How to choose a memory card for cell phone and camera
Table of Contents
Memory cards have undergone a lot of changes in recent years. It was a big fever in the pre-smartphone era and today they are still very important for those who work with video recording, for example. Because new smartphones already come with plenty of internal space, it's a not-so-necessary option. Having evolved too much, choosing a memory card has become a more complicated task. There are many symbols, letters, sizes and categories that involve this small device that expands your device's storage and allows you to record video up to 8K — if that's how your camera behaves, of course.
What is a memory card?
the name comes from Secure Digital Card (Secure Digital Card, in free translation) and it has different sizes and adapters. When released in mid-1999, it was known only as SD Card and it was only the “large” size. Over the years, it gained the “mini” version, a little smaller, until we reached the famous microSD which is the standard for smartphones and other devices even today.
Although the microSD has become popular among cell phones, when using an SD card in a notebook or camera you need its conventional size, which is why we have adapters along with the microSDs kit. These “models” of SD cards do not interfere in the matter of their performance, changing only to adapt to new markets. What will really define whether a memory card is going to take the brunt of your videos and apps, are the most diverse college that exist on the market. It is important to note that the examples used here will always be looking for 4K videos, as it has become the current standard.
Speed Classes
Each device requires a different configuration for everything to work smoothly and if we take mobile memory cards, for example, we have a wide range of options. when we talk about Speed Classes, we're talking about the speed at which this card can record per second, so the faster the better. But you don't need to spend a fortune on a microSD if you're only interested in storing your photos and a few files.
There are four speed variants in First Class, symbolized by the “C” symbol. The first two are Classes 2 and 4, suitable for recording videos with quality below 720p. Check out:
- Class 2: 2 MB/sec recording;
- Class 4: 4MB/sec recording.
If you are looking to record videos with HD or Full HD quality, you will have to go with Classes 6 or 10:
- Class 6: 6 MB/sec recording;
- Class 10: 10MB/sec recording.
After these, a new version of cards was released, with a new symbol and also a new nomenclature. Call Ultra high speed (UHS, or “Ultra Fast Speed”, in free translation), these models are suitable for videos up to 4K and greatly improve the reading and writing speed of cards compared to the first classes.
This new model brought two variations, which are symbolized by a “U”. It falls into two types:
- U1 (UHS Speed Class 1): minimum write speed of 10MB/s;
- U3 (UHS Speed Class 3): Minimum write speed of 30MB/s.
A UHS Class is the most common nowadays, being the U1 the Class 10 replacement and the U3 the ultimate gateway to the world of 4K video. However, what makes UHS cards different from conventional memory cards is that they have one of two UHS bus interfaces:
- UHS-I: theoretical maximum transfer speeds of up to 104MB/s;
- UHS-II: Maximum theoretical transfer speeds of up to 312MB/s.
With these bus speeds, cards can reach up to 104MB/s on UHS-I if needed and up to 312MB/s on UHS-II. It's important to note that these speeds are the maximum speed these cards can reach if needed. Bus interface cards require compatible devices to operate at full power, but are backward compatible. If you have a UHS-II Card, you can use it on a device that only supports UHS-I, although it won't use it to its full potential.
And speaking of 4K, we have a category created especially to boost this area. With camera memory cards called Video speed class (“Video Speed Class”, in free translation), you will have a wide variety of models that start at 4K and go all the way up to 8K and still using the UHS-II bus speed.
And this class is not limited to 4K and 8K, it is also suitable for 360º captures, VR content, multiple streams and among other activities that demand maximum reading and writing speed. Like the other models, we have a symbol here too, and in this case a “V”:
- V6 (Video Speed Class 6): minimum write speed of 6MB/s;
- V10 (Video Speed Class 10): minimum write speed of 10MB/s;
- V30 (Video Speed Class 30): minimum write speed of 30MB/s;
- V60 (Video Speed Class 60): minimum write speed of 60MB/s;
- V90 (Video Speed Class 90): Minimum write speed of 90MB/s.
The UHS-I bus interface is only supported on V6 and V30 cards, while UHS-II is available from V6 to V90. This is the best category of cards for those looking for recordings in the most varied ways and with the best possible quality.
memory card templates
As in the matter of speed, SD cards also have different nomenclatures and symbols to differentiate their classes of storage capacity. Each of them has a different formatting type and also has specific storage limits. The list looks like this:
- Secure Digital Standard Capacity (SD or MicroSD): Uses FAT 16 or FAT 32 standard and supports up to 2GB of storage memory.;
- Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC): This is the most commonly found memory card nowadays, supporting from 2GB to 32GB of storage memory and uses only the FAT32 standard;
- Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC): These are the top-of-the-line models and have large storage spaces, ranging from 32 GB to 2 TB. Uses exFA formatting which has become the standard for many years;
- Secure Digital Ultra Capacity (SDUC): The latest version of memory card models, released in 2018. It is aimed at the line High-end for the next and brings high storage capacity, from 2 TB to 128 TB, so they are still very rare to find.
Memory card models differ mainly in their formatting. Conventional MicroSD is very rare to find these days and its storage limits are almost impractical. SDHC is a standard that is still very popular, especially on smartphones, and has up to 32GB of storage.
However, the best option is for the S, Extended Capacity SD Card, which as the name suggests can reach up to 2TB of storage. It is the card indicated for the Nintendo Switch and also to latest smartphones and even in cameras. Finally, we have the latest SDUC, or Ultra Capacity SD Card which is a newly released overkill to guarantee the next few years of memory cards.
Application performance class
After the release of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which allowed the use of memory cards as internal memory in devices, the SD Association decided to create a class of SD Cards that could take advantage of this feature. Unlike the other classes, here we have a new performance measurement system, called Input / Output Operations Per Second (Input and Output Operations per Second) or IOPS.
commonly used in HDDs e SSDs, IOPS is used to measure the amount of access your smartphone or tablet will have to files on the SD card. They were released in two versions:
- Class A1: 1500 IOPS;
- Class A2: 4000 IOPS.
So far, the so-called "app class” has only these two versions, so the recommendation is if you are going to use only messaging apps or other simpler things, buy a Class A1, but if the intention is to install games or other apps that require more from the card, choose Class A2 .
What are the best memory cards?
Knowing how to choose a memory card suitable for your device is very important to avoid data loss. We have some cell phone memory cards, camera memory cards and this will all depend on the settings we have already seen above. The cards used as an example here are all geared towards video setup 4K.
In both cell phones and cameras, buying a memory card will require you to research this market to understand what you really need for your device. In the case of cell phones, some factors come into play, such as whether or not you are going to install apps and games on the Memory Card. If you have this intention, you should choose to A1 cards ou A2.
If you intend to use your smartphone to record videos and take pictures, we need a card Class U3, at least to be able to record in 4K without stuttering. In addition, it is good to have at least 64 GB of storage in it so you can record about 1 hour of video without stopping without stopping. According to Kingston, every 1 hour of 4K video is about 45GB.
In addition, to avoid problems with videos, it is always good to opt for cards with video speed, starting from the V30, as they guarantee the 30 MB/s for this quality. It is important to note that the UHS-I bus speed only supports V6 and V30 speeds, while UHS-II is available from V6 to V90, reaching up to 300 MB/s.
Below you can see some of the best memory cards available in the Brazilian market:
MicroSD 64GB Class 10 Ultra SanDisk
Being one of the best cost-benefits in this area, this model brings everything you need to get the best possible performance from your Smartphone. You'll be able to download music and movies from streaming services without any problem and run all conventional apps without crashes, as it has an A1 rating.
This memory card, however, is not suitable for 4K video recording or things that will require a very fast data speed. Here, its main highlight is the cost-benefit and for having the most diverse storage options, which can reach 512 GB.
As with the Extreme Pro model, it comes with an adapter to use it in your notebook, for example. The 64GB model is coming out around the R$ 80,00 at Amazon.
Samsung EvoPlus
If your goal is to record in 4K and you are looking for great quality, this model from Samsung is one of the best options in this segment. Being able to be used in smartphones, camcorders and cameras, it can meet the needs of 4K videos without costing the price of your device.
In addition, it has a 10-year warranty, resistance to water, shock, magnetism, x-ray and temperatures. This model is U3 certified and has a UHS-I bus speed in addition to the V30 speed rating. It is available at Amazon for R $ 149 with 128 GB.
SanDisk Extreme
and we go back to SanDisk with the Extreme line. This card comes with A2 rating for apps, V30 for videos and UHS-I bus for high speeds. With this kit, you'll be able to reach up to 160 MB/s speed and 4000 IOPS/s, perfect for both videos and installing your heaviest games and apps.
It starts at 64GB and can go up to 1TB and depending on what you want to use it for, you might need that much. This model can be found at R$ 199 at Amazon with 64 GB.
SanDisk Extreme Pro A2 128GB
And finally we have the version extreme pro of SanDisk cards. As with other models, it comes with an adapter for you to use it in the conventional SD standard. This card brings a recording speed of 170MB/s and processes videos up to 8K without any problems. You will be able to record using it on camcorders, DSLR cameras, Mirrorless, GoPros and even to record in 360º.
This model is a small upgrade from the conventional “Extreme” and although it has the same certifications, such as V30 for videos and A2 for apps, it manages to reach 170 MB/s against the 160 MB/s of the other model.
It can be found on Amazon for R$359 with 128 GB of storage.
That was our guide on how to choose a memory card for your smartphone, camera or other devices. I hope it may have cleared all your doubts, but in any case, you can use the comments field to ask questions.
See also:
With the launch of the iPhone 13, you know if it's still worth it buy an iPhone 12? Check it out now!
Pig iron: SanDisk, Kingston, geek360, SD Association e MyBest.
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