SanDisk Extreme Pro Compact Flash Memory card

Testing

Test Gear:

Canon 5D Mark II

Stop watch

SanDisk Extreme III 4GB 30MB/s CF Card

SanDisk Extreme III 32GB 90MB/s CF card

Three simple tests were run on this card. All of the tests on the SanDisk Extreme Pro 90MB/s CF Card were in comparison to the lesser SanDisk 4GB Extreme III 30MB/s CF Card.

Test 1:

The first test was to see the effect of the increased speed (90MB/s) on the camera’s performance. For this test, I used burst photography on maximum settings with RAW only.

Extreme III

13 shots 1/4000 iso 1600 RAW

Extreme Pro

16 shots 1/4000 iso 1600 RAW

Results: The Extreme Pro outperformed the Extreme III by 3 RAW photographs and it processed the batch slightly faster (about .2 seconds faster).

Test 2:

The next test was the video test. How would it effect the video? Would it be sharper? Might it get rid of that issue with fast pans? This test is for you 5D owners.

4GB Extreme III 1080p Video: 30fps – looks great, no artifact, fast pan creates slight distortion. Maximum 11 minutes of footage.

32GB Extreme Pro 1080p Video: 30fps – looks great, no artifact, fast pan creates slight distortion. Maximum 90 minutes of footage.

Results:

Exactly the same, in terms of performance. I admit, I sort of anticipated the outcome of this one. The 90MB/s is not a dream fix for the video on the Mark II, whose limitations include the slight distortion on quick pans, and only shooting at 30fps (no 24 or 60; come on Canon!), but on an off note, the 90MB/s opens some interesting doors for folks creating custom firmware for the 5D and other cameras. Now, the large 32GB capacity is great and incredibly useful as compared to the small 4GB card.

Test 3:

Alright, so the next test is about measuring the actual number of photos and amount of time it takes to capture them with continuous burst photography. I will take photos at the largest size (RAW + Large JPEG) which is a total of 41MB combined for each shot.

	30MB/s Extreme III	90MB/s Exteme Pro
	RAW+JPEG 9 photos 00:00:02:903	RAW+JPEG 9 photos 00:00:02:779
	RAW+JPEG 9 photos 00:00:02:811	RAW+JPEG 9 photos 00:00:02:836
	RAW+JPEG 9 photos 00:00:02:856	RAW+JPEG 9 photos 00:00:02:836
Average Total	~856.6 milliseconds	~707.6 milliseconds

RAW + JPEG resolutions: RAW 21MB 5616 x 3744 + L JPEG 21MB 5616 x 3744

Results:

A .149 second difference. That is tiny, and for me personally, insignificant, but for those sports photographers and others shoot high speed this difference could be the factor between getting the shot, and not. To get an idea of how long .149 seconds is, count 2-4-6-8-10 in 1 second. .149 seconds happened somewhere in the middle of “2”. Now, we have to consider the 5D in this calculation. It has a cache that fills up and must empty before more photos can be taken. That’s why both cards took only 9 photos before the lag, but the higher MB/s on the Extreme Pro pushed the limits of the 5D by filling in that empty .149 seconds.

Conclusion

Overall, I like the card, I think it is looking forward at the technology of next year and the coming years. Certainly, it will be a lasting investment for those who purchase it. I don’t recommend buying just yet, due to price unless you need the storage, unless if you have a Red (which can easily use these speeds) in which case you do have the money. At prices like $335.99 for 16GB, $559.99 of 32GB, and  $895.99 for 64GB these are somewhat pricey, which is expected for something this new and different. While speed increase is mostly noticed for photographers, size does matter. The SanDisk Extreme Pro CF will be a great investment for the future and present if you are a photographer or film maker and you will not regret it.