Memory card Advice

[i-sidd]

Hey Guys, I got a canon A540 for my GF and now I am looking for a Memory card. Which memeory card do you guys recommend, Sandisk or any other is also compatible with the camera. I saw the Sandisk 1GB card at circuit city and it is or $52 which is very expensive, anyone knows any place where I can get a good deal on SD memory card.

Cheers!!!

 

[ChrisA]

Hey Guys, I got a canon A540 for my GF and now I am looking for a Memory card. Which memeory card do you guys recommend, Sandisk or any other is also compatible with the camera. I saw the Sandisk 1GB card at circuit city and it is or $52 which is very expensive, anyone knows any place where I can get a good deal on SD memory card.

Cheers!!!

The brand does not matter. Just watch for sales. I think I paid $29 for the last 1GB SD card I bought and now I see a 2GB card for that price.

A Google search just turned up this.
http://www.flash-memory-store.com/1gb-secure-digital.html

 

[i-sidd]

Ok, so brands like kingston, Transcend etc will also do right? Thanks for the link.

 

[Squonk]

The brand does not matter. Just watch for sales. I think I paid $29 for the last 1GB SD card I bought and now I see a 2GB card for that price.

A Google search just turned up this.
http://www.flash-memory-store.com/1gb-secure-digital.html

The sales staff at my local professional camera store highly recommends SanDisk. They have seen too many other brands come in for emergency service to try and retrieve files. I just picked up a SanDisk 1GB sd card for $29.99. My advice, look for a good deal on a SanDisk card. I only use the UltraII versions so that they are not the bottleneck of the camera. Enjoy your A540!!! I just picked up a SD800 for my Fiance and as my backup to my 10D.

 

[ChrisA]

They have seen too many other brands come in for emergency service

Be careful with statistics.

Assume brand X sells 3 times as much as brand Y. Assume both brands have identical failure rates. Then a repair center will see 3X as many failed brand X units.

 

[wmmk]

whatever you do, get as fast of a card as you can. I'd recommend at least 100x, but this all depends on what quality jpeg you shoot.

 

[CanadaRAM]

One problem being, that most of the 'SanDisk' product on eBay and in discount stores is knock-off product from Chinese forgers, and will not be SanDisk quality, or warranty.

Point: Every flash card will die. The flash memory chips have a finite number of read/write cycles they can do. So
1) Never use flash memory for active files - that is, ALWAYS copy the file onto your hard drive first, work on it there, and then copy the finished result back to the flash memory, if you need to transport it. Opening a file directly from the flash drive will shorten the life of the drive or card dramatically as temp files and iterative saves are made to the flash chips.
2) Assume at any time the flash memory will fail - always back the files up onto other media as fast as you can.
3) if it starts being flakey, reformat it once and treat it with suspicion. If it gives any other trouble - throw it away. It's not worth the time and cost of recovery, or the lost data, if you continue using it. Arguably, for a sub $30 item, its not worth the time and shipping cost to claim on the warranty, either. The manufacturer is counting on most owners deciding this.
- as a corollory to 3), 2 1 Gb cards are better than 1 2 Gb card.
4) Always reformat a flash card in the camera, not on a PC. Reformat all at once rather than erase individual files.

 

[i-sidd]

CanadaRAM, how do you format the memory cards on the camera. Also before using the memory card does it needs to be formatted.So i guess what all you guys are recommending is sandisk. So I guess I will go for sandisk regular 1GB, do I have to look for speed of the card as well.

 

[i-sidd]

I think Amazon, has some good prices on the 1 GB Sandisk right now. Are these the chineese knock offs.Should I buy from there. Or should I buy it from a reputable store,Best buy has it for $34 now. Circuit city for around $55. I searched a lot but can't find the sandisk for under $30 from a reputable store.

 

[Squonk]

I think Amazon, has some good prices on the 1 GB Sandisk right now. Are these the chineese knock offs.Should I buy from there. Or should I buy it from a reputable store,Best buy has it for $34 now. Circuit city for around $55. I searched a lot but can't find the sandisk for under $30 from a reputable store.

Here is the one that I bought from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDSDH...9/ref=sr_1_1/104-3534723-2003126?ie=UTF8&s=pc

If the Best Buy is $34 for the same item, I'd be tempted to make it a done deal and buy that if you want it ASAP. Otherwise you could save the tax and price difference and wait for the Amazon order to arrive with free shipping. Based on the packaging that mine came in from Amazon, I believe it to be the real deal.

 

[Squonk]

Be careful with statistics.

Assume brand X sells 3 times as much as brand Y. Assume both brands have identical failure rates. Then a repair center will see 3X as many failed brand X units.

This made me laugh as I have a degree is statistics!

Your point is valid of course. The photo store said they have not had any SanDisks in for recovery. Of course, you can read a lot into that as well. Are the people who buy the SanDisk cards using them in better cameras or handling them better or ...

All I am saying is that SanDisk is my personal preference and I have not had any problems. And when shopping around, I think you can get them for a descent price. I would not buy a $10 card although they are tempting...

 

[i-sidd]

Squonk, Sorry I did not write correctly. Best buy has the regular Sandisk for $34, not the Ultra II. So did you get your card from Amazon. Also on the Amazon site you have to select the merchant from the link that you provided it says three vendors and one of them has it for $29.49 DBROTH
is the merchnat did you select that vendor. Also when I tried to check it there was shipping charges as well, I don't know why but as you mentioned you got free shipping right?

 

[Squonk]

Squonk, Sorry I did not write correctly. Best buy has the regular Sandisk for $34, not the Ultra II. So did you get your card from Amazon. Also on the Amazon site you have to select the merchant from the link that you provided it says three vendors and one of them has it for $29.49 DBROTH
is the merchnat did you select that vendor. Also when I tried to check it there was shipping charges as well, I don't know why but as you mentioned you got free shipping right?

I did get my card from Amazon. Instead of choosing an alternate vendor, click on Add to Shopping cart above all of that. In the description (from the link above) do you see:
Price: $29.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

The Free shipping is only if you buy from Amazon. If you choose a different merchant, then they will charge for shipping, but might have a slightly lower price, although not lower enough to make up for the free shipping.

 

[Irish Dave]

Hey Guys, I got a canon A540 for my GF and now I am looking for a Memory card. Which memeory card do you guys recommend, Sandisk or any other is also compatible with the camera. I saw the Sandisk 1GB card at circuit city and it is or $52 which is very expensive, anyone knows any place where I can get a good deal on SD memory card.

Cheers!!!

Sandisk is good. Very reasonably priced and prices are falling rapidly.

I would recommend buying a couple of 1 Gb cards. (don't put all your eggs in one basket)

Dave

 

[kbonnel]

I would say that if you have a camera that needs and can use the fast speed of a card, such as some DSLR's, then get a good quality card such as SanDisk extremes/ultras, etc. If you have a camera that cannot shoot at fast speeds, and takes some time after each shot to get ready for the next, then get cheaper cards, as I don't think you would be able to see a difference.

IMHO of course.

Kimo

 

[CanadaRAM]

You're confusing speed and quality/brand

There are slow SanDisks. There are fast other brands. It depends on the individual model of card. Would I choose a 45x Sandisk over a 120x Transcend if I needed speed? No. The Transcend is also less money. Be aware that Extreme and Ultra are advertising names, and not universally equal in performance level.

Choosing SanDisk does not mean that the card is faster.

It is also arguable whether the quality is higher than another brand, as well. Different people have different experiences. I have certainly had SanDisk fail on me, and their USB readers are notoriously incompatible/unreliable. SanDisk have done a good job of advertising their brand name as a premium brand, and promoting through alliances with camera manufacturers.

However, if you have a camera / card combination that works well for you, it's probably a good idea to stick with it.

If you see a bunch of reputable stores at $XX and some discount stores at $1/2 of XX you can be pretty sure that the half price units are phony. The only exception to this is where the manufacturer makes a large price drop and some online stores haven't been updated yet or purchased the new lower priced stock. But then, the lower prices will be appearing in some reputable stores as well.

 

[mfacey]

Going to revive this thread!

I'm in the market for (probably) a Canon Powershot G7. I was thinking that a faster card would always be better but how far should I go? I can get the Sandisk Extreme 3 SD card for very decent prices here in Holland (equivilant of $40 for a 2GB card, and a reputable reseller!). But is it worth the effort? I know the camera has a 2 fps burst mode and at 10MP the photos can get pretty hefty. Do you guys think its worthwhile getting a high-speed/pro card?


Thanks!

 

[Aperture]

Going to revive this thread!

I'm in the market for (probably) a Canon Powershot G7. I was thinking that a faster card would always be better but how far should I go? I can get the Sandisk Extreme 3 SD card for very decent prices here in Holland (equivilant of $40 for a 2GB card, and a reputable reseller!). But is it worth the effort? I know the camera has a 2 fps burst mode and at 10MP the photos can get pretty hefty. Do you guys think its worthwhile getting a high-speed/pro card?


Thanks!

Me buying a new camera, I was looking for a new SD card too. (My old camera took CF) Anyway, I checked eBay and found a 2gig Sandisk Extreme lll for $40. The guy was a powerseller and we have an agreement if it is found to be fake, he will refund my whole payment+ shipping. This looks like a good guide as to if they are genuine or fake, and will use as soon as my card comes in the mail (Today or tomorrow). I will be happy to post my findings after it is received.

 

[mfacey]

Me buying a new camera, I was looking for a new SD card too. (My old camera took CF) Anyway, I checked eBay and found a 2gig Sandisk Extreme lll for $40. The guy was a powerseller and we have an agreement if it is found to be fake, he will refund my whole payment+ shipping. This looks like a good guide as to if they are genuine or fake, and will use as soon as my card comes in the mail (Today or tomorrow). I will be happy to post my findings after it is received.

What kind of camera will you be using the card with?

 

[Sabbath]

Going to revive this thread!

I'm in the market for (probably) a Canon Powershot G7. I was thinking that a faster card would always be better but how far should I go? I can get the Sandisk Extreme 3 SD card for very decent prices here in Holland (equivilant of $40 for a 2GB card, and a reputable reseller!). But is it worth the effort? I know the camera has a 2 fps burst mode and at 10MP the photos can get pretty hefty. Do you guys think its worthwhile getting a high-speed/pro card?


Thanks!

I would go for the sandisk as long as you're confident that it's a genuine card and the price is reasonable. The prices of the ultra III have dropped a lot in the last couple of months (here in the UK at least) and I can't see any reason not to get one now. My D80 shoots 10MP at 3fps so not much more than your canon (although admittedly as I am saving raw & jpeg so the file size is much bigger) and think the sandisk is definitely worth it. If you're not able to get that perfect shot because your camera is still saving the previous file or the card corrupts and you lose the perfect photo you're going to kick yourself so much more than you are for spending a few more €s.

As far as I see it, there is no guarantee that the sandisk is a better card but the sandisk ultra's do have an excellent reputation and that is enough of an indication for me in a market place where all the information is so cloudy - quite frankly it's the best indicator you're going to get.

 

[nutmac]

No cameras will benefit from speed higher than 66x (equivalent to 10 MB/sec). On Rob Galbraith's CF/SD Performance Database, no cameras exceeded 10 MB/sec for read or write. That said, a memory card rated at 66x do not necessarily sustain 10 MB/sec.

In my experience, SanDisk's Ultra II series offers the best bang and performance for the buck.

 

[CanadaRAM]

But remember -- the cards are rated on their read speeds, and the write speed *which you're really interested in* is usually about half of the read speed.

So even if cameras are limited to 10 Mbs, a card rated at 130x speed does writes at approximately 66x speed.

Also consider that the testing was done 1 - 3 years ago, and only on CF (and SD cards. Newer cameras may differ, as will new card standards like SDHC.

 

[nutmac]

SDHC is not faster than SD.

Many major brands specify both read and write speed ratings on their packaging. SanDisk's Ultra II series, for instance, has 66x read and 60x write ratings on the packaging. 60x write rating is still plenty since none of the existing cameras can exceed it (assuming the card does in fact write at close to 60x minimum in real world).

Of course, if you are using high speed memory card reader for your Mac, you will benefit from 133x. And it is possible that your next camera in the future date can write at speeds faster than 60x. But for current cameras, you do not need 133x.

 

[sjl]

I'm in the market for (probably) a Canon Powershot G7. I was thinking that a faster card would always be better but how far should I go? I can get the Sandisk Extreme 3 SD card for very decent prices here in Holland (equivilant of $40 for a 2GB card, and a reputable reseller!). But is it worth the effort? I know the camera has a 2 fps burst mode and at 10MP the photos can get pretty hefty. Do you guys think its worthwhile getting a high-speed/pro card?

The odds are extremely good that the camera you buy will not be able to write to the card at full speed. Eg: I have a Canon EOS 20D. From the point of view of what the camera can sustain, the "sweet" spot for me is the Sandisk Ultra II cards, not the Extreme III. Don't even think about the Extreme IV.

However, writing is only half the story. You still have to upload the pictures to your computer, and that means reading them off the card. In that respect, the extra cost for the Extreme III cards may well be worthwhile - I know that all my future card purchases will be Extreme III, simply because the price difference is so small.

The Extreme IV, though, are massive overkill for the vast majority of cases; I'd not bother with them.

 

[Aperture]

What kind of camera will you be using the card with?

Nikon D50.