subject: SD Memory Cards : A Few Signposts [print this page] The removable flash memory cards used for documenting video shots for camcorders are becoming popular these days. These camera memory cards have superseded older generations of memory cards storing still photographs, as they now document moving videos in larger capacities, replacing video tapes, DVDs and hard drives as storage mediums in a camcorder. The Secure Digital (SD) and its relative version Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) flash memory cards have been used by camcorder manufacturers with the exception of Sony. Sandisk, for instance, has started selling competitive SD and SDHC cards for use as video cards. But these video cards have different characteristics and features and it is important that you become aware of the differences of these video cards. While the SD memory card only comes in 2 GB capacity, SDHC cards are available in a wide range from 4 GB up to 32 GB capacities. Of course, the higher the capacity the more video footages the card can hold. The SD card is useful for conventional and day-to-day purposes, but if you require a higher resolution camcorder using flash memory cards, it would be more appropriate to use the SDHC card. There is a manual for beginners to high definition camcorders available online to differentiate it from the ordinary camcorders. A great majority of the camcorders in the market are compatible with both the SDHC and SD memory cards, with a few exceptions. The rule is, if it can accommodate the SDHC card it can also accept the SD card, but if it accepts only the SD cards, then the SDHC card cannot fit the camcorder. There are cheaper camcorders which can only adapt to the lower capacity SDHC cards and cannot support the higher capacity cards such as the 16 GB and the 32GB SDHC cards. It is important that you gloss over the fine print of the product's specification before buying your chosen camcorder. Speed is the most often neglected aspect when considering SD and SDHC cards for use in camcorders. Especially when shooting with a high definition camcorder, the memory card's speed can be very pivotal. The Guide to Understanding Camcorder Bit Rates is a document available online and which explains the details and background information of camcorders and how they preserve video data. In other words, the more data you put in your memory SD cards, the more it is overwhelmed, and therefore the need to use the higher capacity memory cards. There are different classifications of memory cards depending on their speed capacities. These are the Class 2, Class 4, Class 6 and Class 10, with each class defining its capacity, like the Class 2 with a speed of 2 megabytes per second (mbps), the Class 4 with 4 mbps and so on. It is important that you get to know the desired speed for your memory card before even purchasing it.
