Micro-Test: Premium SD Cards

The latest SLRs pack a punch when it comes to speed, so it’s worth matching them with a good, fast SD Card

1 Delkin SD 633x UHS-1

Price: £53 / $60 Web: www.delkin.com Delkin’s card has good reading and writing times. The tests Delkin subjects its cards to are particularly rigorous. In addition to shock testing, it’s tested against salt spray, ultraviolet light and other harsh elements. The card has built-in error correction.

2 Lexar Professional 600x 32GB SDHC UHS-1

Price: £29 / $30 Web: www.lexar.com Lexar is a leading name, so you’d expect the Professional 600x to be one of the leaders in this test. However, it proved a fraction of a second off the pace. The card is thoroughly tested, and Image Rescue software is included.

3 PNY Elite Performance

Price: £56 / $23 Web: www.pny.com The PNY Elite Performance is just faster than the Lexar and a fraction slower than the Transcend. Buffer speed tests placed the card at the top of the group when used in-camera. Like the other cards, the PNY is resistant to shock, water, temperature and magnetism.

4 Samsung SDHC Pro

Price: £40 / $30 Web: www.samsung.com Samsung Pro cards aren’t the fastest on test, but the differences are marginal. As you’d hope from a premium product, the card is shock-, water-, magnet- and X-ray-proof. It’s a great all-round performer, with the second fastest reading and writing times in the test.

5 SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-1

Price: £42 / $48 Web: www.sandisk.co.uk You can pay more for the SanDisk name, but protection against the elements, fast reading and writing times and free image-recovery software makes this a good investment. The card also has built-in error correction.

6 Transcend SDXC/SDHC UHS-1 U3

Price: £27 / $45 Web: www.transcendusa.com The Transcend card delivers good all-round performance for both reading and writing. The card features built-in error correction and has been tested to work in extreme temperatures. It also comes with RecoverRX photo software.