What is the best/fastest SD card for a digital camera?
If you really want optimal performance with your camera beyond just buying "high end" cards, you need to consider how each card will work with your camera as not all cards are designed in the same way. Rob Galbraith's excellent CF/SD Performance Database is considered the best source of camera/card speed information and should give you a very specific answer to your question, backed up by analysis.
8 Answers
I've been using a 16GB Class 6 Transcend SDHC in my Nikon D90 for a few weeks and have been very happy. Great read/write speed. Speed is measured in Classes, 2 being slow, 4 being OK and 6 being "high speed" at least for now. At less than $40, I saw no reason to buy anything less than the 16GB.
before anything else make sure your camera is compatible with SDHC cards and not just SD. if its a newer camera it should be compatible. Dont get sucked in to brands and flashy words. the most important thing is that it is a class 6 card. unless youre recording large amounts of video or taking 25 megapixel RAW images the "133x" or "200x" and the "30MB/s special edition" doesnt matter all too much.
my preferred brands are Kingston, Patriot, and Sandisk, but PNY, Transcend, and A-Data are good too. i would just stay away from PQI. also, if there happens to be a MicroCenter in your area they have very inexpensive house brand class 6 SD's which are also very good.
If you really want optimal performance with your camera beyond just buying "high end" cards, you need to consider how each card will work with your camera as not all cards are designed in the same way. Rob Galbraith's excellent CF/SD Performance Database is considered the best source of camera/card speed information and should give you a very specific answer to your question, backed up by analysis.
The best memory card for your camera is the cheapest name brand you can find.
Speed is irrelevant if you aren't shooting high speed continuous shots with a DSLR. Most point and shoot cameras wont take advantage of higher speeds at all. DSLRs only need it after the built-in buffer fills up, which on most cameras is after 20 or so consecutive shots in continuous mode.
If you don't believe me (I've worked in a camera store for 7 years), then read Scott Kelby's book, The Digital Photography Book Volume 3
(Volume 1 and 2 are also excellent, but volume 3 specifically discusses card speeds.)
If you want to check out the book before you buy it, I found chapter 9 online in PDF format
The 17th page of that PDF is where it mentions card speeds.
I'd agree with Marcus that the best SD cards now are "SanDisk's Extreme III SD cards": http://www.sandisk.com/products/imaging-cards/sandisk-extreme-iii-sd-and-sdhc-cards.aspx
I've tried a different class 6 SDHC card and it was notably slower for my dSLR to save the image into the card.
If you're using a dSLR and use RAW, you'll be surprised how fast a 4GB card fills up.
Re: Kevin, that's great that you brought that and I have definitely noticed that – using a point-and-shoot and shooting continuous RAW images on a dSLR; however, getting a faster SD card means you can transfer images to your computer or printing kiosk much faster.
FYI, SD cards are not the fastest memory cards, but it usually isn't up to you to choose.
I stick with SanDisk cards, namely the SanDisk Extreme III SDHC series. Look for the black cards (not the blue ones), and look for the "30MB/s edition" on the front. Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Extreme III 30MB/s cards are the fastest SD cards available.
Regardless of brand, the bottom line is, don't go cheap on the cards, because they really do affect the performance of your camera.
Which size to get is a personal preference. I opt for several 4GB cards rather than one large 8GB or 16GB card.