# Best SD Cards for Our DSLR's?



## MrSleepin

so i have been using an 8gb sandisk class 4 card for the past 4.5 years! i figured it was outdated so i went to compusa today and picked up 2 new cards. 

i got a 8gb class 6 card and a class 10 32gb card, both patriot brand.

i immediately got to testing the cards, and my d80 has a max of 3fps in burst mode, and both the new cards can not keep up! i don't understand! 

at first it shoots fine, then i guess the card warms up and it will start doing 1 shot every 2-3 seconds! review and deleting photos is also slower!


is it just because the d80 is an older model, and wasn't built to compliment the class 6-10 cards? i have since put the cards, i just purchased, up for sale on craigslist. 

Completely disappointed.


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## MrSleepin

bumping for info!


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## 480sparky

Your camera's write speed may be your limit.  Once your card equals what the camera can spit out, anything more Class speed is useless.


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## nfp

When buying SD cards, you need to look at more than just the Class for performance.  Class 10 just means it is the newest format with a minimum of 10 Mb/sec write.  That Patriot  32GB Class 10 only has a guaranteed write speed of 10Mb/sec at a retail of about $40, you can get a SanDisk Ultra SDHC 32GB Class 4 that guarantees 15Mb/sec for $5 less.  Better card, better performance, cheaper.  I use The SanDisk Extreme CLass 10 cards.  They are guaranteed at 30Mb/sec and have had great experience with them.  They are more expensive though.  If you check ebay and amazon, you can get an 8GB for around $20-25.  Brands like Patriot, Professional, and Transcend are generic brands at low quality for geral purpose retail (affordable).  A couple other brands that are more common but usually don't have the best quality in my opnion for SDHC are ADATA and Panasonic.  I like SanDisk the best but 2 other great brands are Kingston and PNY.


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## IByte

If hasn't been already said, check towards the end of your manual, and it will tell you the best recommended brands as well as sizes.  As for myself? I use an 8GB EyeFi Card and so far it's still up and working.


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## EIngerson

I've used multiple brands and haven't had an issue with any of them. I never noticed any performance difference making any of them stand out as "better" either.


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## 9ballprodigy

Sounds like your buffer filled up. Are you shooting in RAW? 

A faster sd card will not solve your buffer capacity issue. I have a d7000 and I shoot in RAW and can get about 10 shoots at 6fps off before the buffer fills up. After that, I get about a shot ever 1-2 seconds. This is with a 8gb class 10 20mb/s card. 

The difference In a faster card lies in how fast your camera can write all those pics before emptying the buffer and allowing you to shoot at max speed again.


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## RRRoger

Generally a class 6 card such as the Sandisk (15mbs) can keep up with your still shots.
You will need a faster card (30mbs) for Video or the camera will stop, stutter, or miss segments when shooting HD1080P at 30fps.


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