SD card recommendations at DVinfo.net

Aya Okawa · April 12th, 2011, 11:12 AM

I am just upgrading to an XA10 from a PD170 and a Vixia HV30. I'm finally ready to switch to chips, but I wanted to see if people have particular preferences or experience with different brands/types of SD cards? Is there an appreciable difference from brand to brand as far as reliability goes?

I'm sorry if this is a dumb newbie question or has been addressed before; I searched for this on the forum and the only threads I saw were from 3 years ago. Any current input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Buba Kastorski · April 12th, 2011, 01:47 PM

Hey Aya,
there are no dumb questions, but there are dumb people who can tell you that you ask dumb questions, but never mind :) class 6 and up SDHC/XC cards will do fine , and from manufacturers my personal choice is sandisk, I never had any problem with SD or CF cards from sandisk , but i've had problems with some other brands

Aya Okawa · April 12th, 2011, 10:52 PM

Thanks, Buba, for the feedback! I really appreciate it. Which brands have you had problems with?

Jase Tanner · April 13th, 2011, 12:03 AM

I'm waiting on delivery of my XA10. This will be my first card based camera so I'm not talking from any experience here. The Canon site says the following:

"1920 x 1080 movie recording requires a Class 4 or higher memory card. For other recording formats, a Class 2 or higher card is recommended. Also, movie recording requires cards with 128MB of memory or more. Cards made by Toshiba, SanDisk or Matsushita are recommended. No particular restrictions apply for still images."

Comments on this by users are appreciated.

Tom DelRosario · June 1st, 2011, 12:45 PM

The manual says that Mac's can't use SDXC cards. AFAIK, that's because the internal card reader for the iMac and Macbook Pro cannot read SDXC. Does that also apply if you use an external card reader?

Andy Scott · April 1st, 2013, 04:06 PM

I'm a little confused here because the latest iMac has an SDXC slot?

I am about to buy some cards for my camera and need advice regarding what to purchase. With my new iMac having an SDXC slot I would have thought buying SDXC cards would be the natural choice?

Any guidance accepted.

Adam Palomer · April 1st, 2013, 05:56 PM

I have used Sandisk, Ridata, and a few other brands I can't recall at the moment. They have all failed on me at some point in time, one way or another (i.e. some simply failed and destroyed all my saved photos/videos, while others won't get recognized by my operating system and won't format, either).

So far, the only brand that has been reliable has been PNY.

Knock on wood, but I have several 32GB PNY cards and they have been working with no problems.

Don Palomaki · April 2nd, 2013, 07:32 AM

SDXC, newer standard and higer capacilty (over 32 GB). Not all devices support it, especially older gear and card readers. And of course, until they become main stream, a higher cost per GB.

At this time I mainly use SanDisk 32 GB SDHC, Class 10 speed cards, but have some other brands and sizes. Any card is at risk of mishandling (e.g., removing without following proper dismount/ejecting processes for the OS or gear in which it is used), power glitches, subject to static electrical shocks (that is why there are so many data recovery products offered for sale - and a few of them actually work some times), or gettng lost/miosplaced (they are physically small).

Best not to rely on any static memory cards (any brand, size or speed) for storage beyond the day's shoot. For important stuff back up to other media as soon as practicable.

April 12th, 2011, 11:12 AM	#1
Aya Okawa Regular Crew Join Date: May 2010 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 77	SD card recommendations I am just upgrading to an XA10 from a PD170 and a Vixia HV30. I'm finally ready to switch to chips, but I wanted to see if people have particular preferences or experience with different brands/types of SD cards? Is there an appreciable difference from brand to brand as far as reliability goes? I'm sorry if this is a dumb newbie question or has been addressed before; I searched for this on the forum and the only threads I saw were from 3 years ago. Any current input would be appreciated. Thanks.

April 12th, 2011, 01:47 PM	#2
Buba Kastorski Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,414	Re: SD card recommendations Hey Aya, there are no dumb questions, but there are dumb people who can tell you that you ask dumb questions, but never mind :) class 6 and up SDHC/XC cards will do fine , and from manufacturers my personal choice is sandisk, I never had any problem with SD or CF cards from sandisk , but i've had problems with some other brands __________________ I love this place!

April 12th, 2011, 10:52 PM	#3
Aya Okawa Regular Crew Join Date: May 2010 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 77	Re: SD card recommendations Thanks, Buba, for the feedback! I really appreciate it. Which brands have you had problems with?

April 13th, 2011, 12:03 AM	#4
Jase Tanner Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 346	Re: SD card recommendations I'm waiting on delivery of my XA10. This will be my first card based camera so I'm not talking from any experience here. The Canon site says the following: "1920 x 1080 movie recording requires a Class 4 or higher memory card. For other recording formats, a Class 2 or higher card is recommended. Also, movie recording requires cards with 128MB of memory or more. Cards made by Toshiba, SanDisk or Matsushita are recommended. No particular restrictions apply for still images." Comments on this by users are appreciated.

June 1st, 2011, 12:45 PM	#5
Tom DelRosario Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 27	Re: SD card recommendations The manual says that Mac's can't use SDXC cards. AFAIK, that's because the internal card reader for the iMac and Macbook Pro cannot read SDXC. Does that also apply if you use an external card reader?

April 1st, 2013, 04:06 PM	#6
Andy Scott New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Posts: 6	Re: SD card recommendations I'm a little confused here because the latest iMac has an SDXC slot? I am about to buy some cards for my camera and need advice regarding what to purchase. With my new iMac having an SDXC slot I would have thought buying SDXC cards would be the natural choice? Any guidance accepted.

April 1st, 2013, 05:56 PM	#7
Adam Palomer Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Summit, NJ Posts: 169	Re: SD card recommendations I have used Sandisk, Ridata, and a few other brands I can't recall at the moment. They have all failed on me at some point in time, one way or another (i.e. some simply failed and destroyed all my saved photos/videos, while others won't get recognized by my operating system and won't format, either). So far, the only brand that has been reliable has been PNY. Knock on wood, but I have several 32GB PNY cards and they have been working with no problems.

April 2nd, 2013, 07:32 AM	#8
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Re: SD card recommendations SDXC, newer standard and higer capacilty (over 32 GB). Not all devices support it, especially older gear and card readers. And of course, until they become main stream, a higher cost per GB. At this time I mainly use SanDisk 32 GB SDHC, Class 10 speed cards, but have some other brands and sizes. Any card is at risk of mishandling (e.g., removing without following proper dismount/ejecting processes for the OS or gear in which it is used), power glitches, subject to static electrical shocks (that is why there are so many data recovery products offered for sale - and a few of them actually work some times), or gettng lost/miosplaced (they are physically small). Best not to rely on any static memory cards (any brand, size or speed) for storage beyond the day's shoot. For important stuff back up to other media as soon as practicable. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com