When I first got my HF10, I found a good price on a Class 6 card. The manual says it can handle any card from Class 4 up. I know there are benefits to getting a faster card for my still camera but I am trying to figure out if there is any real advantage to paying the extra and going with the Class 6 card other than the speed of capturing the video for Final Cut.

One reason I got the class 6 was because I am "one of those" who doesn't like to use the minimum specs and figuring if the manufacturer is a little off, I might have problems. By having a class 6, I should have more lee-way if they are off on the spec. A little paranoid I know.

With the difference in price, I am starting to judge with my wallet and wondering if I really need anything more than a Class 4.

Bryan

Well, class 4 should guarantee 4MBps, which equals to 32Mbps. Your HF-10 maxes out a 17Mbps, so you've got plenty of overhead.

The only time you might see the difference is if you use a USB 9or built-in) card reader; since USB has the speed limit of 480Mbps, your files would copy faster if you had a class 6 (48Mbps), vs. class 4.

The only benefits will be as a hedge against the future since the next thing always seems to need larger memories at faster speeds. Even the HF Sx series which shoot at 24mps will work with speed 4 as my 32GB cards are all this. I use 16GB Speed 6 cards as well and have noticed no difference. Perhaps it might be faster in writting the photo data if you hit the photo buttom while filming, but how many photos do you really need to take back to bak while filming the same thing? Especially since you can do the same thing while watching the playback on the camcorder. If it was me, if the price was close, I'd get the faster card. If its a big difference then I'd be more inclined to just get the class 4.

Thanks guys...This helped alot.