best memory cards?

doziergraphic · Jan 1, 2011

Curious what you have found to be the best/fastest memory cards for your DSLRs (I've already googled for general info - just curious what some here think!)

bigtwinky · Jan 1, 2011

Never had issues with Sandisk or Lexar
Have had issues with Transcend

doziergraphic · Jan 1, 2011

what about speeds of the cards?

bigtwinky · Jan 1, 2011

Depends what you shoot and which camera you have.

Low to mid level cameras will often bottleneck at the buffer in the camera before reaching the speeds of writing to the card.

Reading from the card depends on how much in a rush you are to get those images off the card and into the computer.

I use a Canon 7D and have used Sandisk Ultras quite a bit. Its their low end card (Ultra < Extreme < Extreme Pro). As most of the shooting I do is not high burst rate, the speed is totally fine. I even shot some sports (pro soccer on one night) and had no issues with the speed.

For every day usage, Ultras are great IMO.

Look into a good card reader as well. This might be another bottleneck when writting to your computer. Lexar makes one of the best.

I have recently bought some Sandisk Extremes. I dont notice a difference between them and the Ultras. I figured I'd pick them up as they were 75% off regular price, so why not.

In terms of size, I never get the biggest on the market. I use 2x 16GB and 4x 8GB. When doing a wedding, I prefer smaller cards in case something happens to the card, I dont lose too much data.

Robin Usagani · Jan 1, 2011

Just buy cheap sandisk .. really man. Use your current card, set to raw, use burst mode, keep pressing your shutter (make sure you are shooting busy scene, not just a white wall). How many shots did you take until it stops? Then ask your self if you will ever take that many shots in a burst mode. If you think you need a faster card, get one. More than likely you wont.

BTW, if you change it to JPEG.. it will take a lot in a row.

Jcampbelll · Jan 1, 2011

I've never had problems with my Transcend 8gb, have been using it constantly for the past year.

Vinny · Jan 1, 2011

Have used Sandisk in P&S cameras now using PNY class 4 in my D90 - no problems so far.

bigtwinky · Jan 1, 2011

Schwettylens said:
Just buy cheap sandisk .. really man. Use your current card, set to raw, use burst mode, keep pressing your shutter (make sure you are shooting busy scene, not just a white wall). How many shots did you take until it stops? Then ask your self if you will ever take that many shots in a burst mode. If you think you need a faster card, get one. More than likely you wont.

BTW, if you change it to JPEG.. it will take a lot in a row.

I "raced" my 7D in JPG with a friend's D700 in JPG both on continous shooting and shooting roughly at the same speed. His camera stopped at around 100 photos continuous at 8fps, mine kept going.

I do about 18 images in RAW at 8fps before the buffer fills and it slows down

Mecal · Jan 1, 2011

I have a Transcend 4gb Class 6.
Have had no problems with it. I plan on getting some more soon

Light Artisan · Jan 1, 2011

Been using nothing but Sandisk but recently ordered 2 16gb Transcend Class 10 cards, fingers crossed.

Robin Usagani · Jan 1, 2011

bigtwinky said:
Schwettylens said:

Just buy cheap sandisk .. really man. Use your current card, set to raw, use burst mode, keep pressing your shutter (make sure you are shooting busy scene, not just a white wall). How many shots did you take until it stops? Then ask your self if you will ever take that many shots in a burst mode. If you think you need a faster card, get one. More than likely you wont.

BTW, if you change it to JPEG.. it will take a lot in a row.

Click to expand...

I "raced" my 7D in JPG with a friend's D700 in JPG both on continous shooting and shooting roughly at the same speed. His camera stopped at around 100 photos continuous at 8fps, mine kept going.

I do about 18 images in RAW at 8fps before the buffer fills and it slows down

Wow.. way to use up your shutter LOL.. I dont want to try.. After maybe 15 I knew i will never shooot anything that many in a row.

Zrock · Jan 2, 2011

Their was a comparison in Digital SLR Photography magazine this month. Not sure if its online or not.
Digital SLR Photography - DSLR reviews, news and user guides for Sony, Nikon, Olympus and Canon digital cameras - Digital SLR Photography

Derrel · Jan 2, 2011

If you'd like to see tested speeds for memory cards, Rob Galbraith's web site has lots of results in the CF/SD card database. Not all cameras are tested, but many,many memory cards have been tested.

Rob Galbraith DPI: CF/SD Performance Database

My preference for high performance CF cards has been SanDisk Extreme or Ultra cards of 2 to 8 gigabyte size. They perform much better than lesser-specified cards.

table1349 · Jan 2, 2011

Sandisk Extreme III's and IV's. I want the download speed and have never had an issue with a Sandisk card.

Well I did have one issue, but the fire wasn't Sandisk's fault. :mrgreen: No matter what card you buy when the temperature gets hot enough to turn it into a plastic blob it just won't fit into the camera or a card reader. :lmao:

redtippmann · Jan 2, 2011

I use SanDisk - Extreme III 8GB SD cards. There a class 10 with 30mb/s and fast enough for me. But if I dont need speed I use my lexars which have never given me a problem... but they are only class 4 (I think).