SD card brands

[fatpig]

Does the brand of the SD card matter? I'm looking at getting either a Kingston or a PNY. They are both 4GB SDHC Class 4 and are both the same price. Which one is better?

[skewed]

From different stores? If so, whichever is easier to get.

If both are in the same store...flip a coin.

Memory cards have zero moving parts. The chances of failure are pretty slim. The only difference I could see is reading/writing speeds but even then it is probably negligable.

[willy]

Just curious ... How much does that Class 4 card cost ? Why not Class 6 card ?

http://www.memoryhouse.com/products/2722/PSF4GMCSDHC6/Patriot/

[silentio]

The assumption that because the part has zero moving parts that it'll never fail is just wrong.

Computer ram does fail, and it has no moving parts.

Kingston is the more recognized brand compared to PNY. PNY does make graphics cards for many years, but am not sure about their track record for SD cards.

[King James]

Why does some class 4 card cost a bit more than class 6 class? Compatibility?

[mannyb]

I've been using PNY SD cards for awhile and it's never failed.

[Rhombuss]

Lexar's generally regarded to be the most reliable, which is reflected in the cost premium you pay over other brands. Write speeds are also a factor, which is of importance if you like to shoot RAW. It'll process quicker and allow you to more seamlessly take a stream of shots.

[felix]

Why does some class 4 card cost a bit more than class 6 class? Compatibility?
My guess is it's less in demand since it's slightly older technology so price is higher. Was confused about this at first, but class 6 is fastest and usually cheaper or same price as older classes.

I bought two of these recently .. found to be the lowest price in my area :
OCZ 8GB Secure Digital HC / High Capacity / Speed Class 6 - OCZSDHC6-8GB
http://www.pcvonline.com/productDetails.aspx?id=5922

Their 4GB seems to be on sale now :
http://www.pcvonline.com/productDetails.aspx?id=5921

[IronMac]

Lexar's generally regarded to be the most reliable, which is reflected in the cost premium you pay over other brands.

Really? I thought that it was Sandisk? I asked this same question on another board and that seemed to be the "slim" majority opinion.

[selpats]

I had an OCZ card die not to long ago, they were great about the warranty though. They sent me out a new, faster card via Fedex Express as soon as they received the dud I sent to them.

I had a REALLY bad experience with Sandisk with one of their top of the line cards two years ago. I won't get into details but I will never use one of their cards again. I literally had to go the CEO of Sandisk, Dr. Eli Harari, before they would replace my defective, two month old card.

Transcend is a good company, I have never had a problem with their products, they have been around for a long time. Same goes for Lexar although Lexar's customer service is a little suspect.

Between PNY and Kingston, just flip a coin and get one.

[Nevyn]

For camera flash speed tests, checkout the CF/SD database at:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/index.asp

[mariokarter]

sandisk is the king of memory cards, then lexar/sony.

[ItemFinder]

Sandisk is not the king. Even their Ultra II cards are only class 4.

[silentio]

I had an OCZ card die not to long ago, they were great about the warranty though. They sent me out a new, faster card via Fedex Express as soon as they received the dud I sent to them.

I had a REALLY bad experience with Sandisk with one of their top of the line cards two years ago. I won't get into details but I will never use one of their cards again. I literally had to go the CEO of Sandisk, Dr. Eli Harari, before they would replace my defective, two month old card.

Transcend is a good company, I have never had a problem with their products, they have been around for a long time. Same goes for Lexar although Lexar's customer service is a little suspect.

Between PNY and Kingston, just flip a coin and get one.


I guess you had the dubious pleasure of talking to a tech support guy named Mark at Sandisk. :evil:

[mariokarter]

Sandisk is not the king. Even their Ultra II cards are only class 4.

thats why god invented extreme 3.

[Aske001]

It may be academic to worry about what brand name appears on the package. A lot of the cards sold by these companies are made in generic factories in Taiwan and China, as you can tell if you have the opportunity to examine and compare the part numbers marked on the cards themselves. I have SD cards of many different brands, including Sandisk, Kingston, OCZ, PNY, Transcend, Patriot, Crucial etc.. They have many different speed ratings, and there are minor performance differences between them when I run test utilities, but not as clear-cut as you might think (e.g., the nominally faster card might actually be slower with smaller read/write data transfers). So far none of my memory cards of any type has failed over the last 11 years, and I've been fortunate enough not to encounter any falsely-labeled fakes (that I know of!).

[hightech]

The only brands that I use for SD Cards are Sandisk, Lexar, and ATP.

I am sure that other brands are decent, but the most reliable (from what I read) are the ones that I mentioned above.

[swong7]

^^

I use the same type of brands also