SD memory cards...

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 01:43 PM

30MB/s vs 45MB/s

I do not shoot video. I am only taking photos.

Will it make THAT much difference?

There is certainly a price variance...I bought 2x 16GB 45 MB/s cards.... But I am considering swapping them out (right next door) before I go home for a 30 MB/s 32GB card.

The price is 1x 16GB card = 1x 32 GB card difference only being the speed...30Mb/s vs 45 MB/s...

If I don't do video though is it going to matter? Isn't there some kind of limitation from the camera itself as to how fast it will write photos? (K-5)

amoringello · 06-13-2012, 02:05 PM

No it won't make any significant difference. You're going to run out of internal buffer space is about the same time either way.
When you get home and pull the data off those cards, then it might make some difference. So it will take you theoretically 7 minutes to download your photos instead of 10.
That is "theoretical". You probably won't see much difference in real world application.

But if the price difference is nominal, and both are good name brands, go for the faster card.

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 02:11 PM

Price difference is exactly the same LoL!

Just do I want two cards or one? I opted for the 2 of faster speed but as I sat in Barnes and Nobles going through photography books and figuring out what to buy it was nagging at me.

The "expert" in the camera department wasn't all that much of an expert. All she said was "this one is faster"...

Well duh...- can read too...but she wasn't any help AT ALL...

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 02:13 PM

Same brand BTW.

SanDisk.

About $28 a piece tax and all +- a little.

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 02:20 PM

The 16GB 30MB/s card was $10 cheaper... About $17 plus tax.

16 GB 45 MB/s (what I got) was $27 each.

32 GB 30MB/s $27 bucks.

Philoslothical · 06-13-2012, 02:30 PM

Get two of whichever you prefer. It's always good to have a backup card, just in case. The speed difference isn't going to make a lick of difference for taking stills. I'd go with 2x 16GB (30MB/s) at that price, but I'm a cheap bastard.

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 02:49 PM

Thanks guys! I got it sorted. Like went in and swapped the cards for something else. Didn't think I needed 45MB/s for non video...it would work for sure but if I get to the point where its an issue I will go drop some more on a faster card.

30MB/s should be sufficient for my purposes.

**jatrax** · 06-13-2012, 03:11 PM

I have standardized on the 45mb/s cards only because I feel better thinking they should be more reliable. Probably all in my head but it makes me happier. There is no significant speed difference on the camera. As noted you might see a slight improvement on the computer end, but I wonder if on usb 3.0 you would see more of a difference?

I only use 8gb cards and swap out when I change locations so I can easily import everything from one shoot at the same time. Works for me but lots of ways to do this. You could get 128gb card and never take it out of the camera.

My son's girl friend mentioned that her camera was saying she could not take anymore pictures. When I looked at it for her the card was full. I asked her when the last time she had downloaded pictures to her computer. Long blank look.... Turns out she had never off loaded any pictures. Just take them and they stay on the camera, when she wanted to look at them she used the camera LCD. I have no idea how she thought this was supposed to work. I gave her the lecture on data backup, image storage and cataloging and of course I am sure I wasted my breathe. She finally said " so if I delete some of the ones I don't want can I take some more"? I just said yeah that will work fine....

**jpzk** · 06-13-2012, 04:46 PM

Originally posted by jatrax

I have standardized on the 45mb/s cards only because I feel better thinking they should be more reliable. Probably all in my head but it makes me happier. There is no significant speed difference on the camera. As noted you might see a slight improvement on the computer end, but I wonder if on usb 3.0 you would see more of a difference?

I only use 8gb cards and swap out when I change locations so I can easily import everything from one shoot at the same time. Works for me but lots of ways to do this. You could get 128gb card and never take it out of the camera.

My son's girl friend mentioned that her camera was saying she could not take anymore pictures. When I looked at it for her the card was full. I asked her when the last time she had downloaded pictures to her computer. Long blank look.... Turns out she had never off loaded any pictures. Just take them and they stay on the camera, when she wanted to look at them she used the camera LCD. I have no idea how she thought this was supposed to work. I gave her the lecture on data backup, image storage and cataloging and of course I am sure I wasted my breathe. She finally said " so if I delete some of the ones I don't want can I take some more"? I just said yeah that will work fine....

That is one fun post, jatrax !

Funny enough, I had a similar situation with my 90-year-"old" aunt who thought that pictures taking with her little P&S cam, with a 4 GB SD card, would last forever.
After three years of casual shooting, she came to me in desperation, claiming that her camera was broken ... until I saw that she too filled the card to capacity and conveniently browsed her photos with the rear LCD.

I too use the 45mb/s, 8GB SD cards.
I find it less scary than using a 128GB card and risking losing a lot of pics!
I tried the USB 3.0 on my computer when downloading from the camera to the computer and it is faster than with the USB 2.0, for sure.
On the camera, the 30mb/s cards seem just as fast as the 45mb/s ones.

JP

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 05:53 PM

I am new to DSLR photography and I have not traveled to any 'exotic' locations in a couple years already...

Here is to hoping the economy improves...

All that being said, I went with 2x of the 32 GB cards. This is in addition to the several 8GB cards (same speed) and 1 no name brand 16GB card that I can't tell the speed. I think its a regular class 10 but I don't really like that one. The difference is noticeable between that one and the ones I know are faster.

When I was on Bali I had a small point and shoot camera and I filled up my cards to capacity and had no way to get the info OFF and back home with me. I actually had to go back and delete some shots because I didn't take enough cards. I think I took somewhere around 16 GB of pictures with a point and shoot on Bali (4x 4GB cards) and I barely scraped by before we left...you may think "go buy some more cards" but that is a problem when you are out in the middle of no where...

Since then I have a USB card reader and I also have a handful of 8GB ++ thumb drives. The thumb drives are perfect because they weigh almost nothing. Throw them in a backpack or camera bag and viola.

When I went on a small trip down to Bogota (for fun) a couple months ago and I could find any old internet cafe or whatever and plug the camera into one USB and the thumb drives into the other and transfer the data. It took a little while but no biggie.

Now that I am shooting with a DSLR I will up my game because I just went nuts with the pictures...

Where I am at now I probably never will come close to filling a 32 GB card. When I hit the trail and go to Patagonia or some place like that I will be out with no electricity to speak of so bigger is better. Did I mention that I have 3 or 4 batteries for my camera?

That being said I have a little cigarette lighter plug charger that if we are near a car I can get a charge...

I also have some options to go to some more places in Columbia that will take me far off the beaten path but may yeild some awesome photos and definitely will give me lots of adventure

(read: living with a native tribe in the jungle for a week/month or however long I want--- I would be the guest of honor. Its an invite only kinda deal.... not a tourist thing by any means)

I know I am rambling a bit but the last thing I want to do is run out of memory...that being said my method to taking pictures before (and still is a habit I am trying to break) is to have a point and shoot so that I can move fast and light so that the guerrillas don't catch me. Then just point and shoot. Repeat. 1,200 times.

Now I find myself learning about composition of photographs and all kinds of other factors. Instead of just volume and 'evidence that I was there' I actually might take less shots at first because I am trying to compose and pay attention to light and this or that...its a quality vs quantity game now.

I can still go firing away, but I need to learn composition and lighting and so many things before I can really just 'fire away' hoping something comes out. My goal is to be a thoughtful photographer not just snap snap snap....

Now that I have this DSLR thing going I am going to have to figure out what kind of a good camera bag I need to suit my travels. A lot of the time I just take a single backpack depending where I go. Now I will have one extra bag...

It just depends on when and where I am going as to how I pack... usually its only a carry on size or smaller.

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 05:57 PM

Originally posted by jpzk

I tried the USB 3.0 on my computer when downloading from the camera to the computer and it is faster than with the USB 2.0, for sure.
On the camera, the 30mb/s cards seem just as fast as the 45mb/s ones.
JP

If it takes 10 minutes vs 7 minutes to get a full load off a camera then I am ok with that. Heck even 15 or 20 minutes is alright.

I am primarily concerned with getting good stuff ON the SD card at this point... if it takes an extra 5 minutes to get them off from the safety of an apartment, house, etc etc so be it...

06-13-2012, 01:43 PM	#1
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962	SD memory cards... 30MB/s vs 45MB/s I do not shoot video. I am only taking photos. Will it make THAT much difference? There is certainly a price variance...I bought 2x 16GB 45 MB/s cards.... But I am considering swapping them out (right next door) before I go home for a 30 MB/s 32GB card. The price is 1x 16GB card = 1x 32 GB card difference only being the speed...30Mb/s vs 45 MB/s... If I don't do video though is it going to matter? Isn't there some kind of limitation from the camera itself as to how fast it will write photos? (K-5)

06-13-2012, 05:53 PM	#10
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	I am new to DSLR photography and I have not traveled to any 'exotic' locations in a couple years already... Here is to hoping the economy improves... All that being said, I went with 2x of the 32 GB cards. This is in addition to the several 8GB cards (same speed) and 1 no name brand 16GB card that I can't tell the speed. I think its a regular class 10 but I don't really like that one. The difference is noticeable between that one and the ones I know are faster. When I was on Bali I had a small point and shoot camera and I filled up my cards to capacity and had no way to get the info OFF and back home with me. I actually had to go back and delete some shots because I didn't take enough cards. I think I took somewhere around 16 GB of pictures with a point and shoot on Bali (4x 4GB cards) and I barely scraped by before we left...you may think "go buy some more cards" but that is a problem when you are out in the middle of no where... Since then I have a USB card reader and I also have a handful of 8GB ++ thumb drives. The thumb drives are perfect because they weigh almost nothing. Throw them in a backpack or camera bag and viola. When I went on a small trip down to Bogota (for fun) a couple months ago and I could find any old internet cafe or whatever and plug the camera into one USB and the thumb drives into the other and transfer the data. It took a little while but no biggie. Now that I am shooting with a DSLR I will up my game because I just went nuts with the pictures... Where I am at now I probably never will come close to filling a 32 GB card. When I hit the trail and go to Patagonia or some place like that I will be out with no electricity to speak of so bigger is better. Did I mention that I have 3 or 4 batteries for my camera? That being said I have a little cigarette lighter plug charger that if we are near a car I can get a charge... I also have some options to go to some more places in Columbia that will take me far off the beaten path but may yeild some awesome photos and definitely will give me lots of adventure (read: living with a native tribe in the jungle for a week/month or however long I want--- I would be the guest of honor. Its an invite only kinda deal.... not a tourist thing by any means) I know I am rambling a bit but the last thing I want to do is run out of memory...that being said my method to taking pictures before (and still is a habit I am trying to break) is to have a point and shoot so that I can move fast and light so that the guerrillas don't catch me. Then just point and shoot. Repeat. 1,200 times. Now I find myself learning about composition of photographs and all kinds of other factors. Instead of just volume and 'evidence that I was there' I actually might take less shots at first because I am trying to compose and pay attention to light and this or that...its a quality vs quantity game now. I can still go firing away, but I need to learn composition and lighting and so many things before I can really just 'fire away' hoping something comes out. My goal is to be a thoughtful photographer not just snap snap snap.... Now that I have this DSLR thing going I am going to have to figure out what kind of a good camera bag I need to suit my travels. A lot of the time I just take a single backpack depending where I go. Now I will have one extra bag... It just depends on when and where I am going as to how I pack... usually its only a carry on size or smaller. Last edited by alamo5000; 06-13-2012 at 06:04 PM.

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06-13-2012, 02:05 PM	#2
amoringello Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,562	No it won't make any significant difference. You're going to run out of internal buffer space is about the same time either way. When you get home and pull the data off those cards, then it might make some difference. So it will take you theoretically 7 minutes to download your photos instead of 10. That is "theoretical". You probably won't see much difference in real world application. But if the price difference is nominal, and both are good name brands, go for the faster card.

06-13-2012, 02:11 PM	#3
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	Price difference is exactly the same LoL! Just do I want two cards or one? I opted for the 2 of faster speed but as I sat in Barnes and Nobles going through photography books and figuring out what to buy it was nagging at me. The "expert" in the camera department wasn't all that much of an expert. All she said was "this one is faster"... Well duh...- can read too...but she wasn't any help AT ALL...

06-13-2012, 02:13 PM	#4
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	Same brand BTW. SanDisk. About $28 a piece tax and all +- a little.

06-13-2012, 02:20 PM	#5
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	The 16GB 30MB/s card was $10 cheaper... About $17 plus tax. 16 GB 45 MB/s (what I got) was $27 each. 32 GB 30MB/s $27 bucks.

06-13-2012, 02:30 PM	#6
Philoslothical Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 1,889	Get two of whichever you prefer. It's always good to have a backup card, just in case. The speed difference isn't going to make a lick of difference for taking stills. I'd go with 2x 16GB (30MB/s) at that price, but I'm a cheap bastard.

06-13-2012, 02:49 PM	#7
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	Thanks guys! I got it sorted. Like went in and swapped the cards for something else. Didn't think I needed 45MB/s for non video...it would work for sure but if I get to the point where its an issue I will go drop some more on a faster card. 30MB/s should be sufficient for my purposes.

06-13-2012, 03:11 PM	#8
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	I have standardized on the 45mb/s cards only because I feel better thinking they should be more reliable. Probably all in my head but it makes me happier. There is no significant speed difference on the camera. As noted you might see a slight improvement on the computer end, but I wonder if on usb 3.0 you would see more of a difference? I only use 8gb cards and swap out when I change locations so I can easily import everything from one shoot at the same time. Works for me but lots of ways to do this. You could get 128gb card and never take it out of the camera. My son's girl friend mentioned that her camera was saying she could not take anymore pictures. When I looked at it for her the card was full. I asked her when the last time she had downloaded pictures to her computer. Long blank look.... Turns out she had never off loaded any pictures. Just take them and they stay on the camera, when she wanted to look at them she used the camera LCD. I have no idea how she thought this was supposed to work. I gave her the lecture on data backup, image storage and cataloging and of course I am sure I wasted my breathe. She finally said " so if I delete some of the ones I don't want can I take some more"? I just said yeah that will work fine....

06-13-2012, 04:46 PM	#9
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Originally posted by jatrax I have standardized on the 45mb/s cards only because I feel better thinking they should be more reliable. Probably all in my head but it makes me happier. There is no significant speed difference on the camera. As noted you might see a slight improvement on the computer end, but I wonder if on usb 3.0 you would see more of a difference? I only use 8gb cards and swap out when I change locations so I can easily import everything from one shoot at the same time. Works for me but lots of ways to do this. You could get 128gb card and never take it out of the camera. My son's girl friend mentioned that her camera was saying she could not take anymore pictures. When I looked at it for her the card was full. I asked her when the last time she had downloaded pictures to her computer. Long blank look.... Turns out she had never off loaded any pictures. Just take them and they stay on the camera, when she wanted to look at them she used the camera LCD. I have no idea how she thought this was supposed to work. I gave her the lecture on data backup, image storage and cataloging and of course I am sure I wasted my breathe. She finally said " so if I delete some of the ones I don't want can I take some more"? I just said yeah that will work fine.... That is one fun post, jatrax ! Funny enough, I had a similar situation with my 90-year-"old" aunt who thought that pictures taking with her little P&S cam, with a 4 GB SD card, would last forever. After three years of casual shooting, she came to me in desperation, claiming that her camera was broken ... until I saw that she too filled the card to capacity and conveniently browsed her photos with the rear LCD. I too use the 45mb/s, 8GB SD cards. I find it less scary than using a 128GB card and risking losing a lot of pics! I tried the USB 3.0 on my computer when downloading from the camera to the computer and it is faster than with the USB 2.0, for sure. On the camera, the 30mb/s cards seem just as fast as the 45mb/s ones. JP

06-13-2012, 05:57 PM	#11
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	Originally posted by jpzk I tried the USB 3.0 on my computer when downloading from the camera to the computer and it is faster than with the USB 2.0, for sure. On the camera, the 30mb/s cards seem just as fast as the 45mb/s ones. JP If it takes 10 minutes vs 7 minutes to get a full load off a camera then I am ok with that. Heck even 15 or 20 minutes is alright. I am primarily concerned with getting good stuff ON the SD card at this point... if it takes an extra 5 minutes to get them off from the safety of an apartment, house, etc etc so be it...