Cyber-shots, DSLR, Mobile Phones etc no matter what you use today every digital device needs a storage medium or a memory card in general. Nowadays SD cards also known as Secure Digital Cards are widely used.
But one things that all of us are oblivious to or scarcely knowledgeable about is the Class of a particular SD Card. The Class of a memory card determines its specifications and also the fact whether its suiable for you and your needs or not.
So let me share a little information with you all on how can you choose the correct SD Card for yourself and your friends.
The standards are as follows:
SDSC – upto 2 GB using FAT 12 and 16 file systems.
SDHC – 4 GB to 32 GB using FAT 32 file system, these type also come with a data encryption facility.
SDXC – 32 GB to 2 TB using exFAT file system, like SDHC this can also be encrypted and password protected.
Full Size SD Card – The first generation of SD Memory Cards. It is the biggest card type in terms of physical size. It is the exact match in size with that of the adapter that you get with your micro SD cards packing. Mainly used in SLR Cameras, Digital Cameras, Video Recorders and Handy Cams. Available in SD, SDHC, SDXC types.
miniSD Card – The medium size class of SD cards, smaller than the Full sized cards but bigger than the microSD cards. Its usage is very limited so you are unlikely to find them easily in the market. Available in SD and SDHC types.
microSD Card – Smallest in size but largest in terms of usage and compatibility with devices today. Mainly used in Smartphones, Digital Cameras, MP3 players etc. Available in SD, SDHC, SDXC types.
So this is all that I had to share and say regarding SD cards and the simplified way of choosing the correct card for your usage. Feel free to leave a comment for any improvement or query if you have any.
But one things that all of us are oblivious to or scarcely knowledgeable about is the Class of a particular SD Card. The Class of a memory card determines its specifications and also the fact whether its suiable for you and your needs or not.So let me share a little information with you all on how can you choose the correct SD Card for yourself and your friends.
The Storage Capacity and Standards
SD card come in three different standards and types, these standards not only determine the storage capacity but also added features like password protection of content and encryption facility. So before buying make sure that you buy a acard that has a standard that meets your additional data handling requirements aswell.The standards are as follows:
SDSC – upto 2 GB using FAT 12 and 16 file systems.
SDHC – 4 GB to 32 GB using FAT 32 file system, these type also come with a data encryption facility.
SDXC – 32 GB to 2 TB using exFAT file system, like SDHC this can also be encrypted and password protected.
The Size and Form Factor
SD Cards comes in three different sizes as mentioned below.Full Size SD Card – The first generation of SD Memory Cards. It is the biggest card type in terms of physical size. It is the exact match in size with that of the adapter that you get with your micro SD cards packing. Mainly used in SLR Cameras, Digital Cameras, Video Recorders and Handy Cams. Available in SD, SDHC, SDXC types.
miniSD Card – The medium size class of SD cards, smaller than the Full sized cards but bigger than the microSD cards. Its usage is very limited so you are unlikely to find them easily in the market. Available in SD and SDHC types.
microSD Card – Smallest in size but largest in terms of usage and compatibility with devices today. Mainly used in Smartphones, Digital Cameras, MP3 players etc. Available in SD, SDHC, SDXC types.
The Class of the Card
The Class of any SD card is the minimum read-write speed that it will work upon, the class number is directly proportional to the minimum speed offered. For example A class 2 memory card will have atleast 2MB/s of data read-write speed and Class 10 with 10MB/s and so on.
It is the foremost determining factor these days courtesy to the ever increasing functions offered by devices.
Further from the Class digit there are two extra bifurcations in this category which are:
Normal / Standard Class – The most common and easily available classof SD cards and is denoted by ‘C’ symbol. Their speed ranges from 2 MB/s to 10 MB/s.
UHS Class – This is known as Ultra High Speed Class and is denoted by symbol ‘U’ on the SD cards. UHS SD are the fastest available cards. Their speed can easily range from 10 MB/s to 30 MB/s.
UHS Class – This is known as Ultra High Speed Class and is denoted by symbol ‘U’ on the SD cards. UHS SD are the fastest available cards. Their speed can easily range from 10 MB/s to 30 MB/s.
So summarizing it all we can say that Class Speed, Capacity and its Class Type is always mentioned on the SD Memory card. The Class of any Memory card is specified in digits like, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 etc and is measured in MB/s.
Which Card should you buy?
A
Card with higher class number will be better for you if you want the
maximum performance from your device, especially if you are using a
professional DSLR camera with image size measuring in tens of MBs or are
recording HD video at 1080p from your smartphone or a Digital Camera.
But if your device is slow, like an entry level smartphone or mp3 player
then you can go for lower class SD cards as a higher class SD memory
card will not only cost more but would also be a waste of speed.
Nowadays almost all devices come with the type and class of SD cards that they'll work optimum with labelled on their box or user manual. Also brands such as Transcent, SanDisk, Kingston and Sony are preferred over any other sub-standard brands. Not only are these brands famous for storage devices but also give you more warranty and added features and durability.
Note: Formatting a SD card or any storage device is not recommended as it affects it performance shortening it life span, leading to slow read write speed which can ultimately lead to frequent data loss or damaging your device in worst cases. Always select all the files and delete them rather than formatting your card to free space.
If
you ever lose your data accidentally due to card corruption then do
read this article before throwing it away by labeling it useless.
So this is all that I had to share and say regarding SD cards and the simplified way of choosing the correct card for your usage. Feel free to leave a comment for any improvement or query if you have any.
.JPG)
0 comments:
Post a Comment