FZ20 writing speed?

[cheewooi]

Hi,
Just wonder what's the writing speed for FZ20. Is there any difference if I use normal Kingston SD Card and Sandisk Ultra 2 SD card or Transcend 66X SD card?

[Grog]

Get the fastest SD card you can get. I buy mine from newegg Maxking and it seems to work very well. Just moved the photo that I had on there to the computer ran them though Photoshop element 3 and took them to Wall Mart. I had over 36 picture some at max res some stepped down. I should have them by Monday 2/28/05 I now have ordered a second 512 card cost with shippment $44.32.

[andyn]

I went from a Sandisk 256Mb to a Kingmax 66x 512Mb card and the difference is tangible. The camera seems ready to shoot a second shot more quickly - much more like a film camera. It also makes TIFF mode a more practical possibility. It still takes a couple of seconds for a TIFF to load, but not the 8secs+ that it tied the camera up before. The Kingmax isn't as well made as the Sandisk (the connectors on the Sandisk are recessed which gives them some protection) but it works perfectly well and, bought on e-bay was about the same price as the smaller & slower Sandisk). Andy

[genece]

Aside from the faster write speed when using tiff, the big difference is the write time after a burst ( 4 shots or 10 shots) 2 seconds for the fast card and about 10 seconds for a normal speed card.

[24Peter]

I have the exact same setup as andyn and would add that the Sandisk card reads in my USB 2.0 card reader at about 1MB/sec whereas the Kingmax card reads at nearly 10MB/sec. So I get my files into the computer 10X faster. Also, the Sandisk card takes forever to delete files - the Kingmax is much faster.

[cheewooi]

Thanks for sharing,
So basically Kingmax is better right? Basically, get faster card will improve burst shot and TIFF shot?
Anyway how about warranty? Do Kingmax provide lifetime warranty like Sandisk, Kingston and Apacer?
Well beside Kingmax, how about the others brand of card perform?
1. Apacer Photo Steno
2. Kingston Elite Pro
3. Ridata 60X
4. Lexar
5. Delkin
6. Hagiwara
7. PQI
8. Sandisk Ultra 2 (Extreme)

Need more info before decide on what card to get. I shoot motorsport and portrait, basically need use of fast card.

Ya another question..which one is better:
1. Get 1GB of SD card?
or
2. Get 2 pieces of 512mb SD card?
What I heard is if you get 2 pcs of 512mb SD card, the capacity is more compared to 1GB SD card? is this true?

[genece]

because I am a lousy typer I have this saved to disk.
Bear in mind its only my opinion but I have used these cards.


SD cards
The speed difference is the write time after a burst(,weather a 3 shot or 20 shot burst) 2 second write for the fast cards and 11 seconds for the slow cards.
This is an overgeneralizing but anything over 32X ( 4mb/s) is in the fast category.
I have about 7 different brands and speeds, and the Lexar 32X is as fast as any.
I also have a DaneElectric marked as 10mb/s and it is by far the slowest card I have.
One more thing a card must be at least 256mb in size to be fast. Not that all cards that size are fast.
Here are some of the used fast cards
Panasonic
Simpletech pro
Lexar 32X
PQI 66X
Kinsmax 60X
Transcend 40X
And Sandisk Ultra,
And TEKQ SD card for those from Australia
I am sure there are others but I can vouch for these,
Well I never used a Sandisk (and never will) or the TEKO but others say they are as fast.

[ssidlov]

First of all a 1Gb card is 1024 mb which is the same capacity as two 512mb.

I was able to obtain a 1Gb Sandisk Extreme III SD which are capable of 20mb/sec read & write speeds this is 133x over a standard SD card's speed and I believe that this is beyond the capacity of the camera's write speeds but if you carry a laptop with you and want to transfer all the photos from the card via a USB2.0 reader, it will speed it up if you have full high speed USB 2.0 ports on the computer. Most USB ports are only 12mbs however so 1024/12=86 seconds to move the files. The card can't do full speed USB 2 (480mbs) and if you have a reader and full high speed USB port, it would be about 57 seconds.

Back to the real world. A full size Tiff seems to take 1.5-2 seconds to write to the SD card. Burst mode H of a JPEG 2048 with the modest compression (middle setting) took 4 pictures with the same timestamp right down to the second, which I can't believe. Pointing it out my window with the infinite burst mode, it took 84 pictures in 38 seconds (based on the timestamps) using full MF settings and JPEG 2560 (1.5mb each). I suppose that smaller sized pictures would be even faster.

Sandisks' have a lifetime replacement warranty. The current retail packaging of the Ultra III's include a recovery data program on CD, a nice little soft zippered case with a key ring to put spare SD cards into, and the standard plastic carry case. After rebate ($15) and shipping ($9) the card cost me $110.

There seems to be a general shortage of high speed and high capacity SD cards since Xmas.....

[indiawala]

Get a couple of 512MB Kingmax 66X Hi Speed Cards (2 512's are better than a 1GB, just in case you lose a card or one goes corrupt...like cards are bound to eventually...you still have a spare). The FZ20 needs a max of 9mb/s write...or a little less...anything more than that is overkill. The kingmax gives you upto 10mb/s. With this card you can shoot using infinity burst mode till the card fills up...no hesitation...no stops...no slow down...nothing...just pure shooting fun. Its great for burst, auto bracket, tiff transfers (although why really shoot in tiff anyway...save space and shoot in the highest resolution JPEG...its almost the same quality).

hope this helps

seth

[Calchan]

If you're looking at maximum write speed, and you should for a digicam, you can forget those 66x or Hi-Speed or whatever flashy stickers on your SD cards. They only refer to read speed.

Google for VFSmark. It's a benchmarking application for a certain kind of PDA. It gives an overall score for the performance of the card you test, as well as details concerning read and write speeds, access times etc... Do not take PDA users' opinions into account, they're mostly interested in read speed (which is OK in their case). Manufacturer's specs are also to be ignored, as they do not represent real world performances. You'll find results databases in a couple places on the net, look at the 'VFS write' score. Make sure to compare speeds on the same PDA device, as they don't all perform the same.

You'll find out that the fastest writing cards are by far the Corsair 40x, then Panasonic quite a bit slower. The Panasonic cards are also well known for being very (the most ?) reliable, but also very expensive. The Corsair 40x are normally priced (i.e. not more expensive than Sandisk, Lexar or Kingmax, sometimes even less) and write up to 5 or 10 times faster than even well known 66x or other Ultra cards.

Bottom line : do not listen to anybody who tells you brand X or Y is the best (that's including me), check the numbers yourself according to your needs.

[genece]

I would not put much stock in a benchmark test for anything ,but if you do make sure it is for the device you are going to use it in.
After following the speed in the FZ cameras for well over a year, while there are cards as fast there are none faster in the FZ10 or 20 than the Panasonic. That said I have not tried a Corsair.

[ssidlov]

If you're looking at maximum write speed, and you should for a digicam, you can forget those 66x or Hi-Speed or whatever flashy stickers on your SD cards. They only refer to read speed.



You are correct except for the Sandisk Extreme III cards. Most cards do have slower write speeds. However, the Extreme III's have the same write and read speeds: 20mbs. http://www.sandisk.com/retail/ext3-sd.asp Lifetime replacement warranty, so if it goes bad, I'll get a new one. The recovery software that comes with the card is excellent, and found all the photos after a deletion and a format of the card by the camera.

It may be overkill, but I like thie card over the 256mb one that I had been using. BTW, this card doesn't come in a smaller size.

[Ronin005]

i recently purchased Kingston 512MB Elite Pro High-Speed SD Card 35 dollars after rebate and now its slighty cheaper.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=82032-1