Memory Cards

[Yochanan]

How does the speed of a memory card relate to the camera? For example, if I get a Camera like the Olympus 510 or 520, what kind of speed on the memory card will I need to photos in quick succession? Is 30mb/s a good speed?

[cdifoto]

It really depends on the camera. Most cameras can't really make full use of a card's max speed, so you're usually buying the top end to make transfers from the usb or firewire card reader to the computer faster.

I can't speak to the actual speeds of any cameras I don't own, but the only cameras so far to reach 30MB/s are the Nikon D3 and D300. Canon's fastest don't come close to that, and an Olympus wouldn't either.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007

[SpecialK]

Cameras have a certain write-to-card speed and a frames-per-second speed. A slow card may limit the first significantly, and the second a little (after the camera buffer fills), but a card that is "faster" will not make those factors exceed the cameras capability.

[tkbslc]

A camera does not take pictures directly to the card, but to internal buffer memory. When that fills up, you can't take pictures until it empties. A fast card empties the buffer faster than a slow card (say 5 seconds vs 15), but your continuous shooting is still interrupted. Just buy a decent card from a good brand and don't worry about the speed.