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SD card slot. Select a memory card: type, capacity, speed. The most capacious microSD

Memory cards have become so integral to the life of modern man that he simply cannot imagine further existence without them. Memory cards have long replaced floppy disks, disks, and are even gradually replacing flash drives. The main advantage of memory cards is their miniature size, which makes the product quite mobile and easy to use. As for operation, not everyone still knows how to use memory cards correctly. We will learn more about a memory card slot, what it is, and how to use microcards correctly.

The slot for connecting a memory card is a hole in the form of a slit up to 2.5 cm into which the device is inserted. This slot is equipped with special contacts, which, when a memory card is inserted, are connected to it, after which the information is read by a PC or laptop.

Standard laptops are often equipped from the factory with only one slot for connecting microSD memory cards. How to connect a memory card to a personal computer? If your PC does not have a slot for connecting memory cards, then this problem can always be fixed. To do this, you need to purchase a portable slot or card reader, which often has at least 3 slots for different types of devices. The advantage of portable slots is their mobility and low cost.

What is a memory card

Having found out what a slot for connecting memory cards is, you should pay attention to the question of what memory cards are. Memory cards are a small and thin plate made of plastic, inside of which there is a memory module. The advantage of this module is its non-volatile nature, whereby information on the device is saved even when the product is not connected to a laptop, PC or other types of gadgets.

Information on the memory card can be deleted, recorded, or rewritten in multiple repetition mode. The memory card has a fairly long service life, measured in decades, provided that the product is handled correctly. Additionally, some memory cards are equipped with a special tab, which can be used to protect the product from accidental formatting or deletion of information.

Memory cards are divided into the following types:

SD- one of the most popular types of memory cards used on various modern gadgets. The maximum volume of such a product is 4 GB.
SDHC– products whose memory exceeds 4 GB and reaches 32 GB. They are identical in size to the previous version, but differ in cost and information capacity.
SDXC– cards that have a very large memory capacity up to 2 TB.
MiniSD– a direct analogue of an SD card, differing in the size of the product. These devices are practically not used today.

MicroSD– a very small memory card that is used in modern phones, players and other gadgets. It has miniature dimensions, but at the same time quite large capacity up to 64 GB. The disadvantage of this size is the possibility of easily losing the product.

Memory Stick– memory cards from the popular company Sony. Their maximum volume is up to 16 GB, and they come in both small and large sizes.
CompactFlash– format of memory cards that are already outdated. The maximum volume is 256 GB, and the advantage is the high data transfer speed.

There are other types of memory cards that are also outdated and can only be found in an electronics store.

Memory card adapters

Laptops are equipped with a slot for memory cards, which are large. But what about microSD or miniSD cards? There are special adapters for them, which are a large regular memory card. The adapter is equipped with a small slot at the end through which MicroSD memory cards can be installed.

By installing a microSD card into the adapter, you can use the product with a device that supports large cards (laptop, card reader, camera). Adapters are often sold together with small memory cards. If the adapter is not included in the kit, then you can always purchase it separately, especially since its cost is insignificant.

Features of using memory cards

Most popular cards Memory devices that are used everywhere are SDHC and microSD type devices. Standard card memory has a rectangular shape with a cut corner. This corner is cut off so that the card can only be inserted into the slot on one side.

It is important to know! If, when you try to insert a card into the slot, nothing works, then you should turn the product 180 degrees and try to install it in the slot again. When the card is installed correctly, there will definitely be a click.

To remove the card, you need to press on it with your finger or nail, after which a characteristic click will follow and the product will jump out of the slot. The principle of installing cards both in laptops and in photo and video equipment is identical. To insert a card into the card reader, just place it in correct position and stick it into the crack. When inserting a card into the card reader, it does not go completely into the slot, but only for the most part, which simplifies the method of removing it.

If there is a need to transfer information from your phone, which is stored on a memory card, to a laptop, then you will need an adapter for this. A microSD card can be installed in a laptop slot using an adapter or adapter. First, the microcard is installed in the adapter, and only then the latter is inserted into the slot.

How to read information from a memory card on a PC

If the PC system unit does not have slots for connecting memory cards, then you can purchase a card reader for this. The product is a small plastic box with several slots for connecting cards. On the other hand, the device has a USB connector through which the product is connected to a computer.

Determining whether a memory card is visible on your computer is quite simple; to do this, double-click on the “My Computer” icon. In the window that opens, an icon for a memory card or an additional disk will appear, which is the connected product.

To open the contents of the card on your computer, just double-click on the folder. In the window that opens, you can copy the necessary files to transfer to the PC memory or vice versa. When finished, be sure to learn how to remove the memory card correctly. To do this, you need to find the flash drive icon with a green arrow in the lower right corner. You need to click on this icon once, and then select the “Safely Remove Hardware...” function from the pop-up window.

It is important to know! If you remove the memory card without using a safe method, the shelf life of the product is significantly reduced. In addition, the shelf life of the card reader and the slot itself on the laptop is reduced.

In conclusion, it should be noted that although memory cards are easy to use, it is imperative to follow the rules and recommendations for their use. It is not recommended to store memory cards near electromagnetic radiation, as they affect the shelf life of the product.

Every owner of a digital camera or smartphone with a camera sooner or later thinks about buying a memory card. Even if the device already has several gigabytes of built-in memory, to save photos and videos you will need a large-capacity flash drive with high writing speed. It may seem that all cards are the same, but there are many pitfalls in this topic. We will tell you how to choose best map memory.

MEMORY CARD TYPE

There are several types of memory cards on the market today. The one listed in the description of your device will suit you. For example, most cameras today are compatible with SD (Secure Digital) memory cards, which have two subtypes: SDHC (high-capacity cards) and SDXC (ultra-high-capacity cards). Cameras released several years ago may not be compatible with SDXC memory cards, and digital camera models released before 2006 may not be compatible with SDHC memory cards.

The maximum capacity for SDHC is 64 GB, and for SDXC - 512 GB.

Some professional cameras, as well as cameras from previous years, widely use CF (Compact Flash) flash drives. Today they are not much superior in their characteristics to other types, but they are the leaders in recording volume and speed. However, before purchasing a fast CF memory card, make sure that your camera can support such high data transfer speeds. In particular, there must be support for the UDMA (direct memory access) function on the camera side.

There are also CFast 2.0 memory cards with ultra-high read (up to 515 MB/s) and write (up to 440 MB/s) speeds. Their maximum volume is 128 GB, minimum is 64 GB. This is a relatively new format that is supported by several professional cameras. But it is already clear that due to its high speed characteristics it will be in demand in the future.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II / EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM SETTINGS: ISO 1000, F6.3, 1/1000 s

In tablets and smartphones, where compactness is especially important, along with regular SD cards, their smaller versions - microSD - can be used. They are often used in action cameras and some pocket cameras. Today, microSD cards are in no way inferior to their full-size counterparts - neither speed nor capacity. They can also be used in cameras with a standard SD slot via an adapter. The maximum microSD memory capacity is 200 GB on the SanDisk Ultra microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I model. You can read more about microSD memory cards on the pages of our magazine.

MEMORY CARD STANDARD UHS-I and UHS-II

Today, memory cards of the UHS-II standard are being actively introduced. Fujifilm X-T1, Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II already work with them. The file writing speed reaches 250 MB/s, and the reading speed is 280 MB/s. Such high performance allows us to realize all the capabilities of modern technology. Externally, flash drives of the old and new standards are no different, but this is only from the front side. On back side UHS-II cards have contacts arranged in two rows. But most importantly, UHS-II is backward compatible: they can be used in photo and video cameras that do not support this standard. It is obvious that the future is theirs.

Some photographic equipment manufacturers have tried to introduce their own types of flash drives. But on this moment Almost all camera models are compatible with one of the types described above, and either a separate or combined slot is provided for using your own types of flash drives.

WHAT CAPACITY OF MEMORY CARD SHOULD I CHOOSE?

The capacity of the memory card determines how many pictures or minutes of video you can record. Naturally, more capacious cards are more expensive. But we live in the age of multi-megapixel cameras and the coming era of 4K video. SLR cameras have crossed the 50 megapixel mark, and mirrorless cameras are already equipped with 42 megapixel sensors. And even in mobile phones you can find image resolutions of more than 40 million pixels! The average number of pixels is 24 million. Canon EOS-1D X Mark II records video with a bitrate of 800 Mbps. One forty-second video from this camera takes about 5 GB! And the higher the resolution of the photo and video, the more space on the flash drive will be required.

The size of the file directly depends on the number of details stored in it, that is, on its quality. If you shoot photos in RAW+JPEG format, the size of one photo can be more than 100 MB! Now there is an ultra-high-resolution 4K video format, where one minute can take up the volume of an average amateur photo shoot.

There is practically no point in purchasing memory cards with a capacity of less than 16 GB today. If you plan to actively take photographs and shoot some video, we recommend memory cards with a capacity of 16 and 32 GB. At the same time, you shouldn’t shoot all the material on one card; it’s better to split the session into several flash drives. The point is not so much that memory cards are unreliable (they are very reliable), but that we can lose them. When shooting video, the memory card capacity should be selected so that it is enough for the entire shooting day. Below we provide a table for modern multi-megapixel cameras, which will allow you to roughly estimate how many pictures and minutes of video you can record on memory cards of different sizes.

Memory capacity	Video Full HD H.264	Photo RAW+JPEG
8 GB	10 minutes	80 photos
16 GB	21 minutes	160 photos
32 GB	43 minutes	320 photos
64 GB	1 hour 27 minutes	650 photos
128 GB	2 hours 54 minutes	1280 photos

HOW TO DETERMINE THE OPTIMUM WRITE AND READ SPEED?

Many people do not pay attention to the speed of the memory card. But in vain, because it is more important than the volume, because it determines the scope of the flash drive. For example, it will not be possible to record Full HD on a slow card - the recording will constantly be interrupted. If you shoot a series of frames with a slow flash drive, the camera may freeze for a long time while recording it. We once had to wait as long as three minutes for a series of images from a 42-megapixel camera to be recorded on a Class 10 card. High-speed photography at over 10 frames per second is no longer surprising, and 4K and 360° video formats have raised the bar for recording speeds to new heights. So how can you tell a fast memory card from a slow one and choose the best one for your device?

Previously, flash cards were divided into classes: 2, 4, 6 and 10. Essentially, this is the write speed in megabytes per second: class 2 - 2 MB/s, class 6 - 6 MB/s. The tenth class means that the flash drive can record pictures at a higher speed than 10 MB/s. Such fast flash drives, in addition to the letter C, are marked with the letter U with the number 1 or 3. The manufacturer always indicates on the card the actual read and write speed (for example, 45 MB/s), and on the right - the class of the card. The situation is similar with Compact Flash and microSD.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE SPEED CLASS OF A MEMORY CARD?

If you plan to shoot video in Full HD format, then memory cards of at least speed class 6 are suitable for you, and better yet, speed class 10 or higher. The same cards are suitable for everyday photography. For serial shooting, it is better to choose faster flash drives - about 45 MB/s. This will allow you to photograph in short, continuous bursts. With slow flash drives, you risk missing an interesting shot while your camera records previous shots.

Shooting moving objects places even greater demands on speed: you have to shoot almost continuously in bursts. And here the ideal speed of a memory card is already 80 MB/s and higher.

Finally, for professionals who shoot long bursts, the fastest flash drives with speeds of 90 MB/s are a must. Recording speed - key moment, and you shouldn’t skimp on it. A professional camera with a high-speed memory card is capable of shooting a continuous series of frames until the free space runs out.

Reading speed is less important for a camera. It is always higher than or equal to the recording speed. By choosing a memory card with a high write speed, you will definitely not experience problems with reading speed.

WHAT TO PAY ATTENTION TO?

As long as the memory card is inside the device, it is protected. But as soon as it is removed, it immediately becomes vulnerable. At least once, the photographer will definitely drop it, leave it on the table under the scorching sun, in a photo bag in the bitter cold, or even worse - pour water on it! What can we say about traveling: at the airport your luggage will definitely be checked x-rays. We recommend choosing memory cards that are protected from all of the above negative influences.

WHICH MEMORY CARD MANUFACTURER SHOULD I CHOOSE?

Prophotos recommends SanDisk memory cards. With them, we have been testing all the cameras that come to our editorial office for many years, because we trust their reliability and value their high performance. Below are recommendations for different types of devices.

The following memory card models are ideal for digital SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses: SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDXC UHS-II, SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II, SanDisk Extreme Plus SDHC/SDXC UHS- I, SanDisk Extreme microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash, SanDisk Extreme Plus microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash.

For amateur photo and video shooting, depending on the type of camera, the following are suitable: SanDisk Extreme Plus microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme Plus SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra PLUS microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra PLUS SDHC/SDXC, SanDisk Ultra microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra SDHC/SDXC, SanDisk microSD/microSDHC.

For professional video shooting: SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II, SanDisk Extreme PRO Compact Flash, SanDisk Extreme PRO CFast2.0, SanDisk Extreme PLUS SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme SDHC /SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash.

The following memory cards are ideal for action cameras: SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDXC UHS-II, SanDisk Extreme PLUS microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra PLUS microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra microSDHC /microSDXC UHS-I.

The owner of any gadget sooner or later has a desire to increase its memory. Fortunately, most often this is possible thanks to memory cards. Tablets, smartphones, e-readers, video cameras, cameras are not a complete list of devices, most models of which have a slot for a memory card.

A memory card may be needed not only to increase the memory capacity of the device - in some cases, copying a file to a memory card is the fastest and in a simple way exchange information with other devices.

The algorithm for choosing a memory card for specific equipment is clear and seemingly quite simple:

1. Decide on the form factor of the memory cards.

2. Determine the minimum speed required for the gadget to operate.

3. Select the memory capacity of the card based on your needs and financial capabilities.

Unfortunately, in reality everything may not be so simple, because the speed of the card can be described by as many as four different parameters. Therefore, before you start choosing a memory card, you should figure out what each parameter is responsible for.

Characteristics of memory cards

Form factor(card standard that describes its size, number, location and purpose of pins) is primarily determined by the gadget in which the card is supposed to be installed. There is usually a marking next to the memory card slot indicating which cards the slot is intended for. Well, of course, full list Supported memory cards will be listed in the gadget's instruction manual.

There are many form factors of memory cards, but the most common today are:

MicroSD/microSDHC/microSDXC;

JetDrive lite;

Compact Flash:

microSD/microSDHC/microSDXC And SD/SDHC/SDXC belong to one type of card – Secure Digital. They are presented in three formats (SD, SDHC, SDXC) and three form factors (SD, miniSD, microSD), although miniSD is practically not found today. SD cards of the same format and different form factors differ only in size, they have the same filling - many cards of the microSD form factor even come with an adapter that allows them to be used as SD form factor cards.

The formats differ in the possible maximum volume:

SD can have a capacity of up to 2 GB;

SDHC – up to 32 GB;

SDXC – up to 2 TB (currently the maximum capacity among cards produced is 1 TB; on sale there are capacities of up to 512 GB).

The formats are compatible from top to bottom, i.e., a device that supports SDHC cards will also support SD, but SDXC cards will not work on this device.

JetDrive Lite can also be classified as SD format. The JetDrive Lite card is an SD card with slightly different dimensions - it is shorter than the original one. The size of the card has been changed so that when installed in MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, it does not protrude beyond the dimensions of the laptop.

The card reader depth varies between MacBook models, so JetDrive Lite cards also come in different sizes:

Memory Stick is a memory card used in Sony devices; now the most common type is Memory Stick PRO Duo ( MS Pro Duo). The characteristics are similar to the SDHC format, but have a much higher price. Fortunately, in most cases, instead of an MS Pro Duo card, you can use microSD cards with an appropriate adapter.

Compact Flash- an old-timer among modern memory cards, produced since 1994. Despite such a respectable age, CompactFlash cards are still popular in video and photographic equipment due to their high write/read speed and large capacity: the latest edition of the standard limits the speed to 167 MB/s, and volume – a completely unrealistic 128 Petabytes. In addition, the card data exchange standard (ATA) does not change, and in cameras fifteen years ago you can use modern maps(if the volume is supported), as well as vice versa - insert ancient CF cards into modern cameras (if they are “fast enough”).

XQD– the memory card format developed by SanDisk, Sony and Nikon is intended for devices that are particularly demanding in terms of write/read speed. Today it is considered the most promising format for modern high-resolution video and photo cameras.

Speed class memory card determines its speed performance. Most often, you can find out the minimum recording speed from the class - this indicator is very important for cards on which real-time video is recorded. Speed class mismatch can result in frame loss and recording errors. There are several speed class designation standards.

SD (microSD) cards have four speed levels Class2, Class4, Class6 And Class10. The class is indicated by a number inside the letter “C” and corresponds to the minimum write speed (in MB/s) - for a Class6 card the minimum write speed will be 6 MB/s.

SDHC and SDXC cards can support the UHS (Ultra High Speed) protocol. UHS speed class is indicated inside the letter “U” and corresponds to the minimum write speed in tens of MB/s. A card with a UHS U3 speed class will have a minimum write speed of 30 MB/s. There are also speed specifications for Video Speed Class - (the minimum speed in MB/s is indicated after the letter "V") and Application Performance Class, indicated by the letter "A" and has a minimum write speed of 10 MB/s.

The latest modification of SDHC / SDXC cards with support for the UHS-II protocol has an additional row of contacts on the body and read/write speeds of up to 300 MB/s. But such cards have not yet received wide distribution.

Cards MS PRO DUO provide a minimum write speed of 4 MB/s.

Cards JetDrive Lite provide a minimum write speed of 60 MB/s.

Cards XQD provide a minimum write speed of 125 MB/s.

When choosing a memory class, you should focus on the requirements of the device for which you are purchasing the memory card. If, for example, the device does not support the UHS protocol, there is no point in buying a card with the U3 class - it will not work faster than C10. If the card is intended to be used in various devices, when choosing a speed class, you can refer to the following table:

Since read speed is usually much faster than write speed, manufacturers sometimes indicate the read speed class as multiplier(similar to CD-ROM speeds), with 1x = 150 KB/s. That is, a card with a speed of 133x will have a read speed of 133*150/1024 ≈ 20 MB/s, and a 1067x card will have a read speed of 156 MB/s.

Often manufacturers also indicate maximum values write speed And reading– they can be many times greater than the corresponding values obtained by the speed class of the card. But it should be understood that such speeds are achieved under ideal conditions; in reality, the speed will always be lower, sometimes by several times. Therefore, when choosing a card, you should be guided by the minimum recording speed, and take other speeds as additional information.

Card volume determines how much information will fit on it. On the one hand, the more memory, the better. On the other hand, larger capacity cards are more expensive. In addition, the maximum capacity of memory cards on many devices is limited to a value less than the maximum card capacity of this format. A device, for example, may support SDXC cards, but have a maximum memory card capacity of 128 GB. There is no point in buying a 256 GB SDXC card for such a device. Such subtleties should be clarified before purchasing in the device’s instruction manual.

Memory card options

If you need to increase the memory of your smartphone by 2-8 GB, first of all you should make sure that it has this option. If there is a memory card slot, most likely it is designed for microSD cards. An inexpensive microSD card of speed class 2-4 is suitable for a smartphone.

Most e-readers support cards up to 32GB. A card of this size and speed class 4 will allow you to collect an impressive library at reasonable price. You just need to decide on the form factor: SD or microSD.

Progress does not stand still; some modern smartphones can record video in FullHD quality. To prevent video quality from deteriorating during recording, it is better to choose a card with a higher class: 6-10.

For action cameras recording in FullHD format the best option there will be a speed class 10 card (or U1) with a capacity of 16-32 GB.

If you are going to use the card as a hard drive for a tablet or laptop, choose from high-speed SD or microSD cards with a capacity of 128 GB or more.

To increase the memory capacity of a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro (up to the 4th generation), you can use a special development for Apple laptops - JetDrive Lite cards. Check the specific type of card in accordance with your laptop model using the table given in the guide.

If you're a professional photographer who often shoots bursts in RAW format, you'll need a high-speed card. CompactFlash or XQD - depends on the model of your camera.

Most often, SD cards are used to expand the available memory of smartphones, tablets, drones and other devices, and among all existing species flash drives are especially popular. Although full-fledged SD is still actively used by owners of digital cameras and cameras.

What are SD cards?:

standard SD: SD (SDSC), SDHC, SDXC, SDIO - 32 x 24 x 2.1-1.4 mm
miniSD: miniSD, miniSDHC, miniSDIO - 21.5 x 20 x 1.4 mm
microSD: microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC - 15 x 11 x 1 mm

In addition, relatively recently, the SD Card Association introduced new formats in the SD 7.0 and SD 7.1 specifications: SD Ultra Capacity (SDUC) with support for memory up to 128 TB and SD Express in which the legacy interface is supplemented with PCIe 3.0 and support for NVMe v1.3, which allows you to get speeds up to 985 MB/s while maintaining backward compatibility.

Just imagine a situation in which all your devices will have NVMe solid-state drives instead of outdated slow interfaces. They boast high speeds equivalent to many SSDs, so SD Express cards will be similar in functionality to solid state drives. Additionally, PCI Express and NVMe support allows for faster data transfer speeds while maintaining backward compatibility.

Every year, the cameras used by mobile devices are only getting better, there are more games, and complex desktop programs can already be run on tablets and smartphones. All this means an increase in demand for faster and higher-capacity flash drives. microSD Express cards, which should be available very soon, will have the same or slightly less power than what the options already on the market offer. But they will be able to guarantee that their maximum energy consumption will be at or below what was achieved by previous generations.

It is worth noting that in this guide we will consider microSD cards, but most of the information will help when choosing a flash drive of any other form factor. The SD Association approved the final microSD specification back in July 2005, when their memory capacity did not exceed 128 MB. Later, they managed to get rid of the limitation and more capacious SDHC and SDXC appeared on the market.

microSD: memory capacity up to 2 GB, data transfer speed from 25 MB/s - use FAT12, FAT16 or FAT16B file systems.
microSDHC: memory capacity from 4 GB to 32 GB, data transfer speed from 50 MB/s - usually use the FAT32 file system.
microSDXC: memory capacity from 64 GB to 2 TB, data transfer speed from 50 MB/s - use exFAT file system.

As we have already noted, most of the SD cards available on the market today have the microSD form factor, and the vast majority of them have the microSDXC specification. This means that they are much easier to find and buy.

microSDXC cards can be divided into several categories, depending on their data transfer speed. In the future, this information can be applied to all flash drives of the SD family that we mentioned above.

The SD Association has proposed several different speed classification systems to help determine which cards are best suited for which purposes.

The “Speed Class” column is the most important indicator that reflects the direct data transfer speed of SD cards. Thus, “Class 2” drives (with a speed of 2 MB/s) are best suited for working with standard definition video, and “Class 10” cards (with a speed of 10 MB/s) are capable of recording and playing video in up to 4K format

Additionally, some SDHC and SDXC cards use an additional Ultra High Speed (UHS) classification. There are three UHS classifications (UHS-I, UHS-II and UHS-III). Each introduces various progressive solutions that increase data transfer speeds.

For example, UHS-III v6.0, released in February 2017, includes two new full-duplex specifications. While UHS-I is limited to 104 MB/s and UHS-III theoretically has a maximum throughput of 624 MB/s at full-duplex, UHS-II can transfer data to and from the card up to 156 MB/s using half-duplex or 312 MB/s with full-duplex.

The classification established by the Video Speed organization gives brief information about cards: for example, the “Video Class 10” indicator includes cards with a minimum sequential write speed of 10 MB/s. Video Class 90 cards (V90 at 90 MB/s) support video recording and playback at 60 or 120 frames per second.

Speed class	Minimum speed consistentrecords	UHS speed class	Speed class Video Speed	Optimal
Class 2 (C2)	2 MB/s			Standard Definition Recording and Playback
Class 4 (C4)	4 MB/s			720p/1080p video
Class 6 (C6)	6 MB/s		Video Class 6 (V6)	720p/1080p, and 4K video
Class 10 (C10)	10 MB/s	UHS Class 1 (U1)	Video Class 10 (V10)	720p/1080p/4K video
	30 MB/s	UHS Class 3 (U3)	Video Class 30 (V30)	1080p/4K video at 60/120 fps
	60 MB/s		Video Class 60 (V60)	8K video at 60/120 fps
	90 MB/s		Video Class 90 (V90)	8K video at 60/120 fps

Performance class

The relatively new classification of SD cards “Application Class”, which was not included in the table, has two classes: A1 and A2, which reflect the minimum IOPS performance of the cards. A1 cards are good for 1500 IOPS read and 500 IOPS write, while A2 increases these figures to 4000 IOPS and 2000 IOPS respectively.

In addition, if you see an SD card that is stamped A1 or A2, then you can be sure that this drive is capable of providing stable sequential write speeds of 10 MB/s.

Class	Minimum speed sequential recording	Minimum random read speed	Minimum random write speed
A1	10 MB/s	1500 IOPS	500 IOPS	Not only data storage, but also editing, updating
A2	10 MB/s	4000 IOPS	2000 IOPS	Higher performance and suitable for special applications

Of course, we should not forget that what faster card, the more expensive it is. Therefore, it makes sense to determine your needs in advance. If you're a professional photographer, you'll need a higher-performance card than the average user can afford. If you plan to use it for a banal memory expansion, then you can easily get by with a simpler option.

And while the main goal of this article is to provide you with all the information you need to buy a micro SD (or full-size SD) card, below we will talk about several flash drives, each of which is ideal for performing certain tasks.

The best ratio of price and quality

The best value for money is the Evo Select 64GB U3 (about $11), followed by the Samsung Evo Select 128GB U3 (about $20), which has a larger capacity.

If you recently upgraded your PC and chose an SSD for it, you probably noticed that last years A huge number of all kinds of storage devices from Samsung have appeared. Therefore, it is likely that you will decide to install their proprietary microSD into your smartphone. One way or another, you shouldn’t be surprised by the brand’s presence on the market. Moreover, Samsung currently produces the best microSD

For just $11, the 64GB Samsung Evo Select offers speeds of 100MB/s read and 60MB/s write. The card comes with an SD adapter, and at the end of 2018 it became one of the best-selling cards on Amazon. If 64 GB is not enough for you, then pay attention to the Samsung Evo Select with a capacity of 128 GB. The model offers the same reading speed, but more fast speed recording (up to 90 MB/s). Please note that the Samsung Evo Select 128 GB will cost a little more than the 64 GB version, with an average cost of about $20.

Of course, there are a huge number of alternative options in this price segment. But be careful when purchasing microSD with classification U1. Most of them have the same read speed as Samsung cards, but lower write speed (around 20-30 MB/s).

The highest performance microSD

For tablets and smartphones - SanDisk Extreme 128GB U3/V30 A2 (about $30)
For digital cameras and video recording - Delkin 1900x 64GB UHS-II U3/V60 (about $85)
Alternative option - Samsung Evo Select 128GB U3 (about $21)

For everyday use In some cases, almost any microSD from the mid-price segment will do. Such cards, as a rule, have a fairly large capacity and high speed of writing and reading data. If you're looking for a microSD to perform some specific tasks (such as recording 4K video), then make sure that the drive meets all the necessary requirements. To do this, do not forget to use the table above.

If you are looking for a memory card for a smartphone or tablet, then you should pay attention to the fact that microSD has fast random access for reading small files. SanDisk Extreme 128GB (SDSQXA1-128G-GN6MA) boasts sequential write speeds of 90 MB/s and read speeds of 160 MB/s. Of course, we are not talking about constant, but about peak indicators. What's more important is that the SanDisk Extreme 128GB has high random write and read speeds.

To record video using drones or any other video equipment, you will need a card with the highest rating (UHS-II V90). However, they are not available in microSD form factor. Next comes UHS-II V60 drives, providing stable read speeds of 60 MB/s. Delkin MicroSDXC cards (UHS-II U3/V60) boast read speeds of up to 300 MB/s and write speeds of up to 100 MB/s. Lexar Professional from the 1800x and 1000x series are also considered good. To get the most out of these cards, make sure your device's microSD slot supports UHS-II.

Finally, if high card performance is of primary importance to you and the device supports full-size SD cards, then it is better to use a full-size SD card instead of a microSD with an adapter. Lexar also produces the highest-performance SD cards. On average, their read speed can reach 300 MB/s.

The most capacious microSD

Largest capacity - Kingston Digital Canvas React 512GB U3/V30 A1 (about $150)
High capacity and high speed - SanDisk Extreme 400GB U3/V30 A2 (about $110)

Kingston, Micron and Sandisk offer the highest capacity microSD cards available on the market today. Until the second half of 2019, their maximum capacity can reach 1 TB. Kingston's "Digital Canvas React" series boasts cards with capacities up to 512GB. In addition, since their release their cost has dropped significantly and now such a card can be purchased for only $150. PNY also offers an option of similar capacity, although their 512 GB microSD card will cost a little more (about $190).

The maximum capacity of SanDisk cards is 400 GB, while other brands rarely boast 256 GB. SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSD cards in 512GB and 1TB capacities will be available in April 2019, with MSRPs expected to be around $200 for the 512GB variant and $450 for the 1TB model.

In terms of price and data read/write speed (100 MB/s read and 80 MB/s write), the Kingston memory card falls right between the alternative recommendations, while the SanDisk Extreme 400 GB can be called the best option for those who really care about speed. This is almost the same card as the option above, but with more capacity and peak write speeds of 160 MB/s, read speeds of 90 MB/s and a unique A2 rating.

Of course, many people know about memory cards. Some may even be surprised why an article about them is needed at all. However, not all so simple. Among my friends there are many people who don’t really know anything about memory cards. And yet they do not live in a hut in the forest, eating fir cones. They use the Internet quite actively, mobile phones, sometimes even communicators and tablets. Therefore, I consider it necessary to first talk about what memory cards are. And then I will move on to consider their varieties, classes, brands.

What is this - a memory card?

A memory card is a small and rather thick plate with a built-in flash memory module. This module is non-volatile, that is, information on the memory card is saved even when it is removed from any device. Information on the memory card can be deleted, overwritten, and so on. The service life of a memory card is very long - tens of years. The information on some cards can be protected in certain ways.

Types of memory cards

There is a whole bunch of different types of memory cards. I will only talk about the most common ones.

SD (Secure Digital). Perhaps the most popular type. Used in many cameras, video cameras, tablets, old players, communicators and pocket computers. It has a low price. Sold in almost all communication stores, computer stores, many markets, kiosks... Maximum volume - 4GB.

SDHC. All SD memory cards larger than 4GB (and many 4GB ones) are called SDHC (their maximum capacity is 32GB). This format is characterized by faster operating speed (data exchange, data recording) than SD. It is preferable, of course, to purchase SDHC cards, but keep in mind that some older devices may not work with them.

SDXC. A new standard that is not yet widely used. SDXC cards have a very large capacity - up to 2 terabytes (that's 2048GB!) and a very high data writing speed. They are still expensive and are not on sale very often. Moreover, very few devices still support this format.

MiniSD. Similar to SD, but noticeably smaller. These days it is practically no longer used; miniSD has been replaced by the microSD format. Buying miniSD is now problematic, and they are expensive due to their rarity.

MicroSD (TransFlash). It probably currently ranks second in popularity after SD/SDHC, but in the near future it has every chance of becoming the most popular memory card format. Differs from SD in very small sizes; microSD cards are even smaller than miniSD. This is both a plus and a minus: on the one hand, with the advent of microSD it became possible to reduce the size of devices; on the other hand, such a miniature card is easy to lose. Prices for microSD cards are almost identical to prices for SD cards.

MicroSDHC. microSD memory cards larger than 4GB (and many 4GB) are called microSDHC (their maximum capacity is 32GB). This format has a faster operating speed (data exchange) than microSD. It is preferable, of course, to purchase microSDHC cards, but keep in mind that some older devices may not work with them.

Memory Stick. Memory card format developed by Sony; is closed. The speed of operation (writing/reading data) is high; maximum volume - 16GB. There are both large cards Memory Stick and small ones - Memory Stick micro (M1, M2). Memory Stick is distinguished by its high price (in my opinion, clearly overpriced). Used in Sony and Sony Ericsson devices. It is often found on sale, almost everywhere.

CompactFlash. An obsolete format previously widely used in PDAs. CompactFlash cards are very large in size compared to SD cards. Currently used by only a few users. The main advantages are very high data recording speed. The maximum volume is 256GB.

SmartMedia. This is a format that has fallen into disuse. It is almost impossible to buy SmartMedia cards, and their maximum capacity is only 128 MB.

MMC. Also an outdated format, which was previously a competitor to SD. It differs from SD by being slightly thinner and more economical. MMC cards can be inserted into SD slots of devices (but an SD card cannot be inserted into an MMC slot!). MMC cards are now rarely found on sale.

xD. Format developed by Olympus and Fujifilm; It is now slowly falling out of use. xD cards have very high prices; Only Olympus and Fujifilm devices work with them. Compared to SD cards, xD is perhaps only worse - for example, the maximum capacity of xD is only 2GB.

Memory card slots

If a device allows the use of memory cards, then it is said to have a memory card slot. A slot is a hole (slotted) where a memory card is inserted. (Of course, this is not a simple slot, but a special one: special contacts are connected to it, with the help of which information is read from the cards). One device may have slots for different types of memory cards, but usually there is only one slot. And in most modern devices - for microSD.

Memory card adapters

As you learned from the above material, memory cards can be divided into two types (according to size): large and small. The most popular large cards are SD and Memory Stick. The most popular small ones: microSD and Memory Stick Micro. It can be said that the technology of SD and microSD is, generally speaking, the same, the only difference is in size and some details. That is why it is possible to use so-called adapters (some call them “shirts”).

An adapter is a device that looks exactly like a large memory card, but in reality it is a kind of miniature box. You can insert a small memory card (for example, microSD) into it, and after that the adapter itself will turn into a full-size memory card (for example, SD). The small card in the adapter can be used with a device that only supports large cards. A classic example is to put a microSD card from your phone into a camera that supports SD cards.

All this provides versatility, the ability to quickly and conveniently transfer data from one device to another without the help of a computer. This is why it is better to buy a microSD card - you can always use it with a device that supports SD cards. But the opposite is impossible: the size of the SD card cannot be reduced in any way!

It is worth noting that adapters are usually sold complete with small cards. But even if the adapter is not included in the kit, you can buy it additionally - the issue price is usually no more than 100 rubles. It is not necessary to buy an adapter from the same company that produced the small memory card: there is no difference between adapters of the same format from different manufacturers.

SDHC/microSDHC memory card classes

On the packaging (and often on the cards themselves) with SDHC/microSDHC cards you can read information about the so-called card class. It is designated by a number (number). The higher the number, the faster the card's operating speed (data writing and reading speed). Usually, the higher the power consumption of the card and, of course, its price. Here is a list of these classes:

class 2 - data recording speed of at least 2Mb/s
class 4 - data recording speed of at least 4Mb/s
class 6 - data recording speed of at least 6Mb/s
class 10 - data writing speed of at least 10Mb/s
class 16 - data recording speed of at least 16Mb/s

SDHC cards “without a class” are also available for sale - data recording speeds on them usually do not exceed 1Mb/s. Cards with even higher write speeds (of a higher class) have also appeared on sale, but I don’t see the point in buying them - the price is high and the benefits are questionable.

For cameras and video cameras, it is advisable to buy memory cards of at least class 4 (although, in principle, class 2 and even “classless” cards are sufficient for amateur photography). To record video in high resolution A class 6-10 and higher card is desirable. For readers and phones, even the most regular cards"no class"

Memory card capacity

Many people have a question: what capacity memory card should they buy? The answer, in general, is simple - you need to proceed from your own needs. I hope that the following list will help identify them, which shows how much memory different types of files occupy:

Documents DOC, XLS - usually within 1MB
Electronic book (FB2, EPUB, TXT, MOBI) - usually within 1MB
8-10 megapixel photo of excellent quality - usually within 3 MB
5MP photo of good quality - within 1MB
Song 3 minutes in average quality - about 3MB
Song 3 minutes in good quality- about 6MB
Film in more or less decent quality - about 500MB or more
Film in good quality - usually 1GB or more

I also give you another list that indicates what size cards it makes sense to buy based on what device you are purchasing them for:

For a reader (reader) - 4GB is enough
For a phone - 4GB is enough
For a communicator (smartphone) - better than 8GB, or even 16GB
For a tablet - 16GB is better, if you like to watch movies - 32GB
For a camera - 4GB (if you take only photos and not very many), 8-16GB (if you take a lot of photos and occasionally video)
For a video camera or camera that shoots video in good quality - 16GB, or better yet 32GB

Card readers

Memory cards are mainly intended for use in portable devices - digital cameras, players, phones, tablets. But if desired, they can be connected to both laptops and desktop computers. To do this, you need a small device called a cardreader. Some (usually quite expensive) laptops and desktops already have a card reader built-in; for others, you need to buy a separate device, its cost ranges from 150 to 700 rubles (in very rare cases higher).

Card readers are connected to the USB port of a computer/laptop. First you need to insert the card into the card reader, then connect it to the computer. A removable disk will be displayed in Explorer - this is the memory card; You can work with this removable disk as with a regular flash drive. At the end of the work, you need to remove the card reader from the USB port (after “safely disconnecting” the device), and then remove the memory card from the card reader. Such a simple mechanic.

Perhaps more popular are card readers designed to work with only one type of memory card - for example, SD. They are distinguished by their low price and compact size. Card readers for microSD cards, by the way, are very small, and they can be used like regular flash drives - to do this, just insert a microSD card into the card reader. Of course, you can use SD, xD, and so on card readers as a flash drive, but their size is noticeably larger.

Nowadays, so-called universal card readers are also common. You can use memory cards of almost all formats with them: SD, microSD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick micro and so on. They are, of course, larger than regular “mono” card readers, and are somewhat more expensive. But personally, I recommend purchasing a universal card reader - after all, you can use any cards with it.

Some features of memory cards

Perhaps, memory cards have only one drawback: they are quite power-hungry. This means that a device in which a memory card is not inserted will work longer without recharging than its counterpart with a memory card in use. However, the difference in operating time is usually small, and I would not call this minus significant.

Another feature of memory cards is open (in the vast majority of cases) contacts. Accordingly, you need to be quite careful, try not to damage these contacts (not scratch, for example), and not allow dust and dirt to accumulate on them.

Another feature of memory cards is that some models of the same type may not be compatible with specific electronic devices. In practice, this means that the SD card may simply refuse to work with your reader, phone or tablet: the problem here, as a rule, lies in some minor flaws software devices. This feature must be kept in mind, and when purchasing a memory card for a device, you must check its compatibility with this device. Otherwise you may be disappointed.

Manufacturers and brands of memory cards

Many electronics manufacturers produce memory cards. Perhaps the most famous are SanDisk and Transcend. They produce cards in a variety of formats and grades; the prices for SanDisk and Transcend products are quite high. At the same time, SanDisk (and Transcend) cards, for example, do not work with some devices - it is not known who should be blamed here, but the fact remains, and you should not think that a high price automatically guarantees absolute compatibility. But in general, the cards from SanDisk and Transcend are very high quality.

Kingston and Apacer memory cards have a lower price. Their compatibility is also not absolute, but I can say that Kingston cards (according to my subjective feelings) are compatible with a larger number of devices than SanDisk. In general, Kingston is a certain golden mean, Excellent value for money and quality. Apacer cards are usually a little worse in quality, and their level of compatibility is lower, but their price is even more modest.

Of course, memory cards are also produced by other manufacturers: Toshiba, Samsung, Silicon Power, A-Data and so on. The list is very long, I see no reason to list it in its entirety. In any case, all of the above manufacturers produce fairly high-quality products that you can buy without fear (but - preferably - with testing on a specific device).

16.05.2020

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