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11-22-2014, 04:19 PM   #1
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Slow memory card for a K-5.

A few years ago shortly after getting my K-5 I ended up changing jobs 3 times and moving twice and since then put my hoppy on hold. Now that I'm settled into a new great job I now have time to do things I enjoy.

I really didn't have a chance to use my K-5 that much and I'm still looking for my owners manual. Right now I have an SD card I got back in 2008 during the time I was using my K10D. It's an 8 GB card rated at 15 ms. Every time a take a photo it seems like forever for it to process the photo.

Is that because the card is slow?

Which SD card do you recommend using?

How many photos will 16 and 32 GB cardS hold if I'm shooting in DNG mode set to 16 MP at the highest image quality.
If I had my owners manual I'd look this stuff but at this time I'm at the mercy of the internet and thankfully this forum.

Thanks again...Blake

11-22-2014, 04:30 PM   #2
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As far as speed is concerned, buy a Class 10 card
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/115-pentax-k-5/170319-maximum-useful-sd-card-speed.html

Quality settings don't affect DNG size, amount of information does (because of compression).
I'd reckon an average DNG RAW would be 18MB tops... let's say around 800 images for a 16GB card, maybe a little less...

^ was making calculations with the K-01 file size... which has the same MP count and similar sensor, but saves 12bit RAW files instead of the 14bit files of the K-5, jatrax is right here.

Manuals, you can still download them here:
Operation Manuals Download : Support & Service | RICOH IMAGING

Last edited by LensBeginner; 11-22-2014 at 05:22 PM.
11-22-2014, 04:32 PM   #3
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Shooting RAW DNG you would get about 600 images on a 32gb card. That is an estimate of course and will vary, sometimes considerably, but as far as I know that number is the lowest you can expect.

As to speed, I would not at this point buy a card slower than 45MB/s. I do not think the k-5 needs that speed, but the price differential is not enough to save anything material by buying slow cards. I think the k-5 write speed is about 20MB/s if I remember correctly. Also, make sure you have the current firmware as card write speeds were improved at one point with a firmware update.

Another cause of slow write times (if you are shooting jpeg) is having lens corrections, shadow / highlights on. I don't know if those make any difference when shooting RAW.
11-22-2014, 08:01 PM   #4
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I tried the three different SD cards I have. All are SDHC. I changed everything back yo the default and they were still slow. Better...but still slow.

I guess it's time I upgrade my memory card as well as investing on a DA 15...though now that the K-3 is now even lower it's tempting.

11-22-2014, 10:50 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by BlakeShellman Quote
I tried the three different SD cards I have. All are SDHC. I changed everything back yo the default and they were still slow. Better...but still slow.
Class 10 cards are recommended. However the 'class' system is now outdated and as far as I know has not be updated to represent current speeds. Class 10 was supposed to be 10MB/s. However, most new cards will be available at speeds of 45MB/s or even 95MB/s. Do you need those speeds for the k-5? No, however they will make sure you max out whatever speed the k-5 has and will future proof you if you move to a faster camera at some point. They also will work faster in your computer, especially if you have a USB 3.0 reader.

Also, make sure you check the firmware version, there was an update that improved card speed compatibility with faster cards.

Sandisk Extreme Pro cards are what I use, 95MB/s.
11-23-2014, 01:01 AM   #6
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I'm at Firmware v 1.15. The processing time is slow.
11-24-2014, 03:40 AM   #7
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Also remember that you can turn off all the various corrections and speed up processing considerably.
You can have CA correction, distortion correction, etc. and it's all work that the processor has to do before writing... even if you shoot RAW, because it will embed a jpeg preview anyway...
Try turning off some of those and see if it improves... there was a thread yesterday about this here... I'll try to find it...

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