Transcend 8GB SDHC Class 10 Memory Card

V'ger

at 1:35 am

As I mentioned in my previous review on Transcend Class 6 MicroSD, huge flash memories today are everywhere, and they get bigger and bigger by the minute…

In my case, initially, I wanted to try one of the newest 16GB SDHC cards, to use it with my Kodak Zi8 as large recording media, with my PC for quick transfer/backup, and even with my XBOX 360, which – with the latest dashboard update – now supports also installation of TWO non-Microsoft removable USB flash drives/readers (up to a combined size of 16 GB), as ultra-fast storage media to _install games_, profiles, etc.

Problem is, as many of you probably have already found out lately (especially if you bought any 16 or 32 GB flash memory, for instance…): bigger is _not_ always better…

As a matter of fact, according to several reviews, many 16GB-32GB flash memories, even some from the best brands, can produce rather disappointing performances/reliability, especially if compared to smaller-sized models from the same product lines…

Add to this the reliability/failure rate risks of extremely large memories (which can suffer _a lot_ the high temperatures and stresses produced by the continuous use they allow, especially with high-performance devices…), and it is easy to come to the conclusion that it is still much safer, cheaper and even better (performance-wise) to invest in more smaller, high-performance flash memories, than rely on a single, extremely large one, just to avoid having to replace the media from time to time…

(Just magine losing ALL of the priceless memories from your once-in-a-lifetime, expensive-like-hell, unforgettable experience AT ONCE…)

So, in the end I decided to avoid 16GB models, and I tried one of the fastest (and apparently more reliable), latest Class 10 8GB models from Transcend, instead.

I chose Transcend, since I have been using their flash products for at least eight years, with great performances, and I NEVER lost a single byte out of them: I am still using _everyday_ for small backups their first 256MB CFs, bought in 2002! (Too bad there are a LOT of fakes out there, so beware who you buy them from…)

By the way, Class 10 means, as in all SDHC cards, that these cards should offer a minimum _write_ speed of 10MB per second, compared for instance to the typical 6MB/sec you can find on Class 6 cards.

Write speed, by the way, IMHO is much more important than _read_ speed, since many high-performance cameras need it to allow, for instance, continuous shooting at very high picture sizes, or long Full HD shoots without having the device “choking” on the high throughput…

Moreover, in case you should use cards with slow write speeds to transfer huge amounts of files from one device to another, you might easily end up looking like Dorian Gray’s reflection, waiting for your file transfer to complete…

So, how did this specific little card perform, in the end? Well..LIKE A DREAM!

First of all, I tried the usual flash benchmark, in less than ideal, REAL WORLD conditions: what is the point of running benchmarks in conditions that you will almost NEVER enjoy in real life? (i.e. no other applications bothering the system, no mouse movement, no Internet connection, etc…)

I tested this with an S5 Transcend reader (not included) and a flash memory benchmark from a known Bullock-first-named suite of tools, with at least FOUR other different memory-intensive applications running (but not accessing the file system), including my Internet browser (not browsing) and e-mail software, moving the mouse from time to time, and I got anyway a read speed of almost 19MB/sec (!), on 64MB-sized files, and a write speed of just a little less than 10MB/sec on the same size.

Please note that on very small files (few KB, less than 2MB, very uncommon these days…) the write speed plunged to approx. 4MB/sec. or even less, but this is very common with any flash-based memory, due to their high access times. On 2MB-files, the read speed was approx. 18MB anyway, and the write speed was approx. 9MB/sec.

But this was only a benchmark, and usually such benchmarks can be very far from everyday use; so, I started doing _actual_ real-world tests, and I copied 4.81GB of MP3 files (_hundreds_ of them) of ALL sizes to the card: the copy took slightly more than 7 minutes, so I obtained a _real_ combined writing speed of more than 11MB/sec, which is almost TWICE the rated writing speed of a Class 6 card!

But the greatest surprise came when I started copying _very_ large files, the kind of files you would obtain with HD or FullHD recording, for instance: I was able to copy a 1GB+ file (1063MB) TO the card in LESS THAN ONE MINUTE, which confirmed the approximate 18MB/sec. result of the benchmark, a _real_ result similar to cards from other brands costing almost TWICE as much!

By the way, with 100-300MB files, the read speed reached consistently 20-21MB/sec (!) and approximately 10MB/sec. with the microscopic files mentioned above, and this is MUCH more than I was hoping for this little wonder, at this price…

I also tested this with my trusted Kodak Zi8 camera, and again it worked like a charm, with _no_ glitches even after several continuous minutes of recording, (so far, at least…). Finally, my XBOX 360 also accepted and formatted the card immediately, as I was hoping, so now I have 16GB of fast-load memory for my games (8+8GB on 2 card readers).

So, what can I say? These Transcend Class 10 cards IMHO are really worth the price, at least for their performances, and if they turn out to be as reliable/durable as their smaller and older companions, I will be using them for a _long_ time, hopefully…
Rating: 5 / 5

Campbell

at 4:38 am

I have same card and spec made by Panasonic as well as this one and this one works in the same way with no issues for me.There really is not a differance I can spot.

I use it on a Panasonic HD camcorder with no problems.I would describe my level of useage as home use only I am not a pro and therefore am happy with this cards features.

Highy recommended
Rating: 5 / 5

bold

at 5:45 am

I ordered this primarily to use it on my Canon HF10 camcorder and can confirm that it does NOT work in FXP mode. This is the highest mode (17mbps) HD mode on this camera. The camcorder does not recognise it as a Class 4 or above and hence I get the message that it will not record in FXP though it works well in the lower settings ie 12mbps and lower. I have initialized (formatted) the card memory but this did not help. On the positive though,the flash memory is clearly Class 10 and does work on my Nikon D60. Average write speed measured is 16.5MB/sec and read is 19MB/sec. This was for a large file of 1GB. I haven’t measured the speeds for smaller files so can’t comment on that. I was well aware of the risk of using the Transcend on the Canon as they (Canon’s) are rather sensitive to the external memory you use. I hear that the Sandisks work well with the Canon’s. Nothing wrong with this memory and an excellent value. Just a compatibility problem with Canon camcorders.

AMENDED:

I stand corrected regarding the compatability issues of this memory with the Canon HF10 camcorder. It appears that none of the Class 10 SDHC memory will work with the Canon! Even a recently purchased Sandisk Extreme III Class 10. Apparently, there is a firmware issue regarding the Canon which will not record in FXP mode on any memory other than Class 6.
Rating: 4 / 5