Camcorders that fully utilize a removable SDHC memory card are some of the fastest growing markets in electronic products. Before just recently video cameras could only use SDHC memory cards for still photographs. In older models, hard drives, DVD, as well as tape drives were usually the devices used to store video.
“SD” stands for Secure Digital. “HC” refers to High Capacity. Besides Sony, all the manufacturers make use of a SD or SDHC storage device for their flash memory camcorders (Sony has its own exclusive design). Sandisk, a big maker of flash memory cards, has even begun marketing certain SD and SDHC flash cards as “video” cards.
All flash cards aren’t created equal. Regardless of whether it’s called a video card or an SDHC memory card, there are some distinctions among SDHC memory cards you should know about before purchasing one.
SDHC Memory Card Interoperability
A camcorder that says it functions with SDHC flash memory cards will always work with an SD card too; on the other hand, it doesn’t apply the other way around. If the video camera declares it works with SD cards, then that is all it works with; it can’t be used with a SDHC storage device. That is the exceptional scenario. Most modern camcorders perform with both.
Some of the low-cost camcorders won’t handle all SDHC memory card capacities. Just because your camcorder is SDHC compatible does not mean it works using capacities at the upper end of the range. You’ll have to look at your manual to confirm it works with 16GB SDHC class 10 and under or 32GB SDHC class 10 and under
SDHC Memory Card Capacities
SD flash memory cards max out at 2GB of memory capacity. An SDHC storage device can range from 4GB to 32GB in size. More capacity means you are able to store more videos and photographs. If you’ve got a high definition camcorder you’ll need to get an SDHC memory card. If you have a standard definition camcorder you can probably get by using an SD flash memory card.
SDHC Memory Card Classes
Slower SD or SDHC flash memory cards might not be able to keep track of the massive amount of data a high definition digital camcorder can feed into the flash memory card. If your SDHC memory card is too slow your video camera will not be equipped to record anything.
To better understand this, an SD or SDHC flash memory card is assigned one of four classes to indicate its lowest speed: classes 2, 4, 5, and 10. The higher the class designation, the faster the flash memory card is. The class represents the minimum megabytes per second (MBps) of the card; the rate it can store video recording data. Class 4 is rated at 4 MBps, class 6 is rated at 6 MBps, and so forth. You can expect to pay a correspondingly higher price for a high class SDHC flash memory card.
Frequently the true speed of the SDHC flash memory card surpasses its class rating. Moreover, video camera manufacturers, along with makers of other SDHC based gadgets, can design devices which require faster speeds than the minimum rate indicated by the class designation. Because of this it is advisable to think about class general categorization for comparison purposes, but you should check with the actual requirements of your device before purchasing a specific SDHC memory card. Don’t count entirely on class.
Some manufacturers list the speed of the video camera plainly on the outside of the package while others might stuff it in to the small print of the manual. No matter where it is, you ought to consult this essential specification before choosing a SDHC memory card.
If you have a standard definition video camera, either a SD or SDHC memory card of class 2 should do the job. The highest quality video you can record works effectively with this class of SDHC memory card.
Your best option for a high definition video camera is going to be a class 6 SDHC memory card. A class 10 SDHC memory card should work, depending on how tolerant to specification limitations your video camera and SDHC memory card are made. Ensure your video camera can go that speed before paying the extra money it will cost you for a class 10 flash card.