[GibbyTheMole]

Hey all.

Yesterday at the local Wal-Mart, I bought a PNY Professional 16GB Class 10 SDHC card for use on my K-x. It was around $25, $10 more than a Sandisk 16GB Class 6 card.

Now I see some people have problems with PNY cards being long-term reliable... Should I return it & get the Sandisk? I went with the class 10 mainly to prevent filling up the buffer on the rare occasions I shoot high speed continuous RAW shots. With my previous class 4 card, I could get maybe 5 shots in RAW before the buffer filled up.

I'm reluctant to buy memory cards online, as I have been burned by counterfeit cards before.

So - what do you guys think?

Cheers,
Bobbo :-)

[boriscleto]

The K-x can only do 5 frames anyway...

Continuous shooting
Hi: 4.7 fps to 17 frames (JPG), 5 frames (RAW)
Lo: 2 fps until card is full (JPG), up to 11 frames (RAW)

[Docrwm]

You can fill the buffer on the K-x, as you can with any camera. The Class 10 cards are the fastest cards that the K-x through K-5 can use. They are not always necessary but, as you indicated, they help keep the buffer free when doing Hi-Speed bursts and when doing video. I haven't had any problem with fakes from Amazon, Adorama, or B&H. I have had fakes in the past from eBay, a local store, and from BJ's.

Fakes are usually pretty easy to identify, once you insert them into your computer. The main give-away for fake SD cards is their capacity. Most are not as many gb's as they are labeled. Often you get a 1gb or 2gb chip inside a card marked 16gb or 32gb. Less often you get a card that is the same capacity but not the right speed - class 2 for class 10 for example. They are harder to distinguish easily.

[ducdao]

Hey all.

Yesterday at the local Wal-Mart, I bought a PNY Professional 16GB Class 10 SDHC card for use on my K-x. It was around $25, $10 more than a Sandisk 16GB Class 6 card.

Now I see some people have problems with PNY cards being long-term reliable... Should I return it & get the Sandisk? I went with the class 10 mainly to prevent filling up the buffer on the rare occasions I shoot high speed continuous RAW shots. With my previous class 4 card, I could get maybe 5 shots in RAW before the buffer filled up.

I'm reluctant to buy memory cards online, as I have been burned by counterfeit cards before.

So - what do you guys think?

Cheers,
Bobbo :-)

Class only matters if you shoot video, even so a class 6 should be fine for you K-x video shooting.

I shoot photographs with my K-x using class 2 Lexar card without any problems.

The 5 shot RAW buffer is not related to your SD card, it<s more a limitation of the K-x.

[GibbyTheMole]

The K-x can only do 5 frames anyway...

Huh... Maybe the class 6 Sandisk would be just dandy, then. There's quite a few reviews of the PNY that claim it conks out after a few days or weeks. It has me a bit concerned. I still have a 2 year old 4GB PNY card that works like a charm, but manufacturing processes change, so you never know. A lot of the new PNY cards could be duds.

As far as long-term reliability, what do you guys think? PNY or SanDisk?

[Ben_Edict]

Class only matters if you shoot video, even so a class 6 should be fine for you K-x video shooting.

I shoot photographs with my K-x using class 2 Lexar card without any problems.

The 5 shot RAW buffer is not related to your SD card, it<s more a limitation of the K-x.

The speed of the memory card is relevant not for shooting a burst, but for saving those images onto the card. It is a massive difference, if your camera is blocked by a class 2 card or whether it is useable within a short time, thanks to a faster memory card. I certainly experience a difference between my older Sandisk Ultras and the newer Sandisk Extreme or my recently purchased Lexar class 10 cards. I can shoot near continuously with these faster cards in the Kr.

Ben

[Docrwm]

Class only matters if you shoot video, even so a class 6 should be fine for you K-x video shooting.

I shoot photographs with my K-x using class 2 Lexar card without any problems.

The 5 shot RAW buffer is not related to your SD card, it<s more a limitation of the K-x.

Simply incorrect. The buffer fills, the SD card receives from the buffer, the write speed to the SD card is one key bottleneck for your camera. The faster the write speed, up to the hardware limit of your camera, the more continuous pictures you can take before your camera has to stop until it clears the buffer. By emptying the buffer as fast as possible you extend the maximum number of pictures possible in any given burst. There are any number of threads here and elsewhere on the internet that give test numbers with differing speed cards. Up to class 10 cards will in fact benefit your ability to capture more images. Some do not utilize the speed because they do not use those features on their camera that necessitate them, but that does not negate their utility when accessed.

[lammie200]

Simply incorrect. The buffer fills, the SD card receives from the buffer, the write speed to the SD card is one key bottleneck for your camera. The faster the write speed, up to the hardware limit of your camera, the more continuous pictures you can take before your camera has to stop until it clears the buffer. By emptying the buffer as fast as possible you extend the maximum number of pictures possible in any given burst. There are any number of threads here and elsewhere on the internet that give test numbers with differing speed cards. Up to class 10 cards will in fact benefit your ability to capture more images. Some do not utilize the speed because they do not use those features on their camera that necessitate them, but that does not negate their utility when accessed.

I believe that Docrwm is correct. Furthermore, I look for fast 30mb or 45mb / sec transfer rates. The faster the transfer rate the faster you will be able to move images from the card to a hard disk. At least that is how I understand it. Also, I have a PNY card and haven't had any problems with it.

[Docrwm]

I believe that Docrwm is correct. Furthermore, I look for fast 30mb or 45mb / sec transfer rates. The faster the transfer rate the faster you will be able to move images from the card to a hard disk. At least that is how I understand it. Also, I have a PNY card and haven't had any problems with it.

The only point I would make is that the speed is limited by the hardware's ability and I believe that the class 10 30mb/s rate is at the upper end of that limit.

[ducdao]

Simply incorrect. The buffer fills, the SD card receives from the buffer, the write speed to the SD card is one key bottleneck for your camera. The faster the write speed, up to the hardware limit of your camera, the more continuous pictures you can take before your camera has to stop until it clears the buffer. By emptying the buffer as fast as possible you extend the maximum number of pictures possible in any given burst. There are any number of threads here and elsewhere on the internet that give test numbers with differing speed cards. Up to class 10 cards will in fact benefit your ability to capture more images. Some do not utilize the speed because they do not use those features on their camera that necessitate them, but that does not negate their utility when accessed.

Now that I think of it, I think you are right. My bad.

However, I have class2, class 4, class 6 and class 10 and never noticed any differences unless I shoot video. Maybe I just don't use burst mode that much.

[Docrwm]

Now that I think of it, I think you are right. My bad.

However, I have class2, class 4, class 6 and class 10 and never noticed any differences unless I shoot video. Maybe I just don't use burst mode that much.

For 1-2 shots at a time, with time between, each of those ought to work just fine. When I need Class 10, I NEED it - like when (and if) my son makes a break-away in soccer. If I am shooting more sedately, the others would be fine. I keep only Class 10s in my dSLRs because I do to want to be caught with a slow card and now the good class 10s are really not that expensive.

[Ben_Edict]

Now that I think of it, I think you are right. My bad.

However, I have class2, class 4, class 6 and class 10 and never noticed any differences unless I shoot video. Maybe I just don't use burst mode that much.

Just yesterday I took images of our son and his friend playing tennis. Making 10 RAWs at full speed with the Kr was no problem at all with a class 10 card. But it would have been with slower cards. And I could have kept on shooting with this card, albeit at a slower speed, when the buffer filled completely (which I did not notice at any time).

I am not sure, that video is a good measure at all, as it has low resolution (compared to the full image) and is heavily compressed. That sure puts strain on the processor, but at the same time reduces memory bandwith.

Ben

[Clicker]

Hey all.

Yesterday at the local Wal-Mart, I bought a PNY Professional 16GB Class 10 SDHC card for use on my K-x. It was around $25, $10 more than a Sandisk 16GB Class 6 card.

Now I see some people have problems with PNY cards being long-term reliable... Should I return it & get the Sandisk? I went with the class 10 mainly to prevent filling up the buffer on the rare occasions I shoot high speed continuous RAW shots. With my previous class 4 card, I could get maybe 5 shots in RAW before the buffer filled up.

I'm reluctant to buy memory cards online, as I have been burned by counterfeit cards before.

So - what do you guys think?

Cheers,
Bobbo :-)

You should order this or the 2pack 8gb even cheaper

Lexar 16GB SDHC Memory Card Professional Class 10

[Docrwm]

Here is a good test of SD cards that isn't too old. Write speed is MORE important than read speed for our application in cameras. I also take into account reliability of cards and complaints by users. SanDisk has, for me, the best combination of speed and reliability. There is more to it of course but the I/O rate is the other biggie for me and SanDisk wins on that one. You can see the whole review at:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sdxc-sdhc-uhs-i,2940.html

[riveredger]

My PNY has lasted 7 years . . . FWIW.