GH4 Getting the right U3 SDXC card...

Erik Naso said:
Really? Then why did the GH4 give a "insufficient writing speed" error? Extreme Pro 95MB/s class 10 U1 would be a better choice for non U3 SD card, but if you think it's fine go for it.
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Like I said, 40MB/s is not too slow if the card actually sustained that speed. If the card sustained 40MB/s it would be more than fast enough for anything the GH4 can throw at it. Saying "40MB/S is to slow" as a blanket statement confuses the issue.
 
Listen, the Maximum amount of data per second this camera writes is 25MB/s. And it never gets that high unless you're shooting an incredibly detailed scene in 200mbs mode. (200megabits/s ~=25MEGABYTES/s).

So anyone can take their card and pop it in a usb3 card reader (just to make sure, but usb2 should be fast enough at 30MB/s) and download the free program h2test or some similar speed test program. If it can sustain 30MB/s over the entire card, you're almost guaranteed to be fine. That actually meets the U3 standard. Your only issue will be if the card's write speed ever has an issue and dips. My 24MB/s transcend hasn't stopped yet, but I've only tested probably 20 clips in 200mb/s. Now, if I needed to be doing crucial 200mb/s video, I wouldn't trust it. I'd use my 75MB/s card for sure. But these expensive super high speed cards are a waste of money, in my humble opinion. Get a very fast card for less money and buy the faster one when prices come way down and you need it!

i think some people are making u3 designation out to be much more mystical than it is.
 
I feel it's foolish to take risks with your media cards. I dont. Unless what you shoot isn't important to you or your not not getting paid then take all the risks you want because it doesn't matter. It does for me and I never have issues because I use cards that are "guaranteed to work". Media is cheap. Just buy the faster cards that are "guaranteed to work" All this walking the line stuff to save a few bucks makes no sense to me.
 
Yea, as I was saying... it's not so much the rating, but the reliability and known tested speed. I'd sooner go with a top end Lexar or Sandisk that does not have a U3 rating than a Transcend U3 card.
 
Just out of curiosity, if you put in a card that is too slow, does the camera just stop recording? Does it give an error message?
 
"Recording has stopped automatically" or something like that.

I haven't seen it myself because all I use is SanDisk 30Mbps or faster.
 
DigitalBard said:
Just out of curiosity, if you put in a card that is too slow, does the camera just stop recording? Does it give an error message?
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Yes, recording is interrupted and you get a message "recording stopped due to insufficient card write speed" or something like that. I was spooked after it happened to me so I bit the bullet and ordered a 32 GB SanDisk U3 card for $129.00 from B&H. It might be overkill, but after spending a lot of money to travel to photo shoots I just can't afford a recording stoppage or write error and SanDisk cards have never failed me plus they are highly regarded by some pro photographers who use their cameras so often they sometimes wear out the camera bodies before their SD cards!
 
I purchased the Transcend 128GB U3 card because it's the only way I can record more than 2 continuous hours in 4K resolution. I've used it on several gigs now, and so far, so good. I haven't tried the 200Mbps HD mode, though, but 4K works like a champ. Just a few days ago I purchased another one of the Transcend cards. YMMV.
 
Jaime Valles said:
I purchased the Transcend 128GB U3 card because it's the only way I can record more than 2 continuous hours in 4K resolution. I've used it on several gigs now, and so far, so good. I haven't tried the 200Mbps HD mode, though, but 4K works like a champ. Just a few days ago I purchased another one of the Transcend cards. YMMV.
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Good to know the Transcend 128GB U3 cards are solid. I thought the larger capacity cards were a problem with the GH4.
 
Erik Naso said:
Good to know the Transcend 128GB U3 cards are solid. I thought the larger capacity cards were a problem with the GH4.
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Yeah. The Transcend 128GB cards give me around 2hrs 45min non-stop recording in Cinema 4K. Very happy about that, especially considering the price of those cards.

But, again, I haven't tested out 200Mbps All-I 1080p. I'm not really interested in that mode, to be honest. I'd rather shoot in 4K and downscale to HD.
 
I can confirm that the transcend 128gb u3 card works great in all modes. I see no difference between it on a SanDisk 32gb extreme pro u3 class card in stills and in video. On any setting. Definitely recommended for its high value!
 
Both of my UH1 SanDisk Extreme Pro cards work and, interestingly, both of my cheap Micro Center 45MB/s cards work in 4k and 96 fps modes.
 
I purchased two of these...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=sdxc_sandisk_pro-_-20-171-941-_-Product

Yes, they're UH1/Class 10, but the max read/write speed is the same as UH3 Transcends. I get that that isn't the minimum speed, but 200mbs = 20Mbs, so if it can handle bursts up to 90Mbs, I'm willing to bet sustained 20Mbs isn't going to be a problem (and I wouldn't shoot anything at that speed anyways that wouldn't allow a second take).

Anyways, planted the GH4 in front of the TV, set it to 1080p/60 in 200mbs, and began recording the Hobbit and Transformers 2 off the screen. Figured that's a lot better than static shots, with plenty of screen changes from things blowing up. I'm on my fourth time through the first card, and no issues. I'll probably do it about a dozen times to each card just to make sure, but I think these Sandisk cards are safe.
 
CustomerGH4 said:
I use UHS1. http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-SDSDXPA-064G-A75-Digital-Extended-Capacity/dp/B005VDRD4C

That is correct. UHS1 and it works perfect. The writing speed of the card is 95mbs. The 4K recording speed of GH4 is 100mbs. So yeah. I even tried the 200mbs HD and it worked flawlessy.
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Actually, 95Mbs is the max read possible. The max write possible is 90Mbs. It's the same card I'm testing, and to be fair, while 90Mbs is the max possible, that doesn't mean it can sustain it consistently. It's still 4.5 times faster than the 200mbs settings max rate, so I'm not too worried, but only because it's Sandisk and I trust them (never had an issue once with the over dozen or so cards of theirs I've used since the HMC150 first came out).
 
My Kingston SDHC 32GB U3 arrived yesterday and some quick tests showed it works fine. Strange that B+H said they are only for stills, since they are especially made for 4K and ultraHD video capture.
Has anyone tested them exensively yet?
 
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Mike Harvey said:
I purchased two of these...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=sdxc_sandisk_pro-_-20-171-941-_-Product

Yes, they're UH1/Class 10, but the max read/write speed is the same as UH3 Transcends. I get that that isn't the minimum speed, but 200mbs = 20Mbs, so if it can handle bursts up to 90Mbs, I'm willing to bet sustained 20Mbs isn't going to be a problem (and I wouldn't shoot anything at that speed anyways that wouldn't allow a second take).

Anyways, planted the GH4 in front of the TV, set it to 1080p/60 in 200mbs, and began recording the Hobbit and Transformers 2 off the screen. Figured that's a lot better than static shots, with plenty of screen changes from things blowing up. I'm on my fourth time through the first card, and no issues. I'll probably do it about a dozen times to each card just to make sure, but I think these Sandisk cards are safe.
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I've filled each card a dozen or so times with no issues. I feel confident enough to use these on a real world shoot (and realistically, given the 4GB file limit, I'll be shooting at 100mbs, not 200mbs).
 
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