Perspective:

xD – Picture Card is a flash memory card format, used mainly in advanced digital cameras. xD stands for Extreme Digital and were first developed by Olympus and Fujifilm. Type H and M cards may suffer problems of compatibility with the older digital cameras but works extremely well with the newer ones.

Design and Features of Card:

The Fuji DPC-H1GB 1GB Memory Card is one of the ultra compact cards available that just weighs and has a dimension of about 2 g and 25 (H) x 20 (W) x 1.7 (D) mm. These picture cards are the new standards for Fuji and Olympus digital cameras. The memory card though so small, is extremely powerful and has the capacity 1 GB. These xD picture cards were introduced as a replacement for the older Smart Media cards. It is suitable for delivering the very fast read and write speeds and high capacities which the new products may require.

Features of Fuji 1 GB Card:

This flash memory card from Fuji is a picture card of the type H operates at a write speed of 4MB/s and a read speed of 5MB/s which is 2 to 3 times faster than the standard other types. However these speeds depends on the device it is paired with. The maximum size available is 2GB and the other sizes are 256 MB, 512MB and 1 GB. This type of XD card has the ability to support the special picture effects when used in some Olympus cameras. It features exclusive arts and 3D functions. To capture video at high resolutions (640x480x30), this card can be used with new models. This type of card is identified by the “H” displayed on the front of the card.

Compatibility:

This 1GB Fujifilm xD picture cards are compatible with Fuji and Olympus digital cameras but one drawback may be that although the Fuji xD cards are compatible with Olympus cameras it may not support the panoramic function seen on some Olympus cameras. While in other devices, this card works fine without causing any troubles even at faster speeds. Therefore it is recommended to check for the compatibility of the device before buying one.

Details on Warranty:

The manufacturer provides a reasonable warranty for this picture card. The XD-H-1GB carries Olympus 2 years exchange or repair warranty against any manufacturing defects which may affect its performance.

Available Storage Capacities:

Apart from the 1 GB storage capacity card that is available, other cards of varying capacities of storage are also provided by the manufacturer. They are 256MB, 512MB and 2GB, as already mentioned above, may be purchased according to the need and device requirement.

In a Nutshell:

The Fuji 1GB xD Card of type H delivers speed rates faster than other storage device. As with the performance, there are no specific faults with this card. However, there prevail certain compatibility issues which can be avoided by checking the compatible device beforehand. The picture card from Fuji may not support the panoramic functions that are seen in few Olympus cameras. Apart from these, this card is a reliable one to go in for.

Fuji DPC-H1GB 1GB xD Type H Memory Card – Technical Specification Table

Overview:

The Sony’s new memory card, the Sony 8GB MSHX8B Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo is of great use for storing, sharing and transferring quality pictures, videos and music with the buddies. The tiny memory media provides good entertainment than one expects.

Design and Card Type of the Memory Stick:

The Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo is petite measuring about (W) 31 x (H) 20 x (D) 1.6 mm and hardly weighs about 5 grams. This flash card is of type MS PRO-HG Duo and has an amazing memory capacity always by the side. Sony with SanDisk, introducing the Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo in the beginning was only serial and 4-bit parallel interfaces were supported in the Memory Stick PRO format but sooner an 8-bit parallel interface was added to the Memory Stick PRO-HG format making advancement in the technology.

Memory Capacity and Speed:

The internal memory capacity of the PRO-HG Duo memory stick is 8192 MB which is 8 GB. The card allows any number of data to be transferred fast with a read speed of 30 MB/s and has a write speed of 20 MB/s. One can take up to 180 large JPEG photos per minute. Also, the maximum interface clock frequency is increased and with these enhancements, a high transfer rate is achieved, which is almost three times faster than the Memory Stick PRO format.

Compatibility:

The Sony PRO-HG Duo MSHX8B 8GB Capacity memory card is especially made for Sony digital cams, Alpha and PHP products of higher resolutions. It offers good performance ensuring fast shot capabilities and high definition videos also for high mega – pixel and high – def Sony products. Its smaller size is ideal to use on compact devices and for burst shooting with DSLR. The flash card is also compatible with copyright protection technology (Magic Gate).

Other Technical Details:

HX Engine which a new and smart flash memory controller realizes high-speed, stable and reliable data transfer in this card for continuous shooting and is also free software downloadable (Memory Card File Rescue supporting AVCHD files & x- Pict Story for Memory Card). The card works fine in temperatures from -25 °C to 85 °C.

Details on Warranty:

The Sony 8GB Flash memory card stick PRO-HG Duo has a limited manufacturer’s warranty. The cards face no problems of freezing during any process as it is a trusted brand company. However it is a peace of mind to have 10 years warranty period.

In Brief:

Heaps of storage one can get in a small 8GB Flash memory card PRO-HG Duo from Sony. With a commendable speed, this memory stick is sure a durable and reliable one. However it is a Sony card hence can be used only with Sony products. Clarity of pictures and videos make difference from other cards. Going in for this card definitely does not end in disappointment.

Sony 8GB MSHX8B Memory Card – Technical Specification Table

Quick look:

Transcend memory card in regards to quality has always proved convincing to the users. This 32GB flash card is supported by almost all the electronic devices and faces no problems of getting hang or freeze.

Dimensions and Compatibility:

The Transcend 32 GB Class 10 Flash memory card (model no: TS32GSDHC10) has a size of about 7.7 (H) x 4.6 (W) x 0.2 (D) inches which is the usual size of other cards that is available in the market. This SDHC card is fully compatible with SD 3.0 standards and also with SDMI devices allowing content protection for recordable media (CPRM). This card suits the most for storing HD videos and images having high resolutions.

Storage Capacity and Speed:

This Secure Digital flash memory card has a capacity of 32 GB storage space and a Class 10 speed rating. The read and write speeds of the card is satisfying for high definition videos and pictures. The optimum temperature for the card is -25 °C (-13 °F) to 85 °C (185 °F) to maintain the write and read speed of 20 MBPS.

Features of the Memory Card:

The Transcend Memory card, as already mentioned supports all the SDHC devices as well as readily meets the requirements of high speed devices. The card has the ability to detect and fix the errors while transferring information by the Built-in Error Correcting Code (ECC).  It also supports the auto-standby, power-off, sleep mode and has a mechanical write protection switch.  The memory card is also RoHS compliant which means Restriction of Hazardous substances that there are no materials used in the manufacture of cards which causes harm to human health.

Performance:
The good thing about this memory card is that no troubles were faced while recording or transferring. Thus the card gives an optimum performance without hanging and is very easy to use. This flash card allows In System Programming (ISP) for updating firmware. Though the recent devices accept SD cards while this card is not compliant with standard SD devices, every card needs an updation. Thus SD cards have to be replaced by SDHC cards.

Warranty Detail:

The package includes a 32GB Transcend Class 10 flash card and a lifetime limited warranty card. This memory card is no doubt durable and can even withstand more than 10000 insertions and removals. However, the manufacturer gives a lifetime warranty for the 32 GB flash memory card.

Overall View:

The Transcend 32GB Class 10 SDHC Flash memory card is a reliable, fast and with a large storage space. The card has not disappointed while capturing, storing or transferring data for any individuals who own this. With respect to price and performance, Transcend is a brand to trust and it never lets down in its quality. For the lots of new SDHC devices out in the market, this flash card is a wise choice to consider and along with the lifetime time warranty, this class 10 SDHC flash card is great to go for it.

Transcend 32GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card – Technical Specification Table

Outlook:

Lexar Secure Digital Memory Cards are of size similar to that of multimedia cards designed for use in many digital devices including camcorders, Mobile phones and PDA. High performance with relatively large capacity range, this memory card prevents frequent changing of cards in order to get all the shots or pictures at a stretch.

Design features:

The Lexar Professional 133x SDHC Memory Card is a great gift to professional photographers for capturing quality pictures or full – motion videos with the SDHC enabled digital cameras. The card’s high-speed performance provides a minimum speed capability of 20MB per second while it significantly reduces the time required to download the stored information. These cards have erase – prevention switch for keeping all data safe.

Dimension and capacities:

The Lexar Secure Digital SD has a dimension of 6.5 x 5 x 1 inches. This card is available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities. The solid – state design and small size of the cards perfectly suits many applications. The Lexar Professional 133x SDHC Card 8GB (product code: SD8GB-133-381), 16GB (code: LSD16GCRBNA133) and 32GB (code:  LSD32GCRBNA133) are made sure they are compatible with the digital cameras ranging from the basic to the most advanced ones.

Performance:

The Lexar Professional 133x SDHC Card offers maximum Class 10 speed rating, providing  fast and excellent minimum sustained speed capability of 133x (20MB per second). Thus the cards serve great for fast sequence shooting while reducing the time for changing cards and also minimizes the down time between transferring the images from cameras to computers by improving workflow.

Included software:

Lexar Professional Secure Digital Memory Cards has a free downloadable copy of latest version of Lexar Image Rescue Software. Whether filming child’s birthday party or capturing exclusive pictures on a family vacation, those memories are well protected by this card as the Image Rescue 4 provides recovery of most of the photos and video files even when accidently deleted or when the card is corrupted.

Best quality:

Lexar boasts the performance and quality of their memory cards as high quality as all the cards are tested numerous times in the Lexar Quality laboratories to satisfy all customers. The compatibility, reliability, quality and performance of the cards are checked with more than 800 digital cameras and other devices. Thus, this memory card turns out to be of good quality and also a reliable one.

Warranty detail:

All the Lexar Professional SDHC cards backs up lifetime limited warranty giving further peace of mind to people. Apart from this, it includes the added benefit of technical support line in case of any expert assistance is required.

Conclusion:

Lexar Professional 133x SDHC Card performs flawlessly with very high speed. Digital cameras, laptops and computers face no problems while working with it. Lifetime memories of any event, be it video or picture format remain forever as the erase – prevention switch recovers any accidentally deleted data even when the card gets corrupted. Performance, storage with good write and read speeds are amazing and not to leave out the lifetime warranty carried by this memory card. Thus this is a decent memory card from Lexar and worth a buy.

Lexar Professional 133x SDHC Card – Technical Specification Table

Design Features:

The Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Class 4 Memory Card (product code: P10N079830A) is for anyone who is looking into buying an SDHC card with higher amount of memory. Indispensible for any amateur or professional photographer, this memory card can work with most cameras and could capture about 30,000 photos on the lowest quality. On the highest quality, you may get about 1200 photos (as per our testing process). There is also a user selectable mechanical write protect switch located on the exterior card casing.

With solid state and no moving parts, the Fuji memory card is built with a protect switch and protects the accidental deletion of data. This Fuji memory card is non-volatile meaning it can retain its memory even after power is shut off.  Coming to the application part, it is widely made used in Handheld computer, Digital cameras, Media Players, PDA, GPS receivers, Mobile phones and Video game consoles for storing images, music, voice and data files.

Dimension: The petite black colour memory card is built with a dimension of 32mm x 24mm x 1.4mm with a weight of 1.5g. This micro SDHC card is just about the size of quarter of a SD card. This memory card is exclusively built for use with ultra-small mobile phones and several other devices. It requires a supply voltage of 2.7V – 3.3V for operation.

Performance:

Just for the sake of information, the Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Card is a new Flash memory card that is based on the Secure Digital Association (SDA) 2.00 specifications. Performance wise, the Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Class 4 card is kind of superb for use in digital camera, particularly when it requires fast write speeds and pretty large capacity. And also most cameras these days are built with continuous movie and shooting modes with fairly high number of megapixels and the Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Memory Card can live up to your expectations by performing exceedingly well with these devices. Usually designed for movie recording, it is useful to know the minimum sustained write speed of the Fuji SDHC Card instead of the maximum speed which is usually quoted on the other memory cards.

The fact that it is fast and holds a huge number of pictures makes it a best buy, given the price. We tried the memory card out with our SLR camera to find it particularly fast and it does its intended job well. This said we are yet to try the Xtreme III cards though. Easy to plug and play, the Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Card is designed with a high transfer rate for fast copy/download.

Performance Results: Designed to be made use of with any device that is SDHC compatible to store music, photos or movie files, the Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Memory Card as the manufacturer claims has a maximum sustained read speed of 10MB/sec and write speed of 4MB/sec. Based on their testing, the memory card can store up to 2723 images with 5 million pixels that is stored at 1.5MB and 137.3 minutes of movie at a resolution of 25fps 320 x 240. And there again you can store another 1000 music tracks of approx. 4 minute duration and 128kbps mp3 encryption. The data can be retained in the card for about 10 years. The low battery consumption of the Fuji memory card can increase battery life in portable devices.

Accessories:

The Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Class 4 Memory Card comes with an adaptor that allows you to use the card in a number of devices and comes complete with a protective case completely free.

Alternate Capacity & Speed Ratings:

This Fuji Memory card is also available in a number of different storage capacities including 4GB SDHC Class 4 (code: P10N079830A), 4GB SDHC Class 4 – Twinpack (code: P10NM00390A), 8GB SDHC Class 4 (code: P10N079840A), 16GB SDHC Class 4 (code: P10NM00600A) and 32GB SDHC Class 4 (P10NM00250A).

Guarantee Details:

The Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Memory Card is covered under a generous 5 year guarantee offered by the manufacturer.

Verdict:

With a speed rating of Class 4, the Fuji SDHC Card Memory Card has faster storage speed. It does exactly what it says on the box, so you can purchase it with utmost confidence, but do check if the device is compatible with this SDHC card before you go for one.

Check Latest Memory cards, Memory Card Reviews and Best buys in our website.

Fuji 4GB Micro SDHC Class 4 Memory Card – Technical Data

But let truth be told, the Transcend is no way closer to the speed of the 30Mb/s version of Sandisk as a point of comparison. This said, the Transcend card simply seems to do the job without the slightest of hassles. Let us see what the Transcend 133x CF card has in store for us in terms of performance and value in the following review.

Features:

The Transcend 133X Compact Flash Memory Card as the name implies is a compact card measuring 42.8mm x 36.4mm x 3.3mm in size and weighing 11.4g that you need to ensure you do not lose it anywhere, despite the fact that you can easily slip one into your pocket for convenience and safety. The card is based on the ATA interface that helps connect it to your computer. The cross-platform compatibility comes as a big plus. Confirming to CompactFlash type I standards, it could operate either in a CF Type I or CF Type II slot. The RoHS compliant Transcend 133X is designed for 10000 insertion/removal cycles and is pretty durable requiring lower power consumption.

Dual-channel support: Transcend has made sure the card embraces good compatibility and speed as this card works in both the Ultra DMA mode 0-4 (default setting) which supports speeds from 16MB/s – 33MB/s, as well as dual-channel mode giving you non-stop video recording and shooting with some of the best DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras on the market.

ECC technology: The CF 4.0 compliant Transcend 133X cards are built from the ground up for reliability and speed. These cards feature integrated ECC (Error Correction Code) that helps automatically detect and rectifies errors during the transfer of data. This helps prevent missing files and data corruption. The manufacturer has ensured that it makes use of only branded MLC NAND Flash chips and components of superior quality during the process of manufacturing for longer durability, robust and quality performance.

Performance:

Test results with highly rated cameras: As a user, what do you look for in a flash memory card of this sort? There can possibly be only two factors, one is speed and the other should be size. Talking about the speed, we found the card being on the slower side, particularly when you are shooting in RAW (the data that gets written on the flash memory card at full high quality without any compression and simply by the way, the camera sensor tends to see it). Now that is okay, but if you need to review the pictures a lot, you may get frustrated. We are sure that there are faster cards available on the market as we tested it with the Nikon D60S and had no issues when we were copying data forwards and backwards onto the computer. Transcend 133X gave more than 500 RAW+ JPEG images with the Canon SLR. And the good thing here is that it is able to save much faster than the Extreme II considering it is the market’s top card even in continuous mode. Coming to the in-camera speed which was tested by shooting in continuous mode, the card showed good all-round performance.  You can also use it as a semi-permanent drive making use of a PCMCIA card reader and this can hold all the photos which your hard drive is otherwise cluttered with. And mind you there could be problems at times if you are working with multiple images.

Testing it with the Canon 50D & Canon 7D, we had to concede that the card is not express fast for full RAW photographs in continuous mode, though in single mode, it is reasonably good. We also tried using the Transcend 32GB CF card to shoot 1080p HD video at 30 fps on the 5D Mark 2 and we were able to capture a whole lot of pictures (about 1350 RAW). There have been no issues with it even after shooting for as much as 30 hours of video footage. Furthermore, testing it with the Canon EOS 1DS MK 3 only showed positive results. There were no obvious speed penalties either working with the Nikon D300, particularly when writing NEFF (RAW) files of 12 bit size.

Finally testing it with a Sony A200 DSLR gave us about 2000 JPGs, but testing it with the RAW produced about 500 when it is empty, so here the speed is absolutely fine. Transfer speed of RAW files from the camera is not bad either by any means, though we have no real comparisons.

Data transfer speeds: The data transfer speeds of up to 21.5 MB/sec have been good and we tested this spec against an 80x 2GB Lexar CF disk and the Transcend came up thumps with the write speed almost 20% faster which is a welcome improvement on the Sony A200. The Transcend is quick enough to take a few burst of photo shots on the JPEG in addition to the RAW setting at 6.5 frames/sec with no significant loss of speed that we can detect on our Canon EOS 400D.

Read speed: We found the Read speed fast enough as the time consumed to download a huge number of JPEG ‘RAW’ files straight from our camera onto the PC though the camera’s own USB cable without read/write errors was comparatively short. The 16GB version of this card was used on the EOS 40D and we were so impressed with the speed that testing the 32GB version on the EOS 50D was nothing short of spectacular.

Write speed: If the Read speed is good, given the price (which is useful when it comes to downloading data), the write speed is even better. It proved better than what the Kingston 133x could deliver, just to draw out a comparison as using the Kingston 133x in burst mode was just painful. The write speed performance could be rated somewhere between the Extreme III and IV of Sandisk and for a price tag which is slightly lesser than the Sandisk Extreme II.

Capacity: The Transcend 133X CF cards are available in a wide range of capacities including 1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB/16GB & 32GB. Like most memory cards on offer, a particular percentage of space is allotted for header information, so this means it has a usable capacity and least it should give you peace of mind that you have got huge memory capacity in case you require it. Therefore, if you are a Canon EOS 400D Rebel XTi user, you will appreciate its fine speed plus the huge storage capacity, given the price. But if you are someone who uses Canon 40D for shooting, may be you will look for a faster card. Then we have a review on the SanDisk Extreme III 2GB SD Memory Card which will help you to make a smarter decision on how fast your memory card needs to be.

We even tried it with the e620 Olympus, the storage looks like it will never end. We had the 16GB version on the Canon Eos 1 which allowed us to catch important shots and if there is something more you can expect out of the card, it should be increased storage and shooting time. Therefore, it is rather fine when transferring images by linking the camera to the PC.  Nevertheless, you have space to store nearly 1500 photos on the card even when you’re shooting with RAW.

We were able to capture about 4000+ high quality 15mp JPEG pictures using a single card and that is probably 10% more than that on a 10MP camera, though it differs according to the type of pictures that is taken as apparently there are some pictures that have a bigger file size. You need to remember that some cameras, particularly the older ones do not go well with the high capacity compact flash memory cards, therefore you have to check your model for compatibility before going for this card just to avoid any sort of disappointment.

Issues with formatting the card: We would like to know if anyone had problems formatting the card with the Sony SLR. It seems like XP is unable to read it and cannot re-format it. But we do believe it has nothing to do with the card as Default windows will not be able to format devices above 8GB. If you are using on a Sony SLR, then do not format it either with it. Choice ‘B’ is to make use of the Software to do the formatting directly. There have been problems obtaining the full 16GB out of the Transcend 133X, if customer reviews are any indication. Having formatted the card ourselves in the EOS400D, we were able to manage formatting it to 8GB. This again we feel has a lot to do with the Canon camera, as nothing went wrong with the complete 16GB card with photos. Anyway, if you format the card with the camera and you could use only 8GB, make use of MS windows (or whatever OS you have) and remove the partition with the Disk Manager and then the next step will be to create and format a fresh partition for the full 16GB. It is as simple as this!

Warranty:

The Transcend 133X CF Memory Card is covered under a limited lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects and faults, which starts from the original purchase date.

Verdict:

With reasonably good burst rates that enable continuous stream of data with no write-failures or data loss, besides brilliant capacity range, the Transcend is almost a steal at this price. There are lots of cards way quicker than this on sale, however if you are an amateur photographer learning the nuances of the trade, this type of mid-range flash memory should suit your budget. The card which comes in an original Transcend package does everything the manufacturer proclaims and more importantly does it well on all counts.

Transcend 133X Compact Flash Memory Card – Specification Table

Coming to the applications, it can be best made use of in a wide range of digital products including PDAs, digital cameras, Sat Nav Units, MP3/4 players, HD camcorders and digital video recorders that need the highest performance. The high speed memory is ideal for DSLR cameras with Class 10, one of the fastest in the Integral range. Let us focus on some of the key features of the 16GB UltimaPro SDHC Class 10 Memory Card in the following review.

Performance Features:

We decided to review this card as we had previously tested one of the manufacturer’s cards in the order of 2GB capacity in the MMC Plus version viz the Integral 2GB MMC Plus Memory Card, though there were less expensive cards available. First, we tested the Integral 16GB UltimaPro SDHC Class 10 Memory Card (product code: INSDH16G10) with Canon SX30is & Lumix TZ7 and it worked well in both the cameras without any hassle. We were able to capture more than 1000 photos and some movies on them and still had plenty of space left on the card. For instance when we loaded the card into the Canon, it still had space for more 4700 photos. The card worked pretty well with the newest HD digital cameras and camcorders, yet at full HD (1920 x 1080p) and with professional DSLR cameras, it can deliver smooth video capture.

Class 10 Speed:

The class 10 Speed of the Integral INSDH16G10 Memory Card helps fast transfer of data from the SDHC to Mac/PC (making use of card reader), making video and photo editing much more enjoyable and quicker. Also, downloading the files onto the computer proved pretty painless and was completed in minutes. We even used the card on a Nikon D7000. Here, we found that during playback and sometimes on record, the memory card simply locks up and needs ejecting with the camera turning on and off so as to gain access. It does seem to work well on the computer and it is okay with the DSC-HX5 compact and this includes filming HD. We found that most Digital SLR cameras can perform remarkably well when you utilize an Integral UltimaPro SDHC Class 10 in comparison to Class 2, 4, 6 speed SDHC memory cards that are relatively slower.

Transfer speed:

This Integral memory card being class 10 claims a transfer speed of up to 23 MB/s and therefore should be good enough for the camera. On testing the Sandisk Extreme with transfer speed of 30MB/s, it does seem to work well on the Nikon compared to this Integral card.  This Integral SDHC card meets or betters the SD Card Association’s Class 10 specification offering you a continuous write speed of 10MB/s. The transfer speed of 23 MB/s is based on the internal testing.

FAT32 File format:

This Integral 16GB UltimaPro SDHC Card is supported by FAT32 file format and must be formatted to FAT32 and it is always considered a best practise to format the memory card in your device before you use it. But just a word of caution that formatting your card would delete all data and that you should refer to the device manual. The card is compatible with the Windows ME/2000/XP/7 and Mac OS 8/9/X.

USB Card Reader:

The memory card also comes with a USB card reader (code: INSDH16G10R) which is also good and the speed of copy from the Vista PC to this card is fabulous. The card reader is also a handy upgrade for the PC. Our PC had a multi-reader, though it cannot read SDHC cards, only SD. This helped us to make use of the card with any PC and not just our own. With 9 connector pins and power consumption of 2.7V – 3.6V, the memory card comes complete with a free protective case.

Available Capacities:

This memory card is also available in other capacities including 4GB (INSDH4G10) + Card Reader (INSDH4G10R), 8GB (INSDH8G10) + Card Reader (INSDH8G10R) and 32GB (INSDH32G10) + Card Reader (INSDH32G10R).

Package Contents:

• 1 x Integral 16GB UltimaPro SDHC Class 10 Memory Card
• 1 x USB card reader
• Free protective case

Manufacturer Warranty:

With a 5 year warranty provided by the manufacturer, the card is a steal at a price tag of about £17. The card reader is provided a warranty of 2 years.

Conclusion:

Weighing 2g (which is negligible) and measuring 32mm × 24mm × 2.1mm, the Integral UltimaPro SDHC memory card makes sure that all your data is saved faster when you take a picture, therefore there is not much time to wait before you take the next picture and is also great for digital SLR cameras. A bit of testing showed this new Integral card is 10% faster at reading and 25% faster at writing than any of its predecessors.  There will obviously be sample variations with any manufactured product, though this variation especially in the write performance tends to be pretty large to us. Our Transcend card, though three years old and although with constant use in a digicam has proved both fast and reliable for its class.

Integral  UltimaPro 16GB SDHC Memory Card – Technical Specification Table

What is hot?

• Requires no complicated set up
• High speed transfer
• Instant playback of files

Performance features:

The Sony MSMT4GN 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Card (product code: MSMT4GN) is great for HD recording in the order of 1920 x 1080 AVCHD recording capacity and it is built with 32Mbps as the lowest write speed. The performance of the memory card is reasonably good, however when using it with Palm OS based equipment, you need a download for FAT 32 for accessing the full 4GB. On testing the MSMT4GN with our Sony DSC-S650 camera, we found no problem inserting it correctly and works brilliantly without any faults. We were able to shoot the number of images that you can shoot and the digital camera is able to remember separately any photo that has been already shot on its own memory. So, overall it does the job fine and as one would expect, the capacity is more than enough for saved games and movies. We tried this out in Sony Alpha 380 and found that it can hold about 180 shots RAW and this depends on picture content and we also made use of this with the 4GB SDHC class 6 card in several other slots, when we were out for day shooting and observed that the write times on Pro Duo were not as quick. Apart from that, the memory card works really fine. In terms of size, this SD card is smaller than most other SD cards that you can find in the market online.

Technical features:

The minimum write speed of the MSMT4GN 4GB Memory Card when you insert the card in any memory stick PRO-compatible device is 32 Mbps. The transfer speed in terms of parallel speed is 160 Mbps. With a recording capacity of     4 GB, the memory card is built with a serial interface and parallel interface of 4 pins. One-third the distance of Memory Stick PRO is written for making use of in ultra compact devices. The card is also highly compatible with copyright insurance technology (‘MagicGate’) and is delivered along with a standard distance adaptor.

Dimensions:

Weighing 2 gm in weight, the memory card measures 31mm in width, 20mm in height and 1.6mm in depth.

Manufacturer warranty:

The Sony MSMT4GN 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Card is covered under a 5 year manufacturer warranty against manufacturing defects.

Verdict:

Carrying a price tag of around £15, there are several places online where you may find the price of the memory card slightly lower. With no complicated set up required, this little memory card can perform so well in your Sony Cyber Shot. Overall, we had no serious regrets on buying.

Sony MSMT4GN 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Card – Technical Specification Table

Pluses:

• Bargain price
• High quality & very useful
• Decent storage
• User friendly
• Fast transfer speed

Negatives:
Does not usually work in a MMC (MultiMedia Card) socket.

What you get in the pack:

Let us begin with what you get in the pack; A micro SD card, a memory card which is roughly about a sixth of size of a standard SD card, an adaptor that looks somewhat like a regular SD card, but in fact is designed and built for the micro card to neatly slip inside and so it can be used in anything that takes a regular sized SD card.

You also have a card reader and this means you can upload things to your micro card or in fact download them there from. Getting through the packaging, we were confronted with the white USB reader and a tiny plastic box containing the Adapter and Micro SD card. Putting everything together was a breeze and no wonder each piece fitted together like a 3-piece jigsaw puzzle. The card comes complete with a protection lock and the actual SD card adapter and micro SD is packed in a nice, plastic protective case to keep them neat and tidy.

Small is sometimes good:

The USB card reader is pretty small enough to carry anywhere with you and it enables fast upload and download speeds. The card can be connected to any PC or laptop via a USB port and Window will have no trouble finding it automatically, so there is no need for you to install it all the time. The USB reader measures about 65mm (L) x 22mm (W) x 10 mm (D) and the micro adapter is of the same size as that of an SD card. This particular module is termed micro SD card because of its small size (tiny in fact) and this means it can fit easily into the phone.

Things we found useful:

One of the biggest advantages of this ByteStor Hi-Speed 80x Secure Digital Memory Card is that it can save faster and so the time spent in waiting between shots particularly in high-res mode is considerably less. We tried taking longer movies on our digital camera and camcorder, the results were telling at greater quality with smooth playback. The ByteStor Hi-Speed SD Card is perfect for large applications and it could read and save data faster on our PDA. The results of course will depend on the model of your device and the settings. You can shoot more pictures on vacations or holidays where downloading might be impractical. Suppose if your card happens to be full on holiday, you will not be able to re-use the card without downloading the current images first.

We were able to capture more hi-resolution images and try taking pictures on the highest setting because you have the option for larger prints compared to basic or normal setting. You can take multiple shots and choose the best one when practical. Here we had a slight problem and that was deleting unwanted shots from the camera on the move. This really turned out to be difficult and rather time consuming. The good news is that it can save more data, images and games with your picture mobile phone and obviously it allows you to carry a wide range of music for your MP3 player at high quality. This card is manufactured making use of industry standard (SLC) technology compatibility and issues concerning reliability are dramatically reduced. The ByteStor Hi-Speed SD Card has a Read/write speed of 10MB/s (66X on the basis of the CD ROM scale) and this is about 10 times higher compared to its 1GB SD Card version (and that is really welcome if you use SD cards with a handheld PocketPC). The transaction speed is very good even on the digital photo frame, but it does not make it palpable how many photos it would store on a digital photo frame. It took just about 3 seconds to transfer 50MB and some cards such as Extreme III will cost you twice but obviously does the same thing.

Data transfer rate:

Although we believe bigger pack like 4GB is available, this 2GB was plenty of room for us to store tons of music on it without getting closer anywhere to the limit. Besides, the data that we put on this memory card seems to have a faster data transfer rate to and from it compared to our much expensive SD card that we use in the camera, so we are pretty pleased with the data transfer rate. At less than £7, we thought it was great value for money and we stand by that. But we have heard you can actually purchase this set for less than £6 in some places which is a really give away and is a must buy if you require extra room for files on your mobile.

Formatting:

Before you begin any transfer of data, you first have to format the ByteStor 2GB micro SD card. This is achieved by slotting the card into the mobile phone and sticking to the phone instructions on formatting (each telephone might have a unique method to do this). But once you are done with the formatting (which was a matter of minutes via mobile phone), your Micro SD should now contain five separate folders:  Videos, images, sounds, music and other files. Each folder is now set to be filled in your very own way. Now you are ready to transfer the data you have chosen including music, data, images and video onto the little device, though we should state that when you are opting for videos, you have to convert the files into 3GP for them to work on the particular phone. Said this, you can find several conversion programs available on the market to do this.

How do you use it?

This is the clever bit which makes it so simple that even a child can easily use it. The actual micro SD card is to be slotted into the adaptor. Then the adapter is slotted into the USB reader. Finally the adapter’s USB connector is pushed into one of your USB ports on your PC. Now you are ready to begin filling up your SD card with the photos, music and the like, hence you could carry the information on the mobile phone.

Transferring data:

The little beauty does make transferring almost anything to your phone a breeze. Firstly with the USB reader now consisting of the SD card adapter which in turn has the actual SD Micro card, push the complete lot into a selected USB port on your PC (sounds a bit tricky, but it is not). Once you push the adapter into the USB port, it will be recognised as an external device. (Let us give you an example: KFAT1 or F . This file is to be opened and should be given with the five files as mentioned earlier. If not, then your card requires formatting through your mobile telephones (Refer to formatting above). Once the five files appear, then you will have no trouble transferring your chosen data from the files on your computer by either ‘send to’ or ‘drag & drop’. For some ‘send to’ method will seem quicker than the ‘drag & drop’, though both ways work quite well and so we suppose it is more like an individual decision. The songs and images drag and dropped over with such easiness soon filling the rather cumbersome 2GB which the micro SD card gives you. Do note that you can get away without using the USB adapter and just make use of the card adapter if your PC allows it. Once you are done with transferring the data you need, it is then an issue of dismantling the unit, taking the Micro SD card from the USB reader and adapter. Now place the micro SD card into the mobile device. That is it and now you are ready to take your data anywhere with you.

Warranty details:

The ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card comes with a 5 year swap-out warranty from the original purchase date.

In a nutshell:

The 2GB ByteStor SD memory card had no class number on it and we found out later when we purchased some 8GB memory cards that featured Class 2, 4 and 6 with Class 6 being more ideal for video, so we assume as it is faster. We tried two cards for downloading MP3s in order to play on a bedside DAB unit, but found that both cards failed in the similar way with I/O errors and then were corrupt. To sum up things on a positive note, it is the simplicity of this little beauty that undoubtedly turned out to be enticing point and drew us to buying it, although the price too had a big hand in it as well. It is great for action photography, high-resolution movies and images making use of the latest devices such as high-megapixel cameras. You will have no problem using the device in SD compliant devices including PDA’s, digital cameras, digital camcorders, notebooks, MP3 players, tracking systems, mobile phones and music devices.

ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card – Technical Specification Table

Product features:

The Verbatim 8GB HD Video SDHC Class 6 Card (product code: 44030) is optimised to support camcorders’ highest setting and is designed for use with all SDHC slot equipped devices. Verbatim brings you four models available in this product line-up including 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB card sizes with the Class 6 speed specification. Built in a noticeable blue colour in an ultra-portable size, the package consists of an average 90% less plastic than previous ones.

Performance:

The Verbatim 8GB SDHC card is a class six card, the industry’s highest performance rating (so no worries there!) and it did not have any other speed claims on the packaging. This card did exactly what we needed it to do. We got a little better than a real world doubling of speed with the Verbatim SDHC card and perhaps your mileage may slightly vary. Based on different SDHC speed charts we have seen, the card has faster transfer rate and lower power consumption too. The print speed may vary on what you read or write but is certainly class 6.  We tested it with the Canon SX20 which is having Class 6 units and it did really well. We found that the time between the shots is rapid and it takes the HD video (when we tried with Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 digital camera & Canon EOS 550D camera for video recording) and reads without any hassle. The writing speed is great up to 9MB/sec (66x), while the Read speed is 20MB/sec (133x). Speed was quite important and the Verbatim SDHC card delivered, but its capacity of 8GB will be more than enough for all your photos and videos. This 44030 flash memory has 180 minutes of recording time at 6Mbps (2 hours at HD Standard & Captured 6MB/sec HD extended) with the Internal memory being 8192 MB. Do note that the actual recording time will differ depending on the model, compression, resolution and content.

Fit & Finish:

Though the card works without a hitch even with the most demanding tasks, the fit and finish of the casing is not up to specifications. It rather sticks and you have to pull out of the camera. The more you use it, the less it will stick, so that is good. Perhaps, it is just a minor manufacturing glitch that will continue to work out itself.

Storage Capacity options:

The Verbatim HD Video SDHC Class 6 Memory Card is also available in the following storage capacity levels including 4GB (product code: 44029), 16GB (product code: 44031) and 32GB (product code: 44032) with 90 minutes, 6 hours and 12 hours of recording at 6Mbps respectively. All Verbatim HD Video SDHC cards have a read speed of up to 20MB/sec (133x) and write Speed of up to 9MB/sec (66x).

Manufacturer warranty:

The product is covered under a manufacturer warranty of 2 years from the original purchase date.

Bottom-line:

We are pretty impressed with the Verbatim SDHC card’s quality video capture/playback features. Besides, the card that comes well packed by Verbatim gives you faster photo upload/downloads to/from the PC in comparison with the lower performing Class 2 & Class 4 speed rated SDHC cards. With the high file transfer rate, we felt like we are working on a hard drive. SD cards as we know are a bit of commodity nowadays, but the extra expense of a renowned brand like Verbatim is well worth it.

Verbatim 44030 8GB HD Video SDHC Card – Technical Specification Table