Camcorder SD/SDHC

Tozer

Hi

Just splashed out on a Samsung HD camcorder. It has a slot for SD or SDHC cards.

Any advice as to what sort of card (and size) I ought to go for? Have read conflicting advice as to whether it is better to get 2 x smaller (e.g. 4GB) cards or 1 larger (e.g. 8-16GB) card.

Any help is gratefully received.

timbim_2

Two smaller cards may be cheaper. Also, you're spreading your footage across more cards, so less damage if one is lost. Conversely, there may be a greater chance of data corruption across many cards as there are more to go wrong (I say may as the increased storage density on a single larger card may negate this effect totally, causing problems of its own.)

My advice? Buy the best and fastest cards you can afford. I'd stick to sandisk. Get a professional range card with a high data rate. Most of all, don't put all your eggs in one basket, once captured off your card, store the files on more than one hard drive. The old solution was to have a stack of dv tapes on a long rotation, so any errors get noticed before the tape gets reused, and so can be re-captured. I'd personally get an 8gb card, but don't sacrifice quality for size, you'll live to regret it.

tomfun

I just bought an 8gig Transcend (made by Samsung) SDHC card there are lots on ebay for £12.77 .

You will need a SDHC if you are recording in full hd because the speed of the cards are just as important as the size

I use mine in a Canon Sx1 is camera which is full HD in it works very well, i would say 4 gig is a bit small when recording in 1080p

timbim_2

Also, if you want to get some truly fantastic looking smooth shots, consider getting a steadicam type device, or if you fancy a DIY project, you could make one yourself. They take practice using, but the results are phenomenal, turning a distinctly average home video into something much more watchable.

marms

Play.com have a good offer on the PNY 16GB Optima High Speed SD HC for £16.79 with free delivery
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/10537723/PNY-16GB-Optima-High-Speed-SD-HC-Card-Endorsed-By-National-Geographic/Product.html

philnicandamy

tomfun wrote: »

I just bought an 8gig Transcend (made by Samsung) SDHC card there are lots on ebay for £12.77 .

You will need a SDHC if you are recording in full hd because the speed of the cards are just as important as the size

I use mine in a Canon Sx1 is camera which is full HD in it works very well, i would say 4 gig is a bit small when recording in 1080p

carefull though with Ebay some memory cards in the past have been proved to be fake ones

I use www.mymemory.co.uk they've always been pretty good with me...i've had a few SDHC cards for my kodak z1

peteb23

Also, check out the Class of the card. The class is the speed at which the data can be written to the card. The slowest is Class 2 - you would probably be best with a Class 6.

A good quality Class 6 SDHC card should stop your camera from dropping frames and giving you jerky footage,

Tozer

Thanks all. Really appreciated.

BillScarab

https://www.mymemory.co.uk or https://www.7dayshop.co.uk are good for memory cards.

I just bought a 16GB Sandisk card for my HD Camcorder and the recommendation was for at least class 4 for HD video.

smo59

My wife is keen to get a camcorder, and I like the idea of getting one that uses an SD or SDHC card.

How much footage (mins) can you typically get on a 4GB, 8GB or 16GB card?

Thanks,

smo59.

BillScarab

It depends on what the resolution the video is what format it is and what quality it is.

There's no easy answer. The best thing is to look at the Camcorders you're interested in and the info should be available on the manufacturer's website.

As an example with my Panasonic SD10 1920 x 1080 footage at the highest quality is 7 mins per GB, at the normal quality it is 14 mins per GB. If I record in 1440 x1080 it's 21 mins per GB.

As you can see HD recording eats up memroy cards pretty quickly.