I've been shopping around for a new camera and will probably settle on the Canon 60D (fits my budget) but I've been told that they require a special memory card that is pretty pricey. Can anyone tell me what read/write speed, card class, ect. I will need to get optimum preformance from this camera?
Posted by Peter Cross on November 24, 2014 at 10:03 PM
Gee, just about any SD card will work in the 60D. There is a brand new kind of card which I think Nikon has used. I doubt that you would need it unless you've got some specialized use the requires it. But I'm no techno so maybe I'm not the best person to ask. At the time I bought mine, the new kid on the block was the SD-XC. Haven't a need for one yet so I'm happy with the various lesser cards. The card I use is an SDHC-32G, 45 MB read/write, and a speed of 10. Need at least 6 for video. So nothing fancy.
Posted by David Bostedo on November 25, 2014 at 12:20 AM
Yeah, any good current card should be plenty fast enough for that camera. Camera makers don't usually publish information on the maximum useful speed for a camera, but suffice it to say that review of the 60D on DPReview says that the camera is capable of recording up to class 10 (10 MB/s). Most current cards, even affordable ones, will surpass that, and have a much quicker read speed which is useful for download.
Posted by Karen Kane on November 25, 2014 at 12:38 AM
Nancy Lea,
What you heard could have been referring to "Eye-Fi cards" or (for lack of a better term) "video-rated" SD cards. Whether you need them or not, depends on how you want to use the camera
Eye-Fi cards are a standard class 10 SD card but with wireless capability built-in so "photos are instantly and safely sent to your computer, smartphone or tablet". They are more expensive than standard SD cards but not required (also Canon cameras are not guaranteed to support Eye-Fi performance).
Video rated cards: Transfer speed on a standard SD card can vary (45MB/s, 80MB/s, 95 MB/s are all 'affordable', although each is progressively more expensive as speed increases). And then there is a beast of a card by Sandisk (UHS-II) with a transfer rate of 280MB/s - which supports full HD video recording (the 60D may or may not be compatible with this card, which is pricey!!).
You'll want a faster transfer rate and more GB if you're shooting longer videos, but for still images and short videos it's exactly as Peter and David have said, a non-issue.
Thanks for your help. I couldn't find any mention of specific cards for use with the camera in my research so I was a little leery of what the salesman was pushing at me. Glad I have NPN as a resource.
Nancy, I'm selling my 60D with the 18-200 lens (this was the Canon package). I've had it a couple of years, and it's been a great, lightweight camera. There are no special cards. I have used Sandisk ultra, ultra II and extreme cards. I've even used the old Sandisk cards....no problem. But, I prefer the extreme, because they, explicitly, say that they are not affected by x-rays. Although, I've never had a problem with lost images from airport security, I guess, I'm just overly cautious. All the cards have been satisfactory with this camera.
I've never tried any other brand of card. Sandisk has always worked for me.
If you are interested in my camera...send me an e-mail. I also have 2 60D manuals and a Canon 70-300 lens for sale. I just haven't gotten around to listing anything yet. I have a few memory cards, that I don't need anymore, that I could throw in, too. Oh, the lens, also, has a thin Hoya EVO 72mm Circular Polarizer on it.
Geez. I guess, I ought to finally list all this stuff.....just lazy, I guess.
Discussion
5 repliesWhat you heard could have been referring to "Eye-Fi cards" or (for lack of a better term) "video-rated" SD cards. Whether you need them or not, depends on how you want to use the camera
Eye-Fi cards are a standard class 10 SD card but with wireless capability built-in so "photos are instantly and safely sent to your computer, smartphone or tablet". They are more expensive than standard SD cards but not required (also Canon cameras are not guaranteed to support Eye-Fi performance).
Video rated cards: Transfer speed on a standard SD card can vary (45MB/s, 80MB/s, 95 MB/s are all 'affordable', although each is progressively more expensive as speed increases). And then there is a beast of a card by Sandisk (UHS-II) with a transfer rate of 280MB/s - which supports full HD video recording (the 60D may or may not be compatible with this card, which is pricey!!).
You'll want a faster transfer rate and more GB if you're shooting longer videos, but for still images and short videos it's exactly as Peter and David have said, a non-issue.
I've never tried any other brand of card. Sandisk has always worked for me.
If you are interested in my camera...send me an e-mail. I also have 2 60D manuals and a Canon 70-300 lens for sale. I just haven't gotten around to listing anything yet. I have a few memory cards, that I don't need anymore, that I could throw in, too. Oh, the lens, also, has a thin Hoya EVO 72mm Circular Polarizer on it.
Geez. I guess, I ought to finally list all this stuff.....just lazy, I guess.