I've lined my bag up with the Transcend 32GB SDHC Class 10 media cards because it was both cheap and reliable. I've had no issues and placed a few re-orders since. For many others it's important to go with a brand name like Sandisk or Lexar. Now with Lexar's Class 10 SDHC card (you need minimum Class 6 for video on DSLRs) coming in at just $1.00-$2.00 dollars above the Transcend version, it's almost a no brainer on which way to to.
I personally consider Lexar a better brand than Sandisk, and Sandisk is still pricing theirs almost twice the Lexar brand. Why couldn't they have done this sooner? Compact flash cards of similar speeds, not such a good deal (yet). Though the 5D Mark II or 7D users can't take advantage, this is great news for many high end video cameras, and all the latest small cameras coming out. You can check out the pricing on Lexar Class 10 SDHC cards following the link (click here).
Lexar Class 10 Platinum II SDHC Media
Nicole wong
NO.
I'm sorry, but it is a "brainer". Lexar's professional SD cards have a write speed of ONLY 10mb/sec. That's waaaay to slow especially for video. Where as Sandisk non-professional have a write speed of 30-40 mb/sec, and the professional series have a write speed of 95 mb/sec.
You really get what you pay for. And I think Sandisk is the way to go.
jamie
it is funny that so many suggest buying multiple cards to "play it safe". Yes, you will lose less data for a given card failure if your data is on multiple cards, but every card you purchase increases your chances of experiencing a catastrophic card failure. It's a numbers game. All else being equal, if you have 2 cards you statistically have 2x the chance of card failure due to a manufacturing defect.
i also remember this argument back when people were debating 256MB vs 512MB. not many people usign those cards still !
Brent Barrie
I've picked up a 16gb version of this card recently and have been able to run a very consistent 3.0x CBR via Magic Lantern. I'm quite amazed with this card. Allowing me to max out my quality.
Obviously I'll be changing my card quite often because at such a high bitrate I'm looking at a max of 3 minutes. But I often bump my CBR down to 2.5x just to keep it safe.
I'll stick to purchasing multiple 16gb rather than a 32 gb model. Just to play it safe.
Such amazing cards.
-Brent.
Emm
Post author@Jason - Have you checked for any firmware updates on the T2i?
Jason
I'm late to the game here but I purchased two of these 32g cards for a wedding I shot last weekend and both gave me buffer problems in two separate T2Is.
Bryce
I use all Lexar Pro 16gb SD and CF cards with no problems. Made that decision based on the price point for the Pro series.
If you're buying 2 SD cards you can get the Lexar Professional 16gb 133x for only $4 more.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/755862-REG/Lexar_LSD16GCRBNA1332_16GB_133x_SDHC_Card.html
Chris
The only card company I've ever experienced an issue with is SanDisk.
I had to re shoot a full corporate due to a SanDisk card failing during the transfer to the computer. Transcend all the way for me.
Gayle
Based on the information given on the Transcend and Lexar websites. It looks as though the Transcend cards are faster than the Lexars. Transcends with a "20MB/s write and 16MB/s read speed" and Lexars with "15MB/s read transfer, write speeds lower."
CM Owen
Sandisk cards are about twice as fast as the Lexar Platinum II when reading (on paper). I get about 26Mbps grabbing avchd files off the Sandisk Extreme III 16GB cards.
I don't own a Lexar card to compare that to. I do own an old class 4 Transcend and it is painfully slow pulling large files off it (~3Mbps pulling RAW photos). I can say I have never had a problem with the Transcend card for photos (haven't used it for video as I think it is too slow).
By the way, B&H always has quantity discounts on Sandisk cards when you buy 2 or more - puts them inline price-wise with other cards. ie. 1 32GB for about $98, or 2 for about $120.
Last bit, I wouldn't recommend anything larger than 16GB cards to begin with. Grab a bunch of 'em. If you have a full day's shooting on fewer cards, you risk more loss if a card fails, gets lost/stolen, or you accidentally format it (yes, I have done this 😛 ). If you already have a bunch of 32GB cards, I wouldn't throw more than 30-45 minutes worth of recording on them throughout the day.
joel
I have bought sandisk up to now; I had one failure and they replaced promptly, and even upgraded the card from a 2gig to a 4 gig.
Interested to hear how people format these. Do you also format on a PC 1st, and then format in your camera (that is sandisk's recommendation).
Paul
I've always loved transcend stuff. inexpensive but gets the job done. Never had any problems with any of my cards or drives. I've tried other brands when I had access, no obvious reason to switch to anything else. Though I may give one of these lexar's a try.
Rob
Curious why you think Lexar is better than SanDisk? I have both but have never had issues with my SanDisk cards ever.
Emm
Post author@Mark - Not only support for DSLR video, but also faster transfer back to your computer. Slow cards suck waiting to DL 16-32GB.
Mark
Is there a point to using these instead of class 6 cards for dslr video and photography?
Bill Schleicher
I have half my bag lined with Lexar class 10s and half with Transcends and for my money, I'd stay with the Transcend. I've had zero problems with them and have had three failed Lexar cards.