[McLovin]

Hey guys,

I currently use a 2 GB Sandisk Extreme III memory card with my K10D, and I'm really happy with it but I want to buy a second, larger memory card. So I had a couple questions about memory cards:

Is the K10D write speed even fast enough that there is a difference between Class 4 and Class 6 cards?
and
Is there a difference between Class 6 SD cards and Class 6 SDHC cards? What I mean is, am I going to get a faster card if I stick with 2GB cards rather then a 4GB+ card?

Also, the Verbatim 8GB Class 6 SDHC cards are going on sale for a good price at the retail store where I work, but in your experiences are Verbatim cards as good quality as Sandisk Extreme III cards?

[Ash]

We've had a few of these discussions, some of which are here:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/1753-k10d-sd-card-speeds.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/17212-buffer-write-speed-k10d.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/camera-studio-accessories/47973-sd-cards-...k20d-test.html

Overall, you'll find that not all Class 4s are the same speed, and not all Class 6s are fast enough for the K10D. This is why one who both cares for the integrity of the photos taken as well as optimal write speed would not consider a generic brand Class 6 SD card, but rather go for a reliable brand such as SanDisk Extreme. I've not heard any stories from SanDisk users that their cards have failed in any way. I couldn't vouch for the Verbatims, but I know they're a reputable brand - just check out their published write speeds.

[wlachan]

The same class from different brands or the same brand but different batches could have different read/write speed. The latest card I bought is the Sandisk 8GB class2 which has 6MB+/s write speed. My own avoid brands include a-data, kingston and a few other lesser known brands. My favours are Toshiba & Panasonic, with Sandisk, Lexar & Transcend 2nd.

[WheresWaldo]

My own avoid brands include a-data, kingston and a few other lesser known brands. My favours are Toshiba & Panasonic, with Sandisk, Lexar & Transcend 2nd.

I have tried quite a few of the lesser brands and agree that A-Data should be avoided. I have also had good experience with PQI, when I tested them against the SanDisk Extreme III they were just a little bit (about 10-15%) slower on raw writes than the SanDisk. Others like Apacer, Transcend and Ridata were considerably slower.