FZ30 - Fast or Slow SD Card?

[ManiacB]

Hello to all the forum members,

I have tried searching for the answer, but from the latest discussion I didn't reach any conclusion.
Should I buy a fast SD card for a FZ30, or should I save the money and buy a slow one?

I would also like to have your oppinion about the followin matter:
I was thinking about buying a 512 MB SD Card, but I don't know which. Here are the choices I have:
Sandisk Ultra II
Sandisk
Kingston
Kingston High Speed (Elite Pro)
Transcend X80
Transcend X45
MSM
Kingmax

Thanks in advance!

[genece]

You do not want any card under 60X especially if you will do movies.
Now where the difference of opinion occurs is you can buy a card, especially a Sandisk card that while rated as 2mb/s , reads and writes much faster.
Perhaps it just did not live up to some standard and therefore got labled as a slow card.
But the only way to be sure is to buy a card maked as 60X or faster from a name brand company.
The Sandisk ultra and the Transcend are two good ones
as are these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820155257
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820183182

or a 1gb like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820183156

[jcon]

I can personally vouch for the quality of Kingmax. I have two 1GB Platinum cards and they work great! After I bought my last one form NewEgg, at $70, I have not seen it listed on their site anymore, I dont know if its out of stock or if they stopped carrying the 1GB. Oh and as Gene said, you need a fast card!

[ManiacB]

Thanks for the answers, I'd be happy to see others' opinions too. :D
In any case, do you recommend buying a single 1GB card or split it to two 512MB? I've seen people saying that it's better splitted to two since one may malfunction. But do they really go bad that fast? (By probability theory, the chance that one of them malfunctions is higher when there are two cards than when there is only one, but the chance that they both go bad is smaller, of course) Doesn't the warranty cover these cases? Should I prefer a manufacturer that offers lifetime warranty (e.g. Sandisk) over manufacturers that offer limited time warranties?
:rolleyes:

Thanks in advance!

[BonjiB]

Thanks for the answers, I'd be happy to see others' opinions too. :D
In any case, do you recommend buying a single 1GB card or split it to two 512MB? I've seen people saying that it's better splitted to two since one may malfunction. But do they really go bad that fast? (By probability theory, the chance that one of them malfunctions is higher when there are two cards than when there is only one, but the chance that they both go bad is smaller, of course) Doesn't the warranty cover these cases? Should I prefer a manufacturer that offers lifetime warranty (e.g. Sandisk) over manufacturers that offer limited time warranties?
:rolleyes:

Thanks in advance!

I've had 1 SD card go bad on me out of 8 i've ever owned. It's still usable but after that crash i don't trust it anymore. It really comes down to how much movie mode do you plan on using? A 2 gig card is great for taking movies because you can just keep filming till the card runs out. 2 gig split up onto 4 512's cause you to have to change cards mid movie. How important that is to you? I don't know. If movie mode isn't a huge thing for you, get the MOST space for your money. As in if 2 512's is cheaper than a 1 gig card, get two 512's. That's just how i feel about it. As for speed, i don't think the fz30 can really take advantage of anything over 60x (seems like i read that somehwere, correct me if i'm wrong.) No use is paying for it if you can't use it i say. Good luck!

[TampaJim]

Definitely a high speed card - I recommend Sandisk Ultra II or Lexar Professional. Even without the consideration of movies, the RAW file format and continuous fire mode would require the higher speed card for fast recovery. You will also appreciate the faster cards when reading/writing high resolution files. Yes, lifetime cards are nice - it gives a "no nonsense - no questions" approach to support/replacement. The 2 512MB or 1 1GB card question would strictly be dependent on the movie mode use.

Enjoy!

[ManiacB]

Thanks for your replies guys. Very very helpful.;)
I chose to have a fast 512MB card for now,
Yet, I don't know which brand to choose.
Would you please look at this post I posted in the Memory Cards section:
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15372


Thanks a lot in advance!

[jcon]

I STRONGLY suggest a fast card, I read that someone said its a waste on the Z30 which is false, if you plan on shooting in RAW, which most would prefer anyway, or if you plan on using burst mode, then you'll need the fast speeds! 512 is fine(RAW will fill that up quick though), I would go with Kingmax, I believe Gene posted a link in this thread. I have heard more problems with Sandisk than with any other company. I cant comment for certainty but I beleive if a card is defective they will replace it.

[StanStan]

Page 70 of FZ30's Manual it states that a 10MB/s is required for motion picture mode. That is the only reference I found to SD card speed requirements in the manual. Guess I should download the manual and search for card speed.

I use Kingmax from NewEgg and have had no problems.

I have found out that I need at least a 1GB card as smaller ones fill up too fast.

By the way Panasonic is offering a 512 card free if you bought a FZ30, FX8, FZ5 from Nov 20 to Dec 31 2005!!! Just summited my form to Pana.

http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/promotions/ FSIRebate_FreeSDCard.pdf

Stan

[genece]

You are making this way too hard on yourself...if you are getting 512mb cards 5 years is plenty for a warranty in another year or two that card will be too small for a camera, IMHO it is too small now.
But if you need a lifetime warranty Corsair and Ridata offer them and they are reasonably priced at Newegg.
All the cards mentioned here work fine ..buy one or two and enjoy the camera.



Thanks for your replies guys. Very very helpful.;)
I chose to have a fast 512MB card for now,
Yet, I don't know which brand to choose.
Would you please look at this post I posted in the Memory Cards section:
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15372


Thanks a lot in advance!

[ManiacB]

Page 70 of FZ30's Manual it states that a 10MB/s is required for motion picture mode. That is the only reference I found to SD card speed requirements in the manual. Guess I should download the manual and search for card speed.

I use Kingmax from NewEgg and have had no problems.

I have found out that I need at least a 1GB card as smaller ones fill up too fast.

By the way Panasonic is offering a 512 card free if you bought a FZ30, FX8, FZ5 from Nov 20 to Dec 31 2005!!! Just summited my form to Pana.

http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/promotions/ FSIRebate_FreeSDCard.pdf

Stan

Hi Stan,
Unfortunately, this voucher is valid only for U.S. Residents and for purchases in the U.S.A. I am from Israel and unfortunately I cannot use it.

Thanks anyway!;)

[ManiacB]

You are making this way too hard on yourself...

Hi Gene,
Thanks a lot for the advice.
I guess I'm really making this way too hard on myself :o , but it's my nature to be such a pedant.
If you say that Silicon Power are ok either - I think I'll take it since it looks as the best 'bang for the buck'.

[genece]

I am sorry I did not see any mention of the Silicone Power card and I never heard of that make.
I am not saying its not good I just never heard of it.

I use
Transcend
ridata
simpletech
panasonic
lexar
kingsmax
pqi
and I have a dane electric which I would not recommend.

others are using ,with no problems
Kingston
sandisk
a data

Surely one of those are on sale, but then too, the only way we find out if a card is good or not is for someone to try them.

[boswell]

Hi,

Just returned from India on a Tiger photographic trip and run some 2000 pictures through my Panasonic Z30.
I took some high speed SD cards which I purchased from Digiprint before leaving.
The Inov8 Ultra High Speed 60x Secure Digital Card 1GB (5166B) cost me £43.90 and I also got 2 x Inov8 2GB cards from the same source - can't recall the price but not quite double.(Inovate cards)

These performed well without a hitch and of the 6 movies taken on the camera all turned out better than I hoped (still is my game really).

Interestingly the pictures of the Z30 stood up well against my other camera the Canon 20D.

Hope this helps.

John

[genece]

Thats another brand of cards that I never heard of but apparently they work fine.


Isn't it amazing if you give the FZ30 an unbiased chance how well it does compared to DSLR's...Now I do not think I would use a FZ30 if I were selling photos,, but to document a vacation its hard to beat.

Can you show us some of the Tiger photos...I don't get to see one everyday.

[Gordoaus]

Not that I have had a big lot to do with cameras but since I have had the FZ30 nothing comes close to performance like the Pro series of SD cards. They start at 133x and are up to 150x which is the one I am using at 1gig. Also have a 512 meg SDPro card as well. Both are RiData and work well. 512meg is ok if you are taking 3-4 megapixel shots but if you get above that 2 x 1gig would be my preference and 2 gig for movies. 60 shots at RAW mode on a 1gig card.
All the reliable cards are offering long warranties like 5 years.
Have heard some bad reports and some good reports re Sandisk SD cards but haven't heard any bad reports regarding Sandisk Extreme III.
Extreme III equate to 133x I think. They cost more that most others too.
HTH
Gordoaus