Debunking SD memory card claims

[GaryS]

This is a very interesting article from ExtremeTech, which looks at SD cards and their claimed speed ratings....

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2094711,00.asp

[Graystar]

I believe this test is flawed. They did not perform a fragmentation test. Fragmentation affects performance in a big way. Your super fast card might slow to a crawl when there's fragmentation. That's why SDHC cards carry a minimum performance rating.
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[oj88]

Would fragmentation still be an issue if I format my card in-camera after downloading the pics to my PC?

[Graystar]

The SD cards works like any disk storage system. Performance is best after a fresh formatting, but drops off as you start deleting some images but keep others. This creates the holes between the images you keep. That causes fragmentation.

So you can format the card, but also simply deleting the contents should be good enough. That's what I tend to do. After downloading a bunch of images I simply select Erase All and start over.

And remember...the speed issue is only an issue if you take movies or continuous shots. If you're just taking one image at a time then it's not an issue at all.
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[whisper74]

I would think it might help, but on Windows has anyone tried using the Disk Defragmenter on their memory cards? I know, formatting is probably much faster so it is probably a toss-up for one or the other..

[Graystar]

I've setup CameraWindow to start downloading when the camera is connected and to delete all images after downloading...so I never worry about fragmented memory.
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