Using Micro SD in your camera instead of SD?

Summary

In this video, the host explores whether microSD cards with an SD card adapter can replace regular SD cards. Through tests including shooting speed, buffer clearance, and video recording, the host finds that a SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD card performs nearly identically to its SD counterpart. However, concerns about the microSD card's lifespan and the risk of losing the tiny card or the adapter are raised. The video concludes that while microSD cards can be a cost-effective alternative, some may prefer the reliability and ease of use of regular SD cards.

Takeaways

• 📸 The video discusses the performance of microSD cards versus regular SD cards.
• 🔍 The presenter has historically found microSD cards to be slower than regular SD cards.
• 🆕 SanDisk has released an Extreme Pro microSD card claiming performance specs on par with regular SD cards.
• 📈 In burst shooting tests, the microSD card performed nearly identically to the regular SD card.
• 🔥 Buffer clearance tests showed no significant difference in write speeds between the two card types.
• 🎥 Long video recording tests indicated similar heat performance for both cards.
• 💾 The read speed test showed marginal differences, with the regular SD card slightly outperforming the microSD card.
• 💡 Despite similar performance, the presenter prefers regular SD cards due to concerns over the lifespan and fragility of microSD cards.
• 💰 MicroSD cards are cheaper than regular SD cards, with a £5 difference noted in the video.
• ❓ The presenter concludes that using a microSD card with an adapter is viable but leaves the choice to the viewer's personal preference.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The video discusses the performance comparison between microSD cards used with an SD card adapter and regular SD cards.

What is the short answer to whether you can use microSD cards with an SD card adapter instead of regular SD cards?

Yes, you can use microSD cards with an SD card adapter instead of regular SD cards.

What has been the video creator's experience with SD cards?

The video creator's experience with SD cards has been that they are all right but not as quick as regular SD cards.

Which brand and model of SD cards does the video creator usually use?

The video creator usually uses SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards.

What prompted the video creator to test microSD cards against regular SD cards?

The video creator saw a SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD card that claimed to have the same performance specs as regular SD cards.

What was the first test conducted to compare the performance of microSD and regular SD cards?

The first test was to see how many shots could be taken before the buffer starts to slow down at 10 frames per second with uncompressed raw format.

What was the result of the buffer clearance test?

Both the microSD and regular SD cards took around 17 seconds to clear the buffer after a three-second burst of shots at 10 frames per second.

How did the microSD card perform in terms of heat and video recording compared to the regular SD card?

The microSD card performed similarly to the regular SD card in terms of heat and video recording, with no noticeable differences in performance.

What was the result of the read speed test for the microSD card?

The microSD card achieved an average read speed of around 166 megabytes per second when tested with a specific SanDisk card reader.

What is the main concern the video creator has about using microSD cards over regular SD cards?

The video creator's main concern is the potential shorter lifespan of microSD cards due to their smaller size and the risk of losing or breaking them.

What is the price difference between the microSD card and the regular SD card mentioned in the video?

The microSD card cost 13 pounds, while the regular SD card cost 18 pounds, a difference of 5 pounds.

What is the video creator's personal preference regarding microSD and regular SD cards?

The video creator prefers to use regular SD cards for peace of mind, despite the price difference and potential performance equivalence with microSD cards.

Outlines

00:00

📸 SD Card vs MicroSD Card Performance Test

The video begins with the host discussing memory cards, specifically addressing the question of whether microSD cards can be used with an SD card adapter instead of regular SD cards. The host shares their experience that SD cards are satisfactory but not as fast as microSD cards. They mention the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards as their preferred choice and introduce a new Extreme Pro microSD card that SanDisk claims has the same performance specs as regular SD cards. The host conducts a series of tests to compare the performance of the microSD card with the regular SD card, including a burst shooting test, a buffer clearance test, and a video recording test. The results show minimal differences in performance between the two types of cards, with the microSD card performing almost identically to the regular SD card in all tests.

05:01

🔍 Evaluating MicroSD Card Read Speeds and Practical Considerations

In the second paragraph, the host explores the read speed of the microSD card, testing its claim of 170 megabytes per second read speed using a specific SanDisk card reader. The test shows that the microSD card achieves an average read speed of 166 megabytes per second, slightly slower than the claimed speed, possibly due to the adapter creating a bottleneck. The host also discusses the practical considerations of using microSD cards, such as their smaller size making them easier to lose and the potential impact on their lifespan due to heat. Despite the microSD card being cheaper than the regular SD card, the host expresses a preference for regular SD cards for peace of mind, citing the risk of losing the microSD card or the adapter failing. The host concludes by reiterating that while microSD cards can be used in place of regular SD cards without significant performance differences, personal preference and practical considerations should guide the choice between the two.

Keywords

💡Memory Cards

Memory cards are portable storage devices used to store digital data. They come in various types, including SD (Secure Digital) and microSD cards. In the video, memory cards are the central topic, with the discussion focusing on their performance, particularly when using microSD cards with an SD card adapter.

💡UHS1 vs UHS2

UHS stands for Ultra High Speed, a term used to describe different speed classes of SD cards. UHS1 and UHS2 are two such classes, with UHS2 offering higher data transfer rates. The video script references a previous video discussing whether one should get UHS1 or UHS2 memory cards.

💡SD Card Adapter

An SD card adapter is a device that allows microSD cards to be used in devices that require a full-sized SD card. The video explores the practicality of using microSD cards with an adapter instead of regular SD cards, testing their performance in various scenarios.

💡SanDisk Extreme Pro

SanDisk Extreme Pro is a line of high-performance memory cards by SanDisk. The video mentions using these cards for testing, comparing their performance with microSD cards to see if they match up in terms of speed and reliability.

💡Buffer

In photography, the buffer is a temporary storage area in the camera's memory where images are stored before being written to the memory card. The video discusses a test measuring how many shots can be taken before the buffer slows down, indicating the card's write speed.

💡Write Speed

Write speed refers to how quickly data can be written to a memory card. The video tests the write speed of both SD and microSD cards by measuring the time it takes for the camera buffer to clear after a burst of shots.

💡Read Speed

Read speed is the rate at which data can be accessed from a memory card. The video tests the read speed of the cards by copying files from the cards to a computer and mentions SanDisk's claim of up to 170 megabytes per second read speed.

💡U3 V30

U3 and V30 are speed ratings for SD cards, indicating that they can support at least 30MB/s and 30fps video recording, respectively. The video mentions these ratings in the context of SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD cards.

💡4K Video

4K video refers to a video resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, which is four times the resolution of 1080p video. The video script includes a test to see if using a microSD card affects the camera's ability to record 4K video for extended periods.

💡Overheat

Overheating is a common issue with high-performance devices and memory cards, especially when recording high-resolution video. The video tests whether using a microSD card could cause the camera to overheat more quickly than using a regular SD card.

💡Price Difference

The video discusses the cost of memory cards, noting that microSD cards are often cheaper than regular SD cards. It mentions a price difference of 5 pounds between a 64GB microSD card and a 64GB SD card, which could influence a buyer's decision.

Highlights

You can use microSD cards with an SD card adapter instead of regular SD cards.

Regular SD cards are traditionally faster than microSD cards.

SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD card claims to have the same performance specs as regular SD cards.

The read speeds of the microSD card can reach up to 170 MB/s and write speeds up to 90 MB/s.

Buffer test showed marginal differences between microSD and regular SD cards.

Buffer clearance test showed no real difference in write speeds.

Video shooting test revealed no difference in heat performance between microSD and regular SD cards.

The microSD card was able to record 100 Mbps video without hesitation.

Read speed test showed the microSD card could achieve around 166 MB/s.

The SD card read speed was slightly faster at around 156 MB/s.

There might be a slight bottleneck created by the adapter with the microSD card.

The lifespan of microSD cards compared to regular SD cards is uncertain.

Adapters for microSD cards add an extra step that could potentially fail.

MicroSD cards are smaller and easier to lose compared to regular SD cards.

There is a price difference, with microSD cards being nearly a third cheaper.

The decision between microSD and regular SD cards is up to personal preference and needs.

The video concludes that microSD cards can be used in place of regular SD cards with little to no performance difference.

Transcripts

hey everyone welcome to the video today

we're discussing memory cards

although in reality you probably already

knew this because

why else would you have clicked on the

video apart from

to see him of course the other week i

did a video

that was inspired by a lot of questions

that i see people ask

about should you get uhs1 or uhs2 memory

cards

now today's video is inspired by the

other common memory card question that i

see people ask which is can you use

microsd cards with an sd card adapter

instead of regular sd cards

now the short answer is yes you can but

my experience of sd cards for many years

has always been that

they're all right but they're just

nowhere near as quick as regular sd

cards

so go with the regular sds so that's

what i've always done

for the last few years i have only ever

used the sandisk extreme pro sd cards

that's just

what i've chosen to use and then the

other week i saw sandisk do

an extreme pro micro sd card that they

claim have the exact same performance

specs

as the regular sds read speeds up to 170

meg write speeds up to 90 meg

class u3 v30 speed rating

and so it got me thinking are micro sd

cards

now on par with regular sd cards or not

i bought myself a 64 gig sdxc

micro sd xtreme pro to put it up against

the 64 gig sdxc sd

cards that i normally use to see how

well they work

all with comparison tests i did were

done using the sony a7 iii

the very first one i did was how many

shots can you rattle off before the

buffer starts to slow down

so i shot at 10 frames a second

uncompressed raw so

putting as much information as possible

onto the card

and i just held down the shutter button

until

the very first shot after that it

started to slow down

so it just rattled 10 frames a second

and then the moment it paused and fired

one more shot

i let go with the sd card i was able to

get

38 shots off in a burst and with the

micro sd card i got

36 so very marginal differences there

the second test that i did was then a

buffer clearance test

where i shot a three second burst of 10

frames a second

uncompressed raw so i had a timer next

to the camera so i could time the three

seconds

after three seconds i stopped shooting

and then i measured how long it took

for the camera to then clear the buffer

onto the card

i.e the faster the write speed the

quicker the buffer is going to clear

and there was no real difference there

either after three seconds of shooting

both cards took around

17 seconds to then completely clear the

buffer

there are obviously margins of human

error going on here

that i've got to start the timer and

press the shutter button at the same

time

but then releasing the shutter button

exactly on three seconds

and then stopping the timer that the

moment it's finished writing the last

shot to the card

i did notice that the timer for the

micro sd

card was about a half a second quicker

than the sd

card but then the sd card appears to

have had an extra

shot fired which would kind of offset

that so

basically write speeds to the camera

appear to be

identical the next test i did was

shooting video

everyone knows you shoot a camera

continuously in video things get very

hot especially the memory card

and the camera can overheat so i wanted

to see if having

a dainty little memory card like this

caused any problems

when shooting video for long periods of

time so i had the a7 3 from a completely

cold start

shooting 4k 100 megabits a second video

underneath this light in 30 minute

chunks because that's all the camera can

handle

until it shut itself off i was able to

get

just shy of 90 minutes recording before

the camera shut itself down

and i didn't rerun it with the sd card

this time because i know from experience

that that is

roughly the same performance i did the

same experiment for the previous video

the uhs1 uhs2 comparison

and around 90 minutes is what you get

from an sd card

so again no differences in terms of heat

performance and the card is able to

record

100 megabits a second video to it with

no hesitation

so they can match each other in terms of

writing to the card in camera so the up

to 90 megabytes a second

is around about the same then i wanted

to test

the claimed 170 meg read speed

because as i've covered in previous

videos before

the newer sandisk cards with the higher

than 95 megabytes a second read speeds

can only be achieved using a specific

sandisk card reader that unlocks that

extra performance

now even though sandisk claimed that

this will do up to 170 i was conscious

that the

adapter could potentially create a

bottleneck

so i tested copying large video files

off both of these cards

onto the computer using the same card

reader

and found this can achieve around 166

megabytes a second average

this was slightly slower at around 156

so potentially that's the memory card

itself just can't quite reach 170

possibly the adapter is creating a bit

of a bottleneck

but marginal differences a fraction

faster read speed with the

sd card but overall the performances

between them are

near enough identical now obviously

that's just

these particular extreme pro memory

cards you will get different mileage

from potentially different brands so

i can't guarantee that all micro sd

cards will be as fast as

regular sd cards but in these tests

these particular cards are near enough

the same so does that mean you should

just

only ever buy micro sd cards up to you

personally not for me i don't know what

the

life span the long term lifespan of

these cards are

i don't know if with the cards being so

much smaller if they do get warmer

if that drains the lifespan of them i

don't know

but even if the lifespan of the micro sd

card is the same as a regular sd card

you've still got the adapter to consider

as well because this is just another

step in the process that could

potentially fail plus micro sd

cards are just so damn fiddly like my

audio recorder takes a micro sd

card and i'm forever losing the damn

thing regular sd cards

so much easier to keep track of now

obviously you could just leave the micro

sd card inside the adapter but then

there's fundamentally no difference the

only difference really between them is

price

i bought both of these from amazon the

micro sd card sent me back 13 pounds

the regular sd card 18 pounds so a 5 a

difference so yes the micro sd cards are

nearly a third cheaper

than the regular sd cards but personally

just for the peace of mind

i prefer to stick with the regular sd

cards than fiddle around with micros and

risk losing them or breaking them

but in case you or dropping them

but in case you're somebody who's been

questioning can you get away with using

a micro sd card

in an adapter instead of using a regular

sd

the answer is yes you can in some cases

you won't see a difference in

performance

but you might see a difference in price

so it's entirely up to you which one you

go for

but that's going to be it for this video

guys as always if you have any questions

or queries feel free to leave them in

the comment box down below while you're

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