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11-10-2014, 01:26 PM   #1
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SD card for K3...

Sorry if this has been covered already but...What is everyone's opinion on the best SD card to have for the K3?

11-10-2014, 01:39 PM   #2
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I would like to know also for the K5.
11-10-2014, 01:43 PM   #3
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The faster the better, really (edit: for the K-3). I use Sandisk cards rated 80/60MBps (read/write) and Samsung cards rated 90/80 MBps - I don't notice any difference between them.

You'll see in the In-depth Review that they think you'll get improved performance all the way up to 95 MBps (at least).
11-10-2014, 01:47 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rimfiredude Quote
I would like to know also for the K5.
The K-5 maxes out at about 20 MBps, I believe.

11-10-2014, 01:47 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Johnboyas Quote
Sorry if this has been covered already but...What is everyone's opinion on the best SD card to have for the K3?
For the K-3, the faster the write speed the better, as already noted. I personally recommend sandisk extreme pro cards.

The K-5 can't take advantage of speeds faster than around 30 Mb/s, so your standard Ultra sandisk cards should be ok.

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11-10-2014, 01:59 PM   #6
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Sandisk Extreme Pro. Note that over time these have increased in speed rating from 45Mb/s to 95Mb/s. Either works great but you may find older ones with the 45mb/s rating still floating around. More than fast enough for the K-5 or the k-3 but future proofing is a good idea. And if you use a USB 3.0 card reader there is a difference there as well.

They cost more but IMHO are worth it.
11-10-2014, 02:20 PM   #7
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Is the write time for the K-5 II faster than the K-5? I use Sandisk Extreme rated at 45mb's and was thinking of getting a faster card for my K-5 II, but if the camera can't take advantage of a faster card then I will just continue using what I have.

11-10-2014, 04:51 PM   #8
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I'm using a Samsung Evo microSD card. It's plenty fast. The main reason why microSD is because I have had several SD cards mechanically die, especially since my K-5 (it seems to be quite tight, so the cards don't survive long). And I don't use no name cards. 2 Kingston and 1 SanDisk died. Well, plus a noname. Another Kingston died as in it couldn't be written to anymore.

Anyway, microSD cards sit in an adapter, so if the adapter gets damaged, simply replace it. Also, these days they seem to be cheaper than SD cards...
11-10-2014, 04:57 PM   #9
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Sandisk Extreme series are the best I have used in Pentax.

The Plus @80mbs is the fastest card the K-3 will leverage, but if you get the Pro @90mbs it may transfer faster on your computer using USB 3.0

For the K-5 the regular Extreme @45mbs is fast enough.

I've tried other cards but prefer the reliability of the SanDisk. Make sure to buy from reputable sellers, ebay cheap versions are most certainly knockoffs.
11-10-2014, 05:11 PM   #10
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SanDisk Extreme Pro is well regarded and reliable. I have had excellent results with the PNY Elite Performance 64GB High Speed SDXC Class 10 UHS-1. It is among the fastest I have tested.
11-10-2014, 05:31 PM   #11
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SanDisk is significantly more expensive than other brands though... and even those can be killed by the K-5's tight slot. So really I'd suggest buying microSD from a decent brand. The K-3 SD slot isn't that fast anyway, IIRC. Let alone the K-5.
11-10-2014, 05:40 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by kadajawi Quote
SanDisk is significantly more expensive than other brands though... and even those can be killed by the K-5's tight slot. So really I'd suggest buying microSD from a decent brand. The K-3 SD slot isn't that fast anyway, IIRC. Let alone the K-5.
I disagree with this advice.
SanDisk may be more expensive but when on sale they are a good value, and why put cheap cards in your fine Pentax machine?
The K-5 slot works just fine with SanDisk.
Using a microSD card just adds one more free connection point via the adapter that could fail. I guess this is OK if you are not going to be inserting and re inserting the card.
The K-3 slot is very fast, if you are going to do high fps shooting you should use the fastest card you can afford.
11-10-2014, 08:39 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by crewl1 Quote
I disagree with this advice.
SanDisk may be more expensive but when on sale they are a good value, and why put cheap cards in your fine Pentax machine?
The K-5 slot works just fine with SanDisk.
Using a microSD card just adds one more free connection point via the adapter that could fail. I guess this is OK if you are not going to be inserting and re inserting the card.
The K-3 slot is very fast, if you are going to do high fps shooting you should use the fastest card you can afford.
Agreed. The K3 is the first Pentax with a fast sd slot and can make good use of fast cards. That was covered extensively when the camera was new. SanDisk always came out on top.
11-10-2014, 08:56 PM   #14
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The suggestions for getting the reliable and fastest SD cards are all valid as the k-3 can make use of the write speed. Also, getting the faster read speed is also important with the large capacity SD card when you need to offload the images to the laptop or PC for editing purposes.

Another point while buying SD cards, I would try to get the most bang for the money (smart shopper) - by not getting the current fastest one or the biggest capacity, look for the sweet spots currently available which are 64 or 32GB at 400 or 600x speed.
11-10-2014, 10:07 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by crewl1 Quote
I disagree with this advice.
SanDisk may be more expensive but when on sale they are a good value, and why put cheap cards in your fine Pentax machine?
The K-5 slot works just fine with SanDisk.
Using a microSD card just adds one more free connection point via the adapter that could fail. I guess this is OK if you are not going to be inserting and re inserting the card.
The K-3 slot is very fast, if you are going to do high fps shooting you should use the fastest card you can afford.
SanDisk cards are rarely on sale, at least where I live. I did manage to get an affordable microSD SanDisk that has the same rating as my microSD Samsung, but despite being UHS-1 it seems like in my K-5 the Samsung is actually faster.


There is nothing mechanical about a microSD card that can break. SD card, yes, plenty of stuff, but a microSD card is extremely solid. It's a PCB with some contacts. So at most the adapter will fail.


I wouldn't say that Kingston is low quality, but 2 died. I forgot my Transcend cards, where 2 more died. And again, it also happened with a SanDisk card! It's usually some plastic part around the golden contacts that fails, or the lock switch, and microSD cards have neither. So I'd say if you never remove a SD card, it's ok to use SD. But if you take it out frequently, as I do, then forget about it.
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