{"id":1585,"date":"2013-04-03T15:56:19","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T15:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davstott.me.uk\/?p=1585"},"modified":"2013-04-03T15:56:19","modified_gmt":"2013-04-03T15:56:19","slug":"digital-cameras-and-memory-card-speeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davstott.me.uk\/index.php\/2013\/04\/03\/digital-cameras-and-memory-card-speeds\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital cameras and memory card speeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Digital cameras often have a rapid shoot mode, where they take still photographs as quickly as they can. I always thought that the maximum rate was limited by the camera’s internal hardware, but after reading Jeff Atwood’s comments on modern USB Flash drive performance<\/a>, I wondered how significant the memory card’s speed is.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, it matters a lot. A modern memory card totally transforms my camera’s performance, letting it shoot at full speed for as long as my finger rests on the trigger.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"My

My Panasonic GF1<\/p><\/div>\n

My larger camera is a Panasonic GF1, the most compact of the first generation of Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds range. It’s a few years old, Panasonic are currently up to their 5th generation GF range<\/a>, but I’m still very happy with mine. It’s got a good selection of lenses, it was small and sturdy enough to survive a walking trip through the Swiss Alps and I can take reasonably good photographs with it. If I’d ever wished for an improvement, it would be that its rapid fire mode doesn’t come close to a full SLR’s paparazzi mode. <\/p>\n

\"Left:

Left: old and busted. Right: new hotness<\/p><\/div>\n

SD card speeds<\/a> are generally rated as Class x, where x is typically 2, 4 or 10, which roughly corresponds to that number of Mb\/s. When I got my camera, I got the cheapest but branded 16Gb SD card I could find, which turned out to be a Sandisk Class 2 SDHC. They’re harder to find these days, but the Class 4 version is a bit less than \u00c2\u00a39. <\/p>\n

I’ve just bought myself a new SD card that’s a little bit faster. Alright, it’s a lot faster. The SD card class ratings stop at 10Mb \/ second, but the UHS Class 1<\/a> SanDisk Extreme Pro (other brands of SD card are available) is rated at a maximum throughput of 95Mb \/ second, although it costs about \u00c2\u00a330.<\/p>\n