Why Card Performance Matters
There are 4 primary aspects to be considered when choosing a memory card:

  1. Reliability ? this is discussed extensively in our Choosing the Right Memory Card, and Protecting your Data article.
  2. How long it takes to upload your pictures to your computer ? manufacturers claim read/write speeds, which they obtain under optimum conditions using the fastest card readers and computers, individual results may vary significantly depending on the computer and reader used.
  3. Card size, making sure you have enough to cover your shooting needs, and one big card verses multiple small cards is also discussed in our Choosing the Right Memory Card, and Protecting your Data article.
  4. How the card performs in the camera. For the landscape shooter or other users that carefully compose each shot, card speed is unimportant. For anyone that shoots action, card speed can be critical.

This section focuses on how different cards perform in different bodies.