D5100 and 16GB SDHC card options

Couple of newbie questions on memory cards:

1) I've seen many generic numbers quoted, but all without any qualifiers. On a 5100, at full resoltiuion, how many pics will a 16GB card hold in RAW format? In JPG format?

2) Even If I stick with Class 10, there is a very wide range of speeds available to me. Conventional wisdom to me has always been get the highest quality card (pics can be priceless) and get fastest the device can handle. So for my first SD card purchase, went with a 95GB/s Sandisk (still sealed) .. was this overkill or the right move? My options are something like this:

• LEXAR CLASS 10 133 X up to 20 mb.sec
• LEXAR CLASS 10 400 up to 60 mb.sec
• SANDISK 16GB EXTREME PRO SDHC UHS1 up to 45 mb/s
• SANDISK 16GB EXTREM PRO SDHC up to 95MB/S 633X

3) Compounding the matter more was that I really wanted an eye-fi memory card... but I dont think these exist in a fast Class 10 format.

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I checked the manual but could not find any reference as to the max transfer rate the 5100 could handle .

I realize ther is no point to spend extra money a super fast card if the camera can't utilize the speed (both to write to the card and/or to transfer from card to pc)....I did ask my dealer if the faster cards were wasted on the 5100, and he felt they were not wasted in this camera ; I've been dealing with him for over a dozen years so I do trust his judgment ...but of course anyone can be mistaken .

Would like to see some specs to know for sure before I buy more SD cards ( for backup, spares, etc)

I have the D5100 shooting RAW on to the SanDisk 16GB Extreme Class 10(30MB/s) and I get 906 shots. It also has no problem shooting HD video.

Originally Posted by Tobrew

I have the D5100 shooting RAW on to the SanDisk 16GB Extreme Class 10(30MB/s) and I get 906 shots. It also has no problem shooting HD video.

Hmmm, so far the price of the one card I got , I perhaps should instead get :

• Two of : SANDISK 16GB VIDEO EXTREME SDHC UHS1 30MBS

or

• Two of : LEXAR 16GB SDHC 400X UHS-1 PRO

Right now Staples has on sale this week:
PNY Professional 16GB SD (SDHC) Class 10 Flash Memory Card
$19.99

I use these cards in shooting RAW and JPEG Fine and they work great for me. I'm going to go and get at least one more today at that price.

I've been using super cheap 16gb and 8gb Micro Center branded cards. They work fine for me, transfer speeds on my end are limited by my $5 card reader. I've never had issues, but when I get a new body I may buy 2 faster 8gb cards seeing as they're very cheap nowadays. I get about 800 shots in raw on my 16gb, about 450 on the 8gb, which is fine for me. My batter seems to die after around 700 shots anyways

Ive a feeling a lot of people just throw there money away. I use sandisk, because they are hardy and work
in extreme conditions etc. I find 30mb more than enough on the D300. Although I do have a 16gb 45mb.
To be honnest I cant see the differance, so I wouldnt pay the extra for the extra speed again.
Intrestingly, I had a cheap 8gb card that came as a freebee with one of my cameras and to be honnest Its fine lol.

The only advantage I can see in the faster cards is faster downloading to the PC.
Its not like there is time do your shopping if you use a slow card lol

Originally Posted by RickSawThat

Right now Staples has on sale this week:
PNY Professional 16GB SD (SDHC) Class 10 Flash Memory Card
$19.99

I use these cards in shooting RAW and JPEG Fine and they work great for me. I'm going to go and get at least one more today at that price.

Same card I'm using, works fine.

Using the Kingston 16GB Class 10, UltimateX I think it is called. Got a good deal on it at Amazon.