How to view/erase images from both CF and SD cards on Canon EOS 5D mk3?

Question

I've been trying to setup my Canon EOS 5D mk3 to shoot in "backup mode". I have two cards:

• 32GB CF
• 8GB SD

I've set it like the following:

SET UP1 menu
------------
Record func.:       Rec. separately
Playback:           1 [CF]

SHOOT1 menu
------------
Image type/size CF: RAW 22M
Image type/size SD: JPEG 9,8M

It works ok, except I have one problem. Since I have only these two cards, on some large shoots I need to erase some in order to free some space to make the card last till the end of shoot.

When viewing images and deleting the ones I want to delete, it seems that I can only see the contents of the CF card, and when I delete an image I delete only the RAW file saved on the CF.

Is there a way to delete the JPEG from the SD card along with it's RAW "parent" on the CF card?

Answer 1

Change the playback from slot 1 to slot 2. You'll see (and be able to delete) the photos on your SD card.

From the camera, you cannot delete the "paired" files. They are totally separate and the camera doesn't connect them logically.

That having been said, I would caution you against this process. If you need more than 32g for a session, either buy another card, or don't write backups to your SD card. Use it for either originals or backups, or not both. At some point under the pressure of a shoot when you're quickly trying to free up some space to continue shooting, you'll make a mistake. The chances of that happening are far greater than needing a jpeg backup.

My advice would be to go buy another CF card. Until then, record RAW to the CF card until it fills up, and then record RAW to the SD card.