Kingston Ultimate or Sandisk Ultra2 for S3?

[lowkl]

Peoploids,

Getting the S3 (finally) as an upgrade to my trusty ol' S1, so it's time to shop for an SD card.

Kingston cards are widely available and comparatively cheap here, so for the same price I can either get:



a 1 GB Kingston Ultimate 120x rated at 21MB/s read/18MB/s write, OR
a 1GB Sandisk Ultra2 Plus rated at 10MB/s read/9MB/s write (the one that can plug into the USB without an adaptor).


FIRST QUESTION: Does the S3 use the additional speed, or are both these cards effectively the same for this camera? Not really interested in very-long-term prospects like migrating the storage to a higher-end camera in the next few years, so "buying for the future" is not a factor.

SECOND QUESTION: Would two 1-GB cards be preferred to one 2-GB card?

Thanks in advance!

--
lowkl

[downtrodden]

The only one i can asnwer for is number 2. And that is going to be a question of preferance.

I decided to buy two 1 gigs because when i got them, two one gigs were slightly cheaper than a 2gig. I also like the idea that if my card breaks, i do have another and i'm not losing 2 gigs of info.. just one gig. I don't mind changing the cards out it's no extra hassle to me- but to me the hassle of losing my card or breaking my card would suck if i had only one card. Just my two cents.

[KSM]

I have heard of people having problems with the Kingston Ultimate 120x card and the Sandisk with the USB built in with their S3's.

I have not heard of anyone having problems with the Scandisk Ultra II 1 or 2 GB cards in the S3. I have one that I have shot about 5000 pictures with and had no card errors.

First Question - The S3 is just slightly slower than the Ultra II card so the faster card gives no advantage with the S3.

Second Question - I go along with downtrodden on the 1 GB unless you will be shooting lots of movies. Then the 2 GB might be slightly more convenient.

[David Metsky]

I have 2 2-Gig cards and 1 1-Gig card. Frankly, the convenience of the larger card (I shoot a lot on hiking/skiing trips) outweighs the small chance of a card failure for me. I use the Transcend 2G 150x cards that are quite a bargain.

-dave-

[FLiPMaRC]

1st ... I think the S3 can only utilize up to 60x speed. That's what I've read somewhere. According to some, anything higher is "overkill".

2nd ... I use a Corsair 2GB 133x card on my S3 and a PNY 2GB on my SD630. I can't say much with the SD630 because I just got it, but I haven't had any problems with my S3 in the few thousands of shots I've taken. Like downtrodden said, it's about preference. I don't keep files on the card for very long. I unload it to my computer ASAP.

The only incident I can remember is when a friend of mine took my SD card and put it in his Treo 650 Smart Phone. He was able to browse my pictures on the card, but when I put it back into my camera, all the files were gone and I got a card error message.

[lowkl]

Much Thanks to downtrodden, KSM, David Metsky, and FLiPMaRC for sharing your experience and insight.

Taking all things into consideration (including personal preference), I'm opting for two 1GB SanDisk Ultra2s for now. I don't take movies and I've heard photos at the 2GB limit tend to get a little risky (maybe this is only hearsay) so I'm keeping to the tried&tested 1GB. My previous S1 card was a SanDisk CF which performed flawlessly, so I trust the brand. And since even the "remotest" chance of losing a shot is terrifying for me, anything to mitigate this is welcome.

Hope to add to the S3 Pics thread soon!!

[Jayayess1190]

Staples has 2gb Sandisk Ultra cards for only $39.98. Thats a savings of $80!