Calling all Photographers and IT geeks ... SD card discussion inside ...

[Trunk Monkey]

Which SD cards do you use and which cameras do you use them in?

What are your thoughts .... PNY vs SanDisk vs Lexar cards?

I'm currently using PNY Professional SDHC cards (Class 10) with a reported write speed of 20 MB/s in my Canon 60D. Apparently the reported 20MB/s write speed is a burst rate and the cards continuous rate is a considerably slower speed.

After shooting video for some time with these PNY cards in my Canon 60D and doing some research I've discovered that these cards aren't all they're cracked up to be.

They consistently bog down at bit rates greater than 1.0 and I'm forced to shoot my video at a lower bit rate so that the card can keep up.

One simple suggestion that I've recently discovered but have yet to test is instead of simply deleting data from the card when I'm done with it, is to re-format the card from within the camera vs. on my PC.

I've also just bought some SanDisk Extreme (Class 10) cards in 16GB size. They're rated at a read/write speed of 45 MB/s and should perform consideribly better than my current POS PNY cards. So, here's hoping for even better videos from the Trunk Monkey.

I've also heard good things about the Lexar cards. Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[tixer]

I've had good luck with the Sandisk cards in the past. (1 and 2 GB) My understanding is they are the ones to get but you pay a premium for them.

I'm using a 16gb "Transcend" Class 10 card in my NEX-5 and have had good luck with it. The trouble is that I do very little video with the camera. Although it does record HD, I've never done more than 10 minutes or so. In that time, I did not notice a loss of quality or dropped frames, but I don't know how large the camera's buffer is either

I do quite a lot of series shooting, with which the camera performs incredibly.

So I guess if you want a "cheap date" hit up the Transcend on either amazon.com or newegg.com. If you want the "sure thing," go for the sandisk.

 

[budpytko]

I agree with Mike... SanDisk for me too. I had occasion to test their lifetime warrantee as the tab that has the switch for the 'protect" or lock function tore off in the lock position and they replaced it no sweat..... that was a 4 gig card. I just had to send it to them. I had no receipt either.

 

[warden]

I've never tested the transfer rates but I have always preferred to format a card/disc with the device using it. I would definately give that a try, without having mathematical, scientific or programming proof I simply believe that if a device formats the card/disc it should be perfectly set up for how said device writes.