Fastest Micro SD cards for Cameras
There are a lot of Micro SD cards in the markets with varying speeds, memory space, and prices. With a lot of Micro SD cards to choose from, it can be difficult to find the best Micro SD card for your needs. To pick out the best, you need to know and understand the technical specs of the Micro SD card. This guide will help you pick the fastest Micro SD cards in the market.
Just like with their siblings, Compact Flash and SD cards, the speed of a microSD card will vary widely from card to card.
The class designations (even-numbered) for microSD and SD cards, like Class 10 or Class 6, were supposed to provide a way to see if a microSD card was fast enough for a particular use. They did, but just for a while.
The capabilities of the latest cameras need microSD cameras that are better than just a Class 10 microSD card. Most of the Class 10 cards will not work well in the latest GoPro HERO 4 , for instance.
You really need to look further to the write and read speeds. Of the two, the write speeds are by far the most important for camera uses. They tell you how fast you can get data to the microSD card.
This doesn’t tend to matter very much when using microSD cards on GPS units or smartphones, but it does matter very much for cameras when you’re recording high definition video or shooting in burst mode. The read speed, often used in marketing the microSD cards, tells you how fast you can get data off the SD card.
Manufacturers make it very hard to see what the write and read speeds are. They use names like “Ultimate,” “Elite Performance” and “Extreme,” that aren’t particularly helpful.
Read and Write speeds are improving so fast and microSD card manufacturers are recycling the same card names with newer cards that have different specs. Some manufacturers advertise the speeds measured in megabytes per second, while others use more multipliers like 600x, making it very hard to compare.
Remember that the performance of the Micro SD card depends on it’s “speed class”. Speed Class are rated in four classes: 2, 4, 6, and 10. Among the speed classes, class 10 is the fastest and class 2 is the slowest. Speed class 2 is perfect for recording standard definition videos while 4 and 6 are suitable for high definition recording. Class 10 is perfect for “full definition recording”.
To take advantage of the higher read and write speeds you’ll need hardware that can make the most out of the SD cards. The fastest microSD cards use a new data transfer technology called UHS-1. The technology uses an odd-numbered speed class that is displayed with a U shape with a number in it (such as 3 or 5) and written in the form of u3 or U5. The UHS-I category refers to a type of interface that has a potential maximum write speed of 104MB/sec, but the current microSD cards haven’t quite reached that maximum limit.
Taking advantage of the new UHS-I technology to get faster speeds requires that the hardware you are using also supports UHS-I. If it doesn’t, then the data transfer method will roll back to the older Class 10 transfer technology, which is slower. Simply, if you stick a UHS-I microSD card in a camera that doesn’t support UHS-I, you are not going to get the full high speed potential of the SD card.
“Ultra High Speed” Class, or UHS
UHS cards are faster than Class 10 cards. The following are the fastest Micro SD cards:
If you’re using a microSD card in a GoPro, Camcorder or any other small camera that records high resolution video, the speed of the SD card matters. The faster the microSD card the better.
The SanDisk Ultra SDHC has 128 GB of memory space for your high quality pictures and full-definition videos. It has a fast transfer speed of up to 48MB/s and is a class 10, making it perfect for recording full-definition videos without worrying about file corruption. It is also shockproof, waterproof, and x-ray proof and has a 10 year warranty if you ever break it in one of your extreme activities. With the SanDisk Memory Zone app, you can easily view, access, and backup your data into any memory devices.
Samsung competes in the Micro SD business with the Samsung 64 GB EVO with its 64 GB memory space and 48MB/s transfer speed. This Micro SD card has been optimized for smartphone and tablet use, saving users’ time in saving memory-intensive files like full high definition videos and high resolution pictures. The class 10 speed of this Micro SD card allows you to capture up to 308 photos when shooting in continuous burst mode and is also water proof, temperature proof, x-ray proof, and magnetic proof, providing speed and durability in one package.
- PNY Turbo Performance 64GB – one of the fastest SD cards in the market
When it comes to speed, the PNY Turbo Performance 64 GB is definitely one of the fastest Micro SD cards with its transfer speed reaching up to 90MB/s. This Micro SD card is preferable for any device that can be equipped with a Micro SD card, though it is optimized to be used for smartphones and tablets. This Micro SD card is great for recording full high definition videos with its Class 10 rating performance. For people into extreme sports, this Micro SD card is magnet proof, shock proof, water proof, and temperature proof and if they still manage to damage it, there is a lifetime warranty so they can just send it back and have it fixed.
Check out the fastest Micro SD cards for you GoPro on amazon by clicking here.
