Canon EOS 5D Mark IV to Feature CFast & SD Card Slots [CR2]

[Canon Rumors]

We’re told by a pretty reliable source that the upcoming Canon EOS 5D Mark IV will feature both a CFast 2.0 slot and a SDXC UHS-II slot.</p>
<p>If the camera is going to shoot internal 4K like the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, the CFast slot makes a lot of sense. The faster SD card slot will be a very welcome addition as well, as the the 5D Mark III used a standard SD card slot which was quite slow.</p>
<p>We’re still waiting for more reliable specifications about the EOS 5D Mark IV, a camera we expect to see announced later next month.</p>
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[ajfotofilmagem]

Rejoice, those who want to 4K.

 

[IglooEater]

Oh goody, I've been wishing someone would incorporate USH-II into a camera... for no reason in particular

 

[j-nord]

Makes sense to keep the big/fast/new card slot + small/most universal slot dynamic going.

 

[wockawocka]

Makes sense to keep the big/fast/new card slot + small/most universal slot dynamic going.

A good reason would be that usually the SD card is where the video gets written to. Shooting in 4k needs the speed.

I hope they do this otherwise there will be problems writing to two cards at the same time (speed limit).

 

[Antono Refa]

Spending on new cards would almost be justified by dumping the CF card's pins.

I hope somebody makes a good UHS-II to CFast-II adapters.

 

[crazyrunner33]

Oh my, this is delightful. If Canon doesn't lock down the camera too much, this could be the ultimate video rig once Magic Lantern gets their hands on it.

 

[roxics]

Makes sense to me. You shouldn't hold the camera technology back just because some people want to use their old memory cards. Imagine where we'd be if all digital cameras today still had to use the same memory cards that came out when digital cameras first started taking off. Plus if you're buying a $3500 camera (for business or pleasure), I think you can afford some new memory cards.

 

[wockawocka]

On looking though you still cant get 128gb UHS-ii cards from Sandisk?

 

[Patak]

For me, this means more $$$$$$. I have a few very fast CF cards since SD on 5D III is a bit slow. I hope Canon will offer some sort of a package with 5D IV body and C-Fast (similar to 1Dx II deals). This also means that I will hang on to my 5D III as a second body longer than planed.

 

[CarlMillerPhoto]

Wahoo, I get to be the first to complain! Only sort of. I don't mind the CFast + SD. What I'm worried about is Canon using CFast as an excuse not to provide a reasonable bitrate for 4k. Storyboarded work won't suffer, but event (Weddings, conferences, live-talks, etc,) & documentary filmmakers don't want to have to be swapping cards all day long because we can only get 15 min. of footage on a 64gb card, as is the case with the 1dx MkII. And we certainly don't want to come home after a long day with a TERABYTE of footage. If Canon can't do this then it really isn't accessible 4k, and all those people will continue shooting 4k to the SD card slots in the GH4, A7r/s, A6300, etc.

 

[privatebydesign]

Wahoo, I get to be the first to complain! Only sort of. I don't mind the CFast + SD. What I'm worried about is Canon using CFast as an excuse not to provide a reasonable bitrate for 4k. Storyboarded work won't suffer, but event (Weddings, conferences, live-talks, etc,) & documentary filmmakers don't want to have to be swapping cards all day long because we can only get 15 min. of footage on a 64gb card, as is the case with the 1dx MkII. And we certainly don't want to come home after a long day with a TERABYTE of footage.

Then get a video camera with CODEC's better suited to your needs.

 

[swithdrawn]

Storyboarded work won't suffer, but event (Weddings, conferences, live-talks, etc,) & documentary filmmakers don't want to have to be swapping cards all day long because we can only get 15 min. of footage on a 64gb card, as is the case with the 1dx MkII. And we certainly don't want to come home after a long day with a TERABYTE of footage.

Not so for me and many others. After years of crappy h264 I would take a higher bitrate codec any day. I hate h264 so much I regularly shoot Magic Lantern RAW on the 5D3 for weddings, which results in 700-1000GB per job before transcode. As long as the codec looks good I don't care how big it is, and Cfast and SD media are cheaper than the 1066x CF cards I use currently.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

wow, not a single complaint yet of having loads of CF cards from the 5DIII that will be useless

Amazing

I've complained before, but with 4K video, the CFast is needed. The rated SD card speeds are just advertising, the speed is only as rated for a new card, once used, speed drops to a 30mb/sec and less. I probably not be buying a camera with CFast until all the bugs are worked out, 1DX II owners are finding out that the bugs are still not resolved.

If you do a lot of low level formats to get your speed back up, you shorten card life. Memory is usually rated for 500 to 3000 erase cycles before a hard failure, so you must use the low level format sparingly and put up with a slow card, or plan for failures and have spares or rotate a number of cards when using them for video. SD cards are a poor choice for video at best, which is why the CFast card is added.

Wikipedia:

Risks of reformatting[edit]

Reformatting an SD card with a different file system, or even with the same one, may make the card slower, or shorten its lifespan. Some cards use wear leveling, in which frequently modified blocks are mapped to different portions of memory at different times, and some wear-leveling algorithms are designed for the access patterns typical of FAT12, FAT16 or FAT32.[96] In addition, the preformatted file system may use a cluster size that matches the erase region of the physical memory on the card; reformatting may change the cluster size and make writes less efficient.

SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards have a "Protected Area" on the card for the SD standard's security function; a standard formatter may erase it, causing problems if security is used. The SD Association provides freely-downloadable SD Formatter software to overcome these problems for Windows and Mac OS X.[97] The SD Formatter does not format the "Protected Area", and the Association recommends the use of appropriate application software or SD-compatible device that provides SD security function to format the "Protected Area" in the memory card.

 

[roxics]

Wahoo, I get to be the first to complain! Only sort of. I don't mind the CFast + SD. What I'm worried about is Canon using CFast as an excuse not to provide a reasonable bitrate for 4k. Storyboarded work won't suffer, but event (Weddings, conferences, live-talks, etc,) & documentary filmmakers don't want to have to be swapping cards all day long because we can only get 15 min. of footage on a 64gb card, as is the case with the 1dx MkII. And we certainly don't want to come home after a long day with a TERABYTE of footage.

Then get a video camera with CODEC's better suited to your needs.

I have to agree. Strangely you'd think it would be the cinema camera that would offer the highest bitrate. But aside from CLog it's really not a cinema camera, more like a modern Canon XL1. A pro video camera some people use for cinema stuff. It has the lower bitrates and the long record time/battery time making it great for events. It shoots HD rather than 2K even though it's called a cinema camera. Whereas the higher bitrate and higher resolution of the 1D X mkII seems more cinema-like even though it lacks CLog and the ergonomics desire for cinema use. Things are all over the place.

 

[unfocused]

Shaping up to be a nice upgrade:

24mp sensor;
Dual CFast/SD slots;
4K Video Recording;
DPAF;
Improved dynamic range at lower ISOs, due to new sensor technology;
7-8 frames per second;
New 24-105 mm lens, possibly with the PZ-E1 adapter.

Like the 1DX II, it might not be as compelling of upgrade for stills shooters as for video, but it will still be very nice and the new sensor will likely get similar accolades to that of the 1DX II.

 

[CarlMillerPhoto]

Storyboarded work won't suffer, but event (Weddings, conferences, live-talks, etc,) & documentary filmmakers don't want to have to be swapping cards all day long because we can only get 15 min. of footage on a 64gb card, as is the case with the 1dx MkII. And we certainly don't want to come home after a long day with a TERABYTE of footage.

Not so for me and many others. After years of crappy h264 I would take a higher bitrate codec any day. I hate h264 so much I regularly shoot Magic Lantern RAW on the 5D3 for weddings, which results in 700-1000GB per job before transcode. As long as the codec looks good I don't care how big it is, and Cfast and SD media are cheaper than the 1066x CF cards I use currently.

You need to try shooting with other cameras. The problem is not h.264 or bitrate, it is the internal processing of Canon's DSLR's. AVCHD on the C100 looks great, h.264 on the Sony cams look great. You're the first person I've ever heard of shooting an entire wedding in RAW.

 

[CarlMillerPhoto]

Then get a video camera with CODEC's better suited to your needs.

That's the point. I will. But Canon & the 5d line are obviously catering to the needs of those who do video. I pointed out a potential shortcoming if they're trying to be successful in the video dslr market. Do you understand?

 

[RGF]

move to Cfast cards is a mixed "blessing". Canon need to up the right speed on the 1Dx, not sure if needed on the 5D M4, but this will create a uniform standard.

In a couple of years (perhaps less) I will wonder how to sell my old CF cards.

 

[privatebydesign]

Then get a video camera with CODEC's better suited to your needs.

That's the point. I will. But Canon & the 5d line are obviously catering to the needs of those who do video. I pointed out a potential shortcoming if they're trying to be successful in the video dslr market. Do you understand?

Of course I understand, Canon pay many many people in lots of markets to do market research. These are not arbitrary decisions made by some guy with the intention of winding us up, they are carefully considered decisions taken at the highest level with the intention of making the Canon Corp stronger.

They are catering to the needs of people who do video, the ones who get sucked into it then realise they need to get more suitable equipment, Canon sold a 5D Mk whatever and because you have EOS lenses they have leverage on you buying a compatible video camera. Do you understand?