The labeling of this item (SanDisk Ultra II 16 GB SDHC card) is very confusing. On the front side it claims a maximum speed of 15MB/sec. At the same time, it is marketed as ‘Class-4′ (which means a minimum read/write speed of just 4MB/s). To move up to a ‘class-6′ card from the same manufacturer, you have to buy the SanDisk 16gb Extreme III SDHC card which costs 2-3 times more.

I decided to take a chance with this Ultra II card, even though my new Canon EOS Rebel T1i explicitly requires a ‘Class-6′ card for video capture. I’m happy to report that the card is fast enough to keep up with my camera, even in burst mode and in 1080 HD video mode.

My own benchmark (see ‘Customer Images’) revealed that the read speed of this card is consistently fast at 18-19MB/s. But its write speed is strongly dependent on the data file size:

- For small files of 1MB each, the card is only able to write at about 6MB/s. That means it qualifies as a borderline ‘class-6′.

- For typical photo files (4-6MB each), the write speed is much faster at around 10MB/s.

- When writing a huge file of 1GB, the card can actually achieve the claimed maximum speed of 15MB/s.

The SanDisk Ultra II may not be a good choice if you want to use it as a ReadyBoost device (frequent writing of smaller file). But when used in digital cameras, this ‘class-4′ card is just as fast or even faster than other brands of ‘class-6′ cards (such as the Transcend 16 GB SDHC Class 6, which levels off at 11MB/s for large files). This makes the Ultra II a great value – especially for those people who prefer to stay with a trusted name brand.

[Update on Nov 18, 2011]

At the time of my original review, this Sandisk Ultra card was marketed as a ‘class-4′, while the Extreme card was called a ‘class-6′. But now the Ultra is called ‘class-6′ while the Extreme is ‘class-10′. I strongly suspect it is just marketing people playing tricks with definitions of ‘class-4/6/10′.

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I purchased two of these cards. One for both my wife and I. Both cards used in Epic 4G phones and various computers. After 2 months both cards occasionally would come up “damaged” in android. Reformat. Rinse repeat every week. Now after 3 months one is completely dead. Cannot use the card on any device. Calling manufacturer for warranty. Both cards do not work at class 10 speeds. I will not be buying lexar equipment again.

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I ordered this as a gift for a friend, and it arrived practically overnight with standard shipping. What else can I say? For devices whose max. chip size is 2 GB, having a couple around couldn’t hurt, as they are getting hard to find (with 64 GB and 128 GB flash drives available now).

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I must have gotten the lemons from Lexar. My first card was functioning fine, never abused or dropped. The card was kept in camera at all times I was not downloading pictures to the computer. I noted that the plastic casing was cracking and it was becoming difficult to eject from the camera.

This card was sent in for RMA, I received the replacement card and this card has a write protect switch without a detent. This means when you put the card in the camera, it is extremely easy to have the switch move to write protected mode, which will not let it be used in the camera. This replacement is also going back for RMA.

I am not impressed at all.

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Gitzo GT5531S Series 5 6X Carbon Fiber 3-Section Systematic Tripod with G-Lock – Replaces GT5530S

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• G-Lock system for quick and secure set up.
• 6X carbon fiber increases rigidity and vibration absorbtion.
• Ultra light.
• New design stops legs from rotating.
• High load capacity.

Systematic tripods are the strongest and most stable available, but they also offer unsurpassed flexibility. This modular system can be quickly transformed between different configurations depending on the specific needs of a shoot. Choosing the carbon fiber version means you always have the ideal base model for both indoor and outdoor shooting, to which you can add a range of interchangeable center columns for normal use, heavy cameras or video work. Attachment: 3/8” screw; bubble spirit level; closed length: 24.80 in.; leg angles: 24°. 55°; 3 leg sections; load capacity: 55.11 lbs.; material: carbon fiber 6X; maximum height: 52.36 in.; minimum height: 6.30 in.; series: 5; weight: 5.93 lbs.

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I purchased a SanDisk 32 GB microSDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDQM-032G nearly two months ago, for use in my VIZIO 8-Inch Tablet VTAB1008. At the same time, I also purchased a higher-priced PNY 32 GB microSDHC Card (P-SDU32G10-EFS2) which is supposed to be a ‘class-10′. My benchmark results, however, show that the Sandisk class-4 card is actually faster – most of the time.

I used two sets of benchmark programs. One is called ‘Flash Memory Toolkit v2.0′, which measures the random read/write speed of files between 1MB and 15MB. The other one is called ‘H2testw v1.4′, which measures the sequential read/write speed using 1GB files. Here are my results: (see my uploaded charts in ‘Customer Images’ section for details)

- For smaller files (1-5MB), the Sandisk class-4 card gives an amazing write speed of 15-17MB/s, while the PNY ‘class-10′ card can only get 1-6MB/s

- For larger files (10-15MB), the Sandisk and PNY cards are about equal at around 8MB/s for write

- For huge files (1GB), the PNY did better at 9.5MB/S, while the Sandisk dropped to 5.5MB/s

- The read speeds of both cards are equally high at around 18MB/S (this number may be limited by the maximum speed of my card reader used)

What the above shows is that: When used in a typical digital camera (with file size 3-5MB), this Sandisk ‘class-4′ card is at least twice as fast as the PNY so-called ‘class-10′ card. But when used in a HD video camera (sequential writing of huge file), then the PNY card should perform better.

For a card to be marketed as a ‘class-10′, it must maintain a MINIMUM write speed of 10MB/s. So by this definition, the PNY card does not qualify since it cannot even achieve a MAXIMUM write speed of 10MB/s. This Sandisk card, on the other hand, exceeds the requirement of ‘class-4′ by a huge margin.

Sandisk seems to be the only flash memeory manufacturer that still gives honest, conservative speed class ratings. Any other manufacturers would have labeled this card a ‘class-6′ or even higher. As a matter of principle, I rather give my money to a company that promises less but delivers more, instead of to others that do the opposite. At the present cost of about 1 buck per GB, this is an unbeatable deal!

[Aside]

The capacity of this card, as reported by my computer, is only 29.7GB. Note that this is actually normal, because compter people define one ‘Giga’ as ’2 to the power 30′, which is 7.4% greater than 1 billion. So 29.7GB comes to just about 32 billion bytes, which is ’32GB’ according to marketing people.

[Update Dec 3, 2011]

I re-tested the two cards above, using the CrystalDiskMark v3.01. The results are consistent with my previous finding. See my newly uploaded charts in ‘Customer Images’ for details.

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Celestron CGEM Computerized German Type Motorized Equatorial Mount with Tripod

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• Computerized Equatorial with Adjustable Stainless Steel Tripod with Accessory Tray
• Holds a maximum instrument capacity of 40 lbs
• 40,000 object database with over 100 user-definable objects and expanded information on over 200 objects
• Flash upgradeable hand control software and motor control units for downloading product updates over the Internet
• Software Features include: Mount Calibration, Database Filter Limits, Hibernate, five Alignment Procedures, and user-defined slew limits

The Celestron CGEM Computerized Equatorial Mount 91526 has a fresh, attractive, bold appearance and is capable of carrying Celestron ‘s higher-end SCT optical tubes (up to 11″) securely and vibration free which is ideal for both imaging and visual observing. The Celestron CGEM Computerized EQ Mount is the perfect fit between the Advanced Series and CGE Series, offering the portability of the Advanced Series and the precision of the CGE.

Ergonomic Design – The Celestron CGEM Mount was designed to be ergonomically friendly with large Altitude and Azimuth adjustment knobs for quick and easy polar alignment adjustment. The internal RA and DEC motor wiring provides a clean look and an easy and trouble free set up. This Celestron Telescope Mount also has a CGE Style Dovetail Mounting Platform for secure, vibration free tube attachment.

Innovation – The CGEM series has a new innovative Polar alignment procedure called All-Star. All-Star allows users to choose any bright star, while the software calculates and assists with polar alignment. Another great feature of the CGEM, sure to please astroimagers, is the Permanent Periodic Error Correction (PEC) which will allow users to train out the worm gears periodic errors, while the mount retains the PEC recordings.

Performance – The CGEM mount has a robust Database with over 40,000 Objects, 400 user defined programmable objects and enhanced information on over 200 objects.

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I purchased this card to be used in a DSLR – Nikon D40 and possibly also a D90. I have previously used Transcend cards because they were so inexpensive. The Transcend 8GB Class 6 benchmarked at 16.1/11.2 MB/s read/write.

In anticipation of the higher FPS and larger RAW files of the D90, I purchased one of these Class 10 cards, to see whether I could avoid spending 2-3X as much for Sandisk.

To my surprise, the Patriot was significantly better than the Transcend, at 20.1/17.4 MB/s read/write. This is rather close to the benchmarked (caveat: not by me) write speed of the 30MB/s Extreme III Sandisk (which was rated at 27MB/s read, but only 17.6MB/s write).

For under $30 with free shipping, the Patriot LX SDHC appears to be a great deal.

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as in the title I think the transfer of very big files is a bit slow. Maybe next time I’ll opt for a faster card.

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I keep financial and backup information on this disk and after months of use it now never wants to save when used in my laptop. I can open files but when I go to save it I get a screen saying I cannot save to that location, sometimes if I reboot it will work and sometimes if I take it out and put it back in the card will work, but not often. I don’t have this problem with any other cards.

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