Guys, this is for general information. Apologies for the long post.
First, let me say that I am a reasonable and realistic person. I do not expect a 150x card to perform exactly at 150x. I am willing to allow a 20% deviation. So, I will settle if the particular card that I purchase turns out to be at least 120x.
I paid good money for a Transcend 150x 4GB SD card. I was attracted by the 4GB as well as the claimed Ultra-Speed. I put it in my S3 IS and it worked. Until I started to read in dpreview forums that some people are finding that their 4GB Transcend cards were not quite up to speed. Finally, I decided to do a test on my card and these are my results:
I put the camera to the highest resolution and at High Speed Continuous Shooting mode. I aimed at the Windows XP clock and shot away for 60 seconds. I shall set out the results of my tests with my other cards first.
Kingston Ultimate 120x 2GB SD
No problems. I could shoot about 130+ shots per 60 seconds. No slowdown. No "Busy" message. Camera was shooting at approximately the claimed 2.3 shots per second. When shutter was released, camera stopped recording.
Lexar Professional 133x 2GB SD
No problems. I could shoot about 130+ shots per 60 seconds. No slowdown. No "Busy" message. Camera was shooting at approximately the claimed 2.3 shots per second. When shutter was released, camera stopped recording.
Transcend UltraSpeed 150x 4GB SD
No problems for first 5 seconds where I shot 14 pics. After that, the "Busy" message came on and the speed slowed down to approximately one shot per second!!! The card was too slow for the camera's 2.3 shots per second! For the first 5 seconds, the camera's buffer was probably assisting. When shutter was released, the camera was still recording and for quite a while. Probably clearing away the buffer.
Detailed Results:
14 pics first 5 secs
26 pics next 25 secs
31 pics next 30 secs
Total: 71 pics per min
In all the above cases, I did a in-camera low level format before I did the test. I should add that for the 4GB Transcend only, a in-camera format results in the card not being readable directly on my notebook. I do not know why this is the case. No such problems with the other 2GB cards. I had to read the pictures by connecting the camera to the notebook via USB.
For the Transcend 4GB, I did another low level format using my notebook, using FAT32. This results in the card being usable on my camera as well as readable directly on my notebook card reader. More importantly, the speed seems to have improved, but it is still not good enough.
22 pics first 9 secs
30 pics next 21 secs
42 pics next 30 secs
Total: 94 pics per min
Picture sizes are generally about 2.1 to 2.2 MB. Based on that, I reckon the Transcend's write speed was only about 20x !!! I repeated the above tests a few times, and the results were consistent.
I normally use Lexar or Kingston. When the shop tried to sell me Transcend, I was unsure. The shop assured me that if there was any problem, I could go back to them. But when I went back to them, they were not very helpful. They basically pushed me to the Transcend agent, Memory World. I don't want to name the shop but it is a shop that has been recommended by many of us, including me. Though I don't blame them for the problem, I think they could be more helpful. So, I am quite disappointed with them.
Anyway, I went to Memory World. Before I could even describe my problem, the girl there gave me an introductory brief on why cards may not always perform exactly to specs. I cut her off by saying that I agree but 150x to 20x??? (Please refer to my intro brief where I stated I am prepared to accept even 20% deviation).
Then she tried to take down my problem, saying that she has to refer to Transcend. After trying to describe the problem with some difficulty, I took out my S3 IS (good thing I brought along) and showed her there and then how I have no problems (when shooting using my Lexar) and the problem (when using the Transcend). She got the point and gave me a brand new card.
Brand new card - I tried on the spot and same problem.
I think most if not all the Transcend cards will have the same problem. So, I took the new card and went back to the shop. I could not get a refund but the shop agreed to an exchange. I exchanged for two Lexar 133x SD cards (exactly the same as the one I tested ok). I had to top-up but at least I have peace of mind.
By the way, I checked the serial number of the card and it was confirmed to be a genuine card. You can check at http://www.transcendusa.com/Support/SerialCheck.asp?LangNo=0&Func1No=2&Func2No=128
I also emailed Transcend Taiwan and got a very prompt reply within 2 hours. After checking some details of my card, this is what they said:
So before you rush to buy that ultra-speed 4GB card, you may want to do some research on the actual write speed. Furthermore, the new SDHC cards are not that fast. HC stands for high capacity and not high speed. Be warned and good luck!
First, let me say that I am a reasonable and realistic person. I do not expect a 150x card to perform exactly at 150x. I am willing to allow a 20% deviation. So, I will settle if the particular card that I purchase turns out to be at least 120x.
I paid good money for a Transcend 150x 4GB SD card. I was attracted by the 4GB as well as the claimed Ultra-Speed. I put it in my S3 IS and it worked. Until I started to read in dpreview forums that some people are finding that their 4GB Transcend cards were not quite up to speed. Finally, I decided to do a test on my card and these are my results:
I put the camera to the highest resolution and at High Speed Continuous Shooting mode. I aimed at the Windows XP clock and shot away for 60 seconds. I shall set out the results of my tests with my other cards first.
Kingston Ultimate 120x 2GB SD
No problems. I could shoot about 130+ shots per 60 seconds. No slowdown. No "Busy" message. Camera was shooting at approximately the claimed 2.3 shots per second. When shutter was released, camera stopped recording.
Lexar Professional 133x 2GB SD
No problems. I could shoot about 130+ shots per 60 seconds. No slowdown. No "Busy" message. Camera was shooting at approximately the claimed 2.3 shots per second. When shutter was released, camera stopped recording.
Transcend UltraSpeed 150x 4GB SD
No problems for first 5 seconds where I shot 14 pics. After that, the "Busy" message came on and the speed slowed down to approximately one shot per second!!! The card was too slow for the camera's 2.3 shots per second! For the first 5 seconds, the camera's buffer was probably assisting. When shutter was released, the camera was still recording and for quite a while. Probably clearing away the buffer.
Detailed Results:
14 pics first 5 secs
26 pics next 25 secs
31 pics next 30 secs
Total: 71 pics per min
In all the above cases, I did a in-camera low level format before I did the test. I should add that for the 4GB Transcend only, a in-camera format results in the card not being readable directly on my notebook. I do not know why this is the case. No such problems with the other 2GB cards. I had to read the pictures by connecting the camera to the notebook via USB.
For the Transcend 4GB, I did another low level format using my notebook, using FAT32. This results in the card being usable on my camera as well as readable directly on my notebook card reader. More importantly, the speed seems to have improved, but it is still not good enough.
22 pics first 9 secs
30 pics next 21 secs
42 pics next 30 secs
Total: 94 pics per min
Picture sizes are generally about 2.1 to 2.2 MB. Based on that, I reckon the Transcend's write speed was only about 20x !!! I repeated the above tests a few times, and the results were consistent.
I normally use Lexar or Kingston. When the shop tried to sell me Transcend, I was unsure. The shop assured me that if there was any problem, I could go back to them. But when I went back to them, they were not very helpful. They basically pushed me to the Transcend agent, Memory World. I don't want to name the shop but it is a shop that has been recommended by many of us, including me. Though I don't blame them for the problem, I think they could be more helpful. So, I am quite disappointed with them.
Anyway, I went to Memory World. Before I could even describe my problem, the girl there gave me an introductory brief on why cards may not always perform exactly to specs. I cut her off by saying that I agree but 150x to 20x??? (Please refer to my intro brief where I stated I am prepared to accept even 20% deviation).
Then she tried to take down my problem, saying that she has to refer to Transcend. After trying to describe the problem with some difficulty, I took out my S3 IS (good thing I brought along) and showed her there and then how I have no problems (when shooting using my Lexar) and the problem (when using the Transcend). She got the point and gave me a brand new card.
Brand new card - I tried on the spot and same problem.
I think most if not all the Transcend cards will have the same problem. So, I took the new card and went back to the shop. I could not get a refund but the shop agreed to an exchange. I exchanged for two Lexar 133x SD cards (exactly the same as the one I tested ok). I had to top-up but at least I have peace of mind.
By the way, I checked the serial number of the card and it was confirmed to be a genuine card. You can check at http://www.transcendusa.com/Support/SerialCheck.asp?LangNo=0&Func1No=2&Func2No=128
I also emailed Transcend Taiwan and got a very prompt reply within 2 hours. After checking some details of my card, this is what they said:
So before you rush to buy that ultra-speed 4GB card, you may want to do some research on the actual write speed. Furthermore, the new SDHC cards are not that fast. HC stands for high capacity and not high speed. Be warned and good luck!
