With this article our site continues the whole cycle useful materials, the purpose of which will be to facilitate the choice of any product from thousands of options offered on the market. Agree, choosing a specific model of a device always takes a lot of time, which can be spent usefully. In today's material we will talk about choosing a memory card for a smartphone, tablet or camera.

Introduction

Flash memory is used in almost every electronic devices- both in personal computers and laptops in the form of SSD drives, and in mobile devices - in the form of internal memory and flash cards. The latter will be discussed in this article. Using a small card (their size has long allowed them to be used in the most compact and thin devices), you can increase the available memory of a smartphone, camera or tablet by many gigabytes, so you can carry more content with you - games, music, videos or books and magazines . In addition, the cost of high-capacity and fast memory cards today is lower than ever.

Memory cards are not as fast as USB flash drives, but their speeds have long reached a level that allows you to easily record 4K video on them, much less view it. But different models cards can vary greatly in their data writing and reading speeds - you will learn about this in the section dedicated to their characteristics. But it is worth noting that different devices can support cards of a certain maximum capacity - for example, cheap smartphones sometimes cannot work with microSD cards with a capacity of more than 32 GB. Also, don't expect new speed gains from an old camera by using a card with a higher speed class - it's likely that the card will run in a slower mode to ensure compatibility. To find out about support for specific speeds and memory card sizes, you need to refer to the official user manual of a particular device.

By 2015, the memory card industry had focused on just two types - SD and microSD. The former are more often used in photo and video cameras, sometimes in laptops; the latter are more often used with smartphones and tablets. Once upon a time there were many more types of cards - some of you may probably remember names like MMC, Memory Stick Duo or xD-Picture. Fortunately, this fragmentation is now gone - almost any device supports either SD or microSD cards (or even both formats). We will talk about their differences, as well as other important characteristics below.

Main characteristics of memory cards

As we already reported in the introduction, now almost the entire memory card market is occupied by models of two types - microSD. They are used in all possible electronic devices: cameras, smartphones, tablets, e-readers, GPS navigators and even some game consoles.

SD and microSD cards are divided into four generations. SD 1.0 generation cards supported volumes from 8 MB to 2 GB, SD 1.1 generation cards - up to 4 GB, SDHC - up to 32 GB, SDXC (the most advanced and expensive) - up to 2 TB. SDHC and SDXC cards cannot be used with SD 1.0 / SD 1.1 devices.

The main thing to remember is that a device that can handle a newer SD card standard will be able to handle older cards, but most likely not the other way around (more on this below).

Memory capacity, GB

Memory cards with a capacity of less than 16 GB are hardly worth buying - their cost has already dropped to a very low level, and 16 GB is not so much for high-quality photos and videos. If you plan to get serious about photography or video shooting, you'll probably want to use a card with at least 32GB of memory, or better yet, 128GB. If you just want to increase the memory of your smartphone, then 32 GB will be quite enough in most cases.

Data writing and reading speed

The write speed of a memory card may be very difficult for you. important parameter. The fact is that when taking photos and videos, cameras transfer the received data to the internal memory buffer, and from there the photos and videos are transferred to the card’s memory. If this buffer fills faster than the data can be written to the card (for example, when shooting in burst mode, when the camera takes a series of high-quality images), then it will simply be lost.

Read speed is not that important, but the higher it is, the faster you can work with the data that is recorded on the card. For example, if you want to watch high bitrate video on your tablet in FullHD or higher resolution, then you will need a pretty good card.

You can see examples of maximum and satisfactory card speeds below - in the " 10 best SD and microSD cards".

UHS interface support

UHS is a faster interface that is supported by more expensive SD and microSD memory cards. UHS-I allows you to transfer information at a speed of 50 MB/s or 104 MB/s, and UHS-II - at a speed of 156 MB/s or 312 MB/s.

Speed class

A designation of the form "Class x" or "Ux", which indicates the minimum standardized data transfer rate of a particular card. Memory cards can have the following speed classes:

Class 2 - at least 2 MB/s, you can record SD video.
Class 4 - at least 4 MB/s, you can record HD video or FullHD video.
Class 6 - at least 6 MB/s, you can record HD video or FullHD video.
Class 10 - at least 10 MB/s, high-quality FullHD video recording.
UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) - at least 10 MB/s, high-quality FullHD video recording.
UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) - at least 30 MB/s, video recording in resolution up to 4K.

In addition, manufacturers often designate the speed of their memory cards with a multiplier such as "100x" or "600x" in the name. Several of these multipliers correspond to speed classes (13x - Class 2, 26x - Class 4, 40x - Class 6, 66x - Class 10), and the fastest cards currently have a 633x multiplier and can transfer data at speeds of up to 95 MB/s .

Adapters included

Special adapters may be supplied with the memory card for use in devices that do not support its original type. In most cases, this is an SD adapter for microSD cards - a plastic housing for a microSD card that allows you to insert it into a slot for SD cards, which are much larger. If you plan to use one card on several devices that support different types, then the adapter included in the kit definitely won’t hurt.

USB card reader included

You can transfer captured photo and video files to a PC not only by connecting the camera itself - it is much more convenient and sometimes faster to use a special card reader that is inserted into the USB port of the computer. The presence of such a card reader in the kit is a very nice bonus, which usually does not cost too much.

10 best SD and microSD cards

An SD card that will do an excellent job of recording high-quality FullHD video and taking large photos in burst mode. Those who record 4K video will want to use models that are recommended by their camera manufacturer.

A cheaper SD model, which should also do an excellent job of recording FullHD video and taking high-quality photos.

Very fast and quite expensive model SD type, which can easily cope with recording 4K video and has a large enough capacity for its temporary storage.

A slightly faster SD card than the first two models on this list. It also does an excellent job of recording FullHD video and has twice the capacity.

The history of SD card development goes back more than 10 years. During this period, drives changed several generations, increased the maximum memory capacity, increased speed and became commonplace for the average technology user. Let's figure out how SDHC memory cards differ from SDXC and SD. We’ll also look at their characteristics and how to choose the right drive for your device.

SD drives are different from SDHC and SDXC.

The abbreviation SD stands for Secure Memory Card. This type of media has been produced since 1999. Of course, today no one uses cards in their original form for obvious reasons. Over time, the creators began to increase the characteristics and volume, releasing new generations, which will be discussed further.

The main difference, as mentioned above, is capacity. However, devices also differ in read/write speed and support across different devices (cameras, phones, etc.). There are 3 types in total:

SD High Capacity;

Let's look at the differences between SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards in all characteristics separately.

Volume difference

The oldest and most unclaimed type is MicroSD. The first generation holds only up to 2 GB of information (version 1.0) and up to 4 GB in version 1.1. These figures are currently extremely small for the modern consumer, given the size of the high-quality videos and photos that new smartphones and cameras produce. Such media may only be useful for transferring small files. It makes no sense to specifically purchase such media. FAT16 is used as the file system.

The second type is SDHC cards. They differ from regular SD ones in the increased amount of space and file system. Now the maximum capacity is up to 32 GB, using the FAT32 file system.

Most modern look- this is SD eXtended Capacity. The standard was officially released in 2009 and remains in demand to this day. Compared to the previous generation, the SDXC standard, which differs in volume, can accommodate up to 2 TB of information. File system - exFAT with support for formatting in FAT32.

Now you know the main difference between SDHC and SDXC memory cards, which is worth paying attention to when choosing a drive for your device.

Device and operating system support

As of 2017, the SD generation is supported by all devices that have the appropriate slot. All devices that only support the SD standard will not be able to read information from HC or XC media. Cameras and smartphones that support SD eXtended Capacity are compatible with all three generations. There is no backward compatibility.

SD can also differ from High Capacity and eXtended Capacity in terms of support by operating systems:

Due to exFAT, SDXC drives are not supported by the Windows XP operating system without installing a special update;
MacBook and Mac OS have supported SD eXtended Capacity since 2011;
flagship Android devices support SD eXtended Capacity. For all other smartphones and tablets you will need a special driver from Samsung.

Difference between Micro and Mini

Now let’s figure out how MicroSD and MicroSDHC memory cards differ from their Mini counterparts. As you might guess, the main difference lies in size. For compact equipment, a Mini version has been created, which is usually supported in smartphones (usually installed on the second SIM card slot). The difference between MicroSDHC, SDXC and SD is that they connect to the card reader without an adapter, while the Mini version requires an adapter.

Speed difference

Now let’s look at the differences between all SD, SDHC, SDXC memory cards in terms of information reading speed. Speed classes are marked on the case of each drive: 2 (from 2 MB/s), 4 (from 4 MB/s), 6 (from 6 MB/s), 10 (from 10 MB/s). The class designation indicates the minimum write speed, so in practice the performance of a single drive may be higher. Manufacturers indicate characteristics in Mb/s, and not according to the established classification. Also, SDHC and SDXC can support Ultra High Speed technology (up to 25 Mb/s).

When choosing a drive, pay attention to its type and capacity. SDHC and SDXC are relevant today. Also, before purchasing, check compatibility with the device for which you are purchasing the media to avoid incompatibility.

Users are often interested in information about the microSDHC memory card: how it differs from microSD and microSDXC. Secure Digital Memory devices are widely used as additional accessories for storing data on portable devices such as tablets, mobile phones, digital cameras and GPS navigation devices. SD, SDHC, and SDXC drives are secure digital memory cards, but they have certain differences that you need to understand to ensure optimal performance in your portable devices.

If the user is interested in what is the difference between the types of flash drives, then he will be interested to know that the SD memory card is the first generation of Secure Digital, which was developed to improve the MMC (MultiMediaCard) standard. SD drives were created primarily to provide more storage space for files on mobile phones. The MMC standard is also used for data storage. It is similar to microSD, but is considered obsolete because it cannot provide enough high speed transfer of information.

For those interested in the difference between microSD and microSDHC memory cards, it will be useful to know that the storage size of a regular SD cannot exceed 2 GB. As a rule, it has a standard physical size 11mm x 15mm. The maximum read and write speed for such a drive is 25 Mbit/s. This is a very decent speed considering the small physical size of the device. This card is mainly used on mobile phones to store photos, videos and applications. SDHC and SDXC drives appeared later.

Second and third generation SD

SDHC

An SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) card differs from a regular microSD in its more capacious information storage, the size of which can range from 4 to 32 GB. It is also a secure digital device with standard size 11mm x 15mm. The difference between SD and SDHC is a higher data transfer rate (for Secure Digital High Capacity it can range from 50 Mbit/s to 150 Mbit/s).

SDHC memory cards are in many ways identical to SD drives, but there are significant differences. Older SD card devices are not compatible with SDHC because the latter uses the FAT32 file system instead of FAT12, FAT16 and FAT16B. The difference between microSD and microSDHC is that the latter uses a more convenient file system. However, some of the older gadgets can still use the Secure Digital High Capacity standard after a firmware update. Devices that are originally designed for SDHC should recognize regular SD without problems. Prices for such drives may vary depending on the amount of memory.

SDXC

An SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) device can have a capacity from 32 GB to 2 TB and this is the main difference between SDHC and SDXC memory cards. Like other similar drives, the physical size is 11mm x 15mm. Data transfer speeds can vary from 50 to 312 Mbps. The speed potential of such a drive depends on the version of its design. Build 3.0 with UHS-1 (Ultra High Speed) bus can accelerate to 104 Mbps, and the more recent version 4.0 with UHS-2 reaches 312 Mbps. Prices for such drives can vary greatly depending on their capacity and speed. microSDHC and microSD devices are already considered obsolete standards in many countries. However, SD and SDHC memory cards are still popular.

Summary testing of 20 32 GB SDHC memory cards

Now, no matter what store you go to, there are a huge number of memory cards from various manufacturers on the shelves. They differ from each other in format, class and, ultimately, in the speed of reading and writing data. But how big is the difference in practice? This is what we will check in our new testing!

If you format the card using standard OS utilities or in a device that does not support the SDXC standard, it will end up with a different file system (for example, FAT32). The SD Association warns that the card will no longer be compatible with devices that support SDXC. Fortunately, for some card readers, cameras, etc. it is enough to update the driver or firmware.

⇡ Increase in speed: fast, faster, even faster!

Along with the capacity of memory cards, the data transfer speed also increased. In the early days of SD, it was measured in multipliers or “speeds.” One multiplier (or one “speed”) was equal to 150 KB/s - everything like CDs in their time. It’s just that such multipliers sometimes indicated the maximum access speed obtained under ideal conditions, be it reading or writing, and this is not the best option for the buyer. Therefore, the SD Associations decided to put an end to this disgrace, and in 2006 (SD Specifications V. 2.0), together with SDHC standard cards, four speed classes were approved for them: 0, 2, 4 and 6. Each class designated the minimum data transfer rate in decimal megabytes per second, both for reading and writing. Except zero class. This includes all cards released before the adoption of the specified specification, regardless of performance. A unified standard for marking memory cards was also approved: the number indicating the speed class was written inside the capital letter C.

Memory card speed classes

Alas, humanity is designed in such a way that it always lacks land, oil, minerals or memory card speeds. Therefore, in the next specification (SD Specifications V. 3.01 - the same one that describes SDXC cards), the 10th speed class was introduced, with a rating of 10 MB / s (again, in decimal format), and the UHS-I bus (Ultra High Speed, version 1), which could be used in SDHC and SDXC format cards. Using this bus increases the maximum theoretical data transfer rate to 104 MB/s (when the bus is supported by a card reader or other device) and does not entail any backward compatibility issues between new cards and older readers (provided that the latter support SDHC or SDXC formats).

On memory cards that support the UHS bus, you can find a mark in the form of the Roman numeral 1, and also a UHS bus speed marking - numbers 1 or 3 inscribed in a capital letter U. The first UHS class is equivalent to the usual tenth SDHC speed class (10 MB / s ), and the third speed class, as you might guess, should provide an access speed (sequential reading and writing) of at least 30 MB/s.

Then, in June 2011, the SD specification version 4.0 appeared, describing the UHS-II bus, which should increase the maximum throughput up to 312 MB / s. In addition, the use of the UHS-II bus provides for an increase in contacts on the card by eight pieces. Separately, I would like to note the preservation of backward compatibility between UHS-II and UHS-I cards.

The Roman numeral II is used to mark memory cards that support the UHS-II bus.

As of this writing, data transfer speeds of 312 MB/s are still fantastic. And there are very few memory cards themselves that support the UHS-II bus; they cost the same as a good SSD drive, and with a larger capacity. Take for example Panasonic Micro P2: capacity 32 or 64 GB, maximum sequential read speed - 2 Gbit/s. Price - about 11 or 16 thousand rubles, respectively.

Memory card with UHS-II bus

It turns out that over the 14 years of its existence, SD memory cards have undergone many changes and were divided into several formats. But only reading devices, but not cards, are backward compatible with previous formats (see diagram).

⇡ Memory card labeling options. How not to make mistakes when buying?

Now let's briefly summarize everything that was said above. At the time of writing this article, SD memory cards of two formats may be available on sale: SDHC and SDXC. They differ from each other in maximum capacity and file system. The maximum capacity of SDHC is 32 GB, and SDXC - 2 TB, although in reality it is very difficult to find an SDXC card with a capacity of more than 128 GB. We were able to find the “largest” card with a capacity of 256 GB only from Lexar. It costs $399 on Amazon, but is not found in Russian stores.

Before moving on to further selection of a memory card, it is worth figuring out what capacity you need. If it is more than 32 GB, then you should go for SDXC and check all devices in which you plan to use this card for compatibility with this standard. It’s worth checking old card readers and cameras especially carefully, because modern equipment (unless we’re talking about a laptop with Linux and a camera from three years ago) should not have any problems with SDXC (or rather, with the exFAT file system). If your camera does not support SDXC, then you should search the Internet for new firmware and a description of it - sometimes the manufacturer can add SDXC support in the new firmware. As, for example, this was done with the Pentax K-x camera.

So, speed. In order to determine the approximate data transfer speed of a memory card, you need to look at its speed class and support for the UHS-I or UHS-II bus.

On some memory cards from among those that took part in our summary testing, we also found not only the usual tenth class marking, but also the speed indicated in the “multipliers” - this is a normal, albeit rare phenomenon.

The most the best option there will be a card whose packaging or front side indicates the established write or read speed, tested by the manufacturer. By purchasing such memory, you can be sure that the sequential read or write speed will be minimally higher permissible level for 10th grade. And for very expensive memory cards (for example, SanDisk Extreme Pro), the sequential read and write speeds stated on the packaging can reach values of 90 MB/s. But in practice, memory cards with the specified speed are more expensive than others, which is quite normal - you have to pay separately for fast and tested memory. In addition, sometimes there are markings like “up to 60 MB/s” without indicating what type of data transfer this speed refers to - reading or writing.

The image below shows examples of speed class designations on memory cards. OltraMax card: simply tenth class; Transcend card: class ten supporting UHS-I bus and UHS speed class one; SanDisk: Class 10, UHS-I, Class 1 UHS-I and claimed speed of 95 MB/s.

⇡ Test participants, specifications

Our summary testing involves 20 different memory cards from different manufacturers - popular and not so popular. Among them there are both copies without a declared data transfer speed (but not lower than class 10), and cards with data transfer speeds of up to 90 MB/s. If the speed was indicated on the card packaging, but it was not written what it refers to (reading or writing), then so much the worse for the cunning manufacturer. In our table, we recorded this speed in the “read” and “write” cells labeled “total”.

Before moving on to the description of our experimental subjects, I would like to remind you about the cost of memory cards. We have indicated two prices in the table. The first is the average retail price taken from 3DNews, and the second is obtained using other sources. Since the prices are average, the cards we selected can be found in Moscow online stores even cheaper than indicated in the table. Everything will depend on the total number of offers on the market, the relevance of a particular memory card and, quite likely, on fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate in recent months.

⇡ Transcend Premium TS32GSDHC10, Premium 300x TS32GSDU1 and Ultimate 600x TS32GSDHC10U1

The trio from Transcend can serve as another illustration of the description of memory card labeling. The youngest card (Premium TS32GSDHC10) only indicates the 10th speed class, but the other two (Premium 300x TS32GSDU1 and Ultimate 600x TS32GSDHC10U1) indicate the 10th general and first UHS class, as well as speed in “multipliers” that are almost equal to the speeds in MB/s indicated on the packaging. This is roughly what manufacturers do when they want to make their cards more attractive to the buyer, because “300x” and “600x” at first glance look “more” than 43.5 or 87.9 MB/s, respectively.

Although the fastest memory card, Transcend Ultimate 600x TS32GSDHC10U1, has one advantage over other test participants. The manufacturer stated that it uses MLC memory, while on the packaging (and in the specifications) of other cards it is not possible to find a word about the chips used. However, the MLC (Multi-Level Cell) marking, by definition, can designate cells with both two and three (also called TLC) charge levels. Both options are used in memory cards.

⇡ Kingston Ultra SD10V/32GB, Elite SD10G3/32GB and Ultimate SDA10/32GB

Kingston memory cards - another one famous manufacturer drives - in our testing there will also be three. The youngest card, Kingston SD10V/32GB, only has speed class ten, but other cards, Kingston Elite SD10G3/32GB and Ultimate SDA10/32GB, have stated read speeds of 30 and 60 MB/s, respectively. For Kingston Ultimate and 35 MB/s the recording speed is also stated.

⇡ SanDisk Ultra SDSDU-032G-U46, Extreme SDSDXS-032G-X46 and Extreme Pro SDSDXPA-032G-X46

SanDisk cards are a pleasant exception in our test. The thing is that all three cards from this company we use have a maximum access speed indicated. At the very low card, SanDisk Ultra (SDSDU-032G-U46) has 30 MB/s sequential read, while SanDisk Extreme Pro has 95 and 90 MB/s sequential read and write, respectively.

⇡ ADATA ASDH32GCL10-R, ASDH32GUICL10-R and ASDH32GUI1CL10-R

ADATA is a manufacturer of storage devices different types and appointments. The company's product line includes RAM, external hard drives, solid state drives and SD cards. We took the last three devices from ADATA for testing.

Before us is an almost standard set of three cards: the simplest ADATA ASDH32GCL10-R class 10 without specifying access speeds and two more complex cards. Thus, the ADATA ASDH32GUICL10-R has an overall speed of up to 30 MB/s, and the most advanced one, ADATA ASDH32GUI1CL10-R, has a total speed of 95 MB/s for sequential reading and 45 MB/s for writing.

⇡ Silicon Power SP032GBSDH010V10, Elite SP032GBSDHAU1V10 and Superior SP032GBSDHCU1V10

Silicon Power can be called a direct competitor of ADATA, because on the official website of this company you can find almost the same range of products as on the website of the previous manufacturer.

The cheapest Silicon Power card - SP032GBSDH010V10 - only has speed class 10, but other models have speeds of 40 and 15 MB/s (Silicon Power Elite SP032GBSDHAU1V10), as well as 90/45 MB/s (Silicon Power Superior SP032GBSDHCU1V10) for reading and writing respectively.

⇡ OltraMax OM032GSDHC10, OM032GSDHC10UHS-1 and OM032GSDHC10UHS-1 95 MB/s*

The OltraMax company, unlike all other test participants, is practically unknown to the average consumer. But inside the packages of two fast OltraMax cards it is written that the company uses Samsung components - this is good advertising for the card manufacturer. The only pity is that in order to see such advertising, you need to buy a memory card and open the package.

The OltraMax trio is almost no different from the previous trios. The simplest and cheap card from this manufacturer, OltraMax OM032GSDHC10, is designated only 10th class, middle card memory, OltraMax OM032GSDHC10UHS-1, also cannot boast of any marks other than 10th class and UHS-I. But the coolest card, OltraMax OM032GSDHC10UHS-1 95 MB/s*, promises speeds of about 95 MB/s, which is very interesting.

⇡ Qumo QM32GSDHC10 and Toshiba FlashAir SD-F32AIR(BL8

The next two cards fall out a little general list. We received only one class 10 drive from Qumo for testing. And the Toshiba FlashAir SD-F32AIR(BL8) stands out because it is capable of providing access to content via Wi-Fi.

Memory cards with Wi-Fi have long been no longer considered something unusual or innovative - many manufacturers have such models, but their small variety hints at their modest popularity. Judging by the characteristics, you shouldn’t expect high speeds from the Toshiba FlashAir SD-F32AIR (BL8) - this card doesn’t even support the UHS-I memory bus. But it has Wi-Fi and even the ability to distribute wireless Internet if you add a name to the card settings and access password to another network

For most people, microSD is just a form factor, but in reality it is not. You can easily insert any microSD card into a standard slot, but not all of them will work, since the cards differ in many ways.

Format

There are three different SD formats, available in two form factors (SD and microSD):

SD (microSD) - drives up to 2 GB, work with any equipment;
SDHC (microSDHC) - drives from 2 to 32 GB, work on devices supporting SDHC and SDXC;
SDXC (microSDXC) - drives from 32 GB to 2 TB (currently maximum 512 GB), work only on devices with SDXC support.

As you can see, they are not backward compatible. Memory cards of the new format will not work on old equipment.

Volume

Support for microSDXC declared by the manufacturer does not mean support for cards of this format with any capacity and depends on the specific device. For example, the HTC One M9 works with microSDXC, but officially only supports cards up to 128 GB inclusive.

Another one is related to storage capacity. important point. All microSDXC cards use the exFAT file system by default. Windows has supported it for more than 10 years, it appeared in OS X starting with version 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard), Linux distributions support exFAT, but it does not work out of the box everywhere.

High speed UHS interface

An I or II is added to the UHS card logo depending on the version

SDHC and SDXC cards can support the Ultra High Speed interface, which, with hardware support on the device, provides higher speeds (UHS-I up to 104 MB/s and UHS-II up to 312 MB/s). UHS is backward compatible with earlier interfaces and can work with devices that do not support it, but at standard speeds (up to 25 MB/s).

2. Speed

Luca Lorenzelli/shutterstock.com

Classifying the write and read speeds of microSD cards is as complex as their formats and compatibility. The specifications allow you to describe the speed of cards in four ways, and since manufacturers use them all, there is a lot of confusion.

Speed class

Makrikrovka speed class for regular cards represents the number entered in Latin letter C

Linked to Speed Class minimum speed writes to the memory card in megabytes per second. There are four in total:

Class 2- from 2 MB/s;
Class 4- from 4 MB/s;
Class 6- from 6 MB/s;
Class 10- from 10 MB/s.

By analogy with the marking of regular cards, the speed class of UHS cards fits into the Latin letter U

Cards running on the high-speed UHS bus currently have only two speed classes:

Class 1 (U1)- from 10 MB/s;
Class 3 (U3)- from 30 MB/s.

Since the speed class designation uses the minimum entry value, theoretically a card of the second class may well be faster than a card of the fourth. Although, if this is the case, the manufacturer will most likely prefer to indicate this fact more explicitly.

Maximum speed

The speed class is quite enough for comparing cards when choosing, but some manufacturers, in addition to it, use it in the description maximum speed in MB/s, and more often not even the write speed (which is always lower), but the read speed.

Usually these are the results of synthetic tests under ideal conditions, which are unattainable under normal use. In practice, speed depends on many factors, so you should not rely on this characteristic.

Speed multiplier

Another classification option is the speed multiplier, similar to the one used to indicate the read and write speed of optical discs. There are more than ten of them, from 6x to 633x.

The 1x multiplier is 150 KB/s, that is, the simplest 6x cards have a speed of 900 KB/s. The fastest cards can have a multiplier of 633x, which is 95 MB/s.

3. Objectives

StepanPopov/shutterstock.com

Choose the right card taking into account specific tasks. The biggest and fastest is not always the best. In certain use cases, the volume and speed may be excessive.

When buying a card for a smartphone, capacity plays a bigger role than speed. The advantages of a large drive are obvious, but the advantages of high transfer speeds on a smartphone are practically not felt, since large files are rarely written and read there (unless you have a smartphone with 4K video support).

Cameras that shoot HD and 4K video are a completely different matter: both speed and volume are equally important here. For 4K video, camera manufacturers recommend using UHS U3 cards, for HD - regular Class 10 or at least Class 6.

For photos, many professionals prefer to use several smaller cards to minimize the risk of losing all the images in force majeure circumstances. As for speed, it all depends on the photo format. If you shoot in RAW, it makes sense to invest in microSDHC or microSDXC class UHS U1 and U3 - in this case they will reveal themselves fully.

4. Fakes

jcjgphotography/shutterstock.com

No matter how trivial it may sound, it is now easier than ever to buy a fake under the guise of original cards. Several years ago, SanDisk claimed that a third of SanDisk memory cards on the market were counterfeit. It is unlikely that the situation has changed much since then.

To avoid disappointment when purchasing, just use common sense. Refrain from buying from untrustworthy sellers, and beware of offers of “original” cards that are significantly lower than the official price.

Attackers have learned to fake packaging so well that sometimes it can be very difficult to distinguish it from the original. You can judge with complete confidence the authenticity of a particular card only after checking using special utilities:

H2testw- for Windows;

If you have already experienced the loss of important data due to memory card failure for one reason or another, then when it comes to choosing, you will most likely prefer a more expensive card famous brand than the available “noname”.

In addition to greater reliability and safety of your data, with a branded card you will receive high speed and a guarantee (in some cases even lifetime).

Now you know everything you need to know about SD cards. As you can see, there are many questions that you will have to answer before purchasing a card. Perhaps, best idea will have different cards for different needs. This way you can take full advantage of the equipment without exposing your budget to unnecessary expenses.