SD Card questions

Daddy0

What is the recommended class and speed rating for SD cards. I have a D90 and I like shooting sports(baseball & football mainly). I like to shoot RAW, but this past weekend went to a South Carolina baseball game and ended up shooting JPEGS. Also, is it better to stay with max 8gb on SD cards, or 4gb? Also what brands are more reliable?

All help is appreciated,:D

r9jackson

Class 6 for SD cards
I use all Class 6 cards. I shoot a lot of sports and you need your card to write as fast as possible. I would use a Class 10, but they are much more expensive. Class 4 cards are the least expensive, but they are just way too slow for my use. I think I read once that Class 6 is the minimum for video use (I have Canon T1i with some video capability).

I use mostly 8 GB cards, but not because of any strategic decision (mostly what is on sale). I think 4 GB cards would be good too, as they would match a double backup process of writing a card to a DVD when importing into Lightroom. I also have one 16 GB card, but don't use it much because I'm leery of placing too much data on one potential source of failure.

Art Scott

As far as brand goes...as long as you stay in the top tier.......Transcend, Sandisk, Lexar......I think you'll be fine..........I started out with Lexar and Sandisk and then found Transcend by accident and spent a lot of time emailing then and finally bought one of their cards with the garuntee that they would refund purchase price if I did not like and I was not buying from them directly.........I bought off NewEgg and now have 12 8gb Transcend Cards wit hthe newest being a 600X 8gb card.....my camera doesnot write from the buffer as fast as the card could take it.....so it really does me no good to have the fastest Transcend card possible..........but I keep the fastest cards so that I upgrade camera maybe I will be able to utilize that write speed...........



I am not doing sports but at times weddings seem like a full contact fast paced sport ....... lol....lol.......lol

kevincaophotography

Randy and Art are spot on. Class 6 is definitely worth it if you are constantly shooting in RAW format. I haven't used Sandisk or Lexar, but only heard good things. I've use Transcend cards since my very first DSLR.

Right now, I use a 8GB Class 6 and keep a 4GB Class 6 in my camera bag. I got the second one just because I caught myself out at a shoot realizing that I've left my card in my card reader at home (from the previous transfer). The 4GB saved the time and hassle of going back home to grab the 8GB.

If you want the speed, you can move up to Class 10. Personally, for 3-4gbs of information, it takes no more than 1-2 minutes to transfer from the card to my hard drive. They are relatively cheap now, so it won't hurt to grab a couple just for backup purposes. Hope this is useful!