SD cards: Standard vs high speed

[GucciBoy]

I have a Q for all the camera people on this site, Anyways, what are the main benefits a high speed (60x) card has over a standard (4x). I have used both , but honestly i couldnt tell any significant difference making the high speed worth the extra $. Maybe im just not knowledgable enough when it comes to cameras - i know thats what it is.

From what I was told, high speed will help when shooting video. And you have to have a SLR cam to really make use of it....but from what I was told my cam is more than capable of benefit from using a 60x speed card with the digic II processor (I have Canon SD400 btw). And im using a 1gig Sandisk Ultra II card...but I only got it cuz I got a good deal on it, otherwise I most likely wouldnt have seen myself paying the extra money.

[dragonone]

it might be because your cellphone's sd interface is limited
i have an 02 mini myself and i've put in ultra II sd's in and the oem ones (that came w/ the phone) in and i notice no difference at all

however, if you put this in an above average camera you will feel the difference when you snap and it's ready for the next shot already, i could feel the difference in my dimage x

i really want to try the difference between the ultra II, extreme III, and the new kingston 133x:love:

[BlackArcher101]

cellphone? I thought he was talking camera?

Anyways, you really notice the difference when taking burst shots... ie taking the maximum number of shots before the camera will have to write them... I believe on my canon I can take 5 quick shots before the camera has to write them to the CF card... it's noticeable when writing more than one photo at a time.

[GucciBoy]

hmm yes camera. Ive heard about burst mode but have no idea what the heck it is.

[dragonone]

opps sorry, i kind of had the same dilemma in my head

anyways, i think burst mode is taking continuous shots, like 4 shots in 3 seconds and such

so i'd say it makes a big difference

[GucciBoy]

^ haha i dont even know how to do that with my cam :nut:

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by GucciBoy
I have a Q for all the camera people on this site, Anyways, what are the main benefits a high speed (60x) card has over a standard (4x). I have used both , but honestly i couldnt tell any significant difference making the high speed worth the extra $. Maybe im just not knowledgable enough when it comes to cameras - i know thats what it is.

From what I was told, high speed will help when shooting video. And you have to have a SLR cam to really make use of it....but from what I was told my cam is more than capable of benefit from using a 60x speed card with the digic II processor (I have Canon SD400 btw). And im using a 1gig Sandisk Ultra II card...but I only got it cuz I got a good deal on it, otherwise I most likely wouldnt have seen myself paying the extra money.

In many cases, the read/write speed of the card wouldn't give you a huge noticeable difference when you're taking pictures. Most of the time (especially with point and shoot cameras) they don't take advantage of the extra speed. You can have the fastest card in the world, but if the camera isn't suitable for it, you'd be no better off than with a cheap slow card. If you're looking for that extra bit of speed, you'll have to do some research. Some camera/card combinations work better than others.

However, just because the camera doesn't take advantage of the speed, that does not mean it's all hype. You will notice huge differences if you are reading/writing data to and from the computer.




Originally posted by BlackArcher101
Anyways, you really notice the difference when taking burst shots... ie taking the maximum number of shots before the camera will have to write them... I believe on my canon I can take 5 quick shots before the camera has to write them to the CF card... it's noticeable when writing more than one photo at a time.

The amount of shots you get in burst mode doesn't exactly have to do with the card speed, but in most instances it's a factor of the internal camera's buffer size and speed, something that's independent from the storage medium.

[GucciBoy]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
[B]

In many cases, the read/write speed of the card wouldn't give you a huge noticeable difference when you're taking pictures. Most of the time (especially with point and shoot cameras) they don't take advantage of the extra speed. You can have the fastest card in the world, but if the camera isn't suitable for it, you'd be no better off than with a cheap slow card. If you're looking for that extra bit of speed, you'll have to do some research. Some camera/card combinations work better than others.

However, just because the camera doesn't take advantage of the speed, that does not mean it's all hype. You will notice huge differences if you are reading/writing data to and from the computer.



I agree, I have a SD400 so its pretty much point and shoot. I use a card reader, so transfering pics was already fast using standard 4x cards, guess it wasnt all that needed in my situation going to 60x, but I figure since I got it for a good price, might as well keep it, since I could use the card for other devices in the near future.

heck, even though I could sell this 1gig ultra card and get a 2gig for just a tiny bit more $ hmmm- tempting.

[BlackArcher101]

The amount of shots you get in burst mode doesn't exactly have to do with the card speed, but in most instances it's a factor of the internal camera's buffer size and speed, something that's independent from the storage medium.

Right, I know that. I'm just saying the amount of time to write the photos to the CF card from the memory/buffer will decrease, so you can take photos again sooner.

[dragonone]

well even if the advertised burst speed is fast, if you have a slow card and such it'll still take time to save, preventing to continue to the next shot

[GucciBoy]

Originally posted by dragonone
well even if the advertised burst speed is fast, if you have a slow card and such it'll still take time to save, preventing to continue to the next shot

Honestly, I have yet to notice any time at all the cam needs in saving to the card after shooting. Maybe its just that i have one of the fastest cams out there?

[GucciBoy]

are transcend cards anygood? LD has a good deal on right now for peeps looking for cheap cards

http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/Product+Detail/Cameras.htm?CatalogNavigationBreadCrumbs=Cameras;Cameras;Digital%20Camera%20Memory;Secure%20Digital;Transcend%20Ultra%20Performance%2045X%20-%20flash%20memory%20card%20-%20256%20MB%20-%20SD%20Memory%20Card&CS_Catalog=Cameras&CS_RootCategory=Cameras&CS_Category=Secure%20Digital&CS_ProductID=0894717&ProductTab=1

[dragonone]

i have read that cheaper cards have less data reliability, and that goes for even sandisk

so if you're just snapping and transferring right away, i don't think it really matters what brand (sandisk, lexar, transcend, pny, etc.)

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by dragonone
i have read that cheaper cards have less data reliability, and that goes for even sandisk

so if you're just snapping and transferring right away, i don't think it really matters what brand (sandisk, lexar, transcend, pny, etc.)

Uh, I think you've just contradicted yourself there. If cards are unreliable, why would it be okay to snap and just transfer right away? It doesn't matter when or how quickly you transfer the data. If it's a shit card, chances are high that it will corrupt your data. Ask all my friends that use Sandisk cards! Hahaha! That's why I refuse to buy Sandisk cards, no matter how cheap they are.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by GucciBoy


Honestly, I have yet to notice any time at all the cam needs in saving to the card after shooting. Maybe its just that i have one of the fastest cams out there?

Try shoot a video and you'll see there's a delay.

[GucciBoy]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz


Uh, I think you've just contradicted yourself there. If cards are unreliable, why would it be okay to snap and just transfer right away? It doesn't matter when or how quickly you transfer the data. If it's a shit card, chances are high that it will corrupt your data. Ask all my friends that use Sandisk cards! Hahaha! That's why I refuse to buy Sandisk cards, no matter how cheap they are.

sandisk isnt junk. i dont know how come so many people dislike them. their not even that cheap honestly, the ultra card 512 is $99. i dont know maybe im just lucky and havent had any problems with them.

Ive heard good things about ATP cards that future crap sells.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by GucciBoy


sandisk isnt junk. i dont know how come so many people dislike them. their not even that cheap honestly, the ultra card 512 is $99. i dont know maybe im just lucky and havent had any problems with them.


Try telling that to my friends who have had their Sandisk cards fail on them. And since when was price a good indication of quality? :dunno:

Sure, it's just luck of the draw, but I've had too many failure stories with Sandisk to know I'm better off staying away from them. I'm not a gambling man ;)

[dragonone]

well personally i've never had a sandisk card fail on me (reg. 128, 512, and 1gb ultra ii), but i'm just telling you what i read online, and you seem to agree with it

i meant unreliable in that over time it corrupts your data, whether or not it does that right away or not i have no idea

if you want the gd stuff grab the panasonic ones, they really are fast, and mine hasn't failed on me yet

[GucciBoy]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz


Try telling that to my friends who have had their Sandisk cards fail on them. And since when was price a good indication of quality? :dunno:

thast true. i might try out ATP cards next time around, thier high speed cards at the price ofstandard speeds (sandisk, lexar etc)

transcend is good too i heard. they make computer ram. lol

[GucciBoy]

I just noticed vistek offers lifetime over the counter exchange warranty, and thought I would get some insight on this, whether its worth it.

Sandisk Ultra II 512 - $129
Sandisk Extreme 512 - $169

Both cards have life time warranty with vistek. say the card goes bad in 2 weeks or 2yrs, bring it in and they will give you a brand new one over the counter - no need to ship and wait. Plus with the extreme card, you get software that lets you recover your data off the card in case it corrupts (normally $50 to have it done there so they say).

What do you guys think? Basically about $50-60 more than buying the same cards elsewhere, buy you are paying for the warranty - the fact that you never have to buy another card again and can get a new one right away if anything goes wrong.

[dragonone]

how often do you use the cards and how vital are the pictures of information that you store on them?

as a regular user, and my friends being just the general public who snaps shots on their phones or on a camera during trips, i've never had anyone tell me any brands of cards failing

you guys must use it a lot