The Sports Photo Guy

After testing the Best UDMA CF Cards for the Nikon D300, which analyzed JPG burst performance, I thought I would take a look at RAW write performance.  The results contained a few surprises.

For this test, I fired off 3 bursts of 20 12-bit, lossless compressed RAW files, otherwise using the same settings from the earlier test.  The D300’s buffer can absorb 17 files under these conditions, so this is just enough of a test to begin to see major differences in write speeds.

Highly Recommended √+

• San Disk Extreme Ducati Edition.   This card topped the performance list with an effective 6.7 fps and nearly 29 MB/sec throughput.
• San Disk Extreme IV Series.  The two cards I tested - 8GB and 2GB - were just behind the Ducati and averaged an effective 6.3 fps and approximately 28 MB/sec.
• PNY Optima Pro.  This card averaged an effective 5 fps and 24 MB/sec throughput.  Both the PNY and Extreme IV cards topped the performance charts for JPG burst shooting as well.
• Transcend 300x UDMA.  Transcend’s newest UDMA card hit an effective 5 fps and 24 MB/sec.
• Lexar Pro UDMA.  The Lexar edged into the top performance tier for RAW shooting, with an effective 6 fps and 23 MB/sec throughput.

Buy Extreme Ducati Edition Cards from Adorama: 4GB, 8GB
Buy Extreme IV Cards from Adorama: 2 GB, 4GB, 8GB
Newegg: PNY 2GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card 

Newegg: PNY 4GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Transcend 4GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Transcend 8GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Transcend 16GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Buy Pro UDMA 300x Cards from Adorama: 2 GB, 4GB, 8GB

Recommended √

• SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/sec.  The upgraded, UDMA-capable Extreme III series clocked in at an effective 5 fps and 23 MB/sec throughput.
• ATP Pro Max II UDMA.  A pleasant surprise, the ATP card — an also-ran in JPG burst shooting – joins the elite of RAW shooting with an effective 5 fps and 22 MB/sec throughput.
• Pretec 333x.  Another also-ran in JPG shooting, the faster of Pretec’s two UDMA models consistently recorded 5 fps and 22MB/sec in our RAW burst test.
• A-Data Turbo 350x.  More proof than manufacturer specs means little, this card reached a merely respectable 5 fps and 20 MB/sec throughput.  It’s much better than their “266x” card but not as good as 300x cards from Lexar and Transcend, either.

Buy Extreme III Cards from Adorama: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
Buy Pretec 333x Cards from PTI Global

Marginal √-

• Kingston 266x Ultimate.  The Kingston led a pack of cards whose performance was a bit disappointing, at just 4 fps effective and 14 MB/sec throughput.
• Ridata 266x Supreme.  Ridata’s second effort reached 4 fps and 14 MB/sec throughput.
• Apacer Steno IV 300x.  This entry hit 3.75 effective fps with 14 MB/sec throughput.
• Transcend 266x.  Transcend’s faster UDMA card hit 3.75 effective fps and 13 MB/sec throughput.
• Delkin Pro UDMA 305x.  Delkin’s card just topped 3.5 effective fps and nearly 12 MB/sec.
• Hoodman RAW.  Hoodman’s card limped in at 3.3 effective fps and 11 MB/sec throughput.
• Calumet ProSpec 305x.  This very likely re-badged card has mediocre specs equal to the Hoodman RAW.
• BiWin 150-300x.  This 16GB monster struggled to reach 2.9 effective fps and a 9 MB/sec throughput rate.
• A-Data Turbo 266x.  A-Data was sucking wind at 2.7 fps and 11 MB/sec.

The ranks of the also-rans included the following sub-par performances: Pretec 233x (2.3 fps and 9 MB/sec), Ridata 233x Lightning (2.3 fps and 8 MB/sec), and Transcend 133x (1.7 fps and 6 MB/sec).  Two non-UDMA cards yielded the following results: Transcend’s 120x 2GB card hit 3.2 fps and 12 MB/sec, while the Kingston Elite Pro 133x 4GB card reached 2.2 fps and 8 MB/sec - quite respectable compared to some of the above UDMA cards.