Memory Card Question at DVinfo.net

Ryan Creason · July 8th, 2011, 11:12 AM

Hey everyone,

I was wanting a little clarification on what SDHC card I would need with this camera. AVCHD is up to 28Mbps with 60p, so I would need one at least that then. I found some that say 30Mbps (10Mbps guaranteed). Does that mean they don't always perform at 30Mbps?

Would this card work?

Amazon.com: Sandisk 32 GB Extreme SDHC Cards (SDSDX3-032G-A31): Electronics

Excuse my ignorance on this and thanks in advance for the answers :)

John Mastrogiacomo · July 8th, 2011, 01:20 PM

I was wanting a little clarification on what SDHC card I would need with this camera. AVCHD is up to 28Mbps with 60p, so I would need one at least that then. I found some that say 30Mbps (10Mbps guaranteed). Does that mean they don't always perform at 30Mbps?

Would this card work?
Amazon.com: Sandisk 32 GB Extreme SDHC Cards (SDSDX3-032G-A31): Electronics

The Sandisk 32 GB Extreme will work fine. There is a big difference between 30 Mbps and 30 MB per second. Use class 10 SDHC cards for 60p and you should be good to go.

Here is a link to get you up to date on the speeds of SD cards.
Secure Digital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Galen Rath · July 8th, 2011, 08:13 PM

What's confusing are the abbreviations Mbps (Mbits/second) and MBps (megabytes/second), the capital B, little b have to be observed. You can get a class 10 card rated at 20MBps, it will work for everthing including quick/slow recording on the FS100.

Dave Sperling · July 9th, 2011, 07:54 AM

As stated elsewhere in the forum, also somewhat confusing are the class ratings of the cards, which seem to mean different things to different manufacturers. The thing to remember is to fully test your cards before using them, since read and write speeds may be very different on the same card, and some manufacturers seem to change product specs during the manufacturing life of a card. I also have some doubts about qc as well... For instance, I have a couple of 32GB Class 10 cards from the same manufacturer (bought from a reputable supplier at the same time) that seem to have very different write speeds - to the extent that, after some initial testing, one was immediately relegated to my still camera while the other has been great for video.

Matt Davis · July 13th, 2011, 02:14 PM

It's like the days of using SDHC cards with the Sony PMW-EX1.

Each card you buy needs to be popped in a camera pointed at a TV set playing something energetic. Record off the screen at a fast framerate using S&Q for the duration of the card. The TV pictures stress the codec.

Rinse and repeat a couple of times. If there are no problems, the card is good to use.

On the EX1, the time it took the card activity light to change from green to red after the start-stop button was pressed to stop was a good base indicator of the card's suitability. I don't think we have an analogue for the FS100 yet.

Class 6 cards will work in S&Q mode IF YOU GET A GOOD BATCH. I was lucky. Since then I've bought Class 10 for both my EX1s and my FS100.

July 8th, 2011, 11:12 AM	#1
Ryan Creason Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Corvallis, Oregon Posts: 39	Memory Card Question Hey everyone, I was wanting a little clarification on what SDHC card I would need with this camera. AVCHD is up to 28Mbps with 60p, so I would need one at least that then. I found some that say 30Mbps (10Mbps guaranteed). Does that mean they don't always perform at 30Mbps? Would this card work? Amazon.com: Sandisk 32 GB Extreme SDHC Cards (SDSDX3-032G-A31): Electronics Amazon.com: Sandisk 32 GB Extreme SDHC Cards (SDSDX3-032G-A31): Electronics Excuse my ignorance on this and thanks in advance for the answers :)

July 8th, 2011, 01:20 PM	#2
John Mastrogiacomo Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 85	Re: Memory Card Question I was wanting a little clarification on what SDHC card I would need with this camera. AVCHD is up to 28Mbps with 60p, so I would need one at least that then. I found some that say 30Mbps (10Mbps guaranteed). Does that mean they don't always perform at 30Mbps? Would this card work? Amazon.com: Sandisk 32 GB Extreme SDHC Cards (SDSDX3-032G-A31): Electronics The Sandisk 32 GB Extreme will work fine. There is a big difference between 30 Mbps and 30 MB per second. Use class 10 SDHC cards for 60p and you should be good to go. Here is a link to get you up to date on the speeds of SD cards. Secure Digital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

July 8th, 2011, 08:13 PM	#3
Galen Rath Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Illinois Posts: 323	Re: Memory Card Question What's confusing are the abbreviations Mbps (Mbits/second) and MBps (megabytes/second), the capital B, little b have to be observed. You can get a class 10 card rated at 20MBps, it will work for everthing including quick/slow recording on the FS100.

July 9th, 2011, 07:54 AM	#4
Dave Sperling Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tinton Falls, NJ Posts: 780	Re: Memory Card Question As stated elsewhere in the forum, also somewhat confusing are the class ratings of the cards, which seem to mean different things to different manufacturers. The thing to remember is to fully test your cards before using them, since read and write speeds may be very different on the same card, and some manufacturers seem to change product specs during the manufacturing life of a card. I also have some doubts about qc as well... For instance, I have a couple of 32GB Class 10 cards from the same manufacturer (bought from a reputable supplier at the same time) that seem to have very different write speeds - to the extent that, after some initial testing, one was immediately relegated to my still camera while the other has been great for video.

July 13th, 2011, 02:14 PM	#5
Matt Davis Trustee Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 1,562	Re: Memory Card Question It's like the days of using SDHC cards with the Sony PMW-EX1. Each card you buy needs to be popped in a camera pointed at a TV set playing something energetic. Record off the screen at a fast framerate using S&Q for the duration of the card. The TV pictures stress the codec. Rinse and repeat a couple of times. If there are no problems, the card is good to use. On the EX1, the time it took the card activity light to change from green to red after the start-stop button was pressed to stop was a good base indicator of the card's suitability. I don't think we have an analogue for the FS100 yet. Class 6 cards will work in S&Q mode IF YOU GET A GOOD BATCH. I was lucky. Since then I've bought Class 10 for both my EX1s and my FS100. __________________ Director/Editor - MDMA Ltd: Write, Shoot, Edit, Publish - mattdavis.pro EX1 x2, C100 --> FCPX & PPro6