Does SD card speed matter with a Nikon D50?

AluminumStudios · Apr 15, 2006

I'm very close to buying a Nikon D50 and I'll need to buy an SD card with it. Would I notice any tangible difference between a "normal" SD card versus something like a Sandisk Ultra? Will a faster SD card really translate into faster shots or is the speed at which the camera can take shots mostly determined by the camera's own electronics and buffer?

Any input would be appreciated!

Arch · Apr 15, 2006

It is suppose to make a difference, but it doesn't really. I have 2 cards, one is suppose to be faster than the other and i cant tell the difference. It is slightly noticable in the transfere rate from cam to comp tho.... but as long as you dont mind waiting a few more mins its fine. I would only recomend them if you were interested in shooting alot of sports photog or something.

oh also, your cameras buffer does play a bigger part in shoot speed, than the card itself.... and the D50's is pretty good.

THORHAMMER · Apr 16, 2006

take the write speed of the card ie 40x, 60x or 120x whatever it is, divide by 8. the awnser is the bandwidth of mb per second the card will write at.

Look in the manual for your camera and se what read/write bandwidth it is capable of. get the card that matches your bandwidth best for the price...

right now outpost.com is selling 1GB SD 80X for 29.99 brand is transcend....

Rob · Apr 16, 2006

AluminumStudios said:
I'm very close to buying a Nikon D50 and I'll need to buy an SD card with it. Would I notice any tangible difference between a "normal" SD card versus something like a Sandisk Ultra? Will a faster SD card really translate into faster shots or is the speed at which the camera can take shots mostly determined by the camera's own electronics and buffer?

Any input would be appreciated!

With anything like this, it's the weakest link that causes the delays. Most of the newer SD cards like the Sandisk Ultra (which I use) are faster than the camera's shooting/buffer release rate. You may be able to buy an SD card so slow that it actually writes slower than your camera's fps rate, so check the numbers.

Rob