Rob Galbraith DPI: Canon EOS 30D

Canon EOS 30D Write Speed (Firmware Version 1.0.4)
This page was last updated on July 20, 2006

The data in the table below was derived by timing how long it took the Canon EOS 30D to write out 30 Large Fine JPEG and 11 RAW .CR2 photos to the CompactFlash card. Timing commenced when the camera's card status light illuminated, and stopped when the light went out. Each test cycle was performed 3 times (if the card's capacity allowed for that) to ensure accurate results. All cards were first secure erased, then formatted in the camera, prior to testing. The same test scene was photographed, under the same illumination, for all tests. The identical camera settings and lens were also used for all tests.

The results are arranged from fastest to slowest (based on RAW write speed). The top 10% (based on RAW write speed) are marked in blue.

Card (identifier)¹	Source of key component(s)²	CF type (I or II)³	Write speed - Large Fine JPEG⁴	Write speed - RAW .CR2⁴
SanDisk Extreme IV 2GB	SanDisk	I	5.858MB/sec	6.780MB/sec
Hoodman PPO 150X-133X 2GB	SMI	I	5.870MB/sec	6.770MB/sec
ATP Pro Max 1GB (Stamped on back: 4931M2S ACF0601002 E0603B 1GB)	unknown	I	5.818MB/sec	6.762MB/sec
Ritek/Ridata Pro 150X 2GB (Edge stamp: U610120181E201 8A102GE110100)	SMI	I	5.831MB/sec	6.751MB/sec
Lexar Pro Series 133X Write Acceleration 2GB (Edge stamp: 39652GBAB5205CDC3)	Lexar	I	5.793MB/sec	6.719MB/sec
SanDisk Extreme IV 4GB	SanDisk	I	5.361MB/sec	6.418MB/sec
SanDisk Extreme III 2GB (Edge stamp: BE04121FA)	SanDisk	I	5.352MB/sec	6.415MB/sec
SanDisk Extreme III 1GB	SanDisk	I	5.345MB/sec	6.413MB/sec
SanDisk Ultra II 2GB (Edge stamp: BE05015JB)	SanDisk	I	5.425MB/sec	6.406MB/sec
Lexar Pro Series 133X Write Acceleration 4GB (Edge stamp: 39654GBAB5205CDC3)	Lexar	I	5.439MB/sec	6.387MB/sec
Transcend 120X 2GB (Edge stamp: 130037 0125 6600 22 2BCP 0604)	Transcend	I	5.413MB/sec	6.356MB/sec
Hoodman PPO 150X-133X 4GB	SMI	I	5.367MB/sec	6.336MB/sec
SanDisk Extreme 1GB (Edge stamp: BB0307VZ)	SanDisk	I	5.503MB/sec	6.152MB/sec
SanDisk Extreme 2GB	SanDisk	I	5.487MB/sec	6.137MB/sec
SanDisk Extreme III 8GB	SanDisk	I	4.979MB/sec	6.035MB/sec
SanDisk Extreme III 4GB⁶ (Edge stamp: BH05032ZB)	SanDisk	I	4.940MB/sec	6.028MB/sec
Lexar Pro Series *80X Write Acceleration third edition* 2GB**⁵ (Edge stamp: 39132GBCI29052D97)	Lexar	I	5.219MB/sec	5.998MB/sec
Lexar Pro Series *80X Write Acceleration third edition* 1GB**⁵ (Edge stamp: 39121GBDI29052D97)	Lexar	I	5.241MB/sec	5.963MB/sec
SanDisk Ultra II 4GB⁶ (Edge stamp: BH04092X)	SanDisk	I	5.118MB/sec	5.886MB/sec
Transcend 120X 4GB (Edge stamp: 129542 0338 6600 22 4BCP 0603)	Transcend	I	4.854MB/sec	5.820MB/sec
Ritek/Ridata Pro 150X 8GB (Edge stamp: X610120171E301 8A108GE1101000)	SMI	I	4.731MB/sec	5.756MB/sec
Lexar Pro Series 80X Write Acceleration third edition 4GB⁵ (Edge stamp: 39134GBCI27052D97)	Lexar	I	4.981MB/sec	5.704MB/sec
*Lexar Pro Series 80X Write Acceleration first edition* 1GB⁵**(Edge stamp: 39011GBBI32049D66)	Lexar	I	4.774MB/sec	5.654MB/sec
Lexar High-Speed 40X Write Acceleration 1GB (Edge stamp: 37841GBAB4604F9A8)	Lexar	I	4.664MB/sec	5.564MB/sec
ATP Pro Max 4GB (Stamped on back: 8C31M2S ACF0603001 E0613BAS 4GB)	unknown	I	4.653MB/sec	5.539MB/sec
Lexar Pro Series 133X Write Acceleration 8GB	Lexar	I	3.542MB/sec	4.999MB/sec
SanDisk Ultra II 8GB (Edge stamp: BI05043BB)	SanDisk	I	3.015MB/sec	4.466MB/sec
Delkin Devices PRO 1GB (Label: CFX01GP4D0-JLAA000 NPE0239S)	unknown	I	3.688MB/sec	4.283MB/sec
Delkin Devices PRO 2GB (Label: CFX02GP8Q1-JLAA000 NPE0239S)	unknown	I	3.583MB/sec	4.241MB/sec
Kingston Elite Pro 2GB (Edge stamp: 4DC02G1MY1-2LA00)	Samsung	I	3.816MB/sec	4.211MB/sec
ATP 1GB (Edge stamp: 2GC01G1MY1-2LA00)	Samsung	I	3.876MB/sec	4.203MB/sec
SanDisk "standard" 2GB⁷ (Edge stamp: BE05014EA)	SanDisk	I	3.747MB/sec	4.162MB/sec
Transcend 80X 1GB (Edge stamp: 118345 0916 5690 VC 1BCP 0526)	Transcend	I	3.763MB/sec	4.105MB/sec
Pretec 80X 2GB (Rear label: CFN02G 0516610)	unknown	I	3.677MB/sec	4.069MB/sec
Ritek/Ridata 80X/PRO. II 2GB (Edge stamp: U41005293222)	KTC	I	3.645MB/sec	4.066MB/sec
Kingston Elite Pro 1024MB (Edge stamp: THNCF1G02CA)	Toshiba	I	3.623MB/sec	4.044MB/sec
Kingston Ultimate 100X 4GB (6CBB-4096-0001K 2114923)	M-Systems (500 series)	I	3.591MB/sec	3.995MB/sec
Corsair 80X 1GB (Edge stamp: 4C13J0748 8QC01G1MY1-2LA00)	Hyperstone	I	3.687MB/sec	3.970MB/sec
Hitachi Microdrive 4GB¹⁰(Model: HMS360404D5CF00)	Hitachi	II	3.390MB/sec	3.902MB/sec
Ritek/Ridata 52X/PRO. 2GB (Edge stamp: U3F06116)	unknown	I	3.393MB/sec	3.819MB/sec
Transcend 45X 1GB (Edge stamp: 098028 0262 4050 63 1BCP 0436)	Transcend	I	3.383MB/sec	3.810MB/sec
Shikatronics TurboF1 100X 2GB (Edge stamp: CF12ST2G4-G0DD 0552)	unknown	I	3.342MB/sec	3.740MB/sec
PNY Optima 80X 1GB (Rear label: TNHCF1G/RITEK)	KTC	I	3.210MB/sec	3.682MB/sec
Kingston Ultimate 100X 2GB (6CBB-2048-0001K 2154874)	M-Systems (500 series)	I	3.243MB/sec	3.634MB/sec
TwinMOS 140X 2GB (FCF2GBUPS-S W548M5WM2380)	unknown	I	3.234MB/sec	3.627MB/sec
Delkin Devices PRO 8GB (Label: CFX08GPAQ1-DAAA000 1741495)	Hyperstone	I	2.899MB/sec	3.170MB/sec
GS Magicstor 2.2GB⁸ (Model: GS1022C 65)	unknown	II	---not tested---	---not tested---
Hagiwara Z-Pro 2GB¹¹ (Label: THNCF2G04DG(T01CK) 9997879	Toshiba	I	---not tested---	---not tested---
Hitachi Microdrive 6GB(Model: HMS360606D5CF00)	Hitachi	II	---not tested---	---not tested---
Seagate ST1 5GB⁹ (Model: ST650211CF)	Seagate	II	---not tested---	---not tested---

(1) To help determine whether the card you purchase is substantially similar to the one tested, the card's description includes an identifier - series number, internal name or other unique value - where possible and applicable. Please see How Can I Be Sure the Card I Buy is the Same One Tested in this Report? for more information.
(2) Many companies sell CompactFlash media; relatively few actually design and manufacture the key internal components, including the controller and flash memory. This column lists the source of the key component or components inside the card, to help you determine if cards with different labels on the front are in fact similar or identical under the hood.
(3) Type I CompactFlash cards are 3.3mm in thickness; Type II, 5.0mm.
(4) K/sec = Kilobytes per second (1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes); MB/sec = Megabytes per second (1 megabyte = 1024 kilobytes).
(5) Lexar began shipping their 80X line of cards in June 2004. The card marked first edition is representative of the 80X lineup that began shipping at that time. In October 2004, Lexar began to ship a revised version of their 80X cards with improved performance; we've dubbed this 80X variant second edition. If the last four characters of the edge stamp on the card are A4B6 or 9171, it's a second edition 80X CompactFlash card. To solve an incompatibility with 80X second edition cards and certain Canon cameras, Lexar updated the controller in its 80X line in June 2005. These revised-controller 80X cards we've dubbed third edition and, as of this writing, the last four characters of the edge stamp of this 80X version are 2D97. In our testing, 80X second edition and 80X third edition cards offer nearly identical read and write speeds; we've only included results for third edition models here (in addition to one first edition Lexar 80X card).
(6) This card includes a switch that enables it to operate as either a 2GB or 4GB card, for compatibility with older cameras that are unable to recognize cards over 2GB. Throughput has been tested with the card's switch set to the 4GB position. See the next note for more information on this card.
(7) SanDisk's blue-label line of CompactFlash has been made considerably faster over time, though the speed improvements have been introduced as rolling changes in the product without any alteration of the card's description on the retail packaging. As such, the SanDisk "standard" card tested is representative of a minimum level of performance from this line of cards, but may not represent the actual performance in some cases of a blue-label card you might buy in the future.
(8) We opted to suspend testing of the GS Magicstor 2.2GB after experiencing ongoing erratic behaviour, with two different cards, in several cameras and CompactFlash readers (and especially the readers).
(9) Midway through testing, this card was accidentally dropped from a height of no more than 2 inches onto a wooden desk. The drop was fatal.
(10) This is the original version of the 4GB Microdrive; in the spring of 2005, Hitachi introduced a new version of this card that should perform similarly to the 6GB Microdrive.
(11) This card was unavailable at testing time.