Memory card speed classification

acrobatx

acrobatx

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Jonathan
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Hi, does the speed class chosen make a difference in camera or is it just relavent when transferring the files to another device, e.g. a pc.

Thanks!
Jonathan
 
Both, camera and PC transfer
 
While using it though? I.e. would it constrain the time it takes the next shot because it is still writing the previous one to the card?
 
yes, depending on the buffer on the camera
 
It will probably affect it in burst mode, I've been stuck with an old sd card which doesn't even have a class number on it and I didn't notice any slowdown using it in my D90 shooting jpg.
 
Burst mode and long exposures, both fill the buffer causing the wait while the buffer writes to the card. Camera write speed also plays a part but if buying a card I'd buy a Class10 as they aren't too expensive.
 
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Actually, while I have your attention, does anybody have any brand they'd like to recommend. Last time I went with Transcend and it's still working. I suppose with this kind of consumer durable you could get a bad one with a top brand...
 
Sandisk - very reliable, their customer service is excellent and they are not especially expensive.
 
Sandisk
 
Does anyone know if my 550d will work with the new Sandisk SDHC UHS-I type? According to Amazon this is the new version of the class 10 model.

On a slightly different aspect of this, what size do people tend to go for? I know it's best to avoid huge cards to avoid the risk of losing a lot of photos in one go...
 
Just be careful from whom you buy cards.....a friend of mine had a 'Sandisk' card go down on him, fortunately without losing too many images.

Eventually Sandisk identified it as a fake card and therefore wouldn't honour the warranty.

The card had been bought from an 'Amazon Company' and Amazon took the problem very seriously and cancelled all dealings with the company.

I hadn't heard of this before or since, but clearly the problem exists on the Internet.

For info, I have used www.mymemory.co.uk and got very good prices and service.


Ernie
 
Has anyone noticed that a class 10 card from a well known brand is faster than a class 10 card from a less known brand?
 
The "class" is a bit vague when it comes to measuring speed. I have two 4GB class 6 Sandisk Extreme iii cards for my K20D. They are capable of 30Mb/s. I have seen class 10s only capable of 20Mb/s.

Bottom line - any data transfer is only as fast as it's slowest link and in my experience, that is seldom the card.
 
acrobatx said:
On a slightly different aspect of this, what size do people tend to go for? I know it's best to avoid huge cards to avoid the risk of losing a lot of photos in one go...
Click to expand...

I use 8GB SD cards myself, mainly as I shoot in RAW and like to have plenty of room to get lots of pictures without messing around swapping memory cards in and out. Always keep a backup card handy though, just in case.
 
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