Need an SD card for my future K7

Michele85 · 08-04-2010, 05:24 AM

I have owned a *istDS for 5.5 years and I've used the same SD cards the whole time, the Sandisk Ultra II 512 Mb cards. (Now they seem so small, but were large at the time I bought them!)

Anyway, I am planning to purchase a K7 within the next week, and I was wondering what card to purchase for it, since I doubt these will cut it on size and possibly write speed.

I will be using the HD video feature of the K7 in addition to just taking pictures.

I'd like to stick with Sandisk since it seems to be working really well for me. What size and speed do I need? Should I get the 16 Mb Extreme III Class 10 card (about $90) or is that overkill?

I do not know how to figure out how much video a card will hold, nor how fast the write speed needs to be.

I hope someone more knowledgeable in that area would be kind enough to help me out.

Thanks!!

Last edited by Michele85; 08-04-2010 at 05:58 AM.

bymy141 · 08-04-2010, 05:44 AM

I use 2 x 32Gb Sandisk Extreme II cards, shooting RAW only with an occasional video clip.
I like to sheer size of the cards, I can work for days without replacing the cards or deleting the pictures.
It all works well for me with Extreme II performance.

- Bert

Wheatfield · 08-04-2010, 06:39 AM

8 gb is about as small as I'd consider, and more than one if you go with that size.
16-21gb is better.
More importantly to me is to make sure I bought a quality card.
For me, this means Sandisk, and it means buying one off the shelf from a legit store, not taking a chance on getting a fake from some joe on the internet.

kytra · 08-04-2010, 06:53 AM

I do not like big cards because if they go corrupt, you loose a lot of photos. Instead of you I would have 3 cards, 2 x 4 Gigs for pics and one 8-16 Gigs for video.

Anywway, the video implementation in DSLRs nowadays is ok, but don't think is as easy to use as a dedicated cam (for example there is no AF while filming, you need external mic for stereo audio in K7 etc)

The guys who shoot pro-grade movies with DSLRs use a lot of other accessories, they have lights and pro-set-ups.

RBellavance · 08-04-2010, 07:12 AM

Originally posted by kytra

I do not like big cards because if they go corrupt, you loose a lot of photos.

I feel the same way. Until last monday, I had 3x2GB and 2x1GB. I then "upgraded" to 2x4GB. I use quotes because the new cards (Transcend SDHC Class 10) are actually slower than the old ones (Sandisk SD Extreme III). But given than I don't shoot video clips and almost never shoot in burst, it's not a big problem.

bymy141 · 08-04-2010, 07:57 AM

Originally posted by kytra

I do not like big cards because if they go corrupt, you loose a lot of photos. Instead of you I would have 3 cards, 2 x 4 Gigs for pics and one 8-16 Gigs for video.

Anywway, the video implementation in DSLRs nowadays is ok, but don't think is as easy to use as a dedicated cam (for example there is no AF while filming, you need external mic for stereo audio in K7 etc)

The guys who shoot pro-grade movies with DSLRs use a lot of other accessories, they have lights and pro-set-ups.

Ahh, well, every advantage has its disadvantage I guess.

If the probability of a card failure is 0.1%, having 8 x 4Gb cards instead of 1 x 32Gb card increase your chance of loosing any photo by a factor of 8.
What I consider a *much* bigger problem for myself, is the probability of loose cards getting lost.
They are so small and the new Sandisk boxes have become even smaller than the older ones.
Not having to replace cards in the field, avoids this issue.

- Bert

JeffJS · 08-04-2010, 09:00 AM

Originally posted by Michele85

I have owned a *istDS for 5.5 years and I've used the same SD cards the whole time, the Sandisk Ultra II 512 Mb cards. (Now they seem so small, but were large at the time I bought them!)

Anyway, I am planning to purchase a K7 within the next week, and I was wondering what card to purchase for it, since I doubt these will cut it on size and possibly write speed.

I will be using the HD video feature of the K7 in addition to just taking pictures.

I'd like to stick with Sandisk since it seems to be working really well for me. What size and speed do I need? Should I get the 16 Mb Extreme III Class 10 card (about $90) or is that overkill?

I do not know how to figure out how much video a card will hold, nor how fast the write speed needs to be.

I hope someone more knowledgeable in that area would be kind enough to help me out.

Thanks!!

I use the 8Gb version of that card. No it is not overkill. If you are going to shoot HD video you will need a card that can keep up with the camera or you'll be limited to less than a minute video clips. Pentax did release a firmware update to address that fact but I don't know how well it works. For what it's worth, spending money trying to upgrade rather than going to the top of the list right off is more overkill and wasteful than anything else. The 8Gb that I use is good for about 200 RAW+JPG photos or about 8 minutes of full HD video (if I remember correctly).

Good luck and welcome to the K7 club!

2100

Muse · 08-04-2010, 10:00 AM

Originally posted by Wheatfield

8 gb is about as small as I'd consider, and more than one if you go with that size.
16-21gb is better.
More importantly to me is to make sure I bought a quality card.
For me, this means Sandisk, and it means buying one off the shelf from a legit store, not taking a chance on getting a fake from some joe on the internet.

If the cost isn't a big concern, makes sense. Myself, I jumped on a deal I saw the other day at Fat Wallet. It was a coupon for $10 off an other wise $27 8GB PQI SDHC "class 10" card at supermediastore dot com (I bought 200 Taiyo Yuden DVD-Rs from them several years ago at a great price, $0.29/disk). The card came a couple days ago and yesterday I shot around 15 minutes of 720p video on it on my new K-x, seems OK I think. Longest of these videos was around 3:35, about 1GB. Cost me $18.65 shipped.

Wheatfield · 08-04-2010, 06:53 PM

Originally posted by Muse

If the cost isn't a big concern, makes sense.

What are your pictures worth to you?
What is the cost associated with losing a days shooting because a cheap card corrupted?

Jasvox · 08-05-2010, 02:14 AM

Participated in threads like this here before and I will stand by my experiences and suggest basically whichever SDHC card you want will be fine. Yes, I own Extreme III's as well as Kingston cheapos and you know what, they all work fine and they can all corrupt no different than the other ones.

I work in travel and am frequently with large groups of University students and other young adults who have all sorts of digital camera gear when traveling. I have heard thousands of stories or have witnessed SD cards malfunctioning or otherwise and have never seen a scenario where the less expensive ones go bad more than the $$$ ones. As a matter of fact, I had two members on this last 5 week tour have problems with their Extreme III's in their DSLR's...as far as how they are built, they pretty much all come from the same place anyway. Same hands build them.

As far as performance is considered, yes, you get benefits from higher "class" cards and faster read/write times may have benefits, but brand/price seems to be a nice marketing scheme and has very little, if anything to do with overall quality.

At the end of the day, you will probably buy what makes you happy and gives you peace of mind...that's normal.

Happy shooting!

Jason

Aknot · 08-05-2010, 05:19 AM

New here and newly back into Photography.

I have Class 4 Kingstons (4 and 8 gig) they do very well in keeping the 4.7fps going. This of course appears dependent on the lens, focal length etc. and some other factors. (Think im using the right terms) Meaning sometimes I can leave my finger on the shutter release "forever" and sometimes I cant.

I believe from my reading and understanding the higher the "Class" the faster the read/write. For HD I believe at the least you would want a Class 6.

I have shot video (not HD) with my Class 4 aqnd it came out great. Of course I was on a brightly lit beach close in subject.. perfect conditions.

As for data corruption... being into "computers" almost all my life I can tell you Now adays you dont "get what you paid for" as much as you use to. Ive had cheapy memory sticks, HD, etc last longer and perform how I want them to perform better then the "brands".

Oh this is on a K-X btw.

Muse · 08-05-2010, 09:36 AM

Originally posted by Wheatfield

What are your pictures worth to you?
What is the cost associated with losing a days shooting because a cheap card corrupted?

It hasn't happened to me yet on any of my cards. I have two 256MB I used for 6.5 years with my P&S (Kingston SD), two 2GB I have used just a few days with my new K-x, (Kingston SD), and my new PQI 8GB SDHC Class 10. There's no guarantee that any card won't corrupt. However, I'd like to have at least one reference card, one that's at least 4GB (preferably 8 or bigger), and top quality for those occasions when I'd truly hate to lose my work and in order to assist in troubleshooting issues I might be having when using another card.

I'll quote Jason's post, 2 above mine:

Originally posted by Jasvox

Participated in threads like this here before and I will stand by my experiences and suggest basically whichever SDHC card you want will be fine. Yes, I own Extreme III's as well as Kingston cheapos and you know what, they all work fine and they can all corrupt no different than the other ones.

I work in travel and am frequently with large groups of University students and other young adults who have all sorts of digital camera gear when traveling. I have heard thousands of stories or have witnessed SD cards malfunctioning or otherwise and have never seen a scenario where the less expensive ones go bad more than the $$$ ones. As a matter of fact, I had two members on this last 5 week tour have problems with their Extreme III's in their DSLR's...as far as how they are built, they pretty much all come from the same place anyway. Same hands build them.

As far as performance is considered, yes, you get benefits from higher "class" cards and faster read/write times may have benefits, but brand/price seems to be a nice marketing scheme and has very little, if anything to do with overall quality.

At the end of the day, you will probably buy what makes you happy and gives you peace of mind...that's normal.

Happy shooting!

Jason

Wheatfield · 08-05-2010, 08:53 PM

The only cards I've had go bad on me have been offbrands, specifically Patriot.
Two out of three went south. I don't trust the third, I decided that good cards were a good investment.

Michele85 · 08-06-2010, 04:52 AM

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I will definitely go with a card that is Class 10 and at least 8 Mb to ensure I can take video when I want. I still have a nice video camera, but it really stinks to take both of them to certain events. It sounds like there is lots of opinions on brands of cards. I was planning to stick with Sandisk simply because I have not had any problem with the two I have in 5.5 years. Thanks!

08-04-2010, 05:24 AM	#1
Michele85 Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Tennessee Posts: 14	Need an SD card for my future K7 I have owned a istDS for 5.5 years and I've used the same SD cards the whole time, the Sandisk Ultra II 512 Mb cards. (Now they seem so small, but were large at the time I bought them!) Anyway, I am planning to purchase a K7 within the next week, and I was wondering what card to purchase for it, since I doubt these will cut it on size and possibly write speed. I will be using the HD video feature of the K7 in addition to just taking pictures. I'd like to stick with Sandisk since it seems to be working really well for me. What size and speed do I need? Should I get the 16 Mb Extreme III Class 10 card (about $90) or is that overkill? I do not know how to figure out how much video a card will hold, nor how fast the write speed needs to be. I hope someone more knowledgeable in that area would be kind enough to help me out. Thanks!! Last edited by Michele85; 08-04-2010 at 05:58 AM.*

08-04-2010, 09:00 AM	#7
JeffJS Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Michigan, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,484	Originally posted by Michele85 I have owned a istDS for 5.5 years and I've used the same SD cards the whole time, the Sandisk Ultra II 512 Mb cards. (Now they seem so small, but were large at the time I bought them!) Anyway, I am planning to purchase a K7 within the next week, and I was wondering what card to purchase for it, since I doubt these will cut it on size and possibly write speed. I will be using the HD video feature of the K7 in addition to just taking pictures. I'd like to stick with Sandisk since it seems to be working really well for me. What size and speed do I need? Should I get the 16 Mb Extreme III Class 10 card (about $90) or is that overkill? I do not know how to figure out how much video a card will hold, nor how fast the write speed needs to be. I hope someone more knowledgeable in that area would be kind enough to help me out. Thanks!! I use the 8Gb version of that card. No it is not overkill. If you are going to shoot HD video you will need a card that can keep up with the camera or you'll be limited to less than a minute video clips. Pentax did release a firmware update to address that fact but I don't know how well it works. For what it's worth, spending money trying to upgrade rather than going to the top of the list right off is more overkill and wasteful than anything else. The 8Gb that I use is good for about 200 RAW+JPG photos or about 8 minutes of full HD video (if I remember correctly). Good luck and welcome to the K7 club! 2100 Last edited by JeffJS; 08-04-2010 at 09:00 AM. Reason: mark 2100th post*

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08-04-2010, 05:44 AM	#2
bymy141 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,563	I use 2 x 32Gb Sandisk Extreme II cards, shooting RAW only with an occasional video clip. I like to sheer size of the cards, I can work for days without replacing the cards or deleting the pictures. It all works well for me with Extreme II performance. - Bert

08-04-2010, 06:39 AM	#3
Wheatfield Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 12,978	8 gb is about as small as I'd consider, and more than one if you go with that size. 16-21gb is better. More importantly to me is to make sure I bought a quality card. For me, this means Sandisk, and it means buying one off the shelf from a legit store, not taking a chance on getting a fake from some joe on the internet.

08-04-2010, 06:53 AM	#4
kytra Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bucharest Posts: 482	I do not like big cards because if they go corrupt, you loose a lot of photos. Instead of you I would have 3 cards, 2 x 4 Gigs for pics and one 8-16 Gigs for video. Anywway, the video implementation in DSLRs nowadays is ok, but don't think is as easy to use as a dedicated cam (for example there is no AF while filming, you need external mic for stereo audio in K7 etc) The guys who shoot pro-grade movies with DSLRs use a lot of other accessories, they have lights and pro-set-ups.

08-04-2010, 07:12 AM	#5
RBellavance Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Near Montréal, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,716	Originally posted by kytra I do not like big cards because if they go corrupt, you loose a lot of photos. I feel the same way. Until last monday, I had 3x2GB and 2x1GB. I then "upgraded" to 2x4GB. I use quotes because the new cards (Transcend SDHC Class 10) are actually slower than the old ones (Sandisk SD Extreme III). But given than I don't shoot video clips and almost never shoot in burst, it's not a big problem.

08-04-2010, 07:57 AM	#6
bymy141 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,563	Originally posted by kytra I do not like big cards because if they go corrupt, you loose a lot of photos. Instead of you I would have 3 cards, 2 x 4 Gigs for pics and one 8-16 Gigs for video. Anywway, the video implementation in DSLRs nowadays is ok, but don't think is as easy to use as a dedicated cam (for example there is no AF while filming, you need external mic for stereo audio in K7 etc) The guys who shoot pro-grade movies with DSLRs use a lot of other accessories, they have lights and pro-set-ups. Ahh, well, every advantage has its disadvantage I guess. If the probability of a card failure is 0.1%, having 8 x 4Gb cards instead of 1 x 32Gb card increase your chance of loosing any photo by a factor of 8. What I consider a much bigger problem for myself, is the probability of loose cards getting lost. They are so small and the new Sandisk boxes have become even smaller than the older ones. Not having to replace cards in the field, avoids this issue. - Bert

08-04-2010, 10:00 AM	#8
Muse Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: SF Bay Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 211	Originally posted by Wheatfield 8 gb is about as small as I'd consider, and more than one if you go with that size. 16-21gb is better. More importantly to me is to make sure I bought a quality card. For me, this means Sandisk, and it means buying one off the shelf from a legit store, not taking a chance on getting a fake from some joe on the internet. If the cost isn't a big concern, makes sense. Myself, I jumped on a deal I saw the other day at Fat Wallet. It was a coupon for $10 off an other wise $27 8GB PQI SDHC "class 10" card at supermediastore dot com (I bought 200 Taiyo Yuden DVD-Rs from them several years ago at a great price, $0.29/disk). The card came a couple days ago and yesterday I shot around 15 minutes of 720p video on it on my new K-x, seems OK I think. Longest of these videos was around 3:35, about 1GB. Cost me $18.65 shipped.

08-04-2010, 06:53 PM	#9
Wheatfield Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 12,978	Originally posted by Muse If the cost isn't a big concern, makes sense. What are your pictures worth to you? What is the cost associated with losing a days shooting because a cheap card corrupted?

08-05-2010, 02:14 AM	#10
Jasvox Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 3,107	Participated in threads like this here before and I will stand by my experiences and suggest basically whichever SDHC card you want will be fine. Yes, I own Extreme III's as well as Kingston cheapos and you know what, they all work fine and they can all corrupt no different than the other ones. I work in travel and am frequently with large groups of University students and other young adults who have all sorts of digital camera gear when traveling. I have heard thousands of stories or have witnessed SD cards malfunctioning or otherwise and have never seen a scenario where the less expensive ones go bad more than the $$$ ones. As a matter of fact, I had two members on this last 5 week tour have problems with their Extreme III's in their DSLR's...as far as how they are built, they pretty much all come from the same place anyway. Same hands build them. As far as performance is considered, yes, you get benefits from higher "class" cards and faster read/write times may have benefits, but brand/price seems to be a nice marketing scheme and has very little, if anything to do with overall quality. At the end of the day, you will probably buy what makes you happy and gives you peace of mind...that's normal. Happy shooting! Jason

08-05-2010, 05:19 AM	#11
Aknot Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Va Photos: Albums Posts: 119	New here and newly back into Photography. I have Class 4 Kingstons (4 and 8 gig) they do very well in keeping the 4.7fps going. This of course appears dependent on the lens, focal length etc. and some other factors. (Think im using the right terms) Meaning sometimes I can leave my finger on the shutter release "forever" and sometimes I cant. I believe from my reading and understanding the higher the "Class" the faster the read/write. For HD I believe at the least you would want a Class 6. I have shot video (not HD) with my Class 4 aqnd it came out great. Of course I was on a brightly lit beach close in subject.. perfect conditions. As for data corruption... being into "computers" almost all my life I can tell you Now adays you dont "get what you paid for" as much as you use to. Ive had cheapy memory sticks, HD, etc last longer and perform how I want them to perform better then the "brands". Oh this is on a K-X btw.

08-05-2010, 09:36 AM	#12
Muse Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: SF Bay Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 211	Originally posted by Wheatfield What are your pictures worth to you? What is the cost associated with losing a days shooting because a cheap card corrupted? It hasn't happened to me yet on any of my cards. I have two 256MB I used for 6.5 years with my P&S (Kingston SD), two 2GB I have used just a few days with my new K-x, (Kingston SD), and my new PQI 8GB SDHC Class 10. There's no guarantee that any card won't corrupt. However, I'd like to have at least one reference card, one that's at least 4GB (preferably 8 or bigger), and top quality for those occasions when I'd truly hate to lose my work and in order to assist in troubleshooting issues I might be having when using another card. I'll quote Jason's post, 2 above mine: Originally posted by Jasvox Participated in threads like this here before and I will stand by my experiences and suggest basically whichever SDHC card you want will be fine. Yes, I own Extreme III's as well as Kingston cheapos and you know what, they all work fine and they can all corrupt no different than the other ones. I work in travel and am frequently with large groups of University students and other young adults who have all sorts of digital camera gear when traveling. I have heard thousands of stories or have witnessed SD cards malfunctioning or otherwise and have never seen a scenario where the less expensive ones go bad more than the $$$ ones. As a matter of fact, I had two members on this last 5 week tour have problems with their Extreme III's in their DSLR's...as far as how they are built, they pretty much all come from the same place anyway. Same hands build them. As far as performance is considered, yes, you get benefits from higher "class" cards and faster read/write times may have benefits, but brand/price seems to be a nice marketing scheme and has very little, if anything to do with overall quality. At the end of the day, you will probably buy what makes you happy and gives you peace of mind...that's normal. Happy shooting! Jason

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08-05-2010, 08:53 PM	#13
Wheatfield Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 12,978	The only cards I've had go bad on me have been offbrands, specifically Patriot. Two out of three went south. I don't trust the third, I decided that good cards were a good investment.

08-06-2010, 04:52 AM	#14
Michele85 Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Tennessee Posts: 14 Original Poster	Thanks for all the feedback. I think I will definitely go with a card that is Class 10 and at least 8 Mb to ensure I can take video when I want. I still have a nice video camera, but it really stinks to take both of them to certain events. It sounds like there is lots of opinions on brands of cards. I was planning to stick with Sandisk simply because I have not had any problem with the two I have in 5.5 years. Thanks!