Storage Card Speed / Digital Camera Burst Mode

[GradSchoolCruiser]

As just one more means of passing time until my Alaska trip arrives this summer, I'm looking into digital cameras. The canon powershot S3 is the front runner right now, but I was wondering about the speed (read/write?) of SD card I need to buy to take advantage of the continuous shooting modes available in digital cameras these days. Basically I want to make sure I get a card that will let me record image bursts but maintain high resolution. Not sure if such a specific question is ideal here, but I've seen posts by others using this or similar cameras so I was wondering if the seemingly endless supply of CC user's knowledge could help out. Thanks!

 

-GSC

[CanCanCase]

I'm not sure about the S3, but in all of the different camera models (digital) I've used, the multiple frame burst length was related to the amount of internal memory more than the speed of the card. I've rarely had issue with whatever card is on sale at the moment at Costco...

I think the one time I wished things could go faster was on a whale watch trip trying to get pics of the dahl porpoise under the boat. I finally resored to HD video and grabbed frames from video rather than a still camera.

Other than fast-moving wildlife, Alaska doesn't tend to move terribly quickly... well, except for the small earthquake we felt in Juneau last week!

 

-Case

[cjnky]

Gradschoolcruiser - Before making a purchase, check out the Panasonic DMC-FZ7 with its 12X zoom. That's the one I bought after reading such great reviews here about it - and I'm definitely NOT disappointed. Good luck!

[fman]

Both the buffer size (internal memory) AND speed of memory card should be considered. If you have a slower memory card, the internal memory will write to the card slower.

 

More importantly, you should test how long it takes for a picture to be taken after you press the shutter button. I've experienced many digital cameras that take 1-2 seconds to actually snap the picture. The Canon S3 is a pretty nice camera, with a 12X optical zoom and it snaps pictures pretty quickly.

[GradSchoolCruiser]

Both the buffer size (internal memory) AND speed of memory card should be considered. If you have a slower memory card, the internal memory will write to the card slower.

 

More importantly, you should test how long it takes for a picture to be taken after you press the shutter button. I've experienced many digital cameras that take 1-2 seconds to actually snap the picture. The Canon S3 is a pretty nice camera, with a 12X optical zoom and it snaps pictures pretty quickly.

 

fman - thanks for the info! Do you know what speed of card I should look for? I can't seem to find the internal data transfer rate on the canon website. Thanks

 

-GSC

[TR6]

http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_forum.php?id=15&sort_by=&page=2

 

Have a look at this link there is a lot of good information on the S3 IS as well as other cameras. I have the S2 IS and love it. Have not had a problem in burst mode with any card regardless of speed but then I have never shot more than about 50 frames at a time in burst mobe