[Leica] SD Card Questions, M(240) Gearhead Edition

[Robert Baron]

Thanks, Frank, this is all interesting stuff to a non-engineer (!) like me.

I do notice my M(240), set to shoot DNG (compressed) (which is what has
been recommended with my previous M8s and M9s) and loaded with a 16GB card,
freshly formatted in the camera, shows 14.8GB available and 435 images to
take, on the Info screen.

Also, I do notice the Sandisk card specs on the B&H and Amazon pages for
Sandisk Extreme and Extreme Pro cards do list both maximum read and write
speeds, with the write speeds somewhat slower.

What I'm trying to figure out is if there is a noticeable real world
improvement when using the faster, more expensive cards and it appears - at
least anecdotally - there is.

Now you've got me looking at this Western Digital Wireless external hard
drive.  What could possibly go wrong with that?

--Bob



On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 2:57 PM, Frank Filippone <red735i at verizon.net>
wrote:

> Of course, I use an M9...  but here is my cut on all of this....
>
> a) the manufacturers use the memory chips they can get, cheap, on SD cards.
> More speed = more cost = more cost to you.  So they tend not to do anything
> that interferes with their profit picture.
>
> b) they change chips because they got a deal on the price....  As long as
> the card made MINUIMUM spec, they "only" care about the price
>
> c) you have no idea of what chips are inside nor the specs on those chips.
>
> d) The speed ratings on SD cards refer to the READ speed, not the WRITE
> speed.  ( you can look this up, but it is true)
>
> e) Some faster read devices are also faster on the write, but this is not
> necessarily so....  ( experimentation in YOUR device is required to see if
> it makes any difference)
>
> f) while it has been retail true that some 8GB cards were slower than their
> succeeding 16GB cards, that was probably a figment of the change in the
> chip
> technology, but the branded name on the card stayed the same....  ie, it
> never really made a difference if it were a 8, 16 or 32 GB card,,, it was
> what was inside that made a difference and they never told you when they
> made a change!....
>
> g) Sandisk make their own IC memory chips.  Does that means that if you buy
> a Sandisk SD card, they use Sandisk ICs inside?  No.  ( ditto every other
> SD
> card.  You do not know what is inside)
>
> Sandisk helped figure out a problem that Leica had with Sandisk SD cards in
> the M8 (?? Not sure my memory is right about the model, but irrelevant,
> that
> is where their relationship started). I think now, they are BFFs.  ( as
> long
> as there is mutually no problems)
>
> Finally my experiences in the M9
>
> I have cards going back to class 4.
> I have cards that are class U1.
>
> In MY M9, the Class U1 cards DID write faster than the class 4.  But it was
> not really a great difference.  ( I did a burst and timed the burst speed
> transfer).  Upon reading , the faster cards were faster, but that was in my
> computer and card reader, not the camera.  Relevance to write speed in the
> M(240) ?  None.
> In My Sony A7, there was a remarkable difference in the write speeds.
>
> Is it that Leica is writing their Firmware different from Sony ( with
> significantly more experience and expertise?)  Yes, in part.
>
> Is the faster card  helping on its own?  Yes, in part, but I think it is
> the
> first reason that has more weight.....
>
> Bottom line... buy a Class U1 card, test it to see what you bought in
> practical terms, and be happy.. recently they are running less than $0.50 a
> GB when on sale.  ( we are talking about $20 per card times 2 in a camera
> that cost $7K  Is it really relevant to your next Leica body or lens
> purchase? Or your choice in Scotch?  Or Craft Brew?)
>
> What capacity?  Whatever is on sale, keeping in mind that with a M(240)
> there are raw file sizes of around 24MB = 40 shots per GB, times the GB
> rating of your card.... 32GB would have 1200 odd images per card... 16GB is
> 600.... a couple ( always buy 2 in case one card dies without reason) of
> cards is a whole lot......
> So does it really matter if your daily shoot is 100-200 images....  No.
> ZGpoing away for a week?  But 3... month?  Buy a mess of cards or buy less
> and a WD Wireless HDD with a built in SD Card Reader (or Digital Foci, or
> Sanho, or whatever brand floats your boat), which may cost you appreciably
> more than the extra cards will cost, but may give you peace of mind with
> backups.....
>
> For those that might wonder, I was educated as an Electrical Engineer.  I
> was in the IC industry for 25 years. This is an issue about specs, and
> specmanship.
>
> Frank Filippone
> Red735i at verizon.net
>
>
> I see that Leica suggests Sandisk Ultra or Extreme Class 10 SD cards with
> speeds >30 MB/s.  http://content.abt.com/documents/54249/LEICAM_FAQ.pdf
>
> There are some folks on another well known Leica forum who say the speed -
> both waking and shooting - is noticeably better with the latest and fastest
> cards, which have maximum speeds of 95 MB/s.  I have also seen posters in
> various forii say they get faster speeds with 16GB cards than they do with
> 32GB cards.
>
> I'm just curious to know if any LUGers have discerned - when shooting with
> an M (240) or an M-P (240) - noticeably faster speeds or any other
> _noticeable_  advantage to using 60 MB/s versus 95 MB/s SD cards, and also
> any _noticeable_ speed difference when using 16GB, 32GB or larger cards.
>
> Thanks,
>
> --Bob
>
>
>
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