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Which SD Card for K3

Snappyhoffy
Posted 14/03/2019 - 11:13 Link
I am getting ready for an extended trip and conscious that I need to upgrade storage in my trusty K3.

What are the best options (size and speed) to purchase. I will consider purchasing 2 - 1 for JPG and second drive for RAW.
'Life looks simple through a viewfinder'.....then I went Digital!
Keith
K3 III, DA* 16-50, HD DA 16-85, DA* 50-135, DA* 300, HD 55-300 PLM, HD 1.4x, AF360
richandfleur
Posted 14/03/2019 - 12:18 Link
Do you often shoot a lot in fast bursts?

If so you would want to purchase more expensive faster write speed SD cards. This really does help to clear the K-3 buffer more quickly, so you are ready to go again earlier.

If this doesn’t sound like the type of shooting you do (eg you shoot more landscapes/portraits than birds/sport) then cheaper cards may be suitable.

I personally prefer Sandisk Extreme cards, but others will have good experiences with others as well. Samsung offer some good value vs performance options too.

Would suggest a second backup option if travelling for a long time too, such as a small portable hard drive etc.

Sorry just overview thoughts here. All the best for the journey.
Edited by richandfleur: 14/03/2019 - 12:18
Snappyhoffy
Posted 14/03/2019 - 12:22 Link
Thanks.

The concerns I have is the speed it takes to 'Read' a file to view back the last image. I presume that this is due to using a relatively cheap card and only a single card for JPG and RAW saving.

Is the speed of card relevant to the 'Read' component?

What is the maximum size of card that the K3 can access?

I am taking a laptop as well for archiving.
'Life looks simple through a viewfinder'.....then I went Digital!
Keith
K3 III, DA* 16-50, HD DA 16-85, DA* 50-135, DA* 300, HD 55-300 PLM, HD 1.4x, AF360
Mike-P
Posted 14/03/2019 - 14:09 Link
Snappyhoffy
Posted 14/03/2019 - 14:17 Link
Perfect information... thanks so much!
'Life looks simple through a viewfinder'.....then I went Digital!
Keith
K3 III, DA* 16-50, HD DA 16-85, DA* 50-135, DA* 300, HD 55-300 PLM, HD 1.4x, AF360
ilovesaabs
Posted 14/03/2019 - 22:39 Link
Sandisk Extreme Pro are so inexpensive these days and the 95 mb/S will be more than sufficient. I actually don't bother checking which card goes in (I've got cards of varying ages) and they all work very well. The info in the link Mike provided is very useful as it tells you how big the buffer is - a good deal bigger than eg the equivalent Nikon (D7100/D7200)....
AKA Welshwizard/PWynneJ
Assorted Pentax/Nikon/Mamiya stuff
Jonathan-Mac
Posted 15/03/2019 - 08:06 Link
I have found a great difference in time to write files to the card between a Sandisk 80 MB/s and a 90 MB/s so now I only buy 90s. I use 64 GB cards these days, they fit plenty and can be had for under €20.

Always buy a reputable brand from a reputable dealer as there are apparently a lot of fakes out there. My cards are mostly Sandisk but I just got a Transcend which seems to perform well.

My second card is always a 32GB Toshiba FlashAir, to add wifi funcionality.
Pentax hybrid user - Digital K3, film 645 and 35mm SLR and Pentax (&other) lenses adapted to Fuji X and Panasonic L digital
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses
JohnX
Posted 15/03/2019 - 09:36 Link
I always get nervous when I read that people plan to use big capacity cards and don't mention backing them up.

I have a large collection of small capacity cards. I shoot, remove and backup the card, then store the card separately. I do this at least once per day.

I'd hate to find a card failure costing me a lot of memories. True, never happened, but....

No problem with using big cards, provided you back them up at least daily.

Cards are relatively cheap, especially when compared against the cost of the trip, etc.
Edited by JohnX: 15/03/2019 - 09:37
Jonathan-Mac
Posted 18/03/2019 - 16:24 Link
I usually have the most important images transferred via wifi to my phone anyway, so backing up is less of a problem. Certainly it's not a reason against using large capacity cards.
Pentax hybrid user - Digital K3, film 645 and 35mm SLR and Pentax (&other) lenses adapted to Fuji X and Panasonic L digital
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses

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