Five reliable and fast SD memory cards

Silicon Power SDHC Class 10 32 GB

The Taiwanese company Silicon Power produces a wide range of storage media and memory cards as well. Among them are eleven models of SD cards — from ordinary to very fast. The Silicon Power SDHC Class 10 presented in the review belongs to the middle class in terms of speed and is available with a memory capacity of 4, 8, 16 and 32 GB. The card has a lifetime warranty. This means that it is valid while this model is produced by the manufacturer.

The card has the most affordable price in our TOP-5 and is certified according to the Class 10 standard. That is, it will operate at a speed of at least 10 MB / s with reading and writing data. In a test of twenty SDHC memory cards on the 3DNews website, the Silicon Power model showed a sequential write speed of 19.2 MB / s. The read speed, according to the results of the same test, turned out to be very high (as for Class 10 cards) — 89.4 MB / s. This is the main advantage of this card over many ordinary SD cards.

Silicon Power SDHC Class 10 can be recommended for mid-range cameras and HD video shooting. It is also suitable for people who want to quickly copy footage to their computer.

At 10 Mbps, you can shoot Full HD video, although in this case it is desirable to use more speed cards to avoid delays during recording. If you're looking for high-speed continuous shooting, look to the faster (and more expensive) memory cards we'll cover next.

Kingston SDHC Class 10 32 GB

Headquartered in California, Kingston is one of the world's leading storage manufacturers. The company produces several series of SD cards with write speeds from 4 Mbps to 80 Mbps and capacities from 4 GB to 256 GB. The first of the two Kingston cards in our ranking is the SDHC Class 10 model.

At the time of the announcement in 2010, this model was recommended for use with modern digital camcorders and cameras in the higher price range. The Kingston SDHC Class 10 is not a premium drive right now, but it is a good option for advanced compacts, SLRs, and HD camcorders.

By the way, with From the moment it entered the market, the cost of the card decreased several times (at first, its recommended retail price was $245). At the same time, as before, the card has a lifetime warranty — for the entire service life.

Kingston SDHC Class 10 can be purchased with a volume of 8, 16 and 32 GB. According to the manufacturer's calculations, the volume of 32 GB of the card will be enough for 5416 photos with a resolution of 12 megapixels or 542 minutes of HD video. Class 10 certification means a stable minimum data transfer rate of 10 Mbps. The card is set to 22MB/s read speed and 18MB/s write speed.

This model will not unlock the potential of fast cameras like Canon EOS 5D Mark III and Nikon 1 J4, but it's fast enough for most compact cameras and entry-level system models that beginner photographers usually create their first masterpieces with.

Transcend SD Class 10 UHS-I 300x 32 GB

Want to shoot high resolution videos? Are you planning to use the continuous shooting mode of the camera? Then a memory card with UHS-I (Ultra High-Speed Bus) support is just right for you. There are three such cards in our review. The model from the Taiwanese company Transcend is not the fastest among them, but it is the most affordable.

The data transfer speed of the card, according to the manufacturer, is up to 45 Mbps. In a test on the 3DNews website, it showed a sequential write speed of 35.1 MB / s, and according to the test results on the Habrahabr resource, even less — 18.9 MB / s. At the same time, the reading speed turned out to be much higher: 89.6 MB / s in the 3DNews review and 83.2 MB / s according to the post on Habrahabr. The author of the latter tested the capabilities of the card during continuous shooting with a Nikon D7100 camera.

The results were not impressive: 23 frames were recorded in RAW format in 30 seconds (the file size was 29 MB). Therefore, if speed is critical for you during continuous shooting, pay attention to cards with even faster write speeds. At the same time, the card has a high speed of data transfer to a computer and is suitable for shooting Full HD video.

The card comes with a programme for recovering deleted and lost data from portable media . Like other members of our TOP-5, it is covered by a lifetime warranty, limited by the model's release date. Transcend SDHC Class 10 UHS-I 300x modifications are available in 8, 16 and 32 GB.

SanDisk Extreme SD UHS-I U3 32 GB

SanDisk has been making flash memory for many years and is one of the leaders in the memory card market. The assortment of the American company has four lines of SD cards. The Extreme model, which is available in 16 and 32 GB capacities, ranks behind the fastest Extreme Pro cards in this classification. In our TOP 5 SanDisk SDHC UHS-I U3 card is second only to Kingston SDHC UHS-I U3 in terms of both read and write speed and price.

Claimed speed records on the card — 40 MB / s. It can be recommended to owners of medium and semi-professional cameras — both compact and system. With such a card you can shoot dynamic scenes and not be afraid to miss a good shot. Also SanDisk is suitable for filming Full HD video. Although 32 GB of memory may not be enough for active shooting of video with such a resolution (in this case, you can choose one of the “fast” cards larger capacity. The high read speed of 60 Mbps, in turn, allows you to quickly transfer captured photos and videos from the camera to your computer.

SanDisk Extreme cards come with a limited lifetime warranty and are suitable for shooting in extreme conditions.The manufacturer claims these models are waterproof, shockproof and X-ray resistant.Purchasers of this card also receive a one-year subscription to the programme to restore accidentally deleted images.By the way, an interesting story: a crocodile swallowed a camera by a photographer Mario Aldecoa.After 8 months, the animal "returned" the equipment — the camera could not be repaired, and the photo from the SanDisk card was deleted restore.

Meet the leader of our speed rating with the claimed speed read up to 90 MB / s and write — up to 80 MB / s. In the test on the Habrahabr resource, this card showed an average linear read speed of 74.2 MB / s, and writes — 71.6 MB / s. In the same test, Kingston SDHC The UHS-I U3 performed best in high-speed shooting with the Nikon D7100, capturing 69 shots in 30 seconds. take advantage of the high speed of SLR and mirrorless cameras. These metrics make this card recommended for hobbyists and professionals alike.

Like the SanDisk Extreme model, the card complies with the UHS-I U3 standard, which guarantees data transfer speeds of at least 30 Mbps. High write speeds can handle large data streams, so you can record Full HD and Ultra HD (4K) video on the card.

4K video takes up much more space than 720p and 1080p. Therefore, only short clips can be recorded on a 32 GB card. High reading speed will ensure fast copying of gigabytes of footage to a computer (especially if you use a USB 3.0 card reader).

The only and obvious drawback of this card is the price, which is two to three times higher than the cost of other TOP-5 participants. You can save some money by purchasing this 16GB model.