Extreme Poll

A recent link to an SDHC card offer reminded me that I had been meaning to ask the following question.

I use class 10 cards - most of which are Sandisk Extreme or similar.

Sandisk (and others) now sell multiple versions of class 10 cards. Sandisk for instance sells:

Extreme Class 10 80 MB/s
Extreme Plus Class 10 80 MB/s
Extreme Pro Class 10 95 MB/s

The Plus costs around 20% more than the Extreme and the Pro around 25% more.

I can not see any difference between Extreme and Plus other than the premium price.

Clearly for an additional 25% with the Pro - you are getting a card that is in theory 18.75% faster than the standard Extreme.

Questions:

1. Is there a difference between Extreme and Plus or is this just a nice little earner that the Sandisk marketing team have come up with?

2. Do you use the Pro version? In the real world - do you notice any difference?


Until convinced otherwise - I can not see any point in paying the extra for these versions. Am I alone in this? - as the poll says - how extreme are you?

Carl

I have an extreme pro only because some one selling it cheap second hand cant say noticed a difference

Another unanswerable poll.

I use Integral Ultra Pro 16MB SDHC cards. I've got about 10 of them. Some are class 6 others are class 10. I just looked and the class 10 version says upto 23MB/s

I've never noticed the class 6 version being any slower.

I think the Extreme Class 10 80 MB/s was renamed Extreme Plus Class 10 80 MB/s. The Extreme Pro Class 10 95 MB/s is just a little bit faster. To get the extra speed benefit from these cards your camera has to be UHS compatable. The K5 for example is not and the Extreme 45 MB/s would be just as good.
Class 10 means minimum write speed of 10MB/s. The other figure is the read speed which is higher then the write speed, the Extreme Pro Class 10 95 MB/s is quoted as upto 95MB/s read and 90 MB/s write.

Can't comment directly on those particular cards but as screwdriver222 says it is as much about the camera you have as it is about the cards.

I use a K-x and have shot over a thousand times fast moving karts or planes..almost entirely on single not continuous shooting mode. I used to use a Fuji class 6 then got a Sandisk Ultra class 10. Shooting on the highest JPEG quality setting my file sizes per image are between 5-6MB. Using the Fuji class 6 I could only take about 3 shots within a 2 second interval before the camera stopped working whilst it saved to the card. Using the Sandisk Ultra class 10..it was very slightly better...or at least I perceived it to be so..I didn't actually time it..it could be wishful thinking ...but about 4 shots within 4-5 seconds before it cut out again. The other variable to consider is the batteries you use. I generally use Ansmann 1.2v NimH 2850mAh..i do wonder whether using Lithium AA might increase the shooting/saving performance.

I should imagine that if using a 20-24MP sensor and saving a file size per image of
12-15MB then you might benefit from a really fast card if shooting sport/ aircraft/ cars etc but most people most of the time probably don't need to pay extra for this level of performance and if you are shooting landscapes then probably a class 6 is perfectly adequate.

Just my thoughts.

I've used Sandisk Ultra and Extreme and haven't noticed much difference in camera. Getting images off onto the laptop though is much faster with the quicker cards. I always take the card out of the camera and use the card reader on the laptop, rather than plug the camera into USB.

Mine just list as class 10 Extreme 45 mb/s. Never had issues with cards and transfer back to PC not an issue as I put the kettle on or do something else. I always transfer by cable from my K5 to PC.

In camera use the buffer seems efficient enough with a bit of a wait to see previews if I've been going mad with fleeting wildlife. I doubt buying much dearer cards would make any difference that mattered.

I don't do video so stick with 16gb cards.I might review this if i eventually get a K3 or similar.

The Speed restrictions are in the camera.
My K5 with the same card as used in my X-5 is a lot slower when using the cable download than with the X-5.

I suppose you can get some speed advantage with some cards, if you use the latest external download device.

However your computer , depending on its age , also has some speed restrictions.

Just make a cup of tea or coffee. That solves the speed problem.

Regards, Horst