Memory card speeds in camera

[Biggsy]

Three new 32GB SDHC UHS-I cards tested for write speed in my Pentax K-3, because I no longer have have a fast enough USB card reader to do these things justice.  Times taken to shoot and write 24 RAW images (with same manual camera settings and lens cap on for like-for-like comparisons, so never mind I'm timing the camera as well as the cards):

Samsung EVO "Class 10 UHS Grade 1" (£10.75 £9.99 7DayShop): 25.9 seconds.

Kingston Professional "UHS-1 U3" (£12.99 7DayShop): 23.8 seconds.

SanDisk Extreme Pro "95 MB/s" (£26.45 Amazon): 21.7 seconds.

Edited to add:
Samsung Pro (£20.37 Amazon): 21.8 seconds.

So the Kingston gets my recommendation for near-top performance at a reasonable price.  The Samsungs should be a good choice for rough handlers, though, as they are made of slightly thicker tough plastic.  The SanDisk: probably the very fastest UHS-I card available, but diminishing returns and all that.  To put the speeds in context, the same job with older SDHC Class 10 but not UHS cards I have takes more than 38 seconds.

Note. Even faster UHS-II cards have an additional set of contacts; you can't get all their performance in a device without a UHS-II interface.
Note. U3 doesn't mean UHS-III.  (Don't ask).

[tonycollinet]

But marginal (at most) difference under normal usage - unless hitting the motor drive till camera buffer full.

[Ham]

Bangs for bucks, I suspect this is best at present http://www.7dayshop.com/products/lexar-32-gb-sdhc-uhs-1-633x-professional-u1-class-10-memory-card-WH2-LSD32GCBEU633, I've just run a quick test on the OM-D (so, not a fair comparison) and 24 RAW completes in around 15 seconds

[mike]

Agreed - newer tech is massively quicker.  I was frustrated by the constant buffering on mine so invested in some new cards. I've just redone the tests (eh, it's that or work..)

to finish saving 24 full size raws in a canon 5d3, buffer = 12.

Just an SD card - an old sandisk ultra 30 MB/s - 1 minute 27.
Just an SD card - a newish Lexar 400x - 48 seconds
Just a CF card - a newish lexar 800x - 18 seconds

My default now is raw on the CF and mid-sized jpeg on the SD, 24 pics take 25 seconds. 

I never notice it buffering now, where when I just started and had raw onto the SD and jpeg on the CF (because the laptop has an SD card slot so downloading is quicker) I missed quite a lot of shots.

[Biggsy]

Bangs for bucks, I suspect this is best at present http://www.7dayshop.com/products/lexar-32-gb-sdhc-uhs-1-633x-professional-u1-class-10-memory-card-WH2-LSD32GCBEU633, I've just run a quick test on the OM-D (so, not a fair comparison) and 24 RAW completes in around 15 seconds

The Kingston Professional UHS-1 U3 gives much better bang for bucks if the quoted write speeds are reliable: 80 MB/s at £12.99 verses 45 MB/s at £13.99.

www.lexar.com/files/product/datasheet/DS_SD_633x_Rev_A.pdf

[Biggsy]

But marginal (at most) difference under normal usage - unless hitting the motor drive till camera buffer full.

I also have to wait for the image to be written to the card before I can review it with my camera, so card speed can be relevant even with a single snap.  (Actually, this isn't true with the Instant Review function, which automatically displays instantly from the buffer, but I find it annoying to leave this turned on as I don't like stuff flashing up on the LCD when my face is up to the viewfinder.  Pentax doesn't employ a face detector here, unlike some other makes).

But yes it is pretty marginal between UHS-I cards, and I was sillily extravagant for getting the SanDisk Extreme Pro in particular.  It's interesting what a big step up there is from pre UHS, though.


More geeky tests and reviews: www.cameramemoryspeed.com/reviews/sd-cards/

[Biggsy]

Samsung Pro now added to the list.

Interestingly, the order is different in my Lumix LX7 camera (that perhaps doesn't have UHS interface?).  Won't bore you with the details, just the order from fastest to slowest:  Samsung Pro, Samsung EVO, SanDisk Extreme Pro, Kingston Pro.  The speed differences are even smaller in this camera, but the Samsung Pro stands out for best durability, with MLC memory and physically tough construction.  (The EVO has TLC memory).