memory cards?

[sublimelbc]

Is there a substantial difference between the different types. I see 4gb cards goin for as much as high speed 512mb. What difference will i see if any? thanks.

 

[shingfan]

you'll notice the difference when you are transferring files on your computer........when use in the camera.....the difference is small....unless you are using something extremely slow.....of course....it also depends on the speed of your camera.....if you are using a 1DmarkII...then for sure you'll want a super fast memory card..........but i believe most 4GB cards in the market should be fast enough for most cameras.....i use one myself and i have no prolbem with its speed....even shooting continuous frames....and the transfer rate is acceptable....i cant really judge on the speed as i have nothing to compare to.......lol

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

The really expensive cards are really fast. In many cases much faster than the camera.....

You don't give any specific details, so I can't really give any specific advice.
In General terms though. If you use a roughly 10 Meg camera the a 2 Gig card like an extreme III will be fast enough. Although whether it will be big enough depends on how many shots you want to take before downloading, and if you shoot RAW or even RAW + JPEG.
What I would say though is, get 2 cards half the size you need. That way if one goes down, there will be the other still usable. If you use the new Canon 400 D then a top of the range card will be an expensive waste. As the card is way faster than the camera... and a good quality (Name you know, like Lexar,San Disk etc), but at the second highest rate (Price), Extreme III or even an Ultra II if you are not too worried about speed, Two or three cards smaller than you feel you will need. would probably be a good way to start.

The speed is really not THAT noticable in practice. Although if you shoot a lot of sport you will appreciate any help you can get in that direction...

 

[Garbz]

I have a cheap no-name brand CF card and it is damn slow. However it has not made a difference to my shooting what so ever, even when shooting sports at 5fps. Most cameras have a buffer to store new images while writing the old ones to the card. I haven't manged to in practice fill the D200's buffer yet.

 

[bla]

It you want to buy a quality card without all the pish-posh of the big brands, take a look at ATP. They make some nice, fast, good quality stuff, I have two cards myself. Quite the sleeper.

 

[MACollum]

Anyone use Transcend brand cards? I just bought 2 2GB cards. Did some research first and all the info led me to believe that they are good cards. I haven't had the chance to really use them (I did test to be sure they work though). I only mention this because I got them for $25 each (they're 80x write speed) at Tiger Direct. Shipping was fast too. I would've gone for the Sandisk but they're too expensive for me right now since I'm saving for a laptop.