Camera Labs

I am in the market for a new SD card, and now that I am recording some AVCHD as well my space requirments have increased. The problem is I see so such a huge range of prices for a 16 GB SDHC card it makes me wonder if they are not created equal.

Are some SD cards more reliable, faster, better than others or should I just get any brand and just shop based on price?

I also see some 32 GB SDHC cards coming out this month, but right now of cource the price on these things are silly.

Thanks for the reply.
I am looking for a 16 GB card.

Prices are mostly subject to card speed and space. A slow 8 GB card is cheaper than a fast 4 GB in general.

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

SHDC cards come in different classes - the higher the class the higher the minimum guaranteed write speed they should have:

* Class 2: 2 MB/s - 13x
* Class 4: 4 MB/s - 26x
* Class 6: 6 MB/s - 40x
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card#SDHC

You'll most likely see class 4 cards at 16GB sizes. I have 2 transcend class 6 16GB SDHC card which cost about £25 each. I went for the class 6 because I tend to use continuous shooting and didn't want the burst speed to be hampered by slow media. I don't know if, in reality, the difference between class 4 & 6 would make a difference on my 450D but it may for you depending on your sensor/file size and whether you shoot RAW+jpeg or just jpeg.

Jamie

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Canon EOS 450D, EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM, EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6, Sigma AF 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM, Canon Speedlight 430EXII, 9/16/30mm macro extension tubes.

Some SD cards are going to be more reliable than others. Make sure you get a "name brand" SD card. SD cards have an undefined limit to how many times they can read/write before they die. Good cards will last much longer than the cheap cards.

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Do this. I've had 2 unbranded cards fail on me, and no branded ones.

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Stay Away from A-data.. I've heard tons of horror stories about them. and not all class 6 sdhc cards are the same i believe, the lexar was beaten easily by the extreme 3.

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Check out: http://www.eagle1337.deviantart.com/
Camera: Canon Rebel T1i
Lens: Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm OS DC HSM f/2.8-4, ef-s 18-55mm IS, ef-s 55-250mm IS. EF 50mm F/1.8
Tripod: Giottos MTL9351B with a MH 5001 head.
Bag: lowepro Slingshot 202 AW. Cards: Sandisk Ultra 2, Lexar MicroSDHC.

Sounds like one of those Extreme III or IV should be a good one to go with then.

Agreed. The class standards are minimum speeds only. Different brands will perform differently above these minimums. Also remember to reformat your cards in camera once in a while - this stops the file fragmentation affecting your read/write speed.

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Canon EOS 450D, EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM, EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6, Sigma AF 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM, Canon Speedlight 430EXII, 9/16/30mm macro extension tubes.

Can all digitals handle larger capacity SD cards?

I was told that not all digital cameras could read the 16GB cards, some where limited to 4 or 8GB's, but I have never read such a thing.

There are essentially two types of SD card currently on the market (ignoring the physical size differences for micro SD etc). These are the standard SD card which are 2GB or less and the SDHC card capable of capacities greater than 2GB.

To be able to use SDHC cards your camera must be SDHC compatible. This is because SDHC uses the FAT32 filesystem (which your camera needs to understand) whereas the standard SD card uses FAT16. You can use standard SD cards in a camera capable of using SDHC, though.

Most modern cameras can take SDHC cards but you need to check your manual first.

Jamie

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Canon EOS 450D, EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM, EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6, Sigma AF 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM, Canon Speedlight 430EXII, 9/16/30mm macro extension tubes.

Oh, and SDHC cards go up to 32 GB's

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

So an SDHC camera should be able to work with any GB size SDHC card.
Regardless if it's 4GB or 32GB correct?

Correct.

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