M9 memory card recommendations?

[amoz]

What's your favorite memory card, and which ones should we avoid?

I just got my M9 and can't seem to find any updated info on this. Thanks a lot!

 

[Roger Hicks]

SanDisk. I've had others fail. Not SanDisk, so far, so that's all I buy any more.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Ben Z]

When I got my M9 I had 12 2GB cards that all worked perfectly on my M8 and any other SD camera we have around. Of those 12, the M9 refuses to recognize one of the Sandisk Extreme-III 2GB cards despite the fact it continues to work perfectly on any other camera (tried every reformatting possibility known to man). I'm using five other Sandisk Extreme-III 2GB's, four Kingston 133x 2GB's, and two Kingston 50X 2GB's on the M9 without an issue.

So whatever card you get, from experience I suggest making sure you can return it for an exchange no-questions-asked. Otherwise, if the M9 fails to recognize it and it works in other cameras, some stores would probably blame the M9.

 

[amoz]

Alright, Sandisk it is then. I will go with a pair of 16GB Ultra's, I think. The Extreme ones are faster in writing to the computer, but they cost twice as much too and I don't think that speed difference will bother me much —especially, as you rightly point out, DNegative, when you are stuck with USB transfers.

Cheers

 

[johannielscom]

Any memory card that can handle Rodinal, for sharpness and tonality.

😛

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Also, can't see how this should ever make a difference. The combination of a specific brand and a camera model might be more troublesome, but you would even have to venture in QC at different plants from the same brand... See post #4

 

[swoop]

I use SanDisk 4GB Ultra's. I have like 8 of them and they work well.

 

[nksyoon]

Make sure you buy your cards from a reputable seller, there are many Sandisk imitations out there.

Personally I have 1x 16GB Sandisk Ultra and 1x 16GB Sandisk Extreme, no problem with either.

 

[sirius]

I have the "extreme" card versions for my canon 5d and they definitely make a difference...I can't comment on the m9 though...so I offer 1 cent rather than 2 cents of advice...

 

[jmarcus]

when I get my M9 I plan on getting a SanDisk Class 10 32GB card

 

[jaapv]

You like living dangerously - when that is full you might lose a couple of thousands of images, should it fail.....

 

[ramosa]

I've never bought anything other than SanDisk - and to this day, some ten years later - not a single card failure or issue. I recently picked up a mix of 8/16GB Extreme cards when I got the M9. Overkill? Yeah. Definitely. But they'll be current longer, and at least I know the card won't be the source of any speed issues. Maybe someday we'll get a decent SD card reader that's not limited by USB 2.0 (e.g. Firewire, USB 3.0, etc.) speeds.

i, too, use sandisk extreme cards. i have 2, 4 and 16 GB cards. all work well.

 

[Jamie123]

You like living dangerously - when that is full you might lose a couple of thousands of images, should it fail.....

One could make the argument that using multiple cards is equally dangerous as it increases the chance of losing one. Especially with SD cards.

I never found the argument that multiple cards are safer than a single card very convincing. Even if a card fails chances are you'll be able to recover most of the files on it.

 

[Jamie123]

I don't have any cameras that use SD cards but I use two SanDisk 16GB cards in my Canon 5DII, one Extreme III and one new Ultra. The new Ultra CFs (not Ultra II) are actually the same speed as the 'old' Extreme III (30mb/s) I bought a year ago.

I don't know if it's the same with SD cards but it might be worth looking into it.

 

[Jamie123]

I would think long and hard about that. As you mention, you could arguably lose smaller cards just as easily. Perhaps - but you're only losing a smaller number of images. Or what if the card gets corrupted? Dropped in a puddle? I MUCH rather prefer multiple, smaller cards. Easy to shoot a day's worth of shots and put in a fresh card the next day, diddling the write-protect tab. I use a Belkin weatherized case that holds 8 cards, and just rotate.

It was actually me who made the argument about losing cards. My point was that if you use only one card you'll be likely not to lose it as it's always in the camera (unless, of course, you lose the camera).

That being said, I do agree that a 32GB card is a bit much. I assume the M9 files are similar in size to 5DII files which would mean that you can get around 1200 shots on a 32GB card. Seems a bit excessive.

The Extreme III and "new" Extreme cards are identical. They just dropped the "III" from the name.

Oh ok. Interesting that they didn't upgrade the SDs. The new Extreme CF cards are actually double the speed of the old ones (60mb/s).

 

[ampguy]

I use a bunch of generic 2/4/8 GB cards. What I look for now are low price and Class 6 speeds or higher.

Never have issues with reading them in the PC, always get onto the PC before I can finish a double espresso.

Most of those cards mentioned above are not Class 6 btw, not necessarily a problem, if you aren't in a hurry.

 

[Vinicio]

I'm using Sandisk Extreme 4 or 8 Gb, Transcend 8 Gb, class 4 or 6 on my M9.
Until now no problems with these.
Saving RAW+JPG Fine. These are not rockets (speed is not the best value) but are fine for me.

 

[jmarcus]

I may have done my own calculation wrong, because I admit 1200 images on a card would be about twice as much a few hours of really focused shooting would render. How big is the raw file on a M9?