2bob Loc: Sydney, Australia

I have a few Canon cameras, P&S, DSLR. SD and SF cards.

I recognize that I am not alone when it comes to the speed of memory cards we NEED. I am not one to ask for questions without first doing some research. After all, why would any of us go out and buy the fastest card available (at huge expense) when we don't need to. On the other hand, we don't want to be caught short either!

Can we assume then, that buying the 'fastest card' will cover all bases? Or are we being exploited? I have looked at a number of sites and all of them quote variables, without answering the question.

My question then, is there a site out there that at the very least can provide an idea of what we should be considering relative to speed?

darkmanCANADA Loc: Calgary, AB Canada

I think someone on UHH put up a while ago that the Nikon d7000 could only write at ~25MB/s. So does this mean that buying a card that writes at 90MB/s is a waste of money?

I have the following:

2x 32GB Duracell Pro 200x class 10 (20MB/s)
2x 32GB Sandisk Ultra class 10 (30MB/s)
2x 32GB Sandisk Ultra II class 10 (45MB/s)

I find if I am shooting in 12bit RAW compressed the buffer locks up at about 9-10 frames regardless of which ones I put in slot 1 (slot 2 is setup as overflow).

darkmanCANADA Loc: Calgary, AB Canada

I think someone on UHH put up a while ago that the Nikon d7000 could only write at ~25MB/s. So does this mean that buying a card that writes at 90MB/s is a waste of money?

I have the following:

2x 32GB Duracell Pro 200x class 10 (20MB/s)
2x 32GB Sandisk Ultra class 10 (30MB/s)
2x 32GB Sandisk Ultra II class 10 (45MB/s)

I find if I am shooting in 12bit RAW compressed the buffer locks up at about 9-10 frames regardless of which ones I put in slot 1 (slot 2 is setup as overflow).

darkmanCANADA Loc: Calgary, AB Canada

I stand corrected: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-38873-1.html

darkmanCANADA Loc: Calgary, AB Canada

Another note, if I set my d7000 to shoot in JPEG Basic, Size Priority I can get ~40+ shots before the buffer fills up

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Perhaps google "memory card comparisons"

http://www.digitalversus.com/memory-card/sd-micro-sd-compact-flash-memory-card-reviews-a340.html

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

A camera in regard to memory cards is like any other computer.
It can only write data to a memory card as fast as the processor, and supporting buffers can write. Check the specs of your camera, and buy the speed card your camera is designed to handle. Any faster card is a total waste of money. Faster cards are like buying a Ferraie, and driving it only at 45 mph.

Izza1967 Loc: Bristol, England

The cards speed also helps to determine how fast you can copy your images to your PC

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Remember faster cards are needed for VID

tramsey Loc: Texas

Memory cards
A camera isn't the only thing you need, of course. You need memory cards to store your pictures.
Though memory cards can be just as important as the camera itself, many people take them for granted. There's plenty you need to know about them, though.
As you mentioned, getting the right storage size is important. Perhaps equally important is the card's transfer speed - which is represented by those confusing letters and numbers. You'll see stuff like Class 8, 50x or UHS-I.
What does all of this techno-babble really mean?
Before you go shopping, read your computer's manual so you know what style of memory card your camera needs. In most cases, this will be Secure Digital or CompactFlash. These are most often written as SD and CF.
If your camera takes SD cards, make sure you know if it's standard SD or microSD. Those are two very different sizes.
Just like hard drives, memory cards use gigabytes to measure storage. If you're a casual shooter, a 4 to 8 gigabyte card should be enough. If you plan on taking thousand of pictures per session, 16GB and up is where you want to look. This chart from memory-card maker SanDisk is a good general guide.
The following assumptions were made to calculate the number of images per card:
MP = 1,000,000 pixels
1MB = 1,000,000 bytes, 1GB = 1,000MB
TIFF image has 24 bit color depth, one of 16,777,216 colors per pixel
JPEG 100% Quality = Visually lossless JPEG compression with 1:10 ratio of RAW image
Photos - Compressed (JPEG 100% quality) Images per card.

NOTE: JPEG is the most common file format for consumer cameras.
Megapixels File size (MB) 1GB 2GB 4GB 8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB 128GB
4MP 1.2 715 1430 2861 5722 11444 22888 45776 91552
5MP 1.5 572 1144 2288 4577 9155 18310 36620 73240
6MP 1.8 476 953 1907 3814 7629 15258 30516 61032
7MP 2.1 408 817 1634 3269 6539 13078 26156 52312
8MP 2.4 357 715 1430 2861 5722 11444 22888 45776
10MP 3.0 286 572 1144 2288 4577 9155 18310 36620
12MP 3.6 238 476 953 1907 3814 7629 15258 30516
14MP 4.2 204 408 817 1634 3269 6539 13078 26156
16MP 4.8 178 357 715 1430 2861 5722 11444 22888
22MP 6.6 130 260 520 1040 2080 4161 8322 16644

Photos - Uncompressed RAW (24 bits per pixel) Images per card

Megapixels File size (MB) 1GB 2GB 4GB 8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB 128GB
4MP 12.0 71 143 286 572 1144 2288 4576 9152
5MP 15.0 57 114 228 457 915 1831 3662 7324
6MP 18.0 47 95 190 381 762 1525 3050 6100
7MP 21.0 40 81 163 326 653 1307 2614 5228
8MP 24.0 35 71 143 286 572 1144 2288 4576
10MP 30.0 28 57 114 228 457 915 1830 3660
12MP 36.0 23 47 95 190 381 762 1524 3048
14MP 42.0 20 40 81 163 326 653 1306 2612
16MP 48.0 17 35 71 143 286 572 1144 2288
22MP 66.0 13 26 52 104 208 416 832 1664

Consider buying several smaller memory cards instead of one big one. If an expensive high-capacity card breaks or is lost, you're stuck - and broke. With several small cards you always have another one on hand to use.
That brings us to transfer speeds. This is how fast a card can read and write data. In SD cards, it's measured by class. You'll see Class 2, 4, 6 and 10. There's a class called UHS-I or U1 as well, but you have to have a compatible camera or gadget.
Class 4 or 6 is fine for casual shooters and some burst-shooting. If you're shooting high-resolution JPG or RAW images, or taking HD video, upgrade to Class 6 or Class 10.
If your camera supports it, UHS-I/U1 is worth the upgrade. In most cases, the price difference between a regular and UHS-I card is only a few dollars, so don't be afraid to buy the highest class your camera supports.
CompactFlash cards are a little different than SD cards. Instead of classes, you'll find numbers like 50x, 133x, 266x, 300x and 600x.
To find out the speed, take the number and multiply it by 150 kilobytes per second. So, a 133x card would have a transfer speed of about 20 megabytes per second.
133x is a good speed to start with, but high-resolution shooters might want to upgrade to 266x. Again, the price difference is only about a dollar or two to go up in speed.
One important thing to know is if the number you see is the card's read speed or write speed. Read speed measures how long it takes to open a file on the card. Write speed, which is more important, measures how fast the card can save new files.
Many CompactFlash makers use the card's read speed as the rating, not the write speed. So the card might not be as fast as you think. Make sure you know how the manufacturer labels its cards before you buy.

The charts got all screwed up but I;m sure if you just look at them at little it will come clear what it is all about. If not just p.m. your email address and I'll send it to you

Sorry 'bout that :hunf:

jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

Try the Fujifilm shop site- they give you all the professional reasons why, and to use the card necessary for what you do.

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

Not true - I buy the fastest cards I can afford as I don't want to waste time reading 400 images into my computer during import. Sure, the camera may not use the extra speed but my pc will.

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

So true, especially if you remove the card from the camera and use a card reader to load onto the computer! The 'fastest' and 'best' ones may not help the 'in-camera' speeds, but may greatly improve the efficiency of transfer to the PC.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Your camera manual will specify what speed card you should use. When I don't use my Eye-Fi cards, I use 16GB Class 10.

Dlevon Loc: New Jersey

great answer! Yet, when you shoot high speed it very important that you know your camera processor speed. If you have the latest Digic 5 processor if you are a Canon user, you need the high speed card. Read and write speeds may differ. I always use 10's except in my small point and shoot's.