Simple question from a photography noob :)

homerunball · Nov 11, 2011

Hey guys! My Dad just gave me his Canon alpha 300 camera because he no longer needs it, and he knows that I've always been interested in photography. So here I am!

Anyways the SD card is damaged, constantly has read errors, and slows down the entire camera. I'm looking to buy the best SD card I can for around $50.00. Capacity is not so big an issue as speed is. Does anyone have any suggestions for what would work best with my camera? Appreciate it guys! I can't wait to get started

MLeeK · Nov 11, 2011

Hoodman is the best on the market. I have no idea what they are running for SD cards right now. Check Adorama or B&H. They have a 0% failure rate.
There are several others making cards similar to Hoodman now.
SanDisk, Lexar, Kingston's better cards area all good. Make sure it's a fast enough write speed to keep up with the camera.

Kerbouchard · Nov 11, 2011

Have you tried formating the memory card in camera? If it's never been done, that is most likely the cause of the errors and speed problems.

MLeeK · Nov 11, 2011

Kerbouchard is right. A good program like MediaRecover can repair bad sectors and problems in memory cards! Now why didn't I think of that???

sarconastic · Nov 11, 2011

I personally have had really good luck with the Sandisk Extreme series of cards. like this one Str8Shot Photo - SanDisk Extreme HD Video 16 GB SDHC Class 10 Memory Card (SDSDRX3-016G-A21). They are about 30Mb/s which is plenty fast for most Dslrs. The Sandisk Extreme IV series boasts 45Mb/s but the price per GB is a little steep for me. Keep in mind that the fastest memory card is not going to make your camera shoot any faster than the mechanical frame rate limit set in the camera. If your camera shoots 5 Frames per second that is all it will do with the fastest card. It will help to some extent with the burst rate, as in how long before the camera buffer fills up before it slows down the frame rate your able to shoot at. I have tried dozens of cards but haven't found one that will allow me to shots at my cameras 7fps constantly..

BTW your saying "Canon" Alpha 300? The alpha line is made by Sony. If it is a Sony, welcome to the club, if not its still OK LOL. If it is a Sony, The Extreme series does work very well with them as I shoot with an Alpha 550.

homerunball · Nov 11, 2011

It is a Sony my bad. Told you I was a noob, but I guess I should have said unobservant noob lol

I'm going to try reformatting the card. If that doesn't work I'll try the SanDisk one because I think they sell them near my house somewhere. Thanks for the replies everyone I'll keep you posted when I get it straightened out!