micro SD cards - is UDMA an issue...?
 

Sorry for the dumb question... but here goes anyway:

When I purchased a couple of compact flash cards for my new DSLR, the best cards (fastest) had UDMA technology.

Now Im in the market for a large microSD card.... but I cant seem to figure out if all micro SD cards are created equal or if these is also a similar UDMA norm for speed of data transfer. If so, what are the acronyms to look out for...?

Also, any opinion on some of the generic cards and their quality... Im coming across a lot of TOP RAM branded cards that are quite inexpensive... any experience with this brand...???

Thanks as always for the patience of all you tech gurus with my layman questions... :D ^

MicroSD (and SD) cards have a class rating. Class 2 is the slowest (2MB/s) and Class 6 is currently the fastest (6MB/s).

For "normal" stuff on a smartphone, a Class 4 (4MB/s) will be fine, but if you plan to make a lot of photos/video, invest in class 6.

Generic cards are usually fine, but I'd recommend sticking with the better brands (Sandisk, Kingston, Patriot).

Also beware of really cheap cards on Ebay, some are fakes that do NOT deliver the promised size.

Scotty... thanks for the memory card class... :D

So then, what rating is a compact flash UDMA card...? Or is this rating thing only something for MicroSD cards...?

Im assuming that the latest release SanDisk 16GB MicroSD card has a rating of at least Class 4... is this correct...?

Speed Class ratings are defined by the SD Association, so they are only applicable to SD, miniSD qnd microSD cards.

UDMA is a technology. CF cards are mostly rated by speed (30MB/sec) or a multiple of the "base" speed (150kbps, so a 30BM/sec card may be spec'd as "200x")

According the specs on Amazon, the only place I could find quickly, it's only Class 2 speed.

Scotty, here is a link to a SanDisk card....

http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Item...16GB_Card.aspx

Does this have a 2 rating....???

If so, is it possible that a brand like SanDisk does not yet have a card with a rating of 3 and above...?

http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Item...16GB_Card.aspx

Look for Sandisk Mobile Ultra cards for class 4 (and above) speeds.

I have stopped buying Sandisk. I use only Kingston now and their newer products clearly says what class you're getting.

Gracias Scotty !!!! ^

For what it's worth, I just received a Class 6 Transcend Micro SDHC 8 gig card that I ordered from New Egg. Set me back all of $20.49 with free shipping. It replaced my Class 2 4 gig. Popped it in my Blackberry and started filling it up.

From what I have seen most of the cards on sale at the Office super-stores tend to be class 2. They have the faster ones but they are a little more expensive, and tend to be by the cameras rather than by the memory sticks where I was looking.

The faster the card is, the quicker your camera will be able to take the next picture. I do notice the video camera on the blackberry saves a little quicker with this class 6 card than the old one.

New Egg... yes, I had forgotten about this store as a source for gear, thanks for the reminder !!!

this is a pretty good place to shop for flash cards

http://www.pricewatch.com/flash_card_memory/