GH2 SDHC/SDXC Cards?

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Dan Clark

Active member
Hi. I'm getting a GH2. I'm trying to choose SD cards - brand, type, and size. I don't mind spending a few extra bucks (USD) to get good quality, but I'm not quite sure what to buy. So:

  • Is it worth it to buy Sandisk, which seems like the most expensive?

  • What type? Level 10? Or is there some other rating to get?

  • Larger cards seem more expensive per GB. From a usability standpoint, is there any minimum size you'd recommend? I'm thinking 8GB minimum, but I'm not sure.

  • Besides cost, are there any downsides to using large cards like 32GB?

  • Any other considerations?
One final question - I have USB 2 and 3, and Firewire 400 (1394a) ports, but I'm not sure about my card reader. Any recommendations for a better card reader?

Thanks and regards,

Dan.

p.s. Yes, I searched. Most of the comments were about GH1's which max out at 17Mb/sec. The GH2 maxes out at 22Mb/sec. It's not clear to me that all GH1-compatible cards will work with a GH2.
 
For unhacked you should be fine. For high bitrate "C" settings, Sandisk extreme has NEVER given me an error. I do believe the 24mbs limit on AVCHD will be unlocked soon and with 3 Venus engines I can easily imagine 100mbs stable with the right card. So, if you can afford a few extra bucks the Sandisk extreme will not let you down.
 
Picturequest said:
For unhacked you should be fine. For high bitrate "C" settings, Sandisk extreme has NEVER given me an error. I do believe the 24mbs limit on AVCHD will be unlocked soon and with 3 Venus engines I can easily imagine 100mbs stable with the right card. So, if you can afford a few extra bucks the Sandisk extreme will not let you down.
Click to expand...

He said GH2, not GH1, so the hacked C settings won't matter. The camera should work fine with Class 6, but Class 10 are faster and could prevent less of a chance of problems and would offer quicker copying speeds to your computer. Sandisk Extreme 3 16GB Class 10 were rated by tomshardware.com as the fastest in a test of some higher end/more expensive cards. Personally, that's what I went with. Also, it may be possible that someone like Vitally (or Vitally himself) will figure out a way to hack the GH2 like he did the GH1 and activate a higher bitrate in the camera down the line. A faster card, like a Class 10, would give you better performance with a hack if it should ever happen.

I could be thinking wrong, but I believe that typically the greater the capacity of the card the slower it will be. So a 32GB would be a little slower than a 16GB, a 64 GB would be slower than a 32GB, and so on, in the same Class of course. You'll be able to record close to a couple hours on a 16GB card I think, so if you don't need more than that at once, then you can get the smaller card.
 
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