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Select a memory card: type, capacity, speed. Deceiving microSD buyers

Let's try to find out what class of memory card you should equip your smartphone, tablet, laptop, video camera or camera when such a need arises, and which class of memory card is better for each of these devices?

To do this, we will consider in detail what classification of memory cards currently exists, and how one miniature storage device differs from another.

Before you find out what a storage device class means, you should clarify the concept of storage media speed. There are two different values for this parameter: the first is the speed of reading or transferring data, and the second is the speed of writing data. The read speed is almost always faster than the write speed, but it has no direct relation to the class of equipment: it may even turn out that a flash drive labeled “class 4” will be read faster than a class 10 flash drive.

Of the two numbers describing the characteristics of the media, this will be larger number: The higher the reading speed, the easier and faster you can transfer information to an external device. The recording speed is important for the performance of the equipment, and it is this that allows you to record video in the format high resolution. You can find out whether the manufacturer offers a good speed recording mode by looking at the back of the package.

Since some unscrupulous manufacturers indicate inflated specifications on their products, it is better to purchase memory cards from well-known brands, but, in any case, it is always possible to check the speed data yourself. It is easy to check the speed using special programs, for example, USB-Flash-Banchmark and Check Flash, which can be downloaded for free, or the H2testw utility.

Existing card types

Modern digital storage media comes in different sizes: mini, micro and full-format, with the smallest dimensions intended for a smartphone, tablet or mobile phone, and those that are larger are used in video cameras and cameras.

For a long time, the main storage medium was CompactFlash, or CF cards, measuring 43 x 36 x 3.3 mm, and although the age of these formats has passed, they are nevertheless still used in some DVRs today.

The most common type of digital storage equipment currently is the SD Card (Secure Digital Memory Card) or SD card.

This device is no larger than postage stamp, with dimensions of 32 x 24 x 2.1 mm, surpassed CF cards in all respects, and almost all modern equipment is compatible with it. Higher-capacity devices are now abbreviated SDHC, and ultra-high-capacity devices are abbreviated SDXC.

Micro SD or micro SD card is simply a miniature version of an SD card, measuring 11 x 15 x 1 mm, which is inserted into devices with limited space, such as phones. However, if necessary, it can even be installed in a laptop if you use a special adapter that exists for this purpose. There is also a mini SD with dimensions of 21.5 x 20 x 1.4 mm, since some types of equipment are equipped with just such slots.

Classes of SD memory cards

Let's assume that we already know what size the storage device should be, how much of its memory we need for optimal operation. All that remains is to find out what a memory card class is and what this SD card parameter affects in order to select the one you need. It is this characteristic that will determine the speed at which we can transmit or receive the information we are interested in.

So, this is a parameter that determines the speed of the SD memory card, according to which all devices are divided into:

Class 2 - speed from 2 Mb/s to 4 Mb/s. Since the writing speed is very low, this class of flash drive should not be used in video cameras or digital cameras. The lack of speed is compensated by the relative cheapness of the card, so it can be safely used to reproduce sound and images, that is, in audio or video players, since in this case high speed is not needed.
Class 4 - speed from 4 Mb/s and higher. For amateur home photography with digital cameras, you can use class four. The fourth class, in addition, is installed in the DVR and some inexpensive non-professional video cameras.
Class 6 - guaranteed speed of 6 Mb/s and higher. A flash drive of this level can already be installed in semi-professional video cameras and SLR cameras that shoot in RAW format. They allow you to get quite high quality shooting.
Class 10 - speed is 10 Mb/s and higher. A Class 10 flash drive can be equipped with a car recorder, professional video and photo equipment with Full HD recording. Class 10 allows you to take burst photos, shoot in RAW format and save images, which has great importance for professional photographers. However, such devices are somewhat more expensive, for example, a microsdhc class 10 memory card will cost at least 1000 rubles.
SD Class 16 - speed of at least 16 Mb/s, however, it is still very difficult to buy this card in our country, since it has not yet been widely sold.
Ultra High Speed (UHS) - such ultra-high speed cards can only be used with devices compatible with them, which is usually written about in the instructions. Class 10 UHS I is a high-speed card, the writing speed of which can reach 50 MB/s or more.

There is a UHS specification that regulates the speed of equipment. According to the UHS-I standard, the data exchange speed must be at least 50 Mb/s and up to 104 Mb/s, according to the UHS-II standard - at least 156 Mb/s and up to 312 Mb/s. The class 10 uhs i card allows you to provide maximum high level record in real time and, in addition, get large-size video in HD format.

How to determine the class of a memory card? You just need to look at it carefully: the circled number on the front of the digital storage medium will be the desired value.

How to choose a flash drive

Please note that the latest memory device formats may not work with older hardware. For example, if a smartphone supports the micro SD format, this does not mean that it will also support high-speed micro SDXC. Therefore, to find out this possibility, it is better to read the documentation for your smartphone in advance.

Micro SD, like SD media, comes in two formats (SDHC with a capacity of up to 32 GB and SDXC with a capacity of 64 to 512 GB) and are used in all modern smartphones and tablets. The tenth speed class of such information media is no different from their full-size counterparts. Thus, the higher the card classes sdhc memory, the faster the data transfer occurs, which is the main advantage of those micro cards SD, which are more expensive for the same capacity.

For example, a microsdhc class 10 32GB memory card costs about 1,500 rubles. Ideal for modern digital devices such as phones, camcorders, smartphones, PDAs, audio players and game consoles. If you don’t skimp on the class of equipment, pursuing immediate benefits, you can get long-term excellent results in the further use of the equipment: high-quality pictures and stunning videos, as well as funds from their sale.

For most people, microSD is just a form factor, but in reality it is not. You can easily insert any microSD card into a standard slot, but not all of them will work, since the cards differ in many ways.

Format

There are three different SD formats, available in two form factors (SD and microSD):

SD (microSD) - drives up to 2 GB, work with any equipment;
SDHC (microSDHC) - drives from 2 to 32 GB, work on devices supporting SDHC and SDXC;
SDXC (microSDXC) - drives from 32 GB to 2 TB (currently maximum 512 GB), work only on devices with SDXC support.

As you can see, they are not backward compatible. Memory cards of the new format will not work on old equipment.

Volume

Support for microSDXC declared by the manufacturer does not mean support for cards of this format with any capacity and depends on the specific device. For example, the HTC One M9 works with microSDXC, but officially only supports cards up to 128 GB inclusive.

Another important point is related to the storage capacity. All microSDXC cards use the exFAT file system by default. Windows has supported it for more than 10 years, it appeared in OS X starting with version 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard), Linux distributions support exFAT, but it does not work out of the box everywhere.

High speed UHS interface

An I or II is added to the UHS card logo depending on the version

SDHC and SDXC cards can support the Ultra High Speed interface, which, with hardware support on the device, provides higher speeds (UHS-I up to 104 MB/s and UHS-II up to 312 MB/s). UHS is backward compatible with earlier interfaces and can work with devices that do not support it, but at standard speeds (up to 25 MB/s).

2. Speed

Luca Lorenzelli/shutterstock.com

Classifying the write and read speeds of microSD cards is as complex as their formats and compatibility. The specifications allow you to describe the speed of cards in four ways, and since manufacturers use them all, there is a lot of confusion.

Speed class

Speed class marking for regular cards represents a number inscribed in the Latin letter C

The Speed Class is associated with the minimum write speed to a memory card in megabytes per second. There are four in total:

Class 2- from 2 MB/s;
Class 4- from 4 MB/s;
Class 6- from 6 MB/s;
Class 10- from 10 MB/s.

By analogy with the marking of regular cards, the speed class of UHS cards fits into the Latin letter U

Cards running on the high-speed UHS bus currently have only two speed classes:

Class 1 (U1)- from 10 MB/s;
Class 3 (U3)- from 30 MB/s.

Since the speed class designation uses the minimum entry value, theoretically a card of the second class may well be faster than a card of the fourth. Although, if this is the case, the manufacturer will most likely prefer to indicate this fact more explicitly.

Maximum speed

The speed class is quite enough for comparing cards when choosing, but some manufacturers, in addition to it, use the maximum speed in MB/s in the description, and more often than not even the write speed (which is always lower), but the read speed.

These are usually the results of synthetic tests under ideal conditions, which are unattainable in normal use. In practice, speed depends on many factors, so you should not rely on this characteristic.

Speed multiplier

Another classification option is the speed multiplier, similar to the one used to indicate the read and write speed of optical discs. There are more than ten of them, from 6x to 633x.

The 1x multiplier is 150 KB/s, that is, the simplest 6x cards have a speed of 900 KB/s. The fastest cards can have a multiplier of 633x, which is 95 MB/s.

3. Objectives

StepanPopov/shutterstock.com

Choose the right card taking into account specific tasks. The biggest and fastest is not always the best. In certain use cases, the volume and speed may be excessive.

When buying a card for a smartphone, capacity plays a bigger role than speed. The advantages of a large drive are obvious, but the advantages of high transfer speeds on a smartphone are practically not felt, since large files are rarely written and read there (unless you have a smartphone with 4K video support).

Cameras that shoot HD and 4K video are a completely different matter: both speed and volume are equally important here. For 4K video, camera manufacturers recommend using UHS U3 cards, for HD - regular Class 10 or at least Class 6.

For photos, many professionals prefer to use several smaller cards to minimize the risk of losing all the images in force majeure circumstances. As for speed, it all depends on the photo format. If you shoot in RAW, it makes sense to invest in microSDHC or microSDXC class UHS U1 and U3 - in this case they will reveal themselves fully.

4. Fakes

jcjgphotography/shutterstock.com

No matter how trivial it may sound, it is now easier than ever to buy a fake under the guise of original cards. Several years ago, SanDisk claimed that a third of SanDisk memory cards on the market were counterfeit. It is unlikely that the situation has changed much since then.

To avoid disappointment when purchasing, just use common sense. Refrain from buying from untrustworthy sellers, and beware of offers of “original” cards that are significantly lower than the official price.

Attackers have learned to fake packaging so well that sometimes it can be very difficult to distinguish it from the original. You can judge with complete confidence the authenticity of a particular card only after checking using special utilities:

H2testw- for Windows;

If you have already experienced the loss of important data due to a memory card failure for one reason or another, then when it comes to choosing, you will most likely prefer a more expensive card from a well-known brand than an affordable “no-name” one.

In addition to greater reliability and safety of your data, with a branded card you will receive high speed and a guarantee (in some cases even lifetime).

Now you know everything you need to know about SD cards. As you can see, there are many questions that you will have to answer before purchasing a card. Perhaps, best idea will have various cards for various needs. This way you can take full advantage of the equipment without exposing your budget to unnecessary expenses.

The file storage market is constantly progressing, increasing the amount of data stored, the speed of writing and reading files, as well as optimization and reliability. 128 or 512 MB media that seemed relevant have already fallen out of use, since the modern user requires at least 1 GB of free space to store photos or video files.

Selecting file media is not a difficult task, but requires basic knowledge of the formats supported by devices. We have collected for you the 20 best memory cards for cameras, smartphones and other devices based on the following criteria:

popularity of the manufacturing company among consumers;
reliability of the drive, terms of full operation;
correspondence of cost to product quality parameters;
technical characteristics of the card (data exchange speed, supported standards, memory capacity, etc.).

Popular memory card manufacturers

Transcend. A famous Taiwanese company founded in 1988. It is distinguished by a wide range of products (from RAM modules to miniature storage devices) and the presence of a limited lifetime warranty for products purchased from official representatives and in a network of retail stores.

SanDisk. An American brand, which was founded in the same 1988. At the moment, SanDisk products occupy a third of the media market, and the main direction of development of the company's activities is the development of data storage based on flash memory.

Samsung. An international corporation that needs no introduction. Among the huge production capacities, there was also room for a department for the development of memory modules, distinguished by proprietary quality and high cost.

Sony. An eternal competitor of Samsung, which has relied on the production of memory cards for cameras and video cameras. It is distinguished by a non-trivial approach to production and the use of radical solutions (to increase the speed of data exchange, experiments to equip miniature cards with extra memory capacity, etc.)

Kingston. Another representative of the “elite” among file media manufacturers, whose work began in 1997. It occupies a leading position in terms of the market volume of DRAM modules, second in the supply of flash memory and flash cards, and first in the sale of USB drives.

ADATA. The youngest memory module manufacturing company, founded in 2001 in Taiwan. It positions itself as a rapidly developing company with cutting-edge developments... and confirms this with excellent sales figures in all leading segments with a decent share of the developed market.

The best microSDHC memory cards

If your smartphone runs Android, it probably has a microSD memory card installed. The microSDHC format, in turn, is a “subspecies” microSD cards. Externally, it is impossible to distinguish microSD from microSDHC. They have the same dimensions, and devices with microSD support work equally well with microSDHC.

The reason for the appearance of microSDHC is simple: many years ago, during the creation of the microSD format, no one seriously thought about the fact that cards would be larger than 2 GB. Therefore, the file system had a corresponding limitation. Along with the advent of memory cards with a capacity of more than 2 GB, a new standard appeared. U SDHC cards there is a so-called "classes". Those. if the card says “SDHC Class 10”, it means the read speed is 10 MB/sec.

5 Kingston SDCS/16GB

Classic workhorse
Country: USA
Average price: 326 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6

Most the best choice for those who want to save money and get quality with a long service life. The data writing speed is low - 10 MB/sec, but reading is fine - 80 MB/sec. The model is widely used in DVRs, navigators and phones.

At the same time, customers often complain about breakdowns. For some, it disappears from the system and can no longer be read. The “capriciousness” in service has significantly reduced the number of potential users, and many of them advise not to take it at all or to treat it with extreme care.

4 Kingston SDCS/32GBSP

Good volume/price ratio
Country: USA
Average price: 390 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7

This 32 GB card costs only 390 rubles, which is one of the best indicators in our rating in terms of price and volume ratio. The characteristics for its segment are also quite good: 80 MB/sec read speed and 10 MB/sec write speed.

Painted as standard in black. Customers really like it for its fast recognition on any device and stable operation during multiple rewrite cycles. Despite the attractive price, you should be very careful, as the memory card can easily fail.

3 Kingston SDCR/32GB

Best processing speed
Country: USA
Average price: 901 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.8

A memory capacity of 32 GB determines the price of about 1000 rubles. At the same time, the writing and reading speeds also did not disappoint and are 70 and 100 MB/sec. Recognized by all devices, be it a phone, DVR or laptop, the first time.

With its help, you can not only shoot video in 4K format, but also take serial photographs. There is more than enough space and the product is perfect for use during weddings or travel. There is also simple protection against moisture, as well as high and low temperatures. The minimum warranty is only 12 months.

2 Transcend TS16GUSD300S-A

The best budget card microSDHC memory
A country: USA (manufactured in China)
Average price: 300 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.9

Here is the best micro SD card for phones and DVRs. 16 GB of memory, although not something supernatural, nevertheless, such a volume had a positive effect on the price. Add to this the write and read speeds of 45 and 95 MB/sec, respectively, and we get the formula for success.

The memory card is painted silver. The company's official website has additional software for restoring functionality in case of unexpected errors. A definite plus is the 60 month or 5 year warranty.

When choosing a card, be guided by the tasks you encounter most often. Cards with high read/write speeds are more suitable for video, while low speeds are sufficient for photos.
Not all cards are suitable for intensive use. Continuous photography often overloads the card, which can lead to overheating and failure of the card. Therefore, for professional photography, it is better to buy professional-grade cards.
Pay attention to reviews. What the manufacturer writes in the technical description does not always correspond to actual use experience.
Take measurements using special programs right before purchasing. Defects are not excluded even from reputable manufacturers. And so, you can have a complete idea of how high-quality the card is in your hands.
Do not buy overly cheap cards from Chinese online stores. Instead of a 128 GB card, you risk buying a cheap fake 8 GB card that does not have a write limiter. This means that when you load 128 GB files onto such a card, you will get 16 rewrite cycles per 8 GB. (This recording principle is similar to the working mechanism of a car DVR)

1 Samsung MB-MC32GA

Standard of reliability and quality
Country: China
Average price: 650 rub.
Rating (2019): 5.0

Where would we be without Samsung, because they are the leaders in the development of chips and micro SD cards. We must admit that their product is not cheap. For a card with 32 GB of memory, the manufacturer asks 650 rubles. Is the model worth it? Definitely yes. The write speed is 20 MB/sec – higher than most competitors, and the read speed is 95 MB/sec.

Buyers note that the memory card is so fast that not all phones can cope with its speed potential. Moreover, in tests, the write speed is often almost twice as high as the stated characteristics, and the read speed reaches 100 MB/sec. Today it is the undisputed leader in the market.

The best microSDXC memory cards

Today, even inexpensive smartphones shoot video in 1080x1920 resolution. “Flagships” can produce video in 4K (that is, with a frame width of more than 4 thousand pixels). This kind of video is convenient to edit due to the good clarity of the frame, but it is extremely inconvenient to store. After all, in just a few minutes your smartphone can shoot a 3-4 GB video. Here another problem arises - to shoot such a video you need a memory card with high write/read speed. Otherwise, it will simply not be possible to capture the best moments of reality. Secure Digital XC cards are designed to solve two problems that the SDHC standard can no longer handle:

The updated file system made it possible to create cards up to 2 terabytes in size
The data transfer speed reaches 300 MB/sec and allows you to shoot/play video in high resolution.

If you plan to actively use your smartphone's storage and work with high-resolution videos and photos, then the Digital XC card is exactly what you need. And our rating will help you determine the best representatives of this category.

5 Leef microSDXC Class 10

Memory capacities up to 128 GB
Country: USA (Russia)
Average price: 1980 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.3

The product developed by domestic masters cannot be classified as a top product - it has too little popularity and free information from users. Leef microSDXC is a strong middle peasant of the market, pampering owners with balanced technical characteristics and annoying with irreversible and incorrigible bugs.

The write and read speeds (peak) are 24 and 42 MB/s, respectively, which is an excellent result for volumes ranging from 64 to 128 gigabytes and the absence of any support for additional formats (UHS). The disadvantage is associated with the unpredictable stability of the memory card. There are often cases when, without any manipulation, the device spontaneously went into read mode and did not give users the opportunity to format the memory or correct errors that had arisen. Leef microSDXC is a suitable model, but with a large limitation of applicability.

4 Kingston SDCA10/64GB

Best card for read/write speed
Country: China (Taiwan)
Average price: 1790 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.3

Kingston once again demonstrates that nothing is impossible. In its new SDCA10 card, the manufacturer managed to achieve record data writing/reading speeds. Reading speed is 10 MB/s higher than Samsung. This makes the SDCA10 one of the fastest cards in the segment.

Features of SDCA10:

Possible volume 16/32/64 GB
Data upload speed – 90 MB/sec, recording speed – 45 MB/sec.
Low heat even with intensive use
In rare cases, it happens that the reading speed does not correspond to the declared one. It's better to test the card before buying
Users complain about the low reliability of the card

3 Samsung microSDXC EVO Plus 80MB/s

Good reliability
Country: South Korea
Average price: 2400 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5

Samsung has enough great experience creating data storage devices. The company's products include full-size hard drives and ultra-compact drives. EVO Plus belongs to such devices. The bright, white and red card boasts a good volume (up to 64 GB), high read/write speed, and a good “safety margin”.

Card Features:

Stylish design. Compared to the gray and black cards, Samsung's bright red device looks much more attractive. Plus, this card is hard to lose. It stands out among the things in your wallet/pocket/bag.
Optimal data transfer speed. Today, read/write speeds of 80/20 MB/sec are more than enough.
Supports UHS Class 1 standard.
Reliability. Users note that the card meets the stated parameters, withstands long recording cycles without overheating, and does not fail.

2 ADATA Premier microSDXC Class 10 UHS-I U1 + SD adapter

The best choice for an inexpensive smartphone or tablet
Country: China (Taiwan)
Average price: 1360 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6

ADATA cards are characterized by a low price while maintaining high parameters. microSDXC UHS-I is ideal if you want to get a high-quality device with high recording speed for little money. The card supports the SDA 3.0 data transfer standard, thanks to which the card works faster.

Main characteristics:

Support for the UHS-I standard in compliance with the SDA 3.0 specification allows you to achieve a read speed of 50 MB/sec.
Even though the card is a new SDXC card, its price is in line with older SDHC cards
The recording speed is relatively low, 10 MB/sec.

1 SanDisk Extreme microSDXC Class 10

Good choice for professional equipment
Country: USA
Average price: 2805 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.9

One of the few optimized memory cards on the modern market that does not experience serious operational problems. Backed by a lifetime warranty, it offers users a decent set of technical features based on the ability to store large amounts of information (up to 128 gigabytes) and speed of access to them. Data is written to the micro-card at a speed of 60 MB/s, and files are read from the media at 90 MB/s (which, according to experienced consumers, is not the limit for it).

Yes, with such characteristics it is not very advisable to install SanDisk Extreme microSDXC on smartphones and other “smart” gadgets. Its purchase will be fully justified only if constant readiness for processing large volumes of information is required (working with photos and videos, cyclic recording of a DVR camera, etc.). Against the background of such results, the issue of cost is very secondary.

The best Compact Flash memory cards

Compact Flash cards: appeared back in 1994. But despite the years, the standard has not lost its relevance and is actively used now. The capacity of Compact Flash memory cards reaches 512 GB, which makes these cards one of the most capacious drives on the modern market.

Due to the high transfer speed, such memory cards are aimed primarily at photographic equipment. When we shoot a video, it is automatically downloaded to a temporary memory buffer. When using cards with low transfer speeds, the buffer overflows and the video recording is interrupted. In the case of CF cards, buffer overflow is almost impossible, since the transfer speed is one of the highest.

However, Compact Flash cards, despite their name, cannot be called “compact”. These are the most large cards from those on the market. But, given that they are used in professional large-sized photographic equipment, this drawback cannot be called obvious. Our rating includes the best Compact Flash cards that are ideal for a modern camera.

5 Transcend TS32GCF133

Practical purchase
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 2055 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.4

Many professional photographers and camera operators essentially empty their internal storage after each photo/video shoot. Therefore, it does not always make sense to buy a high-capacity card. If you are not used to storing a photo archive on a device, or use several cards at once, then the Transcend TS32GCF133 with a capacity of 32 GB will be a profitable and practical purchase.

Main characteristics:

Read speed – 20 MB/sec, write speed – 10 MB/sec
Suitable for high-resolution burst shooting with a professional camera
Not suitable for shooting 4K video.

4 SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash 160MB/s

Optimal data transfer speed at a low price
Country: China
Average price: 6990 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5

Memory cards for modern photo/video equipment require high speed information exchange. SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash boasts a read speed of 160 MB/sec. At the same time, the recording speed does not lag significantly behind and is 140 MB/sec. The card is equipped with an accelerator for video processing, and is optimized specifically for professional video equipment.

Card Features:

VPG-65 standard support. The card is ideal for recording 4K video by meeting the required bandwidth exceeding the threshold of 65 MB/sec.
Availability of modifications with memory capacity from 16 to 256 GB.
Support for udma 6 interface for connecting to a PC as a SATA drive.
Manufacturer's warranty - 30 years (exclusively for countries that support a lifetime warranty).

3 Transcend TS*CF133

Good budget option
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 1400 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6

Large volume of 32 GB made this Micro SD is the best travel companion. Read and write speeds remain very decent to this day, although there are “cooler” options. The available volume is enough for two-week hikes in the mountains or nature reserves, but during a series of shooting it will produce 4-6 frames less than the declared characteristics, so it is not recommended to use it for reportage shooting.

Occasionally slows down when shooting Full HD . Well suited for amateur and semi-professional cameras.

2 SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash 120MB/s

No freezes
Country: USA
Average price: 3371 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7

A quality product that, together with 16 GB of internal memory, offers stable operation over a long period of use. Reading at speeds of more than 120 MB/sec has a positive effect on interaction with files on cameras and smartphones.

Occasionally, buyers note “floating” characteristics within the error, as with many models. To distinguish its product from its competitors, the manufacturer provided it with a golden sticker. At the same time, she is more willing to work with older camera models than with new ones.

1 Transcend TS*CF800

Data transfer speed 800x
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 3650 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.8

The main advantage of the model is the increased data exchange speed up to 800x. At the same time, buyers note a high level of reliability when working with data and overall stability at high speeds.

As for the tests, everything is very interesting here. Real tests show reading at a speed of 40 MB/sec, and writing at 35 MB/sec. The 32 GB version is considered the optimal choice for those who want to capture the brightest moments in their lives with a camera or those who are actively traveling and need to constantly record materials on a DVR.

The best Secure Digital HC memory cards

The difference between a Secure Digital HC format card and similar microversions lies not only in overall dimensions, but also in application. Leaving aside the technical part, these models are components for photo and video equipment, as well as a number of functional devices that have an interface for this standard.

Currently, there is a systematic decline in the popularity of this type of card due to the presence of corresponding adapters in micro-analogs. They are less reliable, but add versatility than the full-size Secure Digital HC, which, alas, cannot boast of.

5 Transcend TS8GSDHC10

For long term use
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 553 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5

Best Micro SD for those who value the “set it and forget it” principle. With a warranty period of 36 months, it can last 60 months. Easily installed in video recorders, cameras and phones. To simplify the organization of storing files and documents, the system is designed in the format FAT 32, and its volume is 8 GB.

Reading content is stated by the manufacturer at a speed of 20 MB/sec. It is advisable to use it with a high-quality card reader that will not reduce speed. When used with equipment of the lower price segment (for example, budget Canon ) may have reading problems as they simply will not be able to read the card. In all respects, the model is analogous to class 6, only the speed of writing large data blocks is higher. Buyers note that DHC 10 occasionally gets capricious with the connection interface, but otherwise there are no complaints.

4 SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS Class 3 V30 95MB/s 32GB

30 years warranty
Country: USA
Average price: 990 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6

SanDisk Company took an extremely creative approach to PR for its flash drive, offering any buyer who registered this product on the official website a 30-year warranty. Good writing speed and reliability have made the card a powerful tool for storing files on smartphones. If the data is damaged, special software is provided to restore it. Buyers note the relatively fragile case, which is why the flash drive should be handled with extreme care. By channel USB 3.0 files are transferred very quickly and without freezes.

3 Transcend TS32GSDC300S

Versatility, reliability, price
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 472 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7

Another high-quality micro SD card from Transcend. It withstands formatting well and performs well even when working with MacOS . However, you still have to download third party software, so internal settings operating system do not allow you to write files in the format NTFS.

A capacity of 32 GB is considered small, but sufficient for basic everyday tasks. The data writing speed is 45 MB/sec, and the reading speed is 95 MB/sec. When shooting in Full HD The volume is enough for 250 minutes of video.

2 Transcend TS32GSDHC10

Buyers' choice
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 795 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.8

One of the most affordable and modern models. With its help, you can provide additional disk space for storing documentation, games, applications and various content that supports the standard SDHC or SDXC. The FAT32 system greatly simplifies storing files; it limits their size to 4 GB.

The product is also interesting in terms of read and write speeds of 30 and 16 MB/sec. In fact, it produces 18 MB/sec when reading, which is lower than the declared characteristics. The operating temperature range is standard from -25 to 85 degrees Celsius. It is recommended to periodically clean the oxide film using a school eraser. Also, many unscrupulous sellers display counterfeits in their windows. It is easy to distinguish an original from a copy - the write-protect switch will be yellow, not gray. The serial number, consisting of a ten-digit number, also plays a role.

1 Kingston SDR/32GB

Best choice for Secure Digital HC format
Country: USA
Average price: 1060 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.9

High speed, quick detection, reliability - the list of advantages of this MicroSD The list could take a long time. On paper the stated speed is 70 MB/sec when writing and 100 when reading, although in reality it produces 50 and 70 respectively. However, these indicators are enough to record 4K video without friezes at a comfortable frame rate.

Ideal for video cameras, smartphones. Performance with DVRs is rated as average. There were no complaints about “dumping” or the occurrence of defective files when using the card.

IN Lately Micro SD cards are becoming more and more popular. On this occasion, more and more sellers are appearing, ready to profit from deception and various tricks on this topic.
I once needed a Micro SD card with a capacity of 64GB for a small project on Raspberry Pi. But when I started looking for something suitable on eBay, I was surprised to find that the vast majority of sellers were offering outright fakes. Even on Amazon the situation was not very attractive in this regard. In the picture above, all the cards are fakes.

I promise slides.

What is this?

To begin with, I will define what exactly I consider to be a fake, since there are different types of fakes.
The two main types of memory card counterfeits are:

Counterfeit container
This is the most popular way to encounter a fake. In this case, the card operates at a much lower capacity than promised. I will consider this case here.
Fake brand model
This is much less common and the fake consists of slipping worst card under the guise of being more expensive. This happened quite a long time ago, when the price difference in models was very significant.

Yes, there will be slides coming soon.

Like this?

First you need to understand how you can fake a container.
Roughly speaking, flash cards consist of two main components - the controller and the flash chip itself. The controller is responsible for interaction with the host (computer, camera, etc.), which knows the type of connected flash chip, speed, communication protocol with the host and other administrative activities in servicing the card as a whole.
If, for example, a flash chip has a capacity of 16GB, then the controller will tell the host about this. In this case, the host will know that more than 16GB cannot be written and everyone will be happy.
But if the controller is programmed so that it says a different capacity (for example, 64GB), then the host will think that it is a 64GB card, although the amount of data that can be stored on this card will also be 16GB.

That is, if the card is inserted into a computer or camera, they will show that this card is 64GB, but all data after recording 16GB will be completely lost.

Due to the peculiarities of the organization of flash chips, when the access address overflows, recording will start again from the beginning and overwrite old data. In these cases, the controller is usually programmed so that the recording does not go in a circle, but simply writes into space. That is, when reading, zeros or something else monotonous will be returned instead of the written data.
There are such fakes where this is not implemented and the card becomes completely inaccessible, because some service information is overwritten or other similar processes occur. However, these are rarer cases.

Yes, there will definitely be slides.

Types of cards

First, a little more theory about SD cards... Yes, I remember that I promised slides, we need to be patient a little longer.
There are three main SD card standards:

SD (or SDSC). These are cards with a capacity of up to 4GB
SDHC. Capacity from 4GB to 32GB inclusive
SDXC. They have capacities from 64GB to 2TB

This will help us a lot in identifying fakes.
There are also UHS-I, UHS-II, Class 10, Class 6, but this all relates to speed and in this case does not affect anything, since we are not considering this.

How to check?

Since the controller says the capacity is incorrect, checks like “I looked at how many gigabytes Windows showed available” will not work. Regular formatting won't help either, since it doesn't check the capacity, but simply initializes the file system.

There are several ways to spot a fake:

Read-write check.
Most reliable way definition of fake. For example, if the card was able to write 64GB, but read correctly just under 8GB, then this is an obvious fake.
Visual inspection.
Typically, counterfeits are of fairly low quality and can therefore be identified by many visual cues and inconsistencies.

Now in more detail about each method.

No need to panic, we're almost to the slides.

Write-read method

This method requires a compatible card reader. It is enough to write several large files and try to read them by checking the md5/sha hash or just some other checksum.
To simplify the process, there are various programs that can automate this. Perhaps the most popular is h2testw.
For example, this is the result of testing a 64GB fake, which actually turned out to be an 8GB card:

H2testw runs on Windows.
There are other options. For example, an open source console program that can be compiled for Windows, Linux, Mac.
Or, for example, FakeFlashTest (Windows), which can scan faster because it tests selectively.

Visual method

The software methods are accurate, but the inconvenience is that you need to pay and receive this card. That is, minimal time will be spent, and, possibly, money.
Fortunately, counterfeits are now at such a level that they are quite easy to identify from photographs of the goods from the seller.
I specifically ordered a couple of dozen different cards precisely in order to study in more detail what they look like and how they can be easily identified.

And now the slides

All, all, all cards below work only for the first 8GB. That is, all cards are remakes of 8GB cards. And in addition, which is very slow (Class 2).

Noname 128GB Micro SD
A very popular Micro SD card in noname packaging. Always fake. No options:

Criteria for counterfeit:
There is no “SDXC” logo on the packaging, which is required for cards from 64GB and above.
On the card itself there is the “SDHC” logo, which is intended for cards 32GB and below.
Funny moments:
The inscription “100% tested”. It is unclear what exactly was tested. Apparently the quality is fake.
The inscription “Tech support”. There is no contact information for this support listed on the packaging. Hit the rail?
Sandisk Extreme 64GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
The packaging is from Sandisk Ultra, and the card itself is Sandisk Extreme.
The card capacity is not indicated on the packaging.
The model SDSDQM-0000-Z35 indicated on the back of the package does not exist.
On the packaging the logo is “Micro SD”, not “SDXC”.
UPC barcode 619659066970 corresponds to the old 2GB card.
There are typos on the back of the packaging.
Sandisk Extreme 128GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
Sandisk does not have a 128GB Extreme series Micro SD card. The largest is 64GB.
The packaging says "SDHC" instead of "SDXC".
"microsDHC" is misspelled in the capitalization of the letter "s".
Lots of typos on the back of the packaging.
Non-existent model SDSDQX-128G-U46A.
UPC barcode 619659097073 from 16GB card.
Sandisk Ultra 128GB Micro SD
Relatively good fake on Sandisk:

Criteria for counterfeit:
The original card of this model and this capacity is completely black with red letters. And here it is red and gray.
The font for "128GB" is not the one Sandisk uses on its cards.
Sandisk Extreme 512GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
Sandisk does not have 512GB Micro SD cards.
"SDHC" instead of "SDXC".
Inside there is a 256GB card. This is the height of arrogance, since I ordered exactly 512GB. However, Sandisk does not have an Extreme Micro SD card for 256GB either.
Non-existent model SDSDQX-U46A.
UPC barcode 619659097073 from a 16GB card.
Sandisk Ultra 512GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
Non-existent capacity, since Sandisk does not have 512GB in this format.
As usual, "SDHC" instead of "SDXC".
Non-existent model SDSDQUA-512G-U46A.
Non-existent UPC barcode 619659078635.
It is not visible in the photo, but the card can be removed simply by opening the plastic cover. And on original Sandisk it is necessary to cut the packaging.
ADATA 128GB and 64GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
The packaging does not indicate the capacity.
"SDHC" instead of "SDXC".
The 128GB card (middle) has the inscription upside down.
The 128GB and 64GB packages have the same UPC barcode 4718050601189, which belongs to the 2GB card.
Samsung EVO 128GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
There is no container on the package.
The usual "SDHC" instead of the correct "SDXC".
UPC barcode 8806085214224 from a 32GB card.
Samsung EVO 64GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
Terrible print quality - the text in the picture blurs together and is difficult to read. Looks like it was printed on a low-quality inkjet printer.
Banal “SDHC” instead of “SDXC”.
UPC barcode 8806085627291 from another 16GB card.
In general, if you take a Samsung EVO card in your hands, then original card slightly different coloring. For example, the ends of the card are painted white, while the fake has paint only on the top surface. Also, Samsung cards can only be made in Korea or the Philippines. They are not made in Taiwan.
Samsung 512GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
Non-existent 512GB card. Samsung does not have such capacity in Micro SD format.
"Model: Flash Cards". What kind of nonsense is this?
Non-existent UPC barcode 8806085214170

Samsung Essential 64GB Micro SD

Criteria for counterfeit:
The card capacity is not indicated on the packaging.
Regular "SDHC" instead of "SDXC".
There are many inaccuracies on the back of the packaging. For example, why do I need a 2GB-32GB card plate if I have 64GB? No model number. UPC 8806071456836 barcode from a 4GB card.

Bottom line

As I wrote above, all of these cards are actually 8GB Micro SDHC Class 2 cards.
All the cards above at the back look like this:

All cards have the following written on the back:

Issue date code
Made in Taiwan

The numbers "08" in the first line indicate a capacity of 8GB.
MMB3R08BUACA-GE is a model from some Chinese manufacturer whose cards are used for counterfeiting. I couldn't find which one exactly. I have similar models on old small size noname cards.

What to do?

If the seller sent a card, which upon inspection turned out to have a significantly smaller capacity, then you must demand a refund.
It happens that the seller might not even know (he just bought a batch and is now selling it at retail), so I advise you to demand a refund quite politely. Rudeness will not speed up the process.
The main thing is not to hesitate.
If the seller does not respond, then you can safely open a dispute based on non-compliance with the description.

I also noticed that almost all branded cards on Ali are fake. There are real ones on eBay, but you need to look for and carefully study the photos (if they are real) and ask the seller to provide them if there are no photos.
It is especially worth paying attention to the back of the card (if possible), so that there is no “MMB3R08BUACA-GE” or something very close to it. I came across variations MMB3R08GUACA-GE, MMB3D08BUACA-GE, MMB3D08GUACA-GE, MMB3R08GUACA-GE.
There are fakes everywhere. For example, on Amazon I saw quite a lot of obvious fakes. After all, goods on Amazon are sold not only by Amazon.

If you need a 100% guarantee, then you need to buy more expensively from authorized sellers. You just need to find out from the manufacturer who exactly is authorized, since some sellers may write that they are authorized, but in fact they are not.

If you take the cards from the photo at the beginning of this article and turn them over, you will get this picture:

Who can guess which one is Sandisk, Samsung, AData? Correct answer: none.

Hints

In the comments they asked about search tips. I'll add it to the article here.

Funny moments

I sometimes like to watch sellers make excuses about this.
Here are some of these excuses:
"This card has been upgraded from 8GB to 128GB"What nonsense? A micro SD card cannot be easily upgraded. This is not a computer where you can simply replace the memory module.
"Windows shows 64GB, so it's 64GB". Here it is clear that Windows simply shows what the card itself said. Windows does not check.
"To reduce the price, this card is labeled SDHC instead of SDXC". This does not affect the price in any way if it were an original card.
Regarding typos on the packaging: “Sandisk just made a typo, but the card is still 256GB.” Oh well.
"This is a real card because I bought it from trusted sources.". Has anyone seen these sources? It's Uncle Shau Liau! He couldn't deceive.
"I work in Samsung's secret department, so I have 512GB cards. They gave them to us and allowed us to sell them". Three times "ha." This seller knows for sure that he is selling fakes.

Having purchased a smartphone or tablet computer, you immediately want to try working in a variety of interesting applications, download cool game and much more. But to open an application for a smartphone or other device, you must first download and install it. And for this, of course, you will need a certain place in internal memory. Music, movies, documents and other files - all this is stored on the device’s resources and sometimes takes up too much space on the built-in storage. You can expand the volume using an SD card. But not all of us know how to choose the right memory card that is not expensive and at the same time high-quality. We will also find out what classes of memory cards there are and what characteristics you should pay attention to when purchasing. This or that gadget supports specific types of equipment - if you buy another one, it simply will not work. In addition, you also need to know how much volume your smartphone or tablet supports - this is of great importance.

Types of SD cards by form factor

Previously, MultiMedia Card (MMC) was used. Then they were replaced by SD memory cards. Their physical dimensions are the same, however, they are made using completely different technologies. SD has a controller and has a security area that will not allow someone to “climb” into the system unnoticed. There is also a special switch installed that can block the ability to delete information (switched manually).

So, what types of memory cards are there and how to choose them? There are three types of SD:

Standard SD measures 32 by 24 by 2.1 mm.
miniSD is a little smaller - 21.5 by 20 by 1.4 mm.
The smallest is microSD – 11 by 15 by 1 mm.

Using special adapters designed for this, any of the presented cards can be inserted into any slot that supports SD drives.

What are the classes of memory cards?

Among other things, drives differ by class. Let's figure out what a memory card class is and what does this parameter affect? So, it determines at what speed data is written. To put it in slightly different language, the higher it is, the sooner you can record data and play large video or audio recordings without loss of quality.

To help a potential buyer understand the capabilities of flash drives, the SD card association classifies them according to SD Speed Class - what is it? Speed characteristics: on drives, the speed is indicated based on a certain multiplier, where 1 is 150 kb/sec.

Memory cards can be manufactured in the following varieties:

Class 2;
Class 4;
Class 6;
Class 10;
Class 16.

When choosing a memory card for a DVR or other device, you need to pay special attention to this parameter. Among other things, you need to choose a drive only from a reputable manufacturer. The fact is that many companies indicate a classification that does not correspond to speed indicators. Or it will mean not the speed of recording information, but its reading.

The type will be of no small importance for those who like to watch movies with HD resolution, the difference between them is noticeable. The higher it is, the more stable the data flows will be and there will be no slowdowns. In the documentation for the device where this or that card will be used, you should carefully read the information about the minimum speed for playing HD video.

In general, flash drives with 10th grade are considered the most popular and in demand. The speed of reading and writing information is at the most optimal level and can reach more than 10 MB/s, which is good news.

Memory card capacity

Before buying a memory card, you should check the maximum capacity your device can support. It is also recommended to pay attention to the type:

Regular SD cards can have a capacity of no more than 4 GB;
SDHC – up to 32 GB;
SDXC – up to 2 TB;
SDXC II, SDHC II, SDXC I, SDHC I - maximum available quantity.

The larger the memory card, the better, as you can store more information on it. For example, a capacity of 8 GB is enough for a thousand songs in mp3 format or 21 minutes of video recording with Full HD resolution.

Read and write speed

The speed of reading and loading information onto the card depends on its class and type.

Different types of memory cards have different data transfer speeds. What does a specific characteristic mean:

SD – 12.5 Mb/s;
SDHC – 12.5 Mb/s (the difference from the previous one is only in a larger volume);
SDXC – 25 Mb/s;
SDXC II, SDHC II, SDXC I, SDHC I - very high speed (UHS I architecture - 50 Mb/s, UHS II architecture - 156 Mb/s or 312 Mb/s).

How to determine the class of a memory card based on information exchange speed? Class characteristics:

Class 2 – no less than 2 Mb/sec;
Class 4 – no less than 4 Mb/sec;
Class 6 – no less than 6 Mb/sec;
Class 10 – no less than 10 Mb/sec;
Class 16 – no less than 16 Mb/sec.

Selecting an SD card

Despite the huge range of memory cards, it’s not difficult to figure out which one is better. The main thing is in which device the drive will be used. Standard SD format cards are most often inserted into camcorders and digital cameras. It is necessary to highlight two modifications of SD cards: SDHC and SDXC, which are characterized by increased capacity (32 GB - 2 TB). If you need a flash drive for a mobile phone or tablet, then you should look at miniSD and microSD. Despite their miniature size, these varieties are characterized by the same speed and capacity as a full-fledged SD, and differ only in an increased price.

When choosing a memory card, you also need to take into account the fact that modern formats may not be compatible with outdated devices. It is worth noting that if the gadget contains a slot for a large SD flash drive, then you can use the most ordinary microSD, provided you have a special adapter, which is almost always included with the purchase.

As for the card's capacity, it all depends on what files you plan to store on it, and in what volume. One of the most important characteristics when choosing is the speed with which it can receive and store data. For example, recording burst photos or Full HD video files on a slow card is not feasible. When playing videos, the video will “slow down” all the time. To understand how to find out the speed? You need to pay attention to the special marking - class. As stated earlier, good map memory has a high class, and in our time it should at least be “10” for comfortable work without delays in writing and reading.

Additional information

If you are the owner of a mobile device or other gadgets, then you should know about other important parameters that need to be taken into account when choosing a memory card. Cells are provided to save all data on a flash drive. During repeated formatting and rewriting of information, these cells can “wear out”; modern drives are designed for 10,000-1,000,000 cycles of data rewriting. As practice shows, this figure can be much less. It depends on the conditions of use of the flash drive, its resistance to influences, etc. Thus, a high-quality card must be resistant to mechanical damage, high humidity, and changes in temperature conditions.

Conclusion

Choose quality map memory is not difficult. The main thing is to first study their main varieties, classes of memory cards and criteria to which you should pay especially close attention. First of all, you need to start from the device for which the drive is intended. You also need to decide on your needs that the flash drive should satisfy.