Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Lexar’s New 256GB SDXC UHS-I Card is $900

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Lexar announced a new 256GB SDXC UHS-I memory card at Photokina 2012.  While Lexar get’s the claim the world’s largest SD card for a short time, the new card will retail for $900 when it arrives in stores next month.

The new card offers a minimum guaranteed read speed of 60MB/s; however, Lexar is mum on the write speed, only saying that it is slower.  Of course, the Class 10 certification means that it will handle HD video from any camera that uses SD cards, which is most likely the only real purpose for using a card this big . . . for now.

In the mean time, you can pick up a 128GB card from Lexar’s same 400X Pro line for $120.

 

Lexar Jumps on XQD Memory Card Bandwagon

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XQD Memory Card

Lexar will begin supporting the XQD memory card format this year.  Lexar has plans to bring XQD cards to market in third quarter 2012.

Currently, the only camera supporting the XQD format is the Nikon D4 and Sony is the only XQD card manufacturer with cards on store shelves, including Sony’s second batch of new S Series 168MB/s cards that are available for pre-order.

No word on pricing, but expect Lexar to be in the same ballpark as Sony during these early months of availability – with Sony starting at $130 for a 16GB card (an H Series at 125MB/s).

Maybe Lexar has word on “future XQD-based camera models” mentioned in its press release that will increase demand for the new format.  My money is on the next Sony full frame model (the A99?) to feature at least one XQD card slot.  Expect to hear more about XQD format support (SanDisk, Kingston?) and new camera models in the coming weeks as we lead up to Photokina 2012.

Check out Lexar’s full press release on upcoming XQD card support below. [Read more…]

Don’t Buy Anything Less Than a Class 10 SD Card

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No More Slow Memory Cards

I’ve seen a lot of deals lately on Class 4 and Class 6 SD cards mixed in with deals on Class 10 SD cards.  The price difference between these classes of SD cards is now nominal and, as a result, there’s really  no reason you should buy a Class 4 SD card anymore.

The prevalence of this problem came to light recently when a friend brought his Canon 60D to me, stating that it wouldn’t record video for more than a couple of seconds.  My gut told me to check the SD card first thing.  And, sure enough, he had an old SanDisk Ultra Class 4 SDHC card in it.  I swapped it out with one of my SanDisk Class 10 SDHC cards and it worked like a charm.

He ordered a new Class 10 SDHC card that day.  His 60D has captured video just fine ever since.

If you don’t already know, the Class-ratings on SD cards relate to a minimum write speed. When recording HD video, you need a minimum-sustained write speed in order to dump the data off the camera and onto the card.  In many cameras today, Class 4 (4MB/s) and Class 6 (6MB/s) cards just can’t handle the data transfers.

Class 10 cards are currently the fastest rated for minimum write speeds available and will handle video capture for most, if not all, current HD video DSLRs and camcorders today.

If you want to know more about SD card speed ratings and classifications, check out my article on Demystifying SD Cards.

If you want an easy recommendation, go with SanDisk Extreme Class 10 SD cards.

Axtremex Unveils 120MB/s CF Card

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Axtremex

Axtremex Technology has announced a new CompactFlash card with an 800x speed rating, claiming 120MB/s read speeds and 95MB/s write speeds.  The card is UDMA Mode 7 compatible and runs $400 for a 128GB capacity.

Note that even faster speeds have been attained my mainstream manufacturers (see the 1000x Lexar CF card for 150MB/s read speeds); however, prices are much higher.

Details and availability for Axtremex CF cards at Nanoflash.net.

CompactFlash Assoc. Unveils XQD Memory Cards

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XQD Memory Card

The CompactFlash Association announced a new XQD standard for CF cards.  The new standard is based on the PCIe standard and should offer 125MB/s data transfer speeds out of the gate – with much faster possibilities later down the line.

Speed isn’t the only thing that has changed though.  The XQD cards (I’m guessing that’s what we’ll call them… but couldn’t we have stuck to only 2 letters?) are a completely different physical format, which means they won’t work in any current camera. [Read more…]

Sony Announces Fastest Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX

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Sony’s new Memory Stick is its fastest ever made, chalking up data transfer rates of 50MB/s.  Sony claims the new Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX is faster than the fastest UHS-I SD cards when used in Sony cameras.  However, I’m not aware of any Sony cameras that are UHS-I compliant in the first place.

The new 50MB/s Memory Sticks should be available this May at the same prices of the previous generation cards in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB flavors.  Look for them at B&H Photo.

More details in Sony’s press release below. [Read more…]