Memory card speed rating equivalents
I had a hard time comparing memory card speeds to make sure I am comparing equivalent speed cards. Some brands use "x" speed rating, others mark the speed as Megabytes per second (MBps). A 1x speed is about 0.150MBps, which is the speed of a single speed CD drive. Only rarely does Sandisk put the actual speed rating on the card in the form of either kind of number, they rely in lame "speed branding", usually in the form of roman numerals, but they also have the Ducati Edition. I think that way, they can look better despite generally being a more expensive and yet often a slower card.
X speed MBps Brand equivalents
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33x 5MBps
66x 10MBps
80x 12MBps
100x 15MBps Ultra II Compact Flash & SDHC
133x 20MBps Extreme III Compact Flash, Extreme Ducati Edition SD Plus
233x 25MBps
266x 40MBps Extreme IV Compact Flash
300x 45MBps Extreme Ducati Edition CF
This chart assumes the manufacturer's speed rating is accurate, which may or may not be, depending on how they test compared to how your camera or device uses the memory. I think it's possible some brands might fudge the numbers a bit.
A higher rated speed doesn't mean that the camera or other device will save or read faster. If you're on a budget, you might want to try to match the speed of the card to the camera. However, if a much faster card doesn't cost a lot more, it may be good to buy the faster card so that it operates faster on the next camera you buy.
Here is a camera & card speed comparison database:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007
They test different camera and card combinations to see what is the best for each camera.
X speed MBps Brand equivalents
----------------------------------------------
33x 5MBps
66x 10MBps
80x 12MBps
100x 15MBps Ultra II Compact Flash & SDHC
133x 20MBps Extreme III Compact Flash, Extreme Ducati Edition SD Plus
233x 25MBps
266x 40MBps Extreme IV Compact Flash
300x 45MBps Extreme Ducati Edition CF
This chart assumes the manufacturer's speed rating is accurate, which may or may not be, depending on how they test compared to how your camera or device uses the memory. I think it's possible some brands might fudge the numbers a bit.
A higher rated speed doesn't mean that the camera or other device will save or read faster. If you're on a budget, you might want to try to match the speed of the card to the camera. However, if a much faster card doesn't cost a lot more, it may be good to buy the faster card so that it operates faster on the next camera you buy.
Here is a camera & card speed comparison database:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007
They test different camera and card combinations to see what is the best for each camera.