Kingston Elite Pro 50x (2 GB) SD Card (SD2GBS)

I switch memory cards frequently since you often can get a better price if you sell a digital camera with a memory card. After having a positive experience with the Kingston Elite Pro 512 MB SD Card with 65x speed and the Kington Elite Pro 1 GB Secure Digital (SD) Card, I got a 2-Gygabyte Kingston Elite Pro SD card.

Pricing

The prices for SD cards dropped tremendously. I got my 1 GB card online for $62 (shipping and tax included) and got $10 back via a mail-in rebate slightly more than a year ago. So the price for 1 GB card was $52 plus the hassle of dealing with the rebate. Well, I got the 2 GB Elite Pro card recently for only $40.

Construction

This SD card has size that is standard for SD cards - 24mm x 32mm x 2.1mm.

Just as my previous Kingston SD cards (as well as Sandisk 512 MB SD card, but unlike Lexar SD card), this card came with a semi-transparent case made of plastic - a useful item for card storage. The SD card itself seems to be well-built, but, as with any electronic device, I would not recommend to put it in extreme weather conditions or apply strong bending forces to it.

Write Protection

The card has a mechanical switch that provides write protection. I never use since it is pretty difficult to erase all pictures at once or format the card in my camera accidentally. Also, normally, after I fill one card with photos, I remove it and store in the aforementioned translucent case thereby avoiding the danger of deleting images unintentionally. Since this card has 2-GB capacity, it is pretty difficult to fill it up with pictures completely. I just store the car in my camera de jour most of the time.

While the card is in use, I keep it in my camera most of the time, sometime placing it in its protective case. I transfer pictures to my computer as soon as feasible. I used to use the USB port of the camera to transfer the photos to my computer. But now I use the card reader as it is much faster and conserves the battery power of the camera.

Speed

The card belongs to Kingston s upscale Elite Pro line that features faster transfer speeds than regular SD cards from Kingston. The card provides transfer rates of up to 50x.

In my testing with cameras that write RAW and TIFF images, the 10-14-Megabyte files took 3-4 seconds to write, whereas the Sandisk standard card was about 1 second slower (4-5 seconds). And the standard Lexar 512MB SD card took 5-6 seconds in similar conditions.

I did some tests in my card reader (Dazzle 8-in-1 USB 2.0 Hi-Speed). The result was interesting. This high-speed Kingston Elite Pro 2 GB SD card was very similar in performance to the standard SanDisk 512MB SD card, but just a little slower reading files.

I notice that cameras I use can write to SD cards faster than my USB card reader so the raw numbers I get from using the reader are not very meaningful. In any case, the 2 GB SD Elite Pro is faster than the standard Kingston SD card and faster than the standard Lexar card, which could only write at 1.7 MB/s and read at 4.5 MB/s. The 2 GB Elite Pro could read at 4.5 MB/s and write at 3 MB/s (probably limited by my computer/USB reader).

Capacity

At 2 GB, the card fits about 700-800 5-8 MP photos in JPEG Fine mode. Using RAW or TIFF, I can fit about 150-200 10-14-Megabyte photos.

Warranty

The card came with lifetime warranty. Although it is good to have this kind of warranty, I am sure than you will be able to buy 8 GB card for peanuts in a couple of years from now. And the warranty will not help you if your valuable photos are lost. Therefore, backup is essential. As soon as feasible, I copy my photos to my computer and burn them on CDs or DVD.

Durability

Since the card has no moving parts, I expect high reliability and durability, especially taking into account the fact that I don t abuse it. My previous cards, for instance, have no signs of use on the exterior and work as well as new.

Uses

The card can be used in devises that accept Secure Digital cards (e.g. digital still cameras, Panasonic e-wear cameras, MP3 players, PDAs, etc.) Currently, more manufacturers are switching to Secure Digital cards, thereby indicating that SD is superior technology. Even Canon switched to SD in their PowerShot line of cameras (EOS cameras still use Compact Flash).

You can also use this cardd for backups or data storage/transfer using a memory card reader. The SD cards are also cheaper than some other media types (xD cards used in Fuji/Olympus cameras as well as Sony Memory Stick and Memory Stick Duo).

Bottom Line

The Kingston Elite Pro 2GB Secure Digital Card is an inexpensive, good and very fast SD card. I highly recommend it. For the price, its performance and quality is hard to beat.