[Dackelone]

I was wondering... What kind of memory cards do you guys use/like ?

Do you have a favorite manufacturer ? Size and Speed ?


I have for the most part use: SanDisk, BNY or Transcend. Most of my SD cards are SanDisk ones.

Some are 30mb/sec, most are 45mb/sec and one is a 95mb/sec(for my 70D). All are class 10 cards.


I was just wondering IF I should invest in some high end memory cards and IF so which brand/type. Other than writing speeds... is there any difference is image quality between to of the same "like" cards?


Dackel

[Itsed65]

It really depends on your camera and what subjects you shoot.

My 7D2 can rip 10 FPS and I shoot moving wildlife, so I don't want to get caught while the buffer fills up. Even though my primary memory is CF cards, my backup SD cards are SanDisk Extreme 32GB which are rated at 45MB/s.

On my Fuji XT1 I wouldn't care as much for the speed, but to keep things simple I just buy the same kind for all my gear.

[Mr Tonka]

^^ What he said.

If you're not shooting in continuous drive, i don't there there is a need to worry about speeds.

[bmw1racer]

Sandisk.

[GrantE83]

Sandisk for me.

It's not just speed to worry about, you want reliability as well, was at a car show recently and my mates cheapo cf card crashed. Ok you can trace some of the stuff back but it's unnecessary.

[Dackelone]

Thanks guys for the great advice. Especially what Itsed65 wrote.

So other than writing speed there is no detectable quality difference is memory cards? Say as long as the cards are of the same speed and class?

Also what does that I(1) or III(3) mean on the cards? Look at card #2 compared to card #3. What does that "3" indicate on card #2 and also on the last two cards. ???


various SD cards...

card #1


card #2


card #3


card #4


card #5


card #6

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Also what does that I(1) or III(3) mean on the cards? Look at card #2 compared to card #3. What does that "3" indicate on card #2 and also on the last two cards. ???

See this: http://www.howtogeek.com/189897/how-...ies-explained/

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

See this: http://www.howtogeek.com/189897/how-...ies-explained/

^^Thanks! That is what I was looking for!

You’ll probably be okay with a class 4 or 6 card for typical use in a digital camera, smartphone, or tablet. Class 10 cards are ideal if you’re shooting high-resolution videos or RAW photos. Class 2 cards are a bit on the slow side these days, so you may want to avoid them for all but the cheapest digital cameras. Even a cheap smartphone can record HD video, after all.

An SD card’s speed class is identified on the SD card itself. You’ll also see the speed class on the online store listing or on the card’s packaging when purchasing it. For example, in the below photo, the middle SD card is speed class 4, while the two other cards are speed class 6.

If you see no speed class symbol, you have a class 0 SD card. These cards were designed and produced before the speed class rating system was introduced. They may be slower than even a class 2 card.

[1erscorps]

sandisk for me

[NEFARIOUS]

I've been loyal to SanDisk for the most part, and my current rig has a 64GB UHS-1 card, which is more than enough since I immediately back it up to my computer, and even for what I thought was a crapload of videos and over a 3-day event didn't fill it up halfway, and I was using full-size, RAW+JPG photos on my T6S, and 64GB Class 10 on my P&S 530HS. There's also a no-name one that came with the camera kit, but I just keep it around as a backup (there has been 1-2 occasions where I forgot to take the card out of the slot in my laptop and it came in handy)... Also before I got into more pro-level stuff, I used PNY and it seemed OK, albeit a bit slow (but then again we're talking about a SD780IS with a C6 I had back then, and even a C10 didn't make too big a difference).

[atruelunatic]

I've been using SanDisk Extreme 64 GB 95MB/s cards for my cameras. Mainly went with these for shooting RAW on a blackmagic, but when I brought em over to my cameras I never went back. They record so fast I don't get backed up when shooting high FPS.

[Dackelone]

Thanks for everyone's advice on cards. Especially what bmw1racer posted/link.

I went with card #5 a PNY card, since they had a deal on them at my PX.

Dack

[Mik3ymomo]

I know you bought a card already but you are likely to buy another at some point in the future and for the other folks reading this I want to make two relevant points.

1. What camera are you using and what is its max buffer transfer speed/rate?

Let's say your camera writes to a memory card at 40mb per second. You will want a memory card that will allow for at least that speed/rate. Is it a waste of money to buy a faster card? That depends but Probably not.

I use a card reader when downloading the files onto my computer and I don't want to wait any longer than I have to. Also I am using cards I bought years ago that were originally purchased for a previous (slower) camera. I'm glad I bought the fastest/largest cards because my file sizes more then tripled and smaller cards would be useless in the new camera. I didn't need to invest in cards twice just because I upgraded my camera body.

2. What type of shooting do you and is important to you that you buy a fast card?

If you are shooting landscapes exclusively or doing product photography I see no need for fast write speeds. However just like the sports shooters you will be downloading large files and if you shoot raw format you may not want to wait to be able to transfer and start editing.

Either way don't buy cheap cards unless your photos are not important to you. I would hate to spend $3k on a trip somewhere and save $20 on a memory card on some off brand and then lose all my photos from the trip when the card is corrupted.

I mostly use Sandisk extreme CF and SD cards including micro SD cards for a GoPro.
Most modern DSLR's have large files and if you own a DSLR you should be shooting raw and editing the files. If not then sell it and buy a point and shoot cause you wasted your money on a camera you aren't using features on that give it its value.

32GB cards are about the Min size I buy at this point. It gets me 400 photos from my D800

[allachie9]

Like most have already said, I also use Sandisk cards, both CF and SD.
I tend to buy and use smaller cards, 8 or 16gb, and take plenty with me when I go away.

Just a little history for you -

When I bought my first digital camera, a Canon G3, marketed as 'The Ultimate Photographic Tool', back in 2003 we could only get 256MB and 512MB CF cards, they just didn't make bigger ones. In fact, in the box with the camera was a Canon 32MB (yes MB !) card.
Anyway, I was so convinced that this 4MB camera was going to get through cards so quickly, that I went and bought, along with the camera a 1GB IBM Microdrive (a tiny hard drive in CF format).

The IBM Microdrive, of just 1GB, cost me £175, that's around $260 !!

Now I get 8GB SD cards for under £10 ($15) !!


I still have the Canon 32MB card and the IBM 1GB Microdrive.

[dcstep]

Stick with the top makers, like SanDisk, Lexar and Sony. I've had trouble with some other brands not fitting as well so that putting it into the camera or card reader can be a challenge, lining up the holes with the male receivers.