Nikon P5000: OK w/ 4GB SDHC card??

[highdesert]

Greetings everyone -

Off to Raja Ampat in a month ... yeehah! Or woohoo, or whatever. Anyway ...

With the incredibly punitive weight limits now in force on local Indonesian airlines, I'm considering leaving the laptop, blank CD's, etc. at home and just taking my Nikon P5000 p&s and a handful of flash cards. The camera supports SDHC format, but I was wondering if the card capacity plays into performance at all. I'm not concerned with lightning fast read/write times ... I just want to be sure the camera likes the card. There are a lot of deals out there now on SanDisk 4.0 GB SDHC cards, and since I've never had a problem with a SanDisk 2.0 GB card, should I expect the same in my camera with a 4 GB card?

Thanks!

 

[JackConnick]

Yes it will work fine. But you need to buy high speed media which is more expensive.

Jack

 

[ScubaSteve]

I have 4gb cards for mine and they work very well. Even on the largest setting there is tons of room. As Jack stated....fast, fast, fast.

 

[highdesert]

Yes it will work fine. But you need to buy high speed media which is more expensive.

Jack

Hmmm ... okay ...

If I shoot at the 10 meg max setting of the camera, and it writes the shot to the card in the time it takes the camera to ready itself for the next shot, then what is the "high speed" I really require? In real terms, how often does someone shooting UW, particularly an amateur like me with a p&s with on board flash, really need high speed media?

 

[ScubaSteve]

You are free to make your own decision however I am 200% confident you will live to regret cheaping out on the card. Especially to save a couple of bucks. High speed is no longer expensive in cards (not as small as 4gb). As you can see in the link, this card (described below) is $32.00.

I use a Lexar Professional 133x write speed. And, if you have ever dove and actually payed attention to how quickly things can go by, then you know just how much you can miss in the time it takes for a slow card to write. I went cheap on media ONCE and will never do it again. It is not worth it.

However, it is entirely up to you.

FWIW....I would spend $100 just to get a 4gb card that wrote twice as fast.....you miss too much while it writes.

Hmmm ... okay ...

If I shoot at the 10 meg max setting of the camera, and it writes the shot to the card in the time it takes the camera to ready itself for the next shot, then what is the "high speed" I really require? In real terms, how often does someone shooting UW, particularly an amateur like me with a p&s with on board flash, really need high speed media?

 

[JackConnick]

High speed SD cards are rated at 150x. High speed SDHC cards are rated as "Class 6". 4GB cards are plenty big enough and aren't expensive online, maybe $15-20. I recommend at least 2.

Here's a place to shop: DealRam Shopper

But watch the speed. I would also buy a good quality like SanDisk or Transend, etc. NewEgg has reviews of their media that are good to read over.

Jack

 

[highdesert]

I have 4gb cards for mine and they work very well. Even on the largest setting there is tons of room. As Jack stated....fast, fast, fast.

... and again, how fast is fast enough? Do I really need blazing speed for what I'm doing? What's a benchmark spec? What do I look for? You're in "the biz" as I recall, and probably get a great deal. What's a good value, as opposed to what's the hottest card? Do you have a link to a site that provides a good education about the requirements?

PS - Oops, sorry ... posted this before I read Jack's second post ...

 

[highdesert]

OK, changing the subject a bit here ... now it's spare batteries.

I bought a coupla generic batteries a year ago to use when the Nikon OEM battery goes flat. They have both swelled to the point where they no longer slide in and out of the compartment easily. To me that means they're on the way to leaking ... or am I wrong? Whatever ... they're too fat now. Are there decent aftermarket batteries online, or do I go with the Nikon OEM?

Thanks!

 

[highdesert]

I use a Lexar Professional 133x write speed. And, if you have ever dove and actually payed attention to how quickly things can go by, then you know just how much you can miss in the time it takes for a slow card to write. I went cheap on media ONCE and will never do it again. It is not worth it.

But will the processor in my little Nikon P5000 take advantage of the speed of a card like this? Or does one require an SLR to utillize the performance of the card?

Also ... I just found this online ...
"4GB Transcend Secure Digital High-Capacity Card (SDHC) Class 6 $9.95"
Does that sound like an impossibly low price? It's on a site recommended by a photo industry pro in this forum ...

 

[JackConnick]

Go to NewEgg and read some reviews. Note that there are many models of cards, make sure you're looking at the same one. I should think a class 6 SDHC card is fine. Do your own test when you get it and fire off a few high rez shots and see how fast it writes them.

Yes, buy OEM batteries.

Jack