If you’ve been in the market for a new camera recently, you may have noticed all the different kinds of memory cards you can buy. Memory cards don’t just vary in terms of the amount of data they can store. They all have different data transfer speeds. Because it can be unsettling to purchase a new memory card after already having dropped at least $800 on a new camera setup, many people wonder if the extra data transfer speed is really all that important. How fast does your memory card need to be?

It all depends on the kind of photography you like to do. Not too long ago, I wrote a tutorial on how to take action sequence photographs. Most of these kinds of pictures require camera speeds close to three frames per second to capture all of the shots that go into creating the sequence. If you think about it, that’s a lot of pictures to transfer from the camera to the memory card within a fairly short period of time. In a situation like that, having a high speed memory card is very important.

Here is a brief rundown of how your camera stores pictures. Whenever you press the shutter button down, a door opens up and your image sensor is exposed to the light from outside. Once this light hits the sensor, it is converted into a file that is sent to your camera’s image storage buffer.

Your Camera’s Image Buffer

A buffer is kind of like purgatory. It’s a temporary storage space between the image sensor and the memory card. The buffer is always moving images to the memory card as fast the memory card will allow it to. Most cameras take pictures faster than the image buffer can move them. When this happens, the buffer fills up, and the camera stops taking pictures until enough images have been transferred from the buffer to the memory card for the camera to take more shots.

A faster memory card helps to empty out the buffer quicker so you can continue to take pictures for a longer period of time. Not only is this great for taking sequence pictures, it’s great when you want to capture an elusive subject or an important sporting event. You can continue to hold the shutter down to take as many pictures as you need, never having to worry about the camera stopping you in your tracks.

So, are you convinced you need one of these things yet? Hold your horses for a second. It’s important to know how fast your camera can transfer images to and from the buffer, because it’s the LOWER of the transfer speed of your camera, and your card that will be used. If you buy a memory card that advertises a transfer rate of 4MB per second, and your camera only transfers photos at 2MB per second, you have just wasted your money because images can only be transfered at 2MB per second. You can also think of it the other way around. If you buy an expensive camera that transfers at 6MB per second, and your memory card only transfers at 2MB per second, you will still transfer at 2MB per second and aren’t properly taking advantage of your awesome setup. Look at the numbers before you buy.

These days, I’m seeing more and more digital still cameras that double as fantastic HD video cameras. If you spend a decent amount of time shooting video, you should definitely get a faster memory card. That way, you won’t limit yourself to small 30 second clips.

What speed to purchase?

Digital camera power users will ultimately benefit the most from using a high speed memory card. If you take a lot of very high resolution pictures in burst mode, chances are you’ll need the extra speed. But if you use a point and shoot camera for family gatherings, and you only use it on occasion, you don’t need a high speed memory card – you won’t be shooting photos fast enough to be caught by the slow transfer of photos to your card. When all else fails, and you just don’t know what to buy, get a card that matches your camera’s speed. That’s the only sure-fire way to know your taking advantage of everything your camera has to offer.

I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on high speed memory cards and whether they truly make a difference.

Related posts:

1. Ask David: Memory Card Speed, RAW Images and Macro Lenses
2. Ask David: Continuous shooting mode only takes 5 shots and then starts to buffer. Why?
3. Is Digital Camera Image Stabilization Important?
4. Ask David: Can I Retrieve Deleted Photos From My Memory Card?
5. Photography Basics: Shutter Speed

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