Memory card speed necessary (need answer by Thursday please)

[EllyBell]

So I'm thinking about purchasing a Sealife camera setup for my upcoming Blackbeard Cruise. Since I don't think I want to bring my laptop with to unload photos I was thinking I would need to buy a bunch of memory cards. For my cameras I use the Sandisk Ultra II SD cards, but I just saw that Walmart will be selling the normal Sandisk 4GB cards for $8 each on Black Friday. Would be a great deal if I wanted to come prepared to hold all my pictures during the week.

My question, has anyone used the normal Sandisk cards and do you have any delay in shooting multiple pictures with the save time? Would I be fine with basic cards, or should I upgrade to the Ultra II or higher?

 

[RonFrank]

Most PnS cameras (SeaLife) do NOT come close to hitting the maximum write speeds the new fast cards offer. Cards are also WAY down in price. I picked up a High Speed 16mb card for under $30 not too long ago.

You may have a difficult time finding the exact write speed on your camera. Your best bet maybe independent reviews like on DPReview.

Sealife does NOT manufacture the camera they use. At one time they were using a Ricoh, but I have no idea at this time. If you can figure out the model/manufacture you may find more information that way if you don't have the info in the Sealife manual. If you have lost your manual, look at the manufactures site online, they are generally available in PDF format.

 

[xcelratr]

What he ^^^ said.

I also cannot quote the write speed of a camera, but I think it's highly unlikely that a point-and-shoot can zip off so many frames in such a short time that you can overload the buffer built into the camera and lose any pics or freeze up the camera at a critical point.

 

[MandaMJ420]

I actually emailed sealife about two sandisk cards, see the response I received below, I definitely think the faster speed will be much better for continuous shooting, the slower ones I have for my Canon are terrible. (oh and they are offering a rebate right now for san disk cards.. you can view details at adorama.com, this is where i ordered mine, no tax and no shipping) Hope this helps!
*****************************
Dear MandaMarie:
Thanks for your letter. Both card should work just fine on the DC1000 Camera. However, the 8GB card would be faster and I would recommend getting two 8 GB instead of 1 each 16GB card.
Thanks.
Best regards,
Joe
SeaLife Sales Dept.
From: MandaMarie [mailto:mandamj420@suddenlink.net]
Sent: Friday, October 23, 2009 11:29 PM
To: Website - Sealife - Info
Subject: Memory card compatability w/ DC1000
Hello,
Can you please tell me if the two cards listed below would be completely compatible with the DC 1000?
Thanks so much!!!
~MandaMarie~
SanDisk 16 GB, Extreme III Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Memory Card, Class 10 (SKU IDSSDX316G)

SanDisk 8 GB, Extreme III Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Memory Card, Class 10 (SKU IDSSDX38G)

 

[SeahorseDeb]

Wikipedia has a fantastic article about SDHC cards and the standard SD card. It discusses write speeds on the cards from class 2 up to class 10. Class 10's haven't been rated yet and so far are only available from Panasonic. As mentioned above, it is definately up to the offload capability of the camera to the card. The card is of course the receptor for the info. My SeaLife DC800 has a shutter lag that bugs me, but ahem, it isn't my $2000 DSLR either, so I have to remain calm and patient about that!! One other thing to consider, if you're using strobes, you need a moment for the strobes to recharge before you take your next pic, but by then most of the SD cards out there can write capably at the speed you need. Delkin does have a 4Gb card that also has some nice recovery features if you accidently delete a photo(s) and also is rated to colder and warmer temperatures. I beleive that card is a class 6 too. So check out Wikipedia's article. It's very informative!