I had conversations with three different people this past week about memory cards, so I thought I would share my thoughts.  There are a lot of great companies that make digital media cards, but I just prefer SanDisk.  This is simply my preference and I not writing this as an expert . . . just giving my opinion is all.  I researched a variety of brands before I chose SanDisk and I’ve been very happy & satisfied with their memory cards.  You should consider the cards as an investment, whether for business or personal use.  I still have ALL the cards I’ve purchased, except for a few I’ve given away.  Unless you don’t take care of them, memory cards should last awhile.  Invest in good quality cards and they will be with you for a long time.  Also, SanDisk is always good about offering “rebates” on their memory cards!

There are two different cards I use for my photography business. . . the SanDisk Extreme IV and the SanDisk Extreme III.  Both are awesome, the biggest difference is the “read/write” speed and the “cost”.   The Extreme IV cards I own have a read/write speed of 40mb/sec, whereas the Extreme III have a read/write speed of 30mb/sec.  It is important to take into consideration exactly how fast your camera can write.  The Extreme line of cards is mostly for use with Professional SLR cameras.   SanDisk has a variety of memory cards besides the Extreme III & IV. They have an Ultra, an Ultra II and an Extreme Pro card.  Check out the SanDisk website for more info.

SanDisk offers a more thorough explanation I wanted to share : “Using flash memory cards rated for higher speeds allows images to be written to cards faster, which reduces waiting time between shots and enables continuous burst mode on more advanced cameras.   The faster speed is especially beneficial in capturing a series of fast-action images or human expressions and reactions. Using faster memory cards also provides quicker transfer of both still images and video files from the camera to a computer (an action known as read speed), so there’s less time spent waiting for files to offload from the memory card.”

SanDisk also gives a recommendation on their website for their many different memory cards.  “SanDisk Extreme cards, which are currently rated up to 30MB/s, are recommended for DSLR cameras that take high-resolution images and provide continuous shooting mode or continuous burst mode.  SanDisk Ultra cards, which are currently rated for 15MB/s read and 9MB/s write speeds, are recommended for high-megapixel, high-end digital point-and-shoot cameras.”

*I believe SanDisk recently upgraded all the read/write speeds on their memory cards.  So if you go to buy from them, the cards now have faster speeds than what you will see on these old photos below.

For weddings, I choose to use ONLY 8GB cards.  The main reason for this is : protection of the images . . . in case a memory card ever locked up on me.  Knock on wood that nothing ever happens . . . but if a card locks up, there is a chance of losing those images.  SanDisk does include a recovery CD with their memory cards, but I would rather take precaution, just in case.  Luckily, I have never had a problem with my SanDisk cards and therefore I will continue to invest in their memory cards.  Some people say “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” . . . so, I do not want to put all the images from a wedding on just a couple cards, that is why I prefer to shoot all weddings with multiple cards.  If you buy the 16GB or 32GB memory cards, they will hold many more images, but I like documenting the day on multiple cards to be safe.   The 4GB doesn’t hold enough for me and I don’t want to constantly be changing memory cards . . . so I choose the 8GB.  It seems to work very well for me throughout the wedding day.

This is the Extreme III SDHC Card, which I originally bought to use with my Canon 1D Mark II N (which can write simultaneously to both CF & SD cards).  I seldom shoot with this camera, unless I need to capture some very fast action.  Now I use these memory cards in my point and shoot camera, even though my older ULTRA SD cards work just fine.  If you are buying memory cards for a “point & shoot” camera I would research on the SanDisk site and see which card is best for your camera.  The Extreme III is not necessary for my point and shoot, but since I have them . . . I use them.  I would recommend the regular (blue) SanDisk cards or the ULTRA line for point and shoot cameras.

Again, this is simply my preference of memory cards.  I do not get promotional fees for blogging about SanDisk.  I just really like their products & wanted to pass on what I learned from hours of online research, in hopes that the information might help someone else.