K7 video and Memory cards, or how to fix a 720P problem

nakey · 09-19-2009, 12:47 AM

what's people's recommendation for cheap memory cards for good video? or am i asking the impossible?

i've got some Sandisk Ultra II cards, the 15mb/sec ones, and while they're fine at 1536x1024, they won't record more than about 4 minutes on 720P.

anyone got any ideas?

volvomanny · 09-19-2009, 01:31 AM

I was using some cheaper SDHC Cards rated at Class 6 Super Power and an ADATA 16GB Card and they will only record for 30secs before they stop.

Yesterday i bought (2) SanDisk Extreme III 8GB and it works perfectly.

IMHO I wouldn't recommend any cheap cards for recording video.

and · 09-19-2009, 02:06 AM

I find it quite strange, altho i havent done extended testing, but I have a 8gb SanDisk Ultra II as well as an 8gb SanDisk extreme III, altho normally I use a 32gb SanDisk Ultra II in the camera.

Trying to do a test with max resolution to see how long they would record, neither of them recorded 4gb of data, both were less than 2gb, altho it seemed that the sensor overheated? before it got that far, it had the red temperature symbol on the screen and both camera and card as it came out was very very hot, so I am wondering if there was a temperature cutoff before the the card could be the limiting factor?

In normal shooting with the 32gb it hasnt been a problem altho I normally take less than 2 mintues anyway

ftpaddict · 09-19-2009, 02:30 AM

While I do not own any video recording equipment that takes flash memory cards, I am a bit of a benchmarking freak. I've tested my A-Data 8GB Turbo SD card and found it supports continuous writing speeds of 8 MB/s (or 64 Mbps); more than enough for Hi-Def recording, I believe.

flyer · 09-19-2009, 02:59 AM

Panasonic class6 cards are first class. Highly recommended. Adata is good for trash.

ftpaddict · 09-19-2009, 03:31 AM

Originally posted by flyer

Panasonic class6 cards are first class. Highly recommended. Adata is good for trash.

Don't knock them until you've tried sevaral. I have. I've got about 30 in the store room. We've sold hundreds and only one of them was returned because of performance issues. Mine.

Lifetime warranty is also cute.

jogiba · 09-19-2009, 06:19 AM

Right, get a K-7 body for $1,300 and look for the cheapest memory card to put your HD videos on. I use a 16GB Sandisk Extreme III 30mb/sec SDHC card with a 30mb/sec Sandisk reader so I could upload my HD videos fast to my Mac.

nakey · 09-19-2009, 06:59 AM

Originally posted by jogiba

Right, get a K-7 body for $1,300 and look for the cheapest memory card to put your HD videos on.

yes,cause we're all made of money...

i got the K7 on a tax return. it's either hope my tax return can give me a good enough pentax body (which happened), replace my broken K200D with a secondhand Nikon and 1 lens (a far cheaper option than anything from pentax, even secondhand), or stop shooting altogether.

Fact is, if the K7 didn't do video, the Ultra IIs would be fast enough for me. but it does, and i intend to use it. there should be no reason an Ultra II card can't record for more than 4 minutes on 720P when it does absolutely perfectly fine on 1024P.

i'can't spending quarter of the RRP of the K7 (for the record, i got mine for AU1705, but RRP is AU$2000) on the amount of 16GB Extreme IIIs i need. i don't have that kind of money. i also don't intend to skip lunch, dinner or rent to get it either.

Originally posted by jogiba

I use a 16GB Sandisk Extreme III 30mb/sec SDHC card with a 30mb/sec Sandisk reader so I could upload my HD videos fast to my Mac.

Mac, 16GB extreme III, high speed reader, see comment about money....

EDIT:

Originally posted by and

I find it quite strange, altho i havent done extended testing, but I have a 8gb SanDisk Ultra II as well as an 8gb SanDisk extreme III, altho normally I use a 32gb SanDisk Ultra II in the camera.

Trying to do a test with max resolution to see how long they would record, neither of them recorded 4gb of data, both were less than 2gb, altho it seemed that the sensor overheated? before it got that far, it had the red temperature symbol on the screen and both camera and card as it came out was very very hot, so I am wondering if there was a temperature cutoff before the the card could be the limiting factor?

see, that's weird. 1024P is perfectly fine for my ultra IIs. it's just 720P. I get the temp warning after a while, but i've had the camera stop recording 720P without showing the temp warning.

Originally posted by and

can't see that being the reason. my 8GB extreme III records fine for all res.

same. but i kinda need a little more space than 1 8GB extreme III

Originally posted by and

In normal shooting with the 32gb it hasnt been a problem altho I normally take less than 2 mintues anyway

unfortunately, some pirates v ninja fights and para para dances take longer than 5 minutes... crazy cosplayers...

Again, if the K7 didn't do video, i wouldn't be asking this question, and i'm perfectly fine with the slower speed of the Ultra IIs for normal still shooting. I know someone else on another forum that's having the same problems as i'm having.

jogiba · 09-19-2009, 07:25 AM

SanDisk 16GB Extreme III SDHC Secure Digital High Capacity Card(30MB/Sec), Model SDSDX3-016G-A31

So the few extra $ will send you to the poor house ?

ftpaddict · 09-19-2009, 08:56 AM

On the other hand.. why pay extra when you don't need to?

jogiba · 09-19-2009, 10:29 AM

Originally posted by ftpaddict

On the other hand.. why pay extra when you don't need to?

Right, all memory is the same speed.

osv · 09-19-2009, 11:49 AM

the class 6 spec is for a minimum write speed of 6MB/s

the k7 records at 350MB/min, when you are recording at the maximum frame size... divide that by 60, and you get 5.8MB/s, if i did the math right?

so any class 6 sdhc card should work fine, unless it's defective, or the speed was mis-represented by the manufacturer.

but thanks to pentax, there is a caveat:

"It was also very interesting to note that the file sizes for the middle frame size ("0.9M" on the camera menu; 1,280x720 pixels, or 720p in HDTV terms) at the highest quality level were actually larger than those we found with the largest frame size."
Pentax K-7 Digital Camera Video - Full Review - The Imaging Resource!

they tested the k7 at 390MB/s, when recording 720p video... 390/60=6.5MB/s, so it's theoretically possible that some class 6 cards can still be within spec, but be unable to maintain the sustained write speed of the camera.

ftpaddict · 09-19-2009, 12:35 PM

Originally posted by jogiba

Right, all memory is the same speed.

As long as it's fast enough, I don't want to pay more than I have to.

Pentax_XTC · 09-19-2009, 10:11 PM

Kingston 4GB Class 6 SDHC = 30 sec 720p
Hoodman 16GB Class 6 SDHC = 1+ minutes 720p
Sandisk Extreme II 8GB = at least 4 minutes 720p (I haven't recorded anything longer than that)

This is from personal experience. To be honest with the reliability of the Hoodman cards for photography I was expecting better results for the video.

flyer · 09-20-2009, 04:54 AM

Originally posted by ftpaddict

Don't knock them until you've tried sevaral. I have. I've got about 30 in the store room. We've sold hundreds and only one of them was returned because of performance issues. Mine.

Lifetime warranty is also cute.

I have more than one (bought cheap at a bankruptcy sale), and they all behave the same. Can't do video with any of them. For picture taking, as long as I don't use burst, they work fine. It makes me suspect that a class 6 is kind of short of 6 mb/sec.

09-19-2009, 12:47 AM	#1
nakey Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Victoria, Australia Posts: 208	K7 video and Memory cards, or how to fix a 720P problem what's people's recommendation for cheap memory cards for good video? or am i asking the impossible? i've got some Sandisk Ultra II cards, the 15mb/sec ones, and while they're fine at 1536x1024, they won't record more than about 4 minutes on 720P. anyone got any ideas?

09-19-2009, 06:59 AM	#8
nakey Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Victoria, Australia Posts: 208 Original Poster	Originally posted by jogiba Right, get a K-7 body for $1,300 and look for the cheapest memory card to put your HD videos on. yes,cause we're all made of money... i got the K7 on a tax return. it's either hope my tax return can give me a good enough pentax body (which happened), replace my broken K200D with a secondhand Nikon and 1 lens (a far cheaper option than anything from pentax, even secondhand), or stop shooting altogether. Fact is, if the K7 didn't do video, the Ultra IIs would be fast enough for me. but it does, and i intend to use it. there should be no reason an Ultra II card can't record for more than 4 minutes on 720P when it does absolutely perfectly fine on 1024P. i'can't spending quarter of the RRP of the K7 (for the record, i got mine for AU1705, but RRP is AU$2000) on the amount of 16GB Extreme IIIs i need. i don't have that kind of money. i also don't intend to skip lunch, dinner or rent to get it either. Originally posted by jogiba I use a 16GB Sandisk Extreme III 30mb/sec SDHC card with a 30mb/sec Sandisk reader so I could upload my HD videos fast to my Mac. Mac, 16GB extreme III, high speed reader, see comment about money.... EDIT: Originally posted by and I find it quite strange, altho i havent done extended testing, but I have a 8gb SanDisk Ultra II as well as an 8gb SanDisk extreme III, altho normally I use a 32gb SanDisk Ultra II in the camera. Trying to do a test with max resolution to see how long they would record, neither of them recorded 4gb of data, both were less than 2gb, altho it seemed that the sensor overheated? before it got that far, it had the red temperature symbol on the screen and both camera and card as it came out was very very hot, so I am wondering if there was a temperature cutoff before the the card could be the limiting factor? see, that's weird. 1024P is perfectly fine for my ultra IIs. it's just 720P. I get the temp warning after a while, but i've had the camera stop recording 720P without showing the temp warning. Originally posted by and can't see that being the reason. my 8GB extreme III records fine for all res. same. but i kinda need a little more space than 1 8GB extreme III Originally posted by and In normal shooting with the 32gb it hasnt been a problem altho I normally take less than 2 mintues anyway unfortunately, some pirates v ninja fights and para para dances take longer than 5 minutes... crazy cosplayers... Again, if the K7 didn't do video, i wouldn't be asking this question, and i'm perfectly fine with the slower speed of the Ultra IIs for normal still shooting. I know someone else on another forum that's having the same problems as i'm having. Last edited by nakey; 09-19-2009 at 07:08 AM.

09-19-2009, 07:25 AM	#9
jogiba Banned Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Millstone,NJ Posts: 6,491	16GB Sandisk Extreme III $89.99 w/ free shipping SanDisk 16GB Extreme III SDHC Secure Digital High Capacity Card(30MB/Sec), Model SDSDX3-016G-A31 So the few extra $ will send you to the poor house ?

09-19-2009, 10:11 PM	#14
Pentax_XTC Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Duluth, GA Posts: 365	Kingston 4GB Class 6 SDHC = 30 sec 720p Hoodman 16GB Class 6 SDHC = 1+ minutes 720p Sandisk Extreme II 8GB = at least 4 minutes 720p (I haven't recorded anything longer than that) This is from personal experience. To be honest with the reliability of the Hoodman cards for photography I was expecting better results for the video. Last edited by Pentax_XTC; 09-19-2009 at 10:19 PM.

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09-19-2009, 01:31 AM	#2
volvomanny New Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14	I was using some cheaper SDHC Cards rated at Class 6 Super Power and an ADATA 16GB Card and they will only record for 30secs before they stop. Yesterday i bought (2) SanDisk Extreme III 8GB and it works perfectly. IMHO I wouldn't recommend any cheap cards for recording video.

09-19-2009, 02:06 AM	#3
and Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,476	I find it quite strange, altho i havent done extended testing, but I have a 8gb SanDisk Ultra II as well as an 8gb SanDisk extreme III, altho normally I use a 32gb SanDisk Ultra II in the camera. Trying to do a test with max resolution to see how long they would record, neither of them recorded 4gb of data, both were less than 2gb, altho it seemed that the sensor overheated? before it got that far, it had the red temperature symbol on the screen and both camera and card as it came out was very very hot, so I am wondering if there was a temperature cutoff before the the card could be the limiting factor? In normal shooting with the 32gb it hasnt been a problem altho I normally take less than 2 mintues anyway

09-19-2009, 02:30 AM	#4
ftpaddict Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Yurp Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,666	While I do not own any video recording equipment that takes flash memory cards, I am a bit of a benchmarking freak. I've tested my A-Data 8GB Turbo SD card and found it supports continuous writing speeds of 8 MB/s (or 64 Mbps); more than enough for Hi-Def recording, I believe.

09-19-2009, 02:59 AM	#5
flyer Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ste-Anne des Plaines, Qc., Canada Posts: 2,013	Panasonic class6 cards are first class. Highly recommended. Adata is good for trash.

09-19-2009, 03:31 AM	#6
ftpaddict Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Yurp Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,666	Originally posted by flyer Panasonic class6 cards are first class. Highly recommended. Adata is good for trash. Don't knock them until you've tried sevaral. I have. I've got about 30 in the store room. We've sold hundreds and only one of them was returned because of performance issues. Mine. Lifetime warranty is also cute.

09-19-2009, 06:19 AM	#7
jogiba Banned Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Millstone,NJ Posts: 6,491	Right, get a K-7 body for $1,300 and look for the cheapest memory card to put your HD videos on. I use a 16GB Sandisk Extreme III 30mb/sec SDHC card with a 30mb/sec Sandisk reader so I could upload my HD videos fast to my Mac.

09-19-2009, 08:56 AM	#10
ftpaddict Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Yurp Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,666	On the other hand.. why pay extra when you don't need to?

09-19-2009, 10:29 AM	#11
jogiba Banned Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Millstone,NJ Posts: 6,491	Originally posted by ftpaddict On the other hand.. why pay extra when you don't need to? Right, all memory is the same speed.

09-19-2009, 11:49 AM	#12
osv Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: So Cal Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,080	the class 6 spec is for a minimum write speed of 6MB/s the k7 records at 350MB/min, when you are recording at the maximum frame size... divide that by 60, and you get 5.8MB/s, if i did the math right? so any class 6 sdhc card should work fine, unless it's defective, or the speed was mis-represented by the manufacturer. but thanks to pentax, there is a caveat: "It was also very interesting to note that the file sizes for the middle frame size ("0.9M" on the camera menu; 1,280x720 pixels, or 720p in HDTV terms) at the highest quality level were actually larger than those we found with the largest frame size." Pentax K-7 Digital Camera Video - Full Review - The Imaging Resource! they tested the k7 at 390MB/s, when recording 720p video... 390/60=6.5MB/s, so it's theoretically possible that some class 6 cards can still be within spec, but be unable to maintain the sustained write speed of the camera.

09-19-2009, 12:35 PM	#13
ftpaddict Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Yurp Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,666	Originally posted by jogiba Right, all memory is the same speed. As long as it's fast enough, I don't want to pay more than I have to.

09-20-2009, 04:54 AM	#15
flyer Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ste-Anne des Plaines, Qc., Canada Posts: 2,013	Originally posted by ftpaddict Don't knock them until you've tried sevaral. I have. I've got about 30 in the store room. We've sold hundreds and only one of them was returned because of performance issues. Mine. Lifetime warranty is also cute. I have more than one (bought cheap at a bankruptcy sale), and they all behave the same. Can't do video with any of them. For picture taking, as long as I don't use burst, they work fine. It makes me suspect that a class 6 is kind of short of 6 mb/sec.