Memory cards: brands and pricing

August 29, 2006 10:35 AM

Question about memory cards from a digital n00b.
posted by matteo to Technology (5 answers total)

Response by poster: I notice that different brands often have a big difference in price. Unfortunately, I don't know most of those brand names (except, say, Sandisk and of course Sony for memory sticks). For my Sony cellphone I stuck to a Sony Memory stick, but I've bought a memory card for my Leica C-Lux1 without ever having even heard about the brand. Any good & reasonably priced brands? Brands to avoid? Is there a good online resource for memory card / memory stick reviews? Thanks a lot
posted by matteo at 10:39 AM on August 29, 2006 [1 favorite]

Best answer: See this article on CNET (skip past the ad). More information available here including test results with different cameras using different cards.

The main difference between brands seems to be speed, which doesn't matter much unless your camera is over 4 megapixels.
posted by justkevin at 10:58 AM on August 29, 2006

ATP makes expensive and fast cards that consistently work. Sandisk and Kingston make cheap cards.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 11:35 AM on August 29, 2006

Best answer: My understanding is that the speed desginations have to do with the quality of the card. If I'm not mistaken there's only a few manufacturers of memory cards and the cards are rebranded by Kingston, Sandisk, Lexar, etc. The better quality card the higher it's speed is rated. And by quality I don't mean reliability. I've used Kingston's for years and never had a problem. They have a great warranty with a no-questions asked replacement policy. Personally, I stear clear of anything Lexar these days because they have a reputation among photographers for releasing cards and card readers that are bleeding edge and unreliable due to Lexar not conforming to the standards for memory cards. I know colleagues that swear by Sandisk for what it's worth.

Rob Galbraith has a great card comparison on his site that should be helpful.
posted by photoslob at 12:01 PM on August 29, 2006

Response by poster: thanks guys
posted by matteo at 11:48 AM on August 30, 2006