Memory Cards

Transcend’s 133X CF cards are targeted at users who need reliability and greater performance and the 133X Compact Flash  (CF) Memory Card is a ‘godsend’ for reporters, photography enthusiasts and professional photographers. The Transcend Flash Memory Card is simply the tick as it is pretty large enough for professional work or even for a fun-filled day out, with no real data loss. It is always quick to download and its ease of use is worth appreciable.

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

Manufacturer	Transcend
Model Name	Transcend 133X Compact Flash Memory Card
Available capacity	1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB/16GB/32GB
Type	Compact Flash (CF) Card
Size	42.8mm x 36.4mm x 3.3mm
Weight	11.4g
Data transfer	Up to 21.5 MB/sec
Technology	ECC technology
RoHS compliant	Yes
Highlight features	10,000 insertion/removal cycles Multi-platform compatibility ATA interface CF 4.0 compliant Ultra DMA mode 0-4 supported card Dual-channel support CF Type I standards compatible Fast 133X performance
Warranty	Limited lifetime warranty

Integral has just unveiled the new UltimaPro range of SDHC memory cards. You may store masses of high quality data on this high speed SDHC Class 6 Memory Card and this includes videos and photos from your SDHC compatible devices. Simply speaking, we review this card particularly because it is understandably class 10, which we hope would mean it saves files fast helping you to be ready to take the next picture or video as soon as possible.

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

Manufacturer	Integral
Model Name	Integral 16GB UltimaPro SDHC Class 10 Memory Card
Product Code	INSDH16G10
Card reader (product code)	INSDH16G10R
Memory Card Type	SDHC memory card
Applications to use	PDAs, digital cameras, sat nav, MP3/4 players, HD camcorders, digital video recorders
Class	Class 10
Capacity	16GB
Other available capacities (with card readers)	4GB (INSDH4G10) + Card Reader (INSDH4G10R), 8GB (INSDH8G10) + Card Reader (INSDH8G10R), 32GB (INSDH32G10) + Card Reader (INSDH32G10R)
Speed (write)	10 MB/s
Speed (read)	23 MB/s
File format	FAT32
Form factor	Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC)
Voltage	2.7V – 3.6V
Size (mm)	32 × 24 × 2.1
Weight (g)	2
Pins	9
Package contents	1 x Integral 16GB UltimaPro SDHC Class 10 Memory Card 1 x USB card reader Free protective case
Highlight features	Works well with digital camcorders even at Full HD (1920 x 1080p) Class 10 speed – Faster data transfer from SDHC to PC/Mac
Warranty	Memory card:5 year Card reader:2 year

Incredibly fast and rugged, the MSMT4GN 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Card from Sony is the right choice when you need the highest level of confidence for catching and storing your digital photos, music and video. Designed for Handycam, Cyber-shot and PSP, it does what it says on the box. Before we move into the review, here is a quick look at the highs and lows of this memory stick.

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

Manufacturer	Sony
Model Name	MSMT4GN 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Card
Product Code	MSMT4GN
Dimensions	31mm (W) x 20 mm (H) x 1.6 (D) mm
Minimum Write speed	32 Mbps
Capacity	4GB
Applications to use	Handycam, Cyber-shot, PSP
Transfer speed	160 Mbps (with parallel transfer)
Weight	2 g
Product features	Serial interface, Parallel interface (4 pins), Compatible with copyright insurance technology (‘MagicGate’)
Warranty	5 years

Having already reviewed a 1GB CompactFlash Memory Card from ByteStor earlier in our website, we tried reviewing another popular memory card in its rank this time around namely the ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Card to check out if it is really a high-speed memory card and the results seem quite convincing in terms of performance and value. Before we review the ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card, here are some of its positives and negatives that deserve mention.

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

Manufacturer	ByteStor
Model Name	ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card
Memory Card Type	Micro SD card
Dimensions	65mm (L) x 22mm (W) x 10mm (D)
Package contents	2GB micro SD card SD card adapter USB reader Protective case & protection lock
Technology	Standard (SLC) technology
Read/write speed	10MB/s (66X on the basis of the CD ROM scale)
Capacity	2GB
Other Available Capacities	256MB, 512MB, 1GB & 4GB
Applications to use	PDA’s, digital cameras, digital camcorders, notebooks, MP3 players, tracking systems, mobile phones, music devices
SDMI Compliant	Yes
Class number	No
Product features	For High-resolution movies/images with high-megapixel cameras & action photography For multiple shots & choosing the best ones when practical Save more data/images/games with picture mobile phone Carries wide range of music for MP3 player at high quality
Warranty	5 year swap-out warranty

With the expansion of High Definition SD Camcorders in recent times, memory cards with Class 6 speed specification are great for recording High Definition video. In the following review, let us see about a high speed SDHC card from Verbatim for SDHC digital cameras, camcorders and other devices that support SDHC cards. Verbatim is a brand that speaks for itself and is already the numero uno for optical media in Europe. Part of the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation Group (MCC),  Verbatim’s current line up of products comprise CD-ReWritable,  CD-Recordable, DVD-ReWritable, DVD-Recordable, External Hard Drives,  DVD-RAM,  Memory Cards, USB Drives,  Floppy Disks, Tape, Imaging & Accessory products besides the latest High Definition storage media, Blu-ray.

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

Manufacturer	Verbatim
Model Name	Verbatim 44030 8GB HD Video SDHC Class 6 Card
Product Code	44030
Memory Card Type	SDHC Memory Card
Capacity	8GB
Best use	HD Video recording
Colour	Blue
Design	Ultra-portable
Devices	Camera/Camcorder/All SDHC slot equipped devices
Memory adapter	No
Speed features
Speed (write)	9MB/sec (66x)
Speed (read)	20MB/sec (133x)
Class	Class 6
Recording time	180 minutes at 6Mbps (2 hours at HD Standard & Captured 6MB/sec HD extended)
Internal memory	8192MB (8GB)
Available storage capacity	4GB (product code: 44029) 16GB (product code: 44031) 32GB (product code: 44032)
Recording time	4GB: 90 minutes 16GB: 6 hours 32GB: 12 hours
Highlight features	Faster transfer rate Lower power consumption Quality video capture/playback features Faster photo upload/downloads to/from PC
Manufacturer warranty	2 years