Size limit for CF cards?

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Does any body know if the digital cameras have a size limit for Compact Flash cards?
I have found a 16Gb card with a good price, but I am afraid that it might be too big to handle for my 5D and 400D.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

I answer my own question: it seems that there is a formatting limit of 8Gb in many EOS cameras; 16 Gb cards may be formatted with a computer, but then operativity is not always guaranteed.

bob955i · Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 2495

Can't recall where I read it Orio but it's 8Gb for the 5D - might have been on the Canon site, I think.

You can format a CF card for a camera in a computer as long as you format in FAT (FAT16) rather than FAT32.

I haven't tried any cards greater than 8Gb but I would imagine that the camera will "see" the 16Gb card as an 8Gb card, much like how the BIOS on a computer only allows the system to see the HDD capacity permitted by the BIOS itself, everything over and above that being ignored.

As an aside, I had a laptop where the BIOS only allowed for a max. of 8Gb so when I put a 20Gb drive in, I had to partition the drive so I could access the full 20Gb.