SDHC Class 4, Class 6 or Class 10 for a HMC150?
 

Hi there!

Quick question:

I went to the local electronics store to get a SDHC card for my HMC150. I read in the camera's manual that supports Class 4 memories so I was going to buy one, but the package says the supports Standard HD. My goal is to shoot in 1080p/24p, so I believe Class 4 will not work for such purpose. Am I right?

Do I need either class 6 or class 10?

They have a 4GB class 10 for 49.99... ScanDisk Extreme I think it is. Pricey?

Thanks very much for your input!!

Regards,

Ben Tolosa

class 6 is more than enough AFAIK. class 10 is overkill, as is sandisk. get transcend.

I would believe the camera manufacturer's manual and get a Class 4 or Class 6 card from a reputable manufacturer. I wsould get a 6 only if I doubted the manufacturer's claims, just to be safe.

1080p AVCHD camcorders are NOT the most stressful when it comes to record and playback since h.264 is extremely compressed. I have a couple 720p cameras which encode in MJPEG which record at a much higher rate and fill a card much more quickly. These truly require the faster 6 or 10 cards.

I have also had good experience with the Transcend cards (from Newegg) with my Canon AVCHD camcorder.

Larry

Thanks very much to both of you. I just bought a Class 6 SDHC card.

THANKS AGAIN!!

Ben Tolosa

Worth noting for other readers is that a class 6 card is required for the 24MB/s recording modes on some Canon AVCHD camcorders, including the HF S100, HF S10 and HF S11.

Also worth noting is the warning that Class (10) cards don't work with video on some cameras that have 17Mbps or higher bitrates. Some have tried them in HF100's and found they worked ONLY AT THE LOWER quality settings.

I use Sandisk Class (6) in both my HF100's and in my Canon T1i.

The User Manual for the HMC150 (on page 32) states, just as Ben originally posted, that a Class 4 card was recommended for the highest rate ("PH" mode) recordings, and I have included a clip of that page for reference below. Hence my earlier suggestion.

It did strike me as a bit low, all considered, but Panasonic must be confident that this Class 4 speed achieves the required performance. It is indeed true that some if not most of 24Mbit/sec camcorders prefer / demand Class 6 cards, and the small cost penalty may be worth it as extra "insurance" against some type of recording errors / issues.

Larry

Not to mention that a higher speed card means less transfer time when dumping footage. (Well, if your card reader is up to snuff).

Also, if the magic video fairy were to instill upon us a divine firmware update with an intra 50/100 codec etc, a class 10 card would probably be able to handle it.

OK, a man can have dreams can't he.

Thanks very much Larry!!

Precisely, I have got a 'ScanDisk Video HD - High Performance Video SDHC Card - up tp 15 MB/s - 120 minutes (HD Std Quality) - 8 GB - Class 6'

And thanks to all for your input!!

Ben Tolosa

The SDHC class math
 

The math on the SDHC cards is fairly simple:

Class 2 = 2MBps (16Mbps)
Class 4 = 4MBps (32Mbps)
Class 6 = 6MBps (48Mbps)
Class 10=10Mbps (80Mbps)

AVCHD tops out at 24Mbps, which is 3MBps. Note the difference between MegaBytes and Megabits. It is often the main source of confusion when discussing card speeds and camcorder bitrates.

That is theory. Usually no name brand cards fail to provide the minimum writing speed they advertise. A little bit of headroom for no glitches is adviseable.

Very true, lots of folks over in the Sony Cine-Alta forum using SDHC cards in their Sony Ex-1/3's have had trouble. They buy cards that work fine. Then buy the same manufacturer again and does not work fine. Lesson is that even buying by brand does not insure reliability. I also see no reason to be cheap in this regard. the card I walk out the door with is worth a couple of bucks. The card I come back with is worth the whole job.