SD card quality are they really that serious???

josh_smith77073 · 03-02-2013, 02:02 PM

so yesterday i was my local camera shop here in houston. i was listening to the sales rep. telling this woman the difference between SD cards a platinum card vs the regular SD card about how huge a difference it makes. make a long story short he persuaded her into buying the platinum 16g card for WWWAAAYYY too much! talk about price gauging! listening to his talk it make me think "are they really that serious?" does a platinum or gold SD card really make that much of a difference when it comes to snapping pics. as for me i have a SD card that takes a micro SD card because i happen to have both and been using it and swapping it in and out of my cameras.

Adam · 03-02-2013, 02:11 PM

As long as the card has a class 10 rating, isn't a fake, and isn't falling apart, you should be good to go. Most Pentax cameras can't take advantage of the ultra-fast cards that are out there. For a good 16Gb card, you shouldn't be paying more than 20 or 25 dollars. My recommendation is to stick to sandisk and lexar.

Here's what I recommend for everyday use:
SanDisk 32GB SDHC Memory Card Ultra Class 10 UHS-I

Docrwm · 03-02-2013, 02:11 PM

There are any number of comparisons that indicate that a good Class 10 card DOES make a difference if you are doing bursts, continuous photography, video, or other activities that are Read/Write intensive. That is not a reason to overpay though.

**jatrax** · 03-02-2013, 02:15 PM

Depends. If you are shooting professionally and losing images will cost money then buying name brand, better specification cards may make sense. For snapshots, that's up to you. There are two different criteria to look at: speed and reliability.

For Pentax DSLR's any class 10 card should be faster than the camera. I believe class 6 cards are also sufficient in most cases. Now a faster card may copy to the computer via a card reader faster, but it won't make any difference to the camera provided it is Class 10 and not a fake. The camera bus is only so fast. There are cheap cards out there and also a lot of fake cards floating around on auction sites that are not up to spec and some of those will not work as well.

For reliability I personally think it is worth it to me to purchase nothing but top of the line cards. In my case that is Sandisk ExtremePro. Do I use that much speed? No, of course not, but I feel better buying the better rated cards and that is enough for me. It gives me peace of mind, and the cards are rated so that a future camera will not require new cards.

But if the customer did not know the difference at this store then I would say she did not need the premium cards. The sales person 'upsold' her and that's their job but that's also why most people avoid salespeople like the plague.

cyclone3d · 03-02-2013, 02:53 PM

A regular class 10 card is not even fast enough to keep up with a k10d in burst or for that matter for just pushing the shutter button as fast as you can.

a 30MB/s card will keep up with it pretty good and will give you quite a few more shots before is starts to slow down when compared to a not so fast class 10 card.

I would guess that the higher MP cameras benefit even more from a faster card since they generate quite a bit bigger files.

josh_smith77073 · 03-02-2013, 03:08 PM

so are their any comparison shots out there to see the difference vs in card quality using the same shot?

bullitt_60 · 03-02-2013, 03:26 PM

Originally posted by josh_smith77073

so yesterday i was my local camera shop here in houston. i was listening to the sales rep. telling this woman the difference between SD cards a platinum card vs the regular SD card about how huge a difference it makes. make a long story short he persuaded her into buying the platinum 16g card for WWWAAAYYY too much! talk about price gauging! listening to his talk it make me think "are they really that serious?" does a platinum or gold SD card really make that much of a difference when it comes to snapping pics. as for me i have a SD card that takes a micro SD card because i happen to have both and been using it and swapping it in and out of my cameras.

That is the camera shop equivalent of an electronics store upselling overpriced HDMI cables. The camera's buffer is the bottle neck. The write speed of a class 10 card, even a 'base' one, will exceed the capability of the camera.

bullitt_60 · 03-02-2013, 03:27 PM

Originally posted by josh_smith77073

so are their any comparison shots out there to see the difference vs in card quality using the same shot?

Same data, same photo. There will be no difference in quality.

Na Horuk · 03-02-2013, 04:25 PM - **1 Like**

For shooting jpegs you can even use a class 4, 2GB card. You only need faster cards for burst mode shooting or HD video. You should consider a faster card if you find yourself waiting for the camera to finish writing. But this happens very rarely, at least for hobbyists like myself.

Originally posted by Adam

My recommendation is to stick to sandisk and lexar.

Remember this well!

stevebrot · 03-02-2013, 04:55 PM

Originally posted by bullitt_60

That is the camera shop equivalent of an electronics store upselling overpriced HDMI cables.

So true! So true!

I have a $7 HDMI that is twice the quality of the $35 one they sold me with my DVD player and probably better than the $200 cables in the audiophile section of the store.

Steve

excanonfd · 03-02-2013, 04:58 PM

I normally don't shoot in burst mode (never) but i got curious... I am using a Lexar 32GB Class10 SDHC card: Lexar 32GB SDHC Memory Card Platinum II Class 10 LSD32GBSBNA200 on a K-5. Setting shutter to burst mode, continuous AF, raw only and empty card, I pressed the shutter until the first definite lag between shutter releases, I counted 24 frames before the lag occurred.

Docrwm · 03-02-2013, 06:43 PM

Originally posted by excanonfd

I normally don't shoot in burst mode (never) but i got curious... I am using a Lexar 32GB Class10 SDHC card: Lexar 32GB SDHC Memory Card Platinum II Class 10 LSD32GBSBNA200 on a K-5. Setting shutter to burst mode, continuous AF, raw only and empty card, I pressed the shutter until the first definite lag between shutter releases, I counted 24 frames before the lag occurred.

That is the time when the Read/Write speed of the card does make a difference. Folks are funny. Yes, a $4 Class 4 card will work just fine. But, for $18 you can have a Class 10 card that you can not exceed its abilities with your camera. I like to know that I can use all the features on my K-5 to their max technically (not that I am able to use everything to its max as a photographer). How often have I needed that extra speed - more often than most might think as I have two children who play sports.

Sometimes "spray and pray" is the viable option. With the SanDisk Extreme III Class 10 cards I don't have to worry.

goldenarrow · 03-02-2013, 07:33 PM

Originally posted by Docrwm

That is the time when the Read/Write speed of the card does make a difference. Folks are funny. Yes, a $4 Class 4 card will work just fine. But, for $18 you can have a Class 10 card that you can not exceed its abilities with your camera. I like to know that I can use all the features on my K-5 to their max technically (not that I am able to use everything to its max as a photographer). How often have I needed that extra speed - more often than most might think as I have two children who play sports.

Sometimes "spray and pray" is the viable option. With the SanDisk Extreme III Class 10 cards I don't have to worry.

One also has to be careful about write speed. Bought the SanDisk 16GB Ultra's but only noticed now that the write speed minimum is 10MB/s, which is just fine for the two cameras I use (K200D and K-01). However, if/when I upgrade, I will make sure to get max write speed at least 45MB/s (the SanDisk Extreme that you mention). The Extreme Pro can go up to 90MB/s write speed max. It will only get faster in the future.

The class 4 someone else mentioned are way too pokey for me and I can definitely (and annoyingly) notice the time it takes to save each picture. Not worth it even though they are cheap!!

Docrwm · 03-02-2013, 07:43 PM

Originally posted by goldenarrow

One also has to be careful about write speed. Bought the SanDisk 16GB Ultra's but only noticed now that the write speed minimum is 10MB/s, which is just fine for the two cameras I use (K200D and K-01). However, if/when I upgrade, I will make sure to get max write speed at least 45MB/s (the SanDisk Extreme that you mention). The Extreme Pro can go up to 90MB/s write speed max. It will only get faster in the future.

The class 4 someone else mentioned are way too pokey for me and I can definitely (and annoyingly) notice the time it takes to save each picture. Not worth it even though they are cheap!!

I got a couple of Ultra's for the Q because they were on a deep discount at Christmas time. They are fast enough that the Q is fully supported but they are too slow to max out the K-5. I think the sweet spot are the 16gb SanDisk Extreme III's right now. Cost/benefit is solid.

bullitt_60 · 03-02-2013, 08:30 PM

Originally posted by goldenarrow

One also has to be careful about write speed. Bought the SanDisk 16GB Ultra's but only noticed now that the write speed minimum is 10MB/s, which is just fine for the two cameras I use (K200D and K-01). However, if/when I upgrade, I will make sure to get max write speed at least 45MB/s (the SanDisk Extreme that you mention). The Extreme Pro can go up to 90MB/s write speed max. It will only get faster in the future.

The class 4 someone else mentioned are way too pokey for me and I can definitely (and annoyingly) notice the time it takes to save each picture. Not worth it even though they are cheap!!

Your camera just can't write that fast. Unless you are constantly doing 30 second burst, which I can't image unless you are a horrible photographer

, I don't think you will notice the difference. Check out this link:

Rob Galbraith DPI: Nikon D7000

03-02-2013, 02:02 PM	#1
josh_smith77073 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Houston Texas Photos: Albums Posts: 40	SD card quality are they really that serious??? so yesterday i was my local camera shop here in houston. i was listening to the sales rep. telling this woman the difference between SD cards a platinum card vs the regular SD card about how huge a difference it makes. make a long story short he persuaded her into buying the platinum 16g card for WWWAAAYYY too much! talk about price gauging! listening to his talk it make me think "are they really that serious?" does a platinum or gold SD card really make that much of a difference when it comes to snapping pics. as for me i have a SD card that takes a micro SD card because i happen to have both and been using it and swapping it in and out of my cameras.

03-02-2013, 02:11 PM	#2
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,608	As long as the card has a class 10 rating, isn't a fake, and isn't falling apart, you should be good to go. Most Pentax cameras can't take advantage of the ultra-fast cards that are out there. For a good 16Gb card, you shouldn't be paying more than 20 or 25 dollars. My recommendation is to stick to sandisk and lexar. Here's what I recommend for everyday use: SanDisk 32GB SDHC Memory Card Ultra Class 10 UHS-I Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

03-02-2013, 07:33 PM	#13
goldenarrow Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chicago Suburbs. Photos: Gallery Posts: 501	read vs. write speeds Originally posted by Docrwm That is the time when the Read/Write speed of the card does make a difference. Folks are funny. Yes, a $4 Class 4 card will work just fine. But, for $18 you can have a Class 10 card that you can not exceed its abilities with your camera. I like to know that I can use all the features on my K-5 to their max technically (not that I am able to use everything to its max as a photographer). How often have I needed that extra speed - more often than most might think as I have two children who play sports. Sometimes "spray and pray" is the viable option. With the SanDisk Extreme III Class 10 cards I don't have to worry. One also has to be careful about write speed. Bought the SanDisk 16GB Ultra's but only noticed now that the write speed minimum is 10MB/s, which is just fine for the two cameras I use (K200D and K-01). However, if/when I upgrade, I will make sure to get max write speed at least 45MB/s (the SanDisk Extreme that you mention). The Extreme Pro can go up to 90MB/s write speed max. It will only get faster in the future. The class 4 someone else mentioned are way too pokey for me and I can definitely (and annoyingly) notice the time it takes to save each picture. Not worth it even though they are cheap!!

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03-02-2013, 02:11 PM	#3
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	There are any number of comparisons that indicate that a good Class 10 card DOES make a difference if you are doing bursts, continuous photography, video, or other activities that are Read/Write intensive. That is not a reason to overpay though.

03-02-2013, 02:15 PM	#4
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	Depends. If you are shooting professionally and losing images will cost money then buying name brand, better specification cards may make sense. For snapshots, that's up to you. There are two different criteria to look at: speed and reliability. For Pentax DSLR's any class 10 card should be faster than the camera. I believe class 6 cards are also sufficient in most cases. Now a faster card may copy to the computer via a card reader faster, but it won't make any difference to the camera provided it is Class 10 and not a fake. The camera bus is only so fast. There are cheap cards out there and also a lot of fake cards floating around on auction sites that are not up to spec and some of those will not work as well. For reliability I personally think it is worth it to me to purchase nothing but top of the line cards. In my case that is Sandisk ExtremePro. Do I use that much speed? No, of course not, but I feel better buying the better rated cards and that is enough for me. It gives me peace of mind, and the cards are rated so that a future camera will not require new cards. But if the customer did not know the difference at this store then I would say she did not need the premium cards. The sales person 'upsold' her and that's their job but that's also why most people avoid salespeople like the plague.

03-02-2013, 02:53 PM	#5
cyclone3d Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Huntsville, Alabama Posts: 511	A regular class 10 card is not even fast enough to keep up with a k10d in burst or for that matter for just pushing the shutter button as fast as you can. a 30MB/s card will keep up with it pretty good and will give you quite a few more shots before is starts to slow down when compared to a not so fast class 10 card. I would guess that the higher MP cameras benefit even more from a faster card since they generate quite a bit bigger files.

03-02-2013, 03:08 PM	#6
josh_smith77073 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Houston Texas Photos: Albums Posts: 40 Original Poster	so are their any comparison shots out there to see the difference vs in card quality using the same shot?

03-02-2013, 03:26 PM	#7
bullitt_60 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 320	Originally posted by josh_smith77073 so yesterday i was my local camera shop here in houston. i was listening to the sales rep. telling this woman the difference between SD cards a platinum card vs the regular SD card about how huge a difference it makes. make a long story short he persuaded her into buying the platinum 16g card for WWWAAAYYY too much! talk about price gauging! listening to his talk it make me think "are they really that serious?" does a platinum or gold SD card really make that much of a difference when it comes to snapping pics. as for me i have a SD card that takes a micro SD card because i happen to have both and been using it and swapping it in and out of my cameras. That is the camera shop equivalent of an electronics store upselling overpriced HDMI cables. The camera's buffer is the bottle neck. The write speed of a class 10 card, even a 'base' one, will exceed the capability of the camera.

03-02-2013, 03:27 PM	#8
bullitt_60 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 320	Originally posted by josh_smith77073 so are their any comparison shots out there to see the difference vs in card quality using the same shot? Same data, same photo. There will be no difference in quality.

03-02-2013, 04:25 PM - 1 Like	#9
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	For shooting jpegs you can even use a class 4, 2GB card. You only need faster cards for burst mode shooting or HD video. You should consider a faster card if you find yourself waiting for the camera to finish writing. But this happens very rarely, at least for hobbyists like myself. Originally posted by Adam My recommendation is to stick to sandisk and lexar. Remember this well!

03-02-2013, 04:55 PM	#10
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by bullitt_60 That is the camera shop equivalent of an electronics store upselling overpriced HDMI cables. So true! So true! I have a $7 HDMI that is twice the quality of the $35 one they sold me with my DVD player and probably better than the $200 cables in the audiophile section of the store. Steve

03-02-2013, 04:58 PM	#11
excanonfd Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 1,421	I normally don't shoot in burst mode (never) but i got curious... I am using a Lexar 32GB Class10 SDHC card: Lexar 32GB SDHC Memory Card Platinum II Class 10 LSD32GBSBNA200 on a K-5. Setting shutter to burst mode, continuous AF, raw only and empty card, I pressed the shutter until the first definite lag between shutter releases, I counted 24 frames before the lag occurred.

03-02-2013, 06:43 PM	#12
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by excanonfd I normally don't shoot in burst mode (never) but i got curious... I am using a Lexar 32GB Class10 SDHC card: Lexar 32GB SDHC Memory Card Platinum II Class 10 LSD32GBSBNA200 on a K-5. Setting shutter to burst mode, continuous AF, raw only and empty card, I pressed the shutter until the first definite lag between shutter releases, I counted 24 frames before the lag occurred. That is the time when the Read/Write speed of the card does make a difference. Folks are funny. Yes, a $4 Class 4 card will work just fine. But, for $18 you can have a Class 10 card that you can not exceed its abilities with your camera. I like to know that I can use all the features on my K-5 to their max technically (not that I am able to use everything to its max as a photographer). How often have I needed that extra speed - more often than most might think as I have two children who play sports. Sometimes "spray and pray" is the viable option. With the SanDisk Extreme III Class 10 cards I don't have to worry.

03-02-2013, 07:43 PM	#14
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by goldenarrow One also has to be careful about write speed. Bought the SanDisk 16GB Ultra's but only noticed now that the write speed minimum is 10MB/s, which is just fine for the two cameras I use (K200D and K-01). However, if/when I upgrade, I will make sure to get max write speed at least 45MB/s (the SanDisk Extreme that you mention). The Extreme Pro can go up to 90MB/s write speed max. It will only get faster in the future. The class 4 someone else mentioned are way too pokey for me and I can definitely (and annoyingly) notice the time it takes to save each picture. Not worth it even though they are cheap!! I got a couple of Ultra's for the Q because they were on a deep discount at Christmas time. They are fast enough that the Q is fully supported but they are too slow to max out the K-5. I think the sweet spot are the 16gb SanDisk Extreme III's right now. Cost/benefit is solid.

03-02-2013, 08:30 PM	#15
bullitt_60 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 320	Originally posted by goldenarrow One also has to be careful about write speed. Bought the SanDisk 16GB Ultra's but only noticed now that the write speed minimum is 10MB/s, which is just fine for the two cameras I use (K200D and K-01). However, if/when I upgrade, I will make sure to get max write speed at least 45MB/s (the SanDisk Extreme that you mention). The Extreme Pro can go up to 90MB/s write speed max. It will only get faster in the future. The class 4 someone else mentioned are way too pokey for me and I can definitely (and annoyingly) notice the time it takes to save each picture. Not worth it even though they are cheap!! Your camera just can't write that fast. Unless you are constantly doing 30 second burst, which I can't image unless you are a horrible photographer , I don't think you will notice the difference. Check out this link: Rob Galbraith DPI: Nikon D7000