fast SD cards

I currently have a Nikon D60, and have used just regular memory cards. I know I'm getting a new DSLR for Christmas, either a Nikon D5300 or D5500. In my reading, I've noticed that Nikon tells you that you need to used the high speed SD cards. Nikon only "endorses" certain brands of memory, one of them being SanDisk - which is what I normally buy.

I've said all that to ask this: what high speed SanDisk memory do you recommend? There's Ultra, Ultra Pro, Extreme, Extreme Pro, etc. I'm looking for the most bang for my buck.

"High speed" is a very flexible definition. Class 10 is considered "fast(ish)" and is usually what is recommended these days. The older Class 4 and 6 cards are not really offered by the major brands any more.

Understanding classes is a tedious and sometime confusing exercise, so here is my 2-minute view:

Sandisk Ultra (old) - $.40/GB - 40MB/s read speed and since it is class 10 it is guaranteed to write at a minimum of 10 MB/s. The actual write speed is a little more and should keep up with the D5500's 5 fps burst speed.

Sandisk Ultra (new) - $.46/GB - 80MB/s read speed and since it is also class 10 it is guaranteed to write at a minimum of 10 MB/s. Faster than old version by quite a bit. The 80MB/s read speed would make loading images to your computer faster.

Sandisk Extreme (new) $.63/GB - 90MB/s read speed and since it is class U3 it is guaranteed to write at a minimum of 30 MB/s for recording video (4K and lower). Writes faster than your camera by quite a bit but reads only slightly faster than the new Ultra. The advantage would be that these cards are built to higher specifications that the Ultras and will survive a washing machine without blinking. I know this for a fact.:o

Sandisk Extreme Pro (old) $.94/GB - 95MB/s read speed and since it is also class U3 but actually writes as fast as 80MB/s. Future-proof speed along with the advantage of the Extreme's higher specifications. (These are what I use and have never had a hiccup from them.)

Sandisk Extreme Pro (new) $2.50/GB - 280MB/s read speed and writes as fast as 250MB/s. Ludicrous speed that is probably 10 times faster than most cameras really need but would load images to the PC at lightspeed with the right reader. The price is still way up there.

Any of these would serve your D5500 very well. My use of the older 95MB/s Extreme Pros is based on the read/write speed for use in newer faster cameras at some point and the durability. They are way cheaper than they used to be.

Hope this helps your decision making! Hard to choose when all the choices are good!

Dave

Thanks, Dave. That helps a lot.

For still images.... I too just use Class 10 cards on my DSLR.

Faster cards are needed if you do a lot of continuous shooting that floods the buffer. High resolution videos like fast cards too.

The D5300 does support UHS-I media.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital#Ultra_High_Speed_.28UHS.29_bus

[YOUTUBE]a7IL_tH5wx8[/YOUTUBE]

Good summary Dave. I also use the U3 95's and for speed v price they are best value for me and they seem to work well.

If nothing else, buy the fastest cards you can justify. Even if your camera can't use the speed, your card reader can likely use the speed. It also minimizes surprises if you ever buy faster cards later but end up dipping into this bunch of cards as your reserves. I'd rather not admit "that time" that I was shooting RAW on a 5DsR (so ~60MB per shot) with mama bear and two cubs, and I unknowingly overflowed card1 and began shooting on a 15MB/sec SD card...so yeah, one shot every 4 seconds was painful.

I have been caught with using cheap cards. Not worth it when you lose the photo's on them. Now I buy Sandisk or Lexar brands. Very reliable.

There are also good reasons to buy multiple cards with less capacity rather then one big card. I was going to say if, but unfortunately it's when, you get a card that corrupts you will lose a lot lot less images if it's a smaller card. Having said that my main body now has two 32gb cards installed, but the second one is a back up of the first.

The other tip is not to delete images from cards, either in the camera or when connected to the computer. After you have used the camera and safely downloaded the images (and backed up) then format the card in the camera. This makes cards a lot more reliable than deleting images.

I have been buying Toshiba 16 GB or Samsung 32 GB Class 10 cards with 40 MB/s write speed.

BTW, Toshiba and SanDisk share the same semiconductor fab, but may not guarantee similar SD card performance.

Well, DH couldn't wait to give me my birthday/Christmas gift - literally! And not only did he get the D5500, but also the 18-140 lens - AND a SanDisk Extreme SDHC UHS-1 card with 90MG write speed! I still need to buy more cards, but this one's a great one to start with, right???

Now tonight, it may be possible to see the northern lights as far south as OKC, but I may drive north just to get a better shot at it. The battery is charging as I type.

Even if your camera can't use the speed, your card reader can likely use the speed.

• don't get the cheapest card reader... look for readers that state USB 3.0.
  
• look at your laptop/computer's USB ports. Plug that USB 3.0 reader into one of those blue USB ports that are 3.0. Amazing speed transfer difference.
  

Cheap is ok...If you shop around!

I picked up one of these Transcend USB 3.0 readers for travel and it works so well that I just leave it plugged into the side of my monitor and use it as my primary card reader. Really good reader that handles SD and MicroSD without an adapter for $7.00.

Dave

Well, DH couldn't wait to give me my birthday/Christmas gift - literally! And not only did he get the D5500, but also the 18-140 lens - AND a SanDisk Extreme SDHC UHS-1 card with 90MG write speed! I still need to buy more cards, but this one's a great one to start with, right???

 

Now tonight, it may be possible to see the northern lights as far south as OKC, but I may drive north just to get a better shot at it. The battery is charging as I type.

I hope you got the "new" price, it looks like $100 less than it has been ($996) for your 5500 + 18 -140 lens.

I hope you got the "new" price, it looks like $100 less than it has been ($996) for your 5500 + 18 -140 lens.

He got it for $200 less and had them throw in the SD card and a camera bag (not one that I can use, but he didn't know that).

Cheap is ok...If you shop around!

 

I picked up one of these Transcend USB 3.0 readers for travel and it works so well that I just leave it plugged into the side of my monitor and use it as my primary card reader. Really good reader that handles SD and MicroSD without an adapter for $7.00.

 

Dave

I use that exact SD card reader. It's a nice product and cheap for being USB 3. I have 4 so far; one with each digital camera and another in my work backpack.

He got it for $200 less and had them throw in the SD card and a camera bag (not one that I can use, but he didn't know that).

$200 less than $996? Gray Market?

$200 less than $996? Gray Market?

No, $200 less than the "regular" $1046. Definitely not gray market - just filed the Nikon USA warranty card electronically and the full color box with manual was included.

May I ask where he purchased it? Sounds like a great deal and that is the camera I am in the market for.

Sorry for hijacking the thread

I know he got it from B&H. DH's company does a lot of business with them.

Thank you!

Last year I traded in my D60 for the 5300. I always use the SanDisk Extreme cards and love the performance. Definitely stay away from PNY. I have lost several photos when the cards just won't read anymore. If you have been using the D60 for a long time, it will take a while to get into the groove of shooting with all of the new features.

I'm new to good quality cameras and I know I have a lot to learn. But in the last year I bought a Nikon cool pix l830.

Recently on amazon I got a new camera bag, and added on a purchase of a new SD card. I bought a Transcend SDHC Class 10 UHS-1.

I Read above that the class 10 is the fastest, but not really sure what the UHS part means. Was that a good purchase. I didn't spend a whole lot of money on it, and I just do hobby photography, so I don't need anything crazy expensive.

I'm new to good quality cameras and I know I have a lot to learn. But in the last year I bought a Nikon cool pix l830.

Recently on amazon I got a new camera bag, and added on a purchase of a new SD card. I bought a Transcend SDHC Class 10 UHS-1.

I Read above that the class 10 is the fastest, but not really sure what the UHS part means. Was that a good purchase. I didn't spend a whole lot of money on it, and I just do hobby photography, so I don't need anything crazy expensive.

Class 10 is the fastest of the "Class" ratings which topped out at a guaranteed 10 MB/s. From there on, the UHS rating took over with UHS1 also guaranteeing 10 MB/s and UHS3 30 MB/s. Keep in mind that the Class or UHS rating is a guaranteed minimum rating and most cards that carry these ratings actually perform well above the rated speeds.

That card should perform well in your Coolpix.

Dave

I have been caught with using cheap cards. Not worth it when you lose the photo's on them. Now I buy Sandisk or Lexar brands. Very reliable.

 

The other tip is not to delete images from cards, either in the camera or when connected to the computer. After you have used the camera and safely downloaded the images (and backed up) then format the card in the camera. This makes cards a lot more reliable than deleting images.

I too have been caught by card failure during an air show. On the 5D3 I shoot RAW on CF and in Jpeg on the SD, certainly at events. I also have one main card of say 16GB of each in the slots first and then a multitude of 8GB ones changed over as needed. It's also a very valid point made about deleting shots from the card in the camera. I made the mistake of reviewing them from the histogram and the review screen and then deleting the ones that were poor, in order to save card space and ended up with a few problems. The above is good advice, thanks!

It's mainly Sandisk I use.

Provided you still shoot in JPEG, the stuff your DH got you will work wonderfully.

If you shoot continuously in RAW, then yes, you will need one of the expensive cards with the fast write speeds. When we moved from the D7000 to the D750 and started shooting RAW, our previously fine cards couldn't handle it. It was painful and really annoying to miss shots because the card couldn't keep up.