SDHC card compatibility for K20D

What SDHC cards can the K20D handle. Is there a limit on capacity or speed?
I'm asking because I've seen the new 45MB/s cards. There's no point in buying one if the camera can't take advantage of the speed.

Thanks

I know very little about memory cards, but my question to you would be why do you need a card that fast?

I guess to facilitate transfer of data to the PC at higher speeds and for use with video shooting.

I don't personally buy fast cards and find that keeping to no larger than 4GB the transfer time to PC is reasonable enough.

If it's an SDHC card, should be OK. Last firmware update was a while back before the SDXC standard cards were available.

Class 6 cards should be more than adequate for a K20's needs (and ability to write to memory)

I wouldn't bother paying the premium for the fastest card as Steve mentions the Class 6 cards are fast enough for the K20D & probably the K5 too.

Simon

I have upgraded to class 10 from class 6 & the only difference on my gx20 is i can shoot 24 frames before the buffer fills compared to 21 frames using class 6 cards.

If you are shooting sports then those three frames could make a difference...

I haven't tested the difference between C6 and C10 cards on my K20D, but the C10 cards certainly make a difference on the K-5.

I have found that the K10D slows down with a Class 6 card. I only did a test with a basic card, didn't feel confident enough to shoot with it.

I started with 20MB/s Extreme III cards then moved to 30MB/s versions and now have the 45MB/s Extreme Pros. No difference in performance camera wise between the 20 and the 45 just faster getting things onto my PC.

It's probably worth mentioning that unfortunately comparison between manufacturers using the "class" system doesn't seem to be too useful - some class 10 cards are reported as been slower than other class 6 cards. Personally I stick with the Sandisk Extreme cards so I know what I'm getting

In my K-5 I started with a Sandisk Extreme III Class 6 4GB card, but then I bought one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcend-16GB-SDHC-Class-Memory/dp/B002WE4HE2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299436026&sr=8-2 and it makes a noticeable difference when I move the files from the card onto the laptop. The camera writes seem faster too, but not a huge difference. The price for fast big cards has certainly come down a lot.

I have a class 10 lexar that works with the k10.... not really noticed any differences... but video files off the go-pros was blazingingly fast transfers...

the SD reader is normally the limitation here, followed by the disk. I think I can get around 30MB/sec with whatever card I choose - extreme III SDs or CFs - and the limit is the reader.

Video only needs 10MB/sec, which is why I have two 32GB Ultra IIs for that and Extreme IIIs for stills.


USB: 30MB/sec
eSATA: 50-100MB/sec

consistent transfer rates over several Terabytes...

Bret

Don't confuse SD class with SDHC class. They are very different, a class 6 Extreme III 4GB is actually a 30Mb/s card. Where as an SDHC class 6 is a 6MB/s card.

Your camera maybe not but your computer might.

SDHC and everything with a Class classification should be beneficial in the camera.

USH-I speeds are faster than that the camera can write or read but it might shorten the upload times to your computer and future camera's should support it.
Don't forgot that your SD card will probably at last the camera...

SDHC is the save bet so up to 32GB, SDXC are physically the same so they might work but maybe also not, it depends on the firmware of the camera not the hardware.




Now that we are talking about SDXC, i've a small question about that.
For the K5/Kr users, does the camera support exFAT or does it only support FAT?

FAT. 4GB limitation on full HD videos is at 5min or so, 10min.30sec with 720p.

Bret