Originally posted by 2351HD Hi,
I am experiencing what I feel are slow write times on my K1. Can anybody point me in the direction of a thread or article with recommended SD cards for the K1 and what the fastest write times can be achieved?
Thanks
G'day mate,
I think the first thing is to understand the context of your question.
Are you comparing the K-1 in Continuous-high using an SD card against a Nikon pro level camera using Compact Flash or even XQD cards? For example something like the D500 seems to be advertised as for fast shooters so in this type of context, the type of SD card is going to make bugger all difference as SD cards are slower than the other card systems.
Added to this if you're comparing bodies the K-1 isn't aimed at fast shooting, unlike the D500 and personally the buffer seems to fill pretty quick when you start shooting action/sports etc. In this context though it is more appropriate to understand the K-1 when considering the D810. So the question should be how is write speed and buffer clearing when compared to the D810 as this is really the benchmark I'd have thought the K-1 should be considered against.
As stated above I find the buffer fills pretty quick when I've been capturing surfers. In FF mode I get an initial burst in sequence then I have to pause shooting and try and cherry pick more and rely upon a two shot burst approach so I can try and capture the right moments. I found similar with the crop mode, though as I've been only shooting crop cameras until now I'm trying to get adjusted to the FF framing etc and will continue in this vain. Therefore this is my choice to accept the penalties in frame rate speed, buffer limits etc.
I like to get out and capture motorcycle racing and surfing and find the K-1 write times as frustrating as those of my K5. I'd love for it to be faster, but then my preferred style of photography is landscape so I guess 'what compromise will I prefer to work with' is higher resolution and a landscape bias over the faster shooting capability.
The SD card format is very ubiquitous, small and relatively inexpensive, but after that there is a speed deficit we pay for these advantages. What role the camera plays versus the card format and type should be indentifiable in some of the online tests. I am another user of the Sandisks as I've had issues with some other cards and find the speed of these is good compared to cheaper cards, though as I said above it's about context. We pay a penalty for the resolution and card format compared to other platforms, but then there are benefits to our system compared to the others.
My context is not likely to be the same as yours but thought the feedback of my experiences might be of assistance in answering your question. Yesterday I got a small hands on with the 645Z, a camera I'd still love to work with, though this may never happen. I noticed the slower speed of the Z compared to the K-1 but then again that's what I'd expect with that camera. I envy you for getting to work with that beastie.
Tas