SanDisk SDSDB-512-A10/A11-512 MB Secure Digital Card (Retail Package) Reviews

• Speed Test Results...

  
  By A1YGOLKHZ5VZMW on 2003-10-20
  [Note: This review was originally posted on 20-Oct-2003 and contains an important update made on 29-Oct-2003! Be sure to read the entire review for details!]

  SanDisk's 512MB SD card is by far the cheapest available. In most cases, the other cards are at least 50% more than this one.

  I was curious about speed since SanDisk is known for being a bit on the slow side. This card was relatively newly released when I wanted it, so I was unable to find any good speed figures online. Therefore, I bought it anyway -- and ran the speed tests myself.

  Testing on a Toshiba/AudioVox Genio e550G with Kai's Speed Test application, I ran the Write Test 5 times with the following results:
  Trial #1: 263KB/Sec
  Trial #2: 263KB/Sec
  Trial #3: 181KB/Sec
  Trial #4: 171KB/Sec
  Trial #5: 196KB/Sec

  Not very consistent, for some reason. I was not running any other applications at the time, so I am not sure why the fluctuation.

  For comparison, here are the results using a Lexar 256MB SD card:
  Trial #1: 263KB/Sec
  Trial #2: 271KB/Sec
  Trial #3: 279KB/Sec
  Trial #4: 256KB/Sec
  Trial #5: 256KB/Sec

  So, at their best, the two cards seem quite comparable. It is just that the Lexar card is clearly more stable as far as speed fluctuations go.

  In any case, I'm happy with it -- especially for the huge difference in price in most cases. Works for me. Plus, 5-year warranty -- just in case.

  - John...

  ---UPDATE---
  The fact that the card always performed well for the first two tests but then slowed and stayed slow until the device was reset was really bothering me, so I contacted SanDisk about it and gave them the same results that I shared here. SanDisk said that they thought the card was defective! I therefore had this card replaced (very quickly and easily by Amazon, I will add) and have just repeated my tests with the new card. Good news! The replacement card is usually faster and much more consistent than the original! It no longer slows down after the first two tests -- the results are repeatable at any time.

  For comparison, here are the new figures for the 512MB SanDisk card:
  Trial #1: 329KB/Sec
  Trial #2: 263KB/Sec
  Trial #3: 341KB/Sec
  Trial #4: 279KB/Sec
  Trial #5: 318KB/Sec

  As you can see, the card is now performing at or above the speed of the 256MB Lexar that I had previously tested. I am now quite satisfied with this card -- it appears to be giving the same speeds or better than other cards well above this price range.

  - John...
  
  

• slow card

  
  By on 2004-12-30
  the people who wrote this is a "fast" card have no expertise. this is now one of the slowest cards out there, this makes a huge difference with cameras over 2 megapixels. if you are shooting with a three or four megapixel camera it will be unbearably slow.
  
  price. please! the page shows a list price of two fifty. wow so for fifty five it must be a great deal right? no! memory prices fall like a riock and the list price is from two years ago. the listed "sale price" of fifty five is the going rate across all the competition.
  
  Indeed sandisks own "utra II" version of their 512 sd card is sixty five dollars everywhere. the ultra II reads and writes on average seven times faster.
  
  

• Value for Money

  
  By A23RVC3CUQMX6H on 2006-03-09
  This is a basic SD card which is not expensive since it is not 1 gig or made by Sony and other companies with a lot of hype. Still holds more than 500 photos at the best resolution in a 5.1 Megapixel camera.
  
  I have the Canon SD450 and the highest resolution I take pictures is 1600x1200 which turn out as outstanding prints on photo paper.
  
  I take close to 200 photos every month. but since I download then to my computer (or IPod if I am on the road) I do not run out of memory space ever.
  
  I weighed out my options with 1gig cards but ultimately it only means that I can take more pictures at a stretch. Look at it this way if you buy 2 512 Mb cards you have the simple flexibility of keeping your photos separate, have a backup memory card rather than buying one 1 gig card which if it fails you are stuck with no memory at all.
  
  You can get this product for under $30 if you search well enough and find good deals. I have three of these at an avg cost of $32 each.
  
  

• I have not had a problem.

  
  By A3ESSJ2SGCKBG4 on 2005-03-03
  Hiya. I know that some people have been giving Sandisk products a hard time since they joined the market. I've never had a problem with Sandisk products since I started purchasing them a few years ago. If you own a Sony digital camera or camcorder and wanna save some cash on memory cards sandisk is where you go. I just purchased a Sandisk 512 mb sd card on ebay for forty bucks. Its perfect for the 3.2 mp Casio Exilim EX-S100 that its mated to. This card will hold 276 pics at the cameras finest resolution and 2 weeks and 1000 pics later I have no complanints. The camera writes quickly to the card and the card can transfer 500 mb of pic data to my pc in less then 8 mins (using usb 2.0 cradle connection). It hasent failed yet. I think the problem with a lot of consumers is they don't format the card in camera. Please try this as it improves the write speed greatly. Sandisk is a fine company and very reliable .
  
  

• How many pictures will it store?

  
  By A25HBO5V8S8SEA on 2004-11-05
  How many pictures will it store? It is the most commonly asked question from digital camera enthusiast but usually the question that is the most difficult to get a straight answer about. Well, considering I worked in the memory industry for over 7 years I can help clarify this perplexing question and do so unbiased as I have since changed industries.
  
  The SanDisk SDSDB-512-A10 512MB Secure Digital Card, like most 512MB cards, will store on average 568 pictures when used with a 2 megapixel camera, 426 images when used with a 3 megapixel camera, 256 pictures when used with a 4 megapixel camera, 204 images when used with a 5 megapixel camera, and 160 pictures when used with a 6 megapixel camera. These numbers are based off the assumption that you are going to shoot your images at the highest quality JPEG setting available for the camera and understand that they are estimates and may be off by as much as 10 percent due to numerous factors including the complexity of the scene being shot and the compression algorithm used by your specific camera.
  
  I truly hope this review was helpful to you in determining whether this 512MB card is the right capacity for your specific needs.
  
  
• Value depends on how much data you move & how often
  By A3C2OLY36HCUZI on 2004-02-11
  This review applies to computers equipped with usb2.0. Users who have usb1.x may still find this informative, however.

  I just received a SanDisk 512MB Ultra II Secure Digital card and did a quick & dirty performance comparison with the non-ultra SanDisk SD card. If you just want the results, then go to the bottom of the review. For the more inquisitive, here is my test configuration:

  linux-2.4.22 (with ehci to enable usb2.0) connected to . . .
  usb2.0 hub connected to . . .
  SanDisk SDDR-88 usb2.0 memory card reader

  commands for the write test:
  - mount -o noatime,sync /dev/sda1 /flash_memory
  - cat testfile > /dev/null
  - time cp tesfile /flash_memory

  The first command forces any writes to the flash_memory to happen immediately, so there is no caching going on. The second command reads through the ~50MB testfile and caches it into memory (no need to access the hard disk). The third command actually copies the test file to the memory card and times it.

  commands for the read test:
  - umount /flash_memory
  - mount -o noatime,sync /dev/sda1 /flash_memory
  - time cp /flash_memory/testfile /dev/null

  The first command unmounts the flash memory and clears the cache. The second command mounts the flash memory so the computer can access its files. The third command actually copies the file, which must be read directly from the card because we cleared the cache, and times the copy.

  The read and writes tests were performed multiple times, and the results varied little between iterations. The 512MB card was completely empty, and the 256MB card had a small 3MB file.

  The SanDisk Ultra II card turned in some impressive numbers:

  writes: 4.95MB/sec (5048.2KB/sec)
  reads: 8.19MB/sec (8389.96KB/sec)

  For comparison, here are the numbers for the SanDisk 256MB non-ultra card:

  writes: 0.86MB/sec (876.44KB/sec)
  reads: 1.53MB/sec (1570.69KB/sec)

  If you need performance, then the SanDisk Ultra II series + usb2.0 is a winning combination. The Ultra II reads and writes more than five times as fast as the plain-vanilla SanDisk secure digital card. In my case, I will be using the card to store MP3 files for a portable audio device, and waiting around while moving MP3s is not how I want to spend my time. So, I bought the Ultra II. Your needs may vary. Buy accordingly.

  Compare prices between the Ultra II and non-Ultra cards and ask yourself, "How much is my time worth?" If you answer this question honestly, then you won't be kicking yourself later on because you bought the wrong card. For people who copy small files frequently, the non-ultra cards provide great value for the dollar. If you move larger files, however, then have something else to do during the copy operation because the non-ultra cards will frustrate you otherwise.

  Also, I realize that other manufactures market "high-performance" memory cards, but since I don't own one, I can't recommend/jeer them here.
  
  

• Agree with other users, you get what you pay for
  By AK708RZGKKBFN on 2004-11-11
  Never had problems with San Disk before in my life, then this card came into play. This Card is made in China, and there are imcompatibility issues that people just can't figure out. Other people with the SanDisk SD 512 card made in Taiwan have no problems, just the ones made in China.
  It works fine in most devices, but there are some problems with Kodak cameras. Some combinations of cameras and readers work, Pentax and Casio Exslim. But using a Kodak DX6440 will not get a read on any card reader. Works great in the dock, but you can't take it to a photo lab to print without risk of corrupting the card.
  San Disk customer support is great, they sent a label to pick up the corrupted card (which worked sometimes when it was new) and sent a replacement card. (that process took 2 weeks) Just don't risk your pictures unless you test out the card throughly before you shoot that irreplaceable picture.
  
  
• Lost all files on this card
  By A2F5KPMGQSDV8N on 2004-11-16
  I have an iPAQ h4150 with a 512 MB Sandisk SD card, one day I was synchronizing files and I lost all my files on the SD card. I formated the card and tried to copy new files on it but when I try to add files I got the error message "CARD IS FULL". I tried formatting the card using Fat16, Fat32 and it still doesn't work. This card is garbage! I bought a different brand of SD card and never had this problem again.
  
  
• Works great with Palm Tungsten E
  By A1TO4H4NFUZTA8 on 2004-01-31
  I bought this Sandisk 512MB SD card to play music in my Palm Tungsten E. I have had excellent results transferring music and playing music on this card. I haven't had one problem and would highly recommend it. It looks like I can store about 120 songs with an average encoding of 128kbps. So it's a bit expensive when compared to the capacity of an ipod, but I didn't want to carry around 2 devices, charge them, etc.

  The downsides are not really about this card at all. They are:

  1. The Palm MP3 kit that comes with the fast transfer USB device doesn't work with the RealOne 10 sync function. It uses the slow USB cable that's used for HotSync.

  2. The RealOne 10 doesn't transfer playlists from the desktop to the Palm. I downloaded the new Real Player 1.1 to my Palm but it doesn't have many new features.

  3. The in-your-ear headphones that come with the Palm MP3 kit suck. They don't fit in my ear (I'm an average size 5'11" male), they fall out so the music doesn't sound great. I went to the Metreon and got the Sony foldable MDR-G72 headphones and I'm enjoying the music much, much more.

  This review is about more than just the Sandisk SD card, but I'll reiterate, the Sandisk card has worked flawlessly for me.
  
  

• Horrible memory card for PDAs
  By A8ZB1OFL1K3V2 on 2004-06-10
  Well after purchasing my second Sandisk product (the other was the 512K CF card) I will never buy another Sandisk product again, don't care if it is cheaper. I know you other PDA owners know what I am talking about. For digital cameras I don't know, it may or may not work fine. But I've used the Sandisk cards in my Dell Axim and Compaq Ipaq and have had the same problems. When transferring large amounts of data >15MBs the files do not write properly. Half of my mp3s that I tranfer do not play. In addition if you transfer data that is greater than the available amount on the card it will frequently erase all data on the card!!!!!!!

  BEWARE, stay away if you are going to use this in your PDA. I've found no problems using Viking (1 CF card), MicroTech (1 CF) and Kingston ( 2 SD cards) products.
  
  

• Good price for quality, capacity and versatility
  By A3F3UARRAYEQH6 on 2005-10-09
  It's easy to recommend this 512MB SanDisk SD card because I've owned one for close to a year now, using it with my Treo 650 smartphone. I keep it in the phone at all times and have never experienced a problem with it. Ever.
  
  I use it to store MP3s, short videos, eBooks, photos, even MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, along with a few Palm applications. It's easy to transfer files using an inexpensive Bonzai USB flash drive that I also would recommend.
  
  Of course, this card is versatile enough to use for portable flash storage when paired with a USB reader as well as to transfer files between desktops and laptops, or between digitial cameras and computers.
  
  I value SanDisk products for their quality and relatively low price. With larger capacity cards entering the market the 512MB (and even 1GB) models are getting less and less expensive.
  
  SanDisk offers rebates every few months so even if you don't need a card right now, put this on your wishlist and check Amazon frequently to take advantage of even greater savings.
  
  
• Great value for what I paid
  By AO1FOHK80ZGIG on 2003-11-05
  John gave a great review on this item, and I based my buying decision on his review. Read it if you have not yet done that, I will only add the following:

  I purchased this SD card along with the Casio Exilim EX-Z4 digital camera. I had the EX-S1 with a the famous and expensive SimpleTech SD card previously, and you know what? you will practically find that both cards are functioning at the same speed and performance levels, only that you have saved US$ 100 difference between SanDisk and other branded cards including SimpleTech ... I would say that it was a good deal, and SanDisk definately sent a strong message to other manufacturers to reconsider their price points.
  
  

• Dead Out of the Package
  By on 2004-05-21
  I purchased this primarily because of the comparatively low price. I have another Sandisk (128mb) that works well. This one was recognized by Windows the first time I used it but the first files written on it were corrupted and couldn't be erased. I tried to read it on another XP computer but I received an error message "the file is corrupted and unreadable." Sandisk tech support (only 10 sec wait!) agreed it was a bad card. I would buy another brand.
  
  
• Diskappointed
  By A2E9JK88BKV5XY on 2005-01-18
  I have used SanDisk Compact Flash Memory cards and had great results (Nikon 2MP digital camera and Cannon 3MP digital camera). This Secure Digital Card started showing errors from the beginning, and then got worse. Unable to use at all in my Coolpix 4800 after a couple weeks. Lost some great shots (I know they were great because I saw them in the viewer when I shot them) because of errors on this card. Glad I got the [...] but still feel like SanDisk ripped me off.
  
  
• Works great for me, but if it doesn't for you, there is hope
  By on 2004-03-01
  I have an Axim x5, which are notoriously incompatible with Sandisk SD cards, but this card has been working wonderfully for me (along with a newer 128mb card), even if the read speed isn't quite as fast as other brands. For some idea if others with your device have been having problems with Sandisk, take a look here: http://sdprob.aximsite.com/theproblemlist.htm (this site is heavily skewed toward Dell handhelds, for obvious reasons).

  If you do have issues, Sandisk is very good about replacing the card. Look at the info here for Tungsten t3: http://www.sandisk.com/tech/faq/224.html; and here for Axims: http://www.sandisk.com/tech/faq/216.html. Both will eventually take you to the same replacement request form, so I think you can use that form for any model. Good luck!
  
  

• Size Matters
  By A3A1JK9NG39PX6 on 2004-11-18
  Just a FYI, This device is 512,000,000 bytes in size. that is 488MBytes (1024 Method). Then there is 5Mbytes used for the SD Feature of the card, Leaving you 483MBytes. Just wish manufactures would stop playing this game and call it waht is is a 488MByte Card.
  
  
• You get what you pay for...
  By A29WD1W81UK0V1 on 2004-11-04
  I bought this card because it had a good price, only $49,99 which is much lower than other SD cards. I used it once, then I tried to read it from a memory card reader and I got an error. I searched the SanDisk website for support and they said that I should format the card. I tried to format the card using Windows and I got a "Windows was unable to format the media" error. Tried a search engine and found that I was not the only one with that kind of problem.
  
  Finally I downloaded a SD format utility from Panasonic. It successfully formated the card and now I can read it, but I don't know for how long.
  
  I guess that I got what I paid for... I paid cheap and I got a cheap unstable memory.
  
  
• Results of my speed tests using SiSoft Sandra 2004 (SP1)
  By A3OXYK3ZL4348C on 2004-04-29
  I ran these tests using SiSoft Sandra 2004 (SP1) just so that I could personally compare the performance differences between my various CF and SD flash memory cards and using USB 2.0 vs. 1.X. Here are the impressive results of the SanDisk 512MB SD Card:

  Make/Model of Flash Reader used:
  Lexar 6-in-1 USB 2.0 Multi-Card Reader (model RW018-01)

  Homebuilt PC used:
  Asus P4P-800VM motherboard with on-board USB 2.0, Intel P4 2.8GHz (800 FSB), 1GB Crucial brand DDR RAM, Win XP Pro (SP-1)

  512byte files:
  R = 101 kb/sec, 0x
  W = 2.2 kb/sec

  32kB files:
  R = 2788 kb/sec, 15x
  W = 107 kb/sec, 0x

  256kB files:
  R = 5773 kb/sec, 32x
  W = 785 kb/sec, 4x

  2MB files:
  R = 6485 kb/sec, 36x
  W = 1638 kb/sec, 9x

  Note: Why 4 stars instead of 5? Well, I am currently on my second 512MB card. My first one became corrupted after a week of use. It could not read from it write to it or even access it. I use it mainly for my Compaq iPAQ 3970 Pocket PC. Always make sure you backup the SD card's contents to your PC just in case it goes bad like mine did. The Lexar reader I used (which I purchased here on Amazon) makes this a quick process.

  And try to use USB 2.0, because when I ran the tests above on a USB 1.X system, these were the results I got using 2MB files:

  R = 1024 kb/sec, 5x
  W = 683 kb/sec, 3x

  Going from USB 1.X to USB 2.0 results in a huge leap in performance.

  And for you PDA users... The speed of a card is not really an issue since Pocket Mechanic on my Compaq iPAQ 3970 Pocket PC benchmarked my SanDisk 512MB SD Card with a molasses-slow Read Speed of 0.5x and a Write Speed of 0.2x. In other words, the PDA's internal controller is the bottleneck, not the SD card. If writing large amounts of data, I recommend you purchase a USB 2.0 card and USB 2.0 reader for your PC and use that instead.
  
  

• BAD quality! stay away!
  By on 2004-07-19
  I bought this (Sandisk 512 MB Secure Digital) in February and gave it to my mom as a gift in May. She used it in her digital camera and took pictures with it for her college reunion. Afterwards, the card displayed "Corrupt Data" and the pictures were lost! Do NOT buy this card, if you do not believe me, do a search for this card and you will see similar testimonials!
  The grief and sadness this card has caused me is not worth its cheaper price!
  user be warned!

  by the way, the one i have is made in china, i have read these ones are the WORST
  
  

• Card Works Great....Most of the Time!
  By AWNKWTEBKG5QK on 2005-03-17
  SanDisk makes really great SD cards, however, these 512mb's have given me the most trouble out of all of them. Most of the time, transfer is quick and easy for any file. I can put a file on the card and take it off at anytime. However, every once and a while, especially on cameras, the file almost seems to become corrupt. This problem actually happens on the card, for I have conducted numerous tests, all showing that the card messes up the file. It really only happens once in a blue moon, but when it does, it's quite a hinderance. Regaurdless of the fact, SanDisk really makes the most reliable products and at a good price, so if you are looking for a nice sized SD card, this is probably the way to go!
  
  
• great card
  By A1EM89O8PKD73P on 2005-11-16
  This is an awesome card, you cant really say much it holds a nice ammount of pictures, and has a lock feature that keeps your data from being deleted. I would say use the lock feature when going on trips, i lost all my data when i accidently had my camera in my pocket and some how pressed a button by accident and delted everything. Also ive used this card to transfer data from computer to computer very good use as well. Really worth the money.
  
  
• Don't need an ipod....
  By A2FP1Z637HS6TN on 2004-08-27
  I recieved a 128MB Rio forge as a back-to-school gift from my parents. I run cross country, and during the off season, I like to have some tunes while I run. I had my eye on a couple of 512MB flash based models (hard drive based mp3 players are prone to skipping in my experiences), until they got me the 128 forge. I was going to take it back and exchange with a 512MB, when I noticed the forge had an expansion SD slot. After some shopping around, I found out that instead of paying another hundred bucks for a 384MB upgrade (i.e. getting a new one),for a around the same price I could upgrade 512MB(getting the sandisk card) for a total 640MB. Now I can store around 200 songs, plenty enough for my runs.
  
  I went with the Sandisk card because I've heard a lot of bad things about similar "generic" cards out there (kingston, pny..). I know they've been around the longest ( to my understanding, they created the SD format), and I figured they'd have the best quality. And so far, I have no complaints. It has integrated with the forge flawlessly, and to say the least, I'm a happy jogger.
  
  
• SanJunk is all your getting with this card.
  By A3I9IRKMLU8OCM on 2004-12-28
  I bought this card in November, and it is now December. 1 month is all that it lasted. It won't format, it won't recognize data, it is worthless. I am not sure what I am going to do with it now, except maybe hope that the manufacturer will send a new one. It is a piece of junk. Save your money or buy Lexar.
  
  
• Was great for a month, then died
  By A2JRRCUFAK1SMB on 2004-09-03
  For no reason, it just stopped working while loading music onto my MP3 player. I don't do anything rough with it, I just set it on my desk and listen. A big disappointment. I'd recommend another. Might as well go cheapest, if you can't trust the one with the brand name.
  
  
• 2nd try
  By A16OQ310NXVATC on 2004-10-05
  I just sent my exchange request to Amazon. It seems my first 512 SD card is bad after 2 weeks, and I hardly used the thing. My player shows the card, but cannot load any music to the card. I will see if the replacement works better. I just prefer it works.
  
  
• long time
  By A6SKNKHWQFRW1 on 2005-05-17
  This gives me like 2 hours of movie in my 2.1 camera. Works and copies fast to my laptop.
  
  
• Very Fast, Highly Compatible Memory Card
  By A24204PBTGSKOB on 2003-10-16
  I purchased the SanDisk 512MB Secure Digital Card for use in my MP3 player (Rio Cali-256). I had never before seen a Secure Digital card and was surprised at how small the card is.

  I opened the package, inserted the card into my MP3 player, and presto. Instant recognition. No need to format the card.
  I started downloading my music files onto it, and noticed the speed was equivalent to the memory onboard my player. As a result, I now have an additional 120 mp3 files on my player!

  I'd give the product five stars, but the memory size did not appear to my MP3 player as 512MB. It was slightly less than this - not too much less, but when I buy 512 MB, I certainly want all 512.
  
  

• Great Card. No Problems at all.
  By A21S84QMLFGT4O on 2004-06-14
  I use the Sandisk 512 SD card in my HP 2215 IPAQ. I have never had a problem with it and it gives me plenty of space to store all of the music that I enjoy. I would love to get a 1 GB card but I want to wait for the prices to come down a little more. This card is fast but I would still like it to be faster. I'm not sure if it is the card slowing down the process or the USB connection to my IPAQ. I was thinking about buying the Sandisk ULTRA SD card to see if there is a speed difference.
  
  
• Very Slow!
  By A3RIN0OLS7D77D on 2005-01-14
  I have 3MP digital camera (Canon SD110) and with this card, too slow men! - The real capacity of this card is aprox. 480Mb.
  I've tried other sd (lexar) and work fine. For Performance I recommend Lexar SD's.
  
  
• memory error
  By A16TH0MSBI66II on 2005-12-31
  I have used several Sandisk 64MB in my old Canon Elph camera, never had a single problem. Got a new Canon Elph DS400 bought an SD512 MB, tested the card, and as soon as I tried to upload the pics to my computer -- the card crashed. Not sure if I should get a higher speed card, but I reported it to Amazon for a replacement and Amazon was so prompt to respond and emailed me that a replacement is on its way. I wondered now if I should have ordered a higher speed card. Please do your research, Sandisk is a good brand but there may be some better ones out there these days.
  
  

• Targus DMC111 Digital Memory Card Case - Black (Koskin)
• DIGITAL HUB READER
• Digital Spectrum USB Digital Photo Frame (5x7)
• Lexar Media USB 2.0 6-in-1 High Speed Reader
• Body Glove Multi-purpose Camera Case Black

• SanDisk SDSDB-1024-A10/11 1 GB Secure Digital Card (Retail Package)
• Canon PowerShot A460 5.0MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Silver)
• Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom
• Sony Quick Battery Charger with 4 AA Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries
• Samsung Digimax S630 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Advanced Shake Reduction Zoom (Silver)