I just purchased a new digital single lens reflex camera for my trip to Europe this summer and am seeking advice on the purchase of SDHC (secure digital high capacity) cards for it. Because I will be shooting video and burst mode plus rapid fire single shots in addition to regular single shots I plan to purchase only Class 6 and Class 10 cards, and these will probably be 16G cards. The main question is: what brands should I consider and what brands should I avoid. I generally stick with San Disk and Kingston cards so should I get the premium SDHC cards or will regular cards do ok? A company that I respect sells Transcend and ADATA branded cards; are these ok? And what about cards branded HP, Kodak, Panasonic..? What I want a card that is not going to fail on me and which will result in the loss of images and videos (I plan to store the files on another media every night so it's like that I will be losing all the photos for the trip if the card fails). I place failure proof over read/write performance. Thanks for your advice.
Posted by
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
355 posts
I don't shoot video, but I do, occasionally, shoot continuous burst single shots. I use Sandisk Extreme IV and have never had a problem. I have been using one of my cards for about four years, and it has never failed on me.
Posted by
Long Beach, CA, USA
360 posts
SanDisk is generally top notch
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32322 posts
Geor, I tend to use SanDisk or Lexar and so far they've worked well. I haven't tried video with my DSLR yet, so the Cards I purchased several years ago are fine for normal shooting. The Buffer in the Camera allow for some burst mode even with the slower cards.
Posted by
Austin
976 posts
Last week bought another 2 pack of the SanDisk Ultras, 8 GB ,for $10 off sale at Costco = $24.
Bought some last year from Costco also, took a little video,mostly pictures. No issues I know of but I prefer the Ultra; salesperson said the regular ones are for point and shoots.
Posted by
aberdeen, scotland & london, uk
241 posts
San disk. Speed and size depend on what you do. Quick required on video and very rapid firing. Size depends on raw or jpeg and pix or videos. If you're newish to this, take more cards than you need. Memory cards can break. Occasionally they fail (very rare). Also, watch don't loose. I am serious photographer so use 1-2 2x sd day (extreme or ultra). I limit size of sd to 2 (harder to get) because of potential damage/loss (never happened). I fire off 5 or 6 photos each time i take a photo!
S
Posted by
Wesley Chapel, NC, US
167 posts
I would just to go Amazon.com and read reviews before purchasing. I buy on peoples' recommendations because of larger sample size and reduces anecdotal opinions and data points. I buy most things based on high reviews from a large number of people... the Internet rocks. Pete
Posted by
Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
251 posts
Like Ken, in terms of brand names, I tend to use SanDisk and Lexar..
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
Almost all of mine are Sandisk. Last trip, I ran out of memory. I hadn't seen a photo store but had noticed a Gamestop type store. I was able to pick up an SDHC card there that worked fine - I think it has a Nintendo logo (or something along that line) on it.