Choosing Memory Sticks

[EvilOne]

As a new owner of an a77, should I use Memory Sticks or SD cards for best performance?

--take the time to do the research or read the findings in this thread... the answer is right here..

do you need the fastest card.. will you be making multiple 12fps shots at 15 or 16 frames , back to back??? if that is the case and you cant wait 30 seconds after a full burst..... most people might use 12 fps but only fire off 5 or six shots.. in that case you do not have to spend the money for the quickest card out there.. a 50 MB/s card will do just fine. Right now the fastest card on the planet for your A77 is the SanDisk Extreme Pro 16 or 32 GB SDHC UHS-I Memory Card... check the prices and see if you want to spend the extra money for the 95 Mb/s card and if you will need it..
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
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It's easier just to ask...

...see it worked....



thanx

--If you take note, there is a space between the first line, and the next paragraph... I was going to stop there.. but then decided to give you the findings from the thread...
I was told earlier that I was a wonderful person and a credit to my parents...
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
http://evil-twin.smugmug.com/

 

[reflected_light]

As a new owner of an a77, should I use Memory Sticks or SD cards for best performance?

--take the time to do the research or read the findings in this thread... the answer is right here..

do you need the fastest card.. will you be making multiple 12fps shots at 15 or 16 frames , back to back??? if that is the case and you cant wait 30 seconds after a full burst..... most people might use 12 fps but only fire off 5 or six shots.. in that case you do not have to spend the money for the quickest card out there.. a 50 MB/s card will do just fine. Right now the fastest card on the planet for your A77 is the SanDisk Extreme Pro 16 or 32 GB SDHC UHS-I Memory Card... check the prices and see if you want to spend the extra money for the 95 Mb/s card and if you will need it..
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
http://evil-twin.smugmug.com/

It's easier just to ask...

...see it worked....



thanx

--If you take note, there is a space between the first line, and the next paragraph... I was going to stop there.. but then decided to give you the findings from the thread...
I was told earlier that I was a wonderful person and a credit to my parents...
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
http://evil-twin.smugmug.com/

lol

 

[EvilOne]

here is a direct video comparison of the A77 using a 50 MB/s card and a 95 Mb/s card after filling the buffer..The 95 Mb/s card is twice as fast as the 50 Mb/s card
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Benx75PFB4E

There is also a comparison using Raw+ JPEG with the same results... twice as fast using the 95 Mb/s card..

IN these two vids, the timer is actually used " IN the camera, to recognize full buffer and also when you can continue to shoot..

When the test timer is actually part of the camera soft ware the results can not be just assumed.. it uses the real time data of the camera..to prove beyond doubt that the faster card is much faster... Ill take 4 seconds over 8 seconds any day.
--
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
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[reflected_light]

That kinda says it all...

thanks Bill

 

[newBgeek]

Bill, that is a great find. And yes, I'm sure that you are a wonderful person, a little stubborn perhaps, but wonderful none the less

We can use this data to calculate the approximate write speeds of these two cards. Let's use the RAW+JPG data as we know that a RAW image will take about 24MB of data. I don't own an A77 myself, but it looks like the user shot off 13 shots. At approximately 31MB per shot, that's about 403 MB of data. Any A77 users can correct me if I'm way off.

The Toshiba (rated 95MB/s read, 80MB/s write) cleared the buffer in 9.175 seconds, or about 44 MB/s. This is really an excellent result, though a far cry from the 80 MB/s rated write speed.

The Sony card cleared in 22.441 seconds, or about 18 MB/s. Better than the minimum 15 MB/s stated in the press release, but disappointing to users who were expecting something around 50 MB/s.

So to the OP, the Sony card is a fine card, and better than most cheap SD cards. But it's still not as fast as the Sandisk Extreme. So for us A55 users, who can't take advantage of UHS-I cards, the Sandisk is still king.

 

[EvilOne]

Like I say.. the advertised write speed really means nothing... its one card against another... I don't think too many people actually think these cards can stand up to their advertised speeds... but the difference in these cards is actually the end result comparing one card to the other... when one card is twice as fast as the other using the same test platform, its a no brainer to recognise the faster card... and if you are looking for the fastest performance no matter what they call it...its the card that writes and clears the buffer the fastest.. they could have called the 50 MB/s card The 8 second card.. and called the 95 Mb/s card the 4 second card... . names mean nothing. its results that count. hopefully we all learned something here, including myself.. IM trying to get the download for that test program that was used in that You tube vid.
--
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

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[FreeRadical009]

I don't want to be picky here, but if you pay attention to the red light, in both cases it turns on the micro-instant that the shutter button is released, and it takes the author of the video at least a second to press the stop button on the computer to halt the time count. That may be affecting the results by at least one second and a half, since the buffer doesn't seem to wait for next Thanksgiving to transfer the data to the recording media.

Not bashing the author or saying his test is worthless, but it is a detail to keep in mind.

Having said that, it does show the amazing difference between 50 and 95MB/s, it's only logical its half the time since it reads 50% more in half the time. Impressive.

Seems it's a good investment these fast cards if you plan to go Terminator on your subjects.

 

[newBgeek]

Hey FreeRadical, you bring up a valid point. The card is writing the whole time he's shooting and therefore that time should be included in any write speed calculation.

So I took a closer look a his RAW+JPG video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g09aGLm2gB8 and timed about 24.8 sec for the Sony and 11.6 sec for the Toshiba. That brings my calculations above to about 35 MB/s write speed for the Toshiba and 16 MB/s write speed for the Sony. Of course I'm making a big assumption that the JPG files are averaging about 7MB each, but this should be a fairly close approximation. In any case the UHS-I card is at least twice as fast as the Sony.

Moral of this story is that you just can't trust manufacturers ratings. Especially the Sony MS-HXB which doesn't give a write speed rating, and is beaten by some mainstream SD cards with much lower ratings.

A65/77 users should definitely look in into the new UHS-I cards though. Even though the speeds don't approach the ratings, it is still the best available, and makes us A55 users very envious

I wonder how the Sandisk (rated 95MB/s read, 90MB/s write) fairs vs the Toshiba?

 

[FreeRadical009]

Hey FreeRadical, you bring up a valid point. The card is writing the whole time he's shooting and therefore that time should be included in any write speed calculation.

So I took a closer look a his RAW+JPG video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g09aGLm2gB8 and timed about 24.8 sec for the Sony and 11.6 sec for the Toshiba. That brings my calculations above to about 35 MB/s write speed for the Toshiba and 16 MB/s write speed for the Sony. Of course I'm making a big assumption that the JPG files are averaging about 7MB each, but this should be a fairly close approximation. In any case the UHS-I card is at least twice as fast as the Sony.

Moral of this story is that you just can't trust manufacturers ratings. Especially the Sony MS-HXB which doesn't give a write speed rating, and is beaten by some mainstream SD cards with much lower ratings.

A65/77 users should definitely look in into the new UHS-I cards though. Even though the speeds don't approach the ratings, it is still the best available, and makes us A55 users very envious

I wonder how the Sandisk (rated 95MB/s read, 90MB/s write) fairs vs the Toshiba?

Seems that Sony engineers decided to trade buffer physical space (as in, the actual and physical memory chips that hold the data) for speed. They didn't include a big buffer but they made sure it would be fast as lightning if it had access to the proper cards.

Seems that your measurements show as well that the UHS-I cards are twice as fast than the Sony, which is... a shame for Sony, since they own the whole Memory Stick issue, you'd expect that they would be the ones to deliver the fastest MSs for Alpha cameras.

What I do know now is that once I make the jump to the A77, I'll use the MS HX series I got and get a Toshiba or Sandisk UHS-I as well.

I wonder, will the A99 use QXD cards with Memory Stick? Will the MS port still be compatible with SD cards?

 

[J Birn]

Based on what you just posted, that one with 50 MB/s read speed only lists 15 MB/s write speed.

But compare to this one on Sony Style:

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=8198552921666240425&storeId=10151

It lists approx. 30 MB/s read, and approx. 20 MB/s write speed .

An upgrade in read speed is not as important to me: My memory sticks load into Lightroom in about 5 minutes. I wouldn't want to go down from approx. 20 MB/s to only 15 MB/s write speed, just to gain faster read speed.

-jeremy

I just now went on line and found this Note that its a B" series card

Description:

16GB Sony 10-pin 50 MB/sec read and 15MB/sec write 2.7V to 3.6V voltage support 31mm x 20mm x 1.6mm Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX for High Speed Video and Digital Camera

Availability: In Stock

Code: MSPDuo16GB-HG50
Discount Price: $49.85

--
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
http://evil-twin.smugmug.com/

--
Jeremy Birn

 

[EvilOne]

OK, because of this thread, and the fact that I bought 3 Sony Memory sticks rated at 50.mb/s before I even bought the A77... at the time I bought these cards, I did not know that a 95 Mb/s card existed... Now I am sure that when the A77 was designed, it was designed with the latest Sony technology at the time.. which was 50 Mb/s... because technology advances exponentially, these cards are constantly evolving. Right now I see there is a new card coming out in March which claims to be the next technology advance and is called 110 Mb/s. No doubt it will be a bit faster than the 95 Mb/s card. But when I did the research here in this thread... The 95 Mb/sec card now exists, so I bought one today.. 32 GB and this will double the speed to clear the buffer in half...as demonstrated in the vids... not because it is the latest and greatest but because the jump was significant.. its not like going from 30 to 45 , or 45 to 50... but to double the write speed is significant for me... likewise going from 95 Mp/s to 110 Mp/s is not significant enough... I will still keep and use the three 50/mb cards I have even if its just for storage. If I am going to a high speed event like a hockey game where frame rate is critical, Ill use the 95 Mb/s card... but for Video or slower moving events I will use the other cards...
--
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
http://evil-twin.smugmug.com/

 

[EvilOne]

I think you are missing the whole idea here... I don't care about the upload speed from the card to the computer.. I am talking about the cards ability to clear the buffer in the camera so I can take the next burst of shots at 12 FPS... with a 30Mb/s card it can take 30 seconds before I could shoot again at 12 FPS. that's the time it takes a 30 MB/s card to clear the buffer..

Clearing the buffer in 4 seconds will allow me to shoot another burst of 4, 6, 8 12, 16 frames at 12FPS.in 4 seconds not 30 seconds... the camera will not do that unless the buffer is completely clear... shooting before the buffer is clear is possible but at only 1 o r2 frames a sec. Sometime the action comes in waves where the action can last for a few minutes( in penalty killing defense around the net when its 4 on five or 3 on five and the need to get more shots is based on the buffer being clear.Or in offense having five on three and as many as ten shots on goal in a penalty period.

It has already been demonstrated that the 95 MB/s car will indeed strip the buffer in 4 seconds.So that's what I bought today ...
--
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
http://evil-twin.smugmug.com/

 

[J Birn]

I think you are missing the whole idea here... I don't care about the upload speed from the card to the computer..

Congrats on getting the new SD card, those sound much better than either of the Sony Memory Stick models being discussed above!

I don't care about the read speed either, it's the write speed that causes delays while shooting.

I was just commenting on the choice (discussed in posts above) between a Sony Memory Stick with 50 MB/s read and 15 MB/s write speed, vs. another Sony Memory Stick with 30 MB/s read and 20 MB/s write speed -- it's surprising that the ones advertising the higher read speed don't have a higher write speed as well.

--
Jeremy Birn

 

[J Birn]

Well, I received the cheaper 32GB Sony Memory stick I ordered. What arrived from the amazon seller was model MSHX32A even though the product description had said it ended in B instead of A (I just checked, and they have updated their page with a more accurate description). I don't know if that would have been a problem by itself, but I put it into my a55 and the a55 gave a warning message that pictures and videos stored on the card might not be readable. I reformatted the card, but it still gave that warning. I returned that card and got my $80 back.

Taking advice from newBgeek and others in this thread, I bought this SD card instead:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LFT3QG/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details

The new SD card works great. I know my a55 can't take full advantage of its potential speed, but it does seem to work quickly, probably at least a little more quickly than my older 16GB memory sticks. Best of all I might keep using this memory longer, even if I upgrade my camera in the future.

Thanks for the good advice,
-jeremy

--
Jeremy Birn