Sandisk Ultra II or the Ultra III (SD)

[creeduk]

OK so I was all set to order the standard Sandisk 1 gb card (bought them before for family rather than cheaper ones) I don't want to go above 1 gb as I figure just more to potentially loose but yet enough to shoot a ton of images and video if needed. Then I see deals on the Ultra II and read that it is better suited for video capture and will save some battery life (as is quicker to write) Well I see a Corsair 133x at $23.99 and was all set to hit buy but a few reviews stated failures after a few weeks or months. The sandisk seem to be one if not the best cards to get. Will the A620 get all it's tasks done with no complaints on a Ultra II or will we see benefits from the Ultra III? If not I will buy one later when I get a faster more powerful camera. Also some reviews say they are more reliable is there any truth to this? Finally do you agree that risking the Corsair is not worth it and spending extra on the Sandisk is a wise move?

[slipe]

You will find the Ultra II will run any current SD based camera as fast as it will go. It is probably a little bit of overkill for the A620 if anything, but it is a safe bet. An Ultra III is overkill unless you intend using it a couple of years from now on a possibly faster camera. But you might want a larger card or another technology could be current, so I wouldn't personally pay extra for possible future use.

Sandisk has a pretty good reputation for reliability. I have no idea whether the Corsair would be a good bet. Corsair at one time was as good as any memory you could get, but sometimes companies go cheap. The price sounds great but you would kick yourself if you lost a batch of photos after reading a review that cited reliability problems. I would be dubious of a review that had a single experience with any piece of equipment – nothing is perfect. But if the comments seem to be based on reliable information I would just go for the Ultra II.

I have a standard Sandisk SD card in my Palm and tried it in my Z750. The movies were OK because they are MPEG4 and don't require high bandwidth. But the cycle times increased considerably for the still photos compared to my Ultra II. The standard card wasn't fast enough for the camera. You might have problems with movies as well since you don't have MPEG4 on your camera. I think I would go for the fast Corsair and take my chances on reliability rather than go with a standard Sandisk.

[creeduk]

I had initially thought of just taking the chance with the corsair I usually disregard one bad review as it can happen to anything but after seeing several purchasers claim the same issue some at 2 weeks some at 2 months, one person bought 2 cards and one was bad on day one I figured not a good risk.

Sounds like I could use a standard speed card or even grab one of the rebated Kingston 50X cards (I saw a post today) my thought on the Ultra III right now is it will come down and when I am in a position to actually make use of it's speed I may as well buy it then not now.

[creeduk]

The Kingston gets very good marks the few negatives seem to be neither here nor there. I have found the Ultra II for 29.99 after rebate so that os the ONE!

[creeduk]

Got it today, rebate ended yesterday i ordered it Monday.

Used outpost.com, after I submitted the order I started reading a ton of nightmare stories about that store. The site status was behind and from ordering at lunch time it took until the following morning to get confirmation but 2 days later and all I ordered arrived on the door step. One box a little crushed but inside the airbags had done the required job. I might not risk using them again swiftly but I got what I ordered.

[gadgetnut]

Next time,take a look athttp://www.newegg.combefore you buy elswhere. I have used them dozens of times for great deals on computer items, but they also sell memory cards. Their prices are usuall excellent, and they ship fast. They have earned a great reputation.

[meanstreak]

creeduk wrote:

Got it today, rebate ended yesterday i ordered it Monday.

Used outpost.com, after I submitted the order I started reading a ton of nightmare stories about that store. The site status was behind and from ordering at lunch time it took until the following morning to get confirmation but 2 days later and all I ordered arrived on the door step. One box a little crushed but inside the airbags had done the required job. I might not risk using them again swiftly but I got what I ordered.

I have ordered from Outpost and Newegg and have never had a problem. On memory always check them both, because sometimes one is cheaper than the other dependingon when you check.

[creeduk]

Newegg had a good deal on the Corsair 1gb 133X card it was $23.99 if I recall I decided to stick with sandisk though. They do have some nice free shipping deals and I pointed out a great deal to a colleague for a 4gb USB drive there. The deal was better at outpost as long as I can get this elusive rebate form, still chasing it. Delivery was quick so hopefully I will get the rebate as well and the deal will be sweet.

[Alex 007]

Hello Folks!

Just read on this issue, I want to ask your opinion, on SD SanDisk Ultra ll "Plus" 512mb, that i can buy here in Israel for a mere $:28.00. Which for here is very cheap...what are the "Plus"...on this "Plus" model among the standart one? I saw at the picture...that it's possible to be connected directly to any "Front" USB socket...in my particular a month ago acquired type of "Table" case computer.

It's reliable as the "Normal" ones?:P

Thanks so much for your help, & advice

Peace,

Alex 007:|

[zero_enigma]

Alex 007 wrote:

Hello Folks!

Just read on this issue, I want to ask your opinion, on SD SanDisk Ultra ll "Plus" 512mb, that i can buy here in Israel for a mere $:28.00. Which for here is very cheap...what are the "Plus"...on this "Plus" model among the standart one? I saw at the picture...that it's possible to be connected directly to any "Front" USB socket...in my particular a month ago acquired type of "Table" case computer.

It's reliable as the "Normal" ones?:P

Thanks so much for your help, & advice

Peace,

Alex 007:|

While the Sandisk Ultra II Plus is out I personally would not use it. Yes it /IS/ convienent to have that USB attaching ability but from all I've read on the card and actually seeing it in person (some guy was changing memsticks and the "plus" caught my eye so I asked him about it) the point of failure is the hinging flipping point.

When I got to see it in person I was shown how to snap it to bend open to put into a USB port. To me it felt very flimsy. Heavens forbid if you dropped it when it was in the bent position and stepped on it. The USB is nice but I personally would opt more for the one piece solid design. I have stepped on a SD card before and it held up well. It was purely accidental when I dropped and stepped on it but keeps working fine.

I don't know if the Plus is still useable if it breaks in half. Perhaps it can work in mini-SD units? I don't know. I would not chance it. Over here in Toronto, Canada the Plus seems to be a few dollars more then the normal Ultra II. It looks to me to be the same specs. anyways so if it was my money I'd go with the old design and know it can last longer. If the price was $10 for the Plus then sure I might go for it otherwise no.

Card readers are pretty small now a days and if you wear cargo pants it can slip into the side pockets easy. Heck I've seen homemade neck strap attachment holders for small card readers attached to the camera strap which looked a bit geek/nerdy but appearances aside, it was very functional and you'll always have your reader with you.



Zero_Enigma