tom. I must have been in a lazy mood this afternoon so it's nice to know you're on the ball. I wonder if SanDisk do a nice Ducati sticker with their cards that you can stick on the front of the camera?

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

To be honest, before my calculation I never thought that even the fastest cards today are only good for 3 pics/sec RAW+jpeg.
But then, most people are not shooting RAW. So this is equivalent to 9 pics/sec jpeg-fine continuous. More than any DSLR can shoot
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P.S.: Most cameras have a hard time transfering 45MB/sec to the card. They normaly capture to internal mem first with a higher burst rate and then save to card at whatever the internal bus (and the card) allows.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses