The adventure of finding and buying a memory card for my camera

It is not easy to find the right memory card due to so many models, categories, brands ... and the great variety of prices between different stores in a big city. I can understand that there is a difference of price in between the shops, but what I have seen your eyes will not believe it. But first we are going to see the universe of SD cards.

The idea is to find one of the fastest cards on the market, the best to work with one of the most powerful cameras on the market. It has to be a high-end model capable of withstanding the most extreme climates, with unquestionable reliability and the ability to withstand 4K recording and bursts. The perfect candidate is the SD-XC 64 Gb Extreme Pro UHS-II (300 MB / s) from Sandisk.

SD cards

SD cards were born in 1999, in the last century. Panasonic, Toshiba and Sandisk teamed up to improve the old MMCs that are no longer seen in these parts, although they are still compatible with many models.

There are four versions and three sizes, something that makes buying very difficult for poor consumers who only want a memory card when we go to a store with the intention of buying them. If the clerk wants to screw us, he will get it. First the versions:

SD (standard capacity). They can reach 4 Gb of capacity.

SD-HC (high capacity / high capacity). They go up to 32 Gb of memory.

SD-XC (extended capacity). They are expected to be capable of reaching 2TB with a transfer speed of up to 312MB / s.

Then come the sizes. This is something that I don't quite understand. Such a small size is impractical unless you never move it from its place. But if we want small teams we have no choice but to commune with them ... with how good the Compact Flash are ... They are ordered from largest to smallest. And your weight drops dramatically:

1. SD
2. MiniSD
3. Micro SD

The SD are staying only for the cameras, even for the high-end ones. All self-respecting smartphones have a slot for the MicroSD, weighing 0.25 grams. They are impractical for photography, but we'll see in the future. And of course I would never recommend buying an adapter to work with them in the camera. The MiniSDs have disappeared in a very short time and some of us will have them stored at the bottom of a forgotten drawer.

But there remains one of the most difficult aspects to understand and that they are in charge of putting in small print, such as contracts with banks and travel agencies, so that later they can tell you that they have already warned you and that it is your fault for not be aware. I am referring to the category, class or Speed ‹‹Class Rating, a basic scale to know if we can record with ease those family videos or that movie that will confirm us as future great directors. In order not to extend myself, it goes from Class 2 to 10 (and only even numbers).

The first is only for recording video in SD quality (480p); Class 10 is useful for recording at 1080p. Then, as there are no numbers left in the world, they have created the categories UHS-I Class 1, UHS-I Class 3 and until now UHS-II that allow recording at 4k in real time.

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Basically they ensure a minimum recording speed to avoid jumps in future playback and it is something that those of us who only do photography should not care, except if we are fast triggers.

So what SD card do I have to buy for my camera?

Well, as always, it depends on the camera you have and what you want to do with it. If you are going to travel a lot, you want security, you plan to work with bursts and you can pay for it, I would always buy the fastest cards on the market if I have a last generation camera with a large amount of MP.

But if you do not plan to make video, you are not a friend of taking many photos, and taking many photos per second does not make any sense to you, you can buy any SD card. It's that simple. I am even a friend of buying four 8GB instead of one 32GB. But this is a matter of taste and needs. I think this is one of the cases in which being an extremist works. Either the cheapest or the most expensive. But always from recognized brands. I can assure you that those of a specific brand have never failed me.

And of course, from now on I will look very calmly and calmly where I buy my cards. The model that has triggered this article, the SD-XC 64 GB Extreme Pro UHS-II (300 Mb /), that is, a 64 GB SD card, extended capacity version and with a Speed ‹‹Class Rating, that is, with a minimum recording speed of 30MB / s (now we understand that). It is one of the fastest cards on the market.