Slow buffering when shooting high burst mode with my 7DMarkii.....what is the fastest SD card?

[iris]

When shooting high burst mode with my 7D Mark ii, I am not getting optimum performance...the buffer fills fast and backs up ..so that I can't take any more shots...I have turned off the High NOise reduction setting altogether...I usually only have an SD card in the camera. I don't use the other card slot....is it because I didn't have the fastest SD card....For those of you who regularly shoot the 7D Mark ii, do you make a point to always shoot with a SAndisk SD 95 card...? Would i get better performance if I used the CF card slot or both?

[TTMartin · Accepted solution]

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@iris wrote:

I am shooting with one card (SD), a Lexar pro 64 GB 150Mb/s Class 10  and 3 inside the U (whatever that means)  but I show a 16 limit burst on my screen....so I don't get it...I'm shooting a low ISO....I have the noise reduction turned off....I"m shooting a Standard picture style......I'm shooting RAW only...My battery is loaded......So why is it backing up and buffering so often   ?? Have I forgotten something? .is it just that the CF card is faster? ....I doh't understand why I"m not getting the promised high perfromance of 20 + something shots burst ...

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First yes, CF cards are faster.

Second, the number you see is the actual buffer, and doesn't include the write speed of your card.

So the only way to tell what your actual burst capapbility is, is to test it. 

Shooting RAW to a SanDisk Extreme PRO 32GB 160 MB/s UDMA 7 CF Card, I get about 30 shots before the burst slows. My viewfinder shows 15.

Note, when testing your cards burst capability set your lens to Manual Focus (MF) because depending on your focus priority settings the camera auto focusing can slow or even interrupt your burst.

[Peter · Accepted solution]

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@iris wrote:
OK...so i'll get my first CF card...So Peter there was nothing wrong with your information the first time around..

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Don´t forget to check the write speed of the CF card. The SD card you wrote about from Lexar has a write speed of maximum 75 MB/s and a read speed of maximum 150 MB/s.

[TTMartin]

Your best performance will be with a fast CF card writing to that card.

From cameramemoryspeed.com

[iris]

I havealways used only the SDcards....what is the rational  for the CF...what can the CF do that the SD card can't ....?

[iris · Accepted solution]

I feel I have bought a Volkswagen. However, I will be using my camera tomorrow to test out your theory that perhaps the number shown on the viewfinder is not necessarily the number of shots one gets before buffering. Also, I will take the advice offered here s out the better performance from the CF card. Thank everyone for your responses! !

[cicopo]

I just shot some White Water Rafting action today using both my 1D4 & 7D2. The photos will be used commercially by the rafting company. Ran up against the buffer a few times with the 1D4 but not once using the 7D2 in a similar manner. Fast write speeds are the answer to your problem.