SDHC Class 4, Class 6 or Class 10 for a HMC150? at DVinfo.net

Ben Tolosa · October 12th, 2009, 12:45 AM

Hi there!

Quick question:

I went to the local electronics store to get a SDHC card for my HMC150. I read in the camera's manual that supports Class 4 memories so I was going to buy one, but the package says the supports Standard HD. My goal is to shoot in 1080p/24p, so I believe Class 4 will not work for such purpose. Am I right?

Do I need either class 6 or class 10?

They have a 4GB class 10 for 49.99... ScanDisk Extreme I think it is. Pricey?

Thanks very much for your input!!

Regards,

Ben Tolosa

Jurij Turnsek · October 12th, 2009, 04:22 AM

class 6 is more than enough AFAIK. class 10 is overkill, as is sandisk. get transcend.

Larry Horwitz · October 12th, 2009, 08:23 AM

I would believe the camera manufacturer's manual and get a Class 4 or Class 6 card from a reputable manufacturer. I wsould get a 6 only if I doubted the manufacturer's claims, just to be safe.

1080p AVCHD camcorders are NOT the most stressful when it comes to record and playback since h.264 is extremely compressed. I have a couple 720p cameras which encode in MJPEG which record at a much higher rate and fill a card much more quickly. These truly require the faster 6 or 10 cards.

I have also had good experience with the Transcend cards (from Newegg) with my Canon AVCHD camcorder.

Larry

Ben Tolosa · October 17th, 2009, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jurij Turnsek

class 6 is more than enough AFAIK. class 10 is overkill, as is sandisk. get transcend.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Horwitz

I would believe the camera manufacturer's manual and get a Class 4 or Class 6 card from a reputable manufacturer. I wsould get a 6 only if I doubted the manufacturer's claims, just to be safe.

1080p AVCHD camcorders are NOT the most stressful when it comes to record and playback since h.264 is extremely compressed. I have a couple 720p cameras which encode in MJPEG which record at a much higher rate and fill a card much more quickly. These truly require the faster 6 or 10 cards.

I have also had good experience with the Transcend cards (from Newegg) with my Canon AVCHD camcorder.

Larry

Thanks very much to both of you. I just bought a Class 6 SDHC card.

THANKS AGAIN!!

Ben Tolosa

Stuart Robinson · October 17th, 2009, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Horwitz

1080p AVCHD camcorders are NOT the most stressful when it comes to record and playback since h.264 is extremely compressed. I have a couple 720p cameras which encode in MJPEG which record at a much higher rate and fill a card much more quickly. These truly require the faster 6 or 10 cards.

I have also had good experience with the Transcend cards (from Newegg) with my Canon AVCHD camcorder.

Worth noting for other readers is that a class 6 card is required for the 24MB/s recording modes on some Canon AVCHD camcorders, including the HF S100, HF S10 and HF S11.

Bruce Foreman · October 17th, 2009, 07:15 PM

Also worth noting is the warning that Class (10) cards don't work with video on some cameras that have 17Mbps or higher bitrates. Some have tried them in HF100's and found they worked ONLY AT THE LOWER quality settings.

I use Sandisk Class (6) in both my HF100's and in my Canon T1i.

Larry Horwitz · October 18th, 2009, 01:06 PM

The User Manual for the HMC150 (on page 32) states, just as Ben originally posted, that a Class 4 card was recommended for the highest rate ("PH" mode) recordings, and I have included a clip of that page for reference below. Hence my earlier suggestion.

It did strike me as a bit low, all considered, but Panasonic must be confident that this Class 4 speed achieves the required performance. It is indeed true that some if not most of 24Mbit/sec camcorders prefer / demand Class 6 cards, and the small cost penalty may be worth it as extra "insurance" against some type of recording errors / issues.

Larry

Denny Lajeunesse · October 19th, 2009, 04:36 AM

Not to mention that a higher speed card means less transfer time when dumping footage. (Well, if your card reader is up to snuff).

Also, if the magic video fairy were to instill upon us a divine firmware update with an intra 50/100 codec etc, a class 10 card would probably be able to handle it.

OK, a man can have dreams can't he.

Ben Tolosa · October 22nd, 2009, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Horwitz

The User Manual for the HMC150 (on page 32) states, just as Ben originally posted, that a Class 4 card was recommended for the highest rate ("PH" mode) recordings, and I have included a clip of that page for reference below. Hence my earlier suggestion.

It did strike me as a bit low, all considered, but Panasonic must be confident that this Class 4 speed achieves the required performance. It is indeed true that some if not most of 24Mbit/sec camcorders prefer / demand Class 6 cards, and the small cost penalty may be worth it as extra "insurance" against some type of recording errors / issues.

Larry

Thanks very much Larry!!

Precisely, I have got a 'ScanDisk Video HD - High Performance Video SDHC Card - up tp 15 MB/s - 120 minutes (HD Std Quality) - 8 GB - Class 6'

And thanks to all for your input!!

Ben Tolosa

Predrag Vasic · October 25th, 2009, 12:14 PM

The math on the SDHC cards is fairly simple:

Class 2 = 2MBps (16Mbps)
Class 4 = 4MBps (32Mbps)
Class 6 = 6MBps (48Mbps)
Class 10=10Mbps (80Mbps)

AVCHD tops out at 24Mbps, which is 3MBps. Note the difference between MegaBytes and Megabits. It is often the main source of confusion when discussing card speeds and camcorder bitrates.

Jurij Turnsek · October 26th, 2009, 03:34 AM

That is theory. Usually no name brand cards fail to provide the minimum writing speed they advertise. A little bit of headroom for no glitches is adviseable.

Marc Myers · October 27th, 2009, 12:18 PM

Very true, lots of folks over in the Sony Cine-Alta forum using SDHC cards in their Sony Ex-1/3's have had trouble. They buy cards that work fine. Then buy the same manufacturer again and does not work fine. Lesson is that even buying by brand does not insure reliability. I also see no reason to be cheap in this regard. the card I walk out the door with is worth a couple of bucks. The card I come back with is worth the whole job.

October 12th, 2009, 12:45 AM	#1
Ben Tolosa Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Hartford, VT Posts: 201	SDHC Class 4, Class 6 or Class 10 for a HMC150? Hi there! Quick question: I went to the local electronics store to get a SDHC card for my HMC150. I read in the camera's manual that supports Class 4 memories so I was going to buy one, but the package says the supports Standard HD. My goal is to shoot in 1080p/24p, so I believe Class 4 will not work for such purpose. Am I right? Do I need either class 6 or class 10? They have a 4GB class 10 for 49.99... ScanDisk Extreme I think it is. Pricey? Thanks very much for your input!! Regards, Ben Tolosa

October 18th, 2009, 01:06 PM	#7
Larry Horwitz Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Eggertsville, NY Posts: 528	The User Manual for the HMC150 (on page 32) states, just as Ben originally posted, that a Class 4 card was recommended for the highest rate ("PH" mode) recordings, and I have included a clip of that page for reference below. Hence my earlier suggestion. It did strike me as a bit low, all considered, but Panasonic must be confident that this Class 4 speed achieves the required performance. It is indeed true that some if not most of 24Mbit/sec camcorders prefer / demand Class 6 cards, and the small cost penalty may be worth it as extra "insurance" against some type of recording errors / issues. Larry Attached Thumbnails

October 25th, 2009, 12:14 PM	#10
Predrag Vasic Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Manhattan Posts: 131	The SDHC class math The math on the SDHC cards is fairly simple: Class 2 = 2MBps (16Mbps) Class 4 = 4MBps (32Mbps) Class 6 = 6MBps (48Mbps) Class 10=10Mbps (80Mbps) AVCHD tops out at 24Mbps, which is 3MBps. Note the difference between MegaBytes and Megabits. It is often the main source of confusion when discussing card speeds and camcorder bitrates.

October 12th, 2009, 04:22 AM	#2
Jurij Turnsek Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Slovenia Posts: 47	class 6 is more than enough AFAIK. class 10 is overkill, as is sandisk. get transcend.

October 12th, 2009, 08:23 AM	#3
Larry Horwitz Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Eggertsville, NY Posts: 528	I would believe the camera manufacturer's manual and get a Class 4 or Class 6 card from a reputable manufacturer. I wsould get a 6 only if I doubted the manufacturer's claims, just to be safe. 1080p AVCHD camcorders are NOT the most stressful when it comes to record and playback since h.264 is extremely compressed. I have a couple 720p cameras which encode in MJPEG which record at a much higher rate and fill a card much more quickly. These truly require the faster 6 or 10 cards. I have also had good experience with the Transcend cards (from Newegg) with my Canon AVCHD camcorder. Larry

October 17th, 2009, 07:15 PM	#6
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	Also worth noting is the warning that Class (10) cards don't work with video on some cameras that have 17Mbps or higher bitrates. Some have tried them in HF100's and found they worked ONLY AT THE LOWER quality settings. I use Sandisk Class (6) in both my HF100's and in my Canon T1i.

October 19th, 2009, 04:36 AM	#8
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	Not to mention that a higher speed card means less transfer time when dumping footage. (Well, if your card reader is up to snuff). Also, if the magic video fairy were to instill upon us a divine firmware update with an intra 50/100 codec etc, a class 10 card would probably be able to handle it. OK, a man can have dreams can't he.

October 26th, 2009, 03:34 AM	#11
Jurij Turnsek Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Slovenia Posts: 47	That is theory. Usually no name brand cards fail to provide the minimum writing speed they advertise. A little bit of headroom for no glitches is adviseable.

October 27th, 2009, 12:18 PM	#12
Marc Myers Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Long Island, NY and Northeast PA Posts: 132	Very true, lots of folks over in the Sony Cine-Alta forum using SDHC cards in their Sony Ex-1/3's have had trouble. They buy cards that work fine. Then buy the same manufacturer again and does not work fine. Lesson is that even buying by brand does not insure reliability. I also see no reason to be cheap in this regard. the card I walk out the door with is worth a couple of bucks. The card I come back with is worth the whole job.