bellgamin Loc: Ewa Beach, Hawaii

So far I've learned:
SD=Secure Digital. SDHC=Secure Digital High Capacity. SDXC=Secure Digital eXtended Capacity
UHS-I=Ultra High-Speed Phase-I

Four questions:

Q1- Are all types of SD cards shockproof, temperature-proof, waterproof, and X-ray-proof? If not, which cards are, & which are not?

Q2- In your OPINION, which size would be more prudent for a novice to buy (for non-movies): 2 32GB cards OR 1 64GB card?

Q3- In your OPINION, which type would be more prudent for a novice to buy (for non-movies): SD, SDHC, or SDXC?

Q4- In your OPINION, which size & type memory card would be *okay* for a novice shooting movies?

Aloha from Hawaii,
Bill

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I doubt any of them will survive if placed in a microwave oven set on high. Are you planning to abuse your SD card?

coullone Loc: Paynesville, Victoria, Australia

Personally I would go for 2 x 32GB SDHC - it really depends on your camera and the movie quality you are shooting. The UHS-I is required if you can shoot 4K or higher Video or very slow motion e.g. 100 f.p.s.
It may be a good idea to check with the manufacture on what they recommend. Also consider if a spare battery is required for 4K video, it tends to use a fair amount of power. Mirror-less cameras use less power!

Most important - Have Fun.

Boris77

You should buy the kind of cards that make full use of (at least) the still capabilities of your camera.
If you have two card slots I would buy two 32GB cards. One slot - 64BG - if you shoot a lot of pictures.
The SDHC cards handle all the capabilities of my cameras. I have never physically damaged a card.
SD and SDHC cards are cheap; stock up once you know what works for you.
Boris

bellgamin Loc: Ewa Beach, Hawaii

@coullone -- Good counsel. Thanks!
I am especially concerned re x-ray because my camera goes through x-ray during check-in at airports.

Boris77

I have sent my camera thru Security scanners at the Gateway Arch with no effect.
I would never go inside an airport so do not know what they use.
Boris

Ollieboy

All of my Sonys will not shoot 4k video unless I have a 64gb card in camera. Just a tip if you plan to shoot video.

riderxlx Loc: DFW area Texas

X-ray scanners at airports do not harm or effect SD cards and cameras.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I'd use the 32s as opposed to a 64. I'd never put all my shots on one card, just in case.
Aside from the fact that my camera won't use anything above 16Gb.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Mirrorless, no hyphen, or more appropriately MILC'S, use MORE power and since the bodies are generally smaller, often use smaller batteries. They use more power than DSLR'S because unlike DSLR'S, MILC'S are always live view with the image sensor active all the time the camera is actively in use. The image sensor in DSLR'S are only active when the image is being recorded, unless in live view more. Also, many mirrorless cameras have electronic view finders, DSLR'S have optical view finders which draw no power from the battery.
Case in point, I can get around 900 shots with my 5D mk IV and around 250 with my M50 per charge.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Cards up to 16Gb use FAT16 as their format. Larger cards use FAT32 and ex-FAT. If your camera, or any other device, was built before the 2 newer formats came into use then it is to be expected that it won't be able to read them and will be limited to 16Gb. A firmware update, if available for your camera, could rectify that if that matters to you. I would guess though that 16Gb gives you all the capacity you need.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Well, that would account for the difference in operation on older cameras.
Yea, the 16s give me all I need. I can get a couple of hundred shots on those cards.
Bedsides, I don't like putting all my marbles in one bag anyway.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

From my limited experience, today's memory cards are almost indestructible. However, don't abuse them to prove this point. With proper care, all memory cards are impact resistant, temperature resistant, water proof and X-Ray resistant. These have come a long way when they were first conceived. With that being written, several companies have devised absolutely indestructible memory cards with metal instead of plastic housings. IMHO, this is a superior waste of money. If you take good care of your camera and memory card, there will be no problems down the road. My advice here is: TREAT ALL MEMORY CARDS AS WELL AS YOU TREAT YOUR CAMERA.

Memory cards tend to get expensive. Here is why, the faster they read and write data, the more expensive they get. The larger the size in memory capacity the more expensive they get. So many people like to use, format and reuse cards. IMHO, this is fool-hardiness. Every time a card is formatted, the images are deleted. DUH! I have lost count of the number of tragedies by friends and fellow Hoggers Who have told me how they formatted the wrong card. And photos from Timmy's fifth birthday party where his two front teeth had fallen out are lost. Well, that isn't entirely correct but everyone suffers enough anxiety and anguish to keep a Psychotropic Pharmaceutical Manufacturer in profits for the next five years. My advice here is: DONT FORMAT YOUR USED MEMORY CARDS. It seems to me to be more prudent to buy several cards.

When I am buying some gear, I head over to the memory card section. Invariably, there is s sale on some memory cards. I'll buy one or two and throw it in my bag. My advice here is: BUY A FEW MEMORY CARDS. Yes, I know they get expensive. But my anxiety medication has worn off years ago. LOL.

Size does matter!
I tend to buy 32GB or 64 GB cards. I would cry if I lost my 128GB or 256GB memory card with photos of everything. Watching a grown man cry is not a pretty sight. I have different sizes from different manufacturers in several card cases all nicely labeled. It is definitely a hodgepodge of cards. More about size capacity later on. The purpose of high capacity cards is so you don't keep putting a fresh card in. Who cares, it's only money.

The SDXC type cards seem to do very well. But this all falls back on what I have wrote up to now. The same caveats still apply. The extended capacity versus the high capacity is pretty much the same as extended release tablets versus delayed release tablets. Go figure that one out b

Finally, I won't recommend a specific manufacturer because I am not getting endorsed to recommend a particular brand. Some photographers change card manufacturers as frequently as they change underwear. So photographers are much more loyal. As for me, I buy cards that are on sale.

Now, movies get complicated. You generally need one or two high capacity cards. I am writing about a card that is 128 or 256 GB in size. You will need something that writes data fast. You will need space to edit on the card. Plan on using it once only. Refer to what I wrote earlier, please. Finally, they get extremely expensive. Perhaps as expensive as a three course meal for four at a top rated five star restaurant. Another option would be to buy several 64GB cards and stitch the video together. Then we get right back to the cost issue.

There is no right or wrong card. There is no particular manufacturer that is better than another. There is no perfect read/write speed. There is no perfect capacity. There are so many different ones. There is no particular card for everyone. I can only wish I have another 4 decades of life to try them all.

Happy Shooting!

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

My camera, along with extra memory cards, have gone through the x-ray machines at St. Louis Lambert Airport many times, with no ill effect. I think you can relax about those.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

While film can be damaged by x-rays an SD card is entirely different. There are no images on it, only electronic data. If x-rays could damage an SD card then no electronic device would be safe and that is certainly not the case.