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Archive 2012 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)

  
 
TMaG82
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)


About to order some SD cards for the D600 and I'm torn between these two options.

A) 2 16GB Sandisk Extreme Pro (95x) or Lexar 600x (90x)

B) 2 32GB Sandisk Extreme (45x) or Lexar 400x (60x)

Both sets are UHS-1. With option A set to overflow I'm anticipating being able to get around 560 or so images, with option B at least 1,000. I'm not sure if I'll need all that space to hold 1,000 images in one session but at least it's good to have that option.

Has anyone done any speed tests between the Extreme vs Extreme Pro and if the D600 takes advantage of the higher speeds?



Oct 01, 2012 at 08:54 PM
M635_Guy
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)


You should check over in the Gear Talk forum for a link to Rod G's card speed tests.

The frame rate of the D600 isn't going to scare any of those cards - your main benefit is going to be the speed pulling pix off the card. If you have USB 3.0 it is pretty cool how fast it is. I just did some tests on CF vs SD and USB 2 vs USB 3 (I can't post links from my phone, but they should be way to find...

I'm a fan of Lexar Pro cards. Generally I'll go for smaller, faster cards from them over bigger cards. My $0.02



Oct 01, 2012 at 09:21 PM
Nikon Rob
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)


According to Rob Galbraith's benchmarks, the 95MB/s cards write about 40% faster than the 45MB/s versions in the D800. On the D7000, the difference is much less. I'd assume they optimized UHS implementation in the time between the D7000 and the D800, so I'd guess the D600 numbers will be closer to those of the D800. 40% is a very significant increase in speed if you shoot sports. The read speeds of the two cards are probably very similar.

As for space, you shouldn't buy much more than you'll need because prices basically drop 50% every year. I get about 260 RAW+jpeg images from a D800E on a 16GB card, so assuming the compression is the same you should expect close to 390 per 16GB card on the D600. I always carry a couple older, smaller cards in my bag in case I ever use way more than I ever have, but it's never been an issue. You can also switch to jpeg-only if you get caught in a bind near the end of a shoot, and THEN buy another card before your next shoot.

I'm thinking the smaller, faster cards are better.



Oct 02, 2012 at 12:02 AM
RRRoger
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)


I have the SanDisk 30, 45, and 95MBS cards
I could not tell much difference going from 30 to 45, but the jump to 95 is substantial.
If you can afford it go for the 95MBs otherwise just get the 30s. Generally they are "fast enough".

As for smaller faster cards, I buy the biggest I can afford (usually 32GB).
I tend to loose these and dread the possibility of using micro-cards in the future.
So I am thankful that there is a second slot for overflow when needed.



Oct 02, 2012 at 10:38 AM
Adam Bavier
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)


To me the main benefit of having two cards in the camera is to shoot in Backup mode. It is all about safety. If the one card up and dies, there is a backup of my photos easily accessible. I haven't had to recover any photos off the 2nd card yet, but it is comforting knowing it is there.


Oct 02, 2012 at 01:14 PM
Rodolfo Paiz
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)


The card won't be the bottleneck in either case, the buffer will. So the speed is not the primary issue... get fast if you can afford it, but get the slower cards if your budget limits you to them.

What you need to define is the capacity. A lot depends on how you shoot. Rob mentioned above that he gets 260 RAW+JPG images onto a 16GB card, at 36MP each, so you should get ~400 images (RAW+JPG) onto a card with the D600. I'll also add that the D3x made ~20MB RAW files (14-bit lossless compressed), so I can predict that you'd get around 800 images if you store only the RAW file (again, 14-bit lossless compressed).

So, how do you want to store your images? And how many of them do you want to store on one card? And, are you going to use the two cards at the same time so you have a backup, or are you going to overflow? The answers to those questions will tell you how big a card you need. Then, knowing the size you need, you can think about speed.



Oct 02, 2012 at 08:50 PM
mrgetalife
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)


The place extra speed will help is when you transfer using an external reader from Card to computer.
And i'm with everyone else on the speed. For the camera unless your photo sets are longer than 3 second long continuous shots in RAW. A faster card might edge out 1 more frame faster at the end. From most of the field reports put it at 15 frames before you really have to wait for enough of the buffer to clear for a shot.

I'd say start slower/cheaper. If you go the backup card setup. The 32 you won't have to worry about a swap. Memory cards generally go down in price and faster over time. Only in rare occasions does the price go opposite due to supply problems.



Oct 03, 2012 at 12:23 PM
TMaG82
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Which SD cards do you use in your D600? (Space vs. speed)


I think Im going to get a set of both from Amazon and give them a hot. I'll do a real world testing on what I need and decide from there. I don't think I'll need the extra space but may not need the speed either. Who knows maybe I'll end up with 16gb 45's.


Oct 03, 2012 at 04:19 PM





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