I just did a shoot with kids and was trying to shoot in raw for the first time. Of course, I was shooting many frames quickly, but having to wait for the camera to record the images just does not work! I'm missing some great shots! My camera would not allow me to shoot while it recorded, so I had to switch back to jpeg for the rest of the shoot! Will raw just not work for me in a shoot with energetic kids and my Fuji S3??? Anyone else shoot with the S3? I really want to shoot raw and ready to make the change!

Thanks for any advice!
Claire

Yeah, RAW is not a good option on the S3 unless you're shooting VERY slowly. The buffer is small and the files are huge. The new S5 will fix the problem. Other than that, I'd stick with jpeg.

thats ridiculous! why such a slow buffer? the 5D can shoot 13 megapixels at 3fps....

are you using a slow card or something?

anyway, if you really want to solve the problem... buy a canon

What kind of Card do you use to storage your files?

CF or xD-Card?

The 1 GB Type M (important not to take type H) is the fastest card for the S3.
In my S3 it was about twice as fast as my Sandisk Ultra II CF Card 4 GB.

Give it a try.

Juergen

Well, the S3 was released in 2004. It was meant to be more of an ultimate jpg camera with a larger dynamic range than anything on the market at the time. The 5D is better compared to the recently released Fuji S5, even though the 5D costs $900 more. Fuji did offer an buffer upgrade. I'm not sure if they're still doing it. I heard that the 1gb xd cards write twice as fast.

I shoot RAW with my S3 all the time. If I rapid fire the buffer will get full, but i can still shoot while it is recording. Are you saying you can't shoot at all while it is recording? I forget the specs on the fuji, but you should be able to shoot around 7 or 10 images before the buffer will be full.

Wow, thanks for all the responses! OK, I've been using my CF Microdrive (IBM) card. I guess I didn't realize that cards speeds made that big a difference. Maybe that will help!!! I will try that swich. Yes, I would love to switch to Canon, but I can't afford to make the switch right now. I have way too much invested in my Fuji/Nikon line to try to sell everything and then reinvest in all Canon equipment. I will take the advice of you all.

Thanks so much!!!
Claire

Claire,

Hey girl where your ears burning on Friday? I was at a photog lunch with a crew and we were talking about the new S3 (congrats!) and I told the guys to check out your and Carole's site to see some S images. One of the issues raised was the recording time. Ask Nathan Turtle or Matt Gordon about the card/media options. I am not 100 percent, but I think that the slow read time is not something very "avoidable" at the moment for the S3. Nate metioned something though...maybe mail him and see if he knows of any fix for that. They did say that the microdrives were MUCH slower than CF cards. I only know what I heard. You know I am a canon girl

I hope you are lovin the new camera!

Jenny

Use the xd cards type H not type M and you won't have a problem. the type H is the high speed card and it is faster than the Type m.

Microdrives are super slow. Make sure when you get the xd card, it's the 1gb type. They're supposed to be much faster on the S3.

Make sure it is the 1gb Type H xd card. The Type M is as slow as a microdrive.

+1

not sure if i told you type H or type M in the PM.

Type H is the correct one.
Go, get it and get a xD2CF-Card Adapter too because most of the cardreaders do not accept 1 GB xD Cards

Make sure you are not "compressing" the files when they are recording.

I had that problem with my Nikon when I switched to Raw. Your card will have a lot to do with it also. Make sure you get a HIGH write speed.

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. I just bought the Sandisk Extreme IV 4GB, and it works MUCH better. I can shoot 3 or 4 frames in a burst before it slows. If I'm just shooting one shoot every couple of seconds, it's fine.


Thanks!
Claire