Kingston 512 MB Secure Digital Card (SD/512) (Retail Package) Reviews

• 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 Kingston 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.
  
  

• Great product!

  
  By A8ZB1OFL1K3V2 on 2004-06-10
  I've used all kinds of memory cards over the years and this is by far the best company to buy products from. SanDisk is the WORST. I wouldn't buy their products if it were half the price. Anyway I use my memory card in my PDA and have had no problems. With the SanDisk I had all sorts of problems with files being erased or not properly written. Other good memory products are Viking and MicroTech.
  
  

• Overall good value, but very slow

  
  By A36PFPY4O3E1DV on 2005-12-19
  I bought this card to take with me on my trip to France. My wife loves taking pictures and I knew we'd need another SD card to store all the pictures. So, based on the good reviews and the price, I bought this card. I didn't do any research into the 'speed' of this device. Now I'm wishing I had.
  Basically, this SD card becomes very slow as you start to fill it up with pictures. Yes it could probably store upto 492MB worth of pictures, but when you actually 'take' the pictures, you need a faster memory device. When the card was only about 100MB filled, we had to stop using it because it would take about 10 seconds for the camera to just get ready (and it usually only takes about 2 seconds). And in between shots, there was a noticeably long delay. When you're visiting a new place, you're bound to take some spontaneous pictures and 10 seconds seems like a lifetime. We missed quite a few good photo opportunities and that's why we stopped using it. We switched to our smaller 128MB SD card and didn't have any problems (of course, we had to take less pictures now).
  In defense of Kingston, they don't claim this to be a high speed device. It's my own fault for not researching this earlier. But I figured I'd give others the warning - if you want to use an SD card that's 512MB or larger in a digital camera, make sure you get a faster one, something with at least 6MB/s transfer speed as opposed to this one which transfers at no more than 2MB/s. If speed is not your issue, then this is a great buy.
  
  

• An excellent storage device

  
  By A1E9CSHAAV7GCR on 2003-12-17
  I bought it for my Minolta Dimage Z1 digital camera. The camera has high speed auto focusing and it works well with the SD chip. I wasn't sure about it at first, having read a lot about Sandisk's problems. Thought maybe it was just an OEM version of Sandisk. I was going to buy a Lexar or a Panasonic, but thought I give the Kingston a try. Had it for more than a month now with over a hundred pictures, it has performed perfectly. Also, 512MB will last forever. Never a need for more space. . Kingston has tranditionally done well in all their products. Kingston SDRAM memory chips have always been very reliable.
  
  

• BEWARE of Kingston REBATES!

  
  By A14J9L7NII9G5 on 2005-10-30
  Beware of KINGSTON rebates!
  
  Of course, I hope your experience would differ, if you were to buy Kingston product(s), but mine was terrible.
  
  I bought a Kingston CompactFlash card that offered a $50 mail-in rebate. I promptly (as in, the day AFTER I received the item delivery) went to photocopy my rebate certificate and UPC code and sales receipt; then sent it all on its merry way. Yes, I was well within the rebate period, both for the purchase AND for the postmark date. My purchase was a valid retailer (think HUGE online e-tailer).
  
  The rebate REQUIRED sending THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL UPC label, which was like the entire outside package for my CF card, about the size of 1 ½ business cards when flattened. No problem.
  
  About TWO MONTHS later, I get a letter saying "your rebate request was denied because you failed to furnish the appropriate ORIGINAL UPC code as required by the rebate offer."
  
  Well, now WHAT? I can't RE-SEND the original (it was already in their possession). I called, and they insisted on repeating what the letter said. I re-sent my PHOTOCOPIES and they said a photocopy is invalid proof of purchase.
  
  After another 6 weeks of pursuing this, I figured this is their scam. They simply wouldn't honor the rebate. And without the ORIGINAL UPC in my possession, I couldn't really submit to their requirements.
  
  If you're looking for a RAM upgrade, I'd suggest you look at a quality company like OCZ (the BEST!), or Patriot, Geil, or Corsair. If you're looking for a value Flash Memory Card, I might suggest SanDisk.
  
  For one, Kingston does NOT make the best products, they are VALUE-driven products.
  
  Two, there are competitors to Kingston with just as good or better value-to-performance ratios at the same prices.
  
  Three, Kingston will not stand behind their customer as I have experienced.
  
  I urge you to, please, be cautious of Kingston and their rebate scams.
  
  
• Slower than Panasonic, but a lot cheaper
  By A3AMELNKILVCUU on 2004-07-21
  Kingston SD is an OEM version of Toshiba SD, they are slower than the Panasonic version (Lexar, Simpletech, etc), but Kingston SDs are considerably cheaper than them. I have both Panasonic and Kingston SDs and satisfied with both of them. Although it takes longer time to transfer files between PC and SD card through the card readers, Kingston SD so far have given me no errors or reliability problems. Highly recommended for the budget!!!
  
  
• Works fine in my MP3 player and for file transfer
  By AFJZI3SDFFWUO on 2004-08-20
  No problems, over the last two months, works like a champ. Kind of mad that the standard for everything is shifting towards SD, because I like the extra storage capacity of CF and it seems a little sturdier to me. I used to buy Crucial or SanDisk, but now Kingston is all I own. I've had no problems with the other Kingston chips (CF) that I've had for the past year and they all seem more than fast enough to keep up with my other portable devices.
  
  
• Like the Corners of My Mind
  By A1SYLII0808HD6 on 2006-04-02
  I purchased one of these to store pictures for the Canon Powershot A610 5MP Digital Camera. That camera comes with a paltry 16 MB SD memory card which held about 10 or 12 pictures. Whether you're getting a camera or other electronics purchase requiring memory storage) for yourself or others, you might want to consider including an adequate memory device right fron the beginning. I've had no problems so far with the Kingston, it has a number of excellent features detailed above, and is fast enough for my purposes, and is very reasonably priced. For beginners without demands fo larger or faster memory systems, this is an inexpensive good bet. Amazon sells it much cheaper than the big discount electronic stores, such as the one in California that starts with an "F." That store sold it for far more money, it took me 25 minutes to find the memory section, and then they didn't even have one of these.
  
  
• Card OK but not for use with high resolution cameras
  By A3Y3DERDQWI76 on 2005-04-06
  I bought this card when I purchased a 7 MP camera (Nikon Coolpix 7900). I love the camera, but the slow speed of this SD card makes it sluggish when taking pictures. I haven't had any problems with the card, so I am not saying it is a bad card. It is just not fast enough for a high resolution camera. So I am buying another high speed SD card, and intend to use this card as an emergence backup.
  
  
• Perfect photo storage
  By A1VTXNVWOL036N on 2006-03-31
  I bought this memory card to use with my Kodak 5.0 megapixel DX4590 Easyshare camera. It worked perfectly right out of the box! I used it in Cabo San Lucas and will be using it in Kauai next. I had used two 128 mb cards previously and filled them BOTH quickly with the 5.0 settings on the camera. I took well over 200 pictures and still had plenty of room with this card. For the price, this is the best deal I ever made.
  
  
• works as it should
  By A1UODWQ2K6DFXT on 2004-11-28
  I bought this when I bought my Nikon 5200. This card stores a ton of pictures,and it transfers photos quickly to my computer, and without any problems.So far,so good.
  
  
• Great memory for the Dell Axim X3
  By A159JAUZ8LJC7D on 2004-06-29
  I needed more memory on my Axim and had previously used Kingston memory (for a PC) with no problems. The 512 MB SD card has worked flawlessly for over a month and a half so far.
  
  
• Good capacity, but speed not fast enough for movies
  By A22PVH1UOUX5KN on 2005-09-22
  I used this with my Canon SD300 camera. It works great with pictures, but when recording movies (at 640x480 resolution) on it, the movie usually gets cut off at around the 1 minute mark. No such problem for the high-speed version of this card, which not that much more expensive, so I recommend that instead.
  
  
• Kingston cards have problem with cross-compatibility
  By AC8E3L5ZM01P on 2005-09-14
  There are a number of people leaving raving reviews here about Kingston memory cards, and I'm sure that their experience justifies their opinions. But my own experience has been very different.
  
  I bought a couple of motion-activated trail cameras and bought several Kingston SD cards for them. I also bought a security camcorder (the type with a video recorder built into a clock) for a mountain cabin I have that occasionally gets broken into. I decided on Kingston memory cards for both based on so many favorable reviews of their SD cards on Amazon. But neither the trail cameras nor the security camcorder were compatible at all with the Kingston cards. The cameras wouldn't power up in the manner that the user manuals said they would, I couldn't access any of the menu screens, the recordings from the security camcorder locked up my PC, and none of the set-up buttons worked. Things were just generally screwed up, and I wondered if everything I had received was defective.
  
  I called the various manufacturers and they said that they also had experienced trouble with certain "offbrand" makes of SD cards. I asked them what they had used for development of their product, and they said SanDisk. I had never heard that Kingston was considered an offbrand, but I decided to experiment using a SanDisk SD card (specifically the Ultra II), and all the cameras then worked beautifully. Perhaps SanDisk adheres more closely to guidelines for cross-compatibility between digital devices, but that was a lesson for me. No more Kingston cards - at any price
  
  
  
• Works great
  By A174ATN0RIDJCC on 2005-10-26
  I wish I could write more but I can't. This card works perfectly. I never have a problem. I use it on a Canon camera, and a Lexar card reader.
  
  
• Fast, reliable memory works great with digital cameras
  By A2KGO4E9CXPF10 on 2006-05-16
  Have this 512MB SD card with 2 different digital cameras - Minolta X20, Kodak C330.
  
  To download the photos to PC, a card reader is that best way to go, fast and reliable connection.
  
  Kingston is a great memory manufacturer.
  
  
• Great card for the price!
  By AHAMSCAIVOQS3 on 2005-11-26
  Functions just like higher priced memory cards, without all the cost.
  
  
• Works great
  By A1PQ3GWE9Q7O5L on 2005-10-21
  I used my 512MB in my mobile phone (Motorola mpx 200) and it works flawlessly. I've used in a Viking Intelliflash 6-in-1 memory card reader and no problems. I even used the same card in a Kodak CX6200 and Canon Optura DV camera and it worked with no problems. I would highly recommend this card.
  
  I bought a 128MB version for my girlfriend's digital camera and it works just as great as the 512MB.
  
  Compare this to a SanDisk SD card I have which won't read at all in the Optura camera. With the SanDisk I had all sorts of problems with files being erased and not being properly written. This is not fun when all your pictures get erased when you put the card in another device and the card suddenly becomes unreadable.
  
  
• Burnt out in 2 days
  By A18ZRVHRJUEKXM on 2005-12-19
  Ordered from Amazon, arrived safely packaged and seemed to work fine for two days. At the end of the second day, it just fried itself and never worked again. Had bad luck with other Kingston products. Do yourself a favor and pay a little extra for a better brand.
  
  
• Excellent Memory Card
  By A1ER4C9X7B7FSJ on 2006-03-15
  Fast transfer speeds, very secure, I would recommend it to anybody with a PDA, cell phone, or camera that uses SD cards. I have found it to be very reliable.
  
  
• Great Price for a good product
  By A1WRANTWVBA5LW on 2006-09-02
  Very cheap price! I haven't had any problems using it with both my flash drive and my Canon Digital Camera. For future buyers I suggest buying in bulk to save on shipping.
  
  
• Excelent SD Card Memory
  By AZ6XBIQNAF6N5 on 2006-03-14
  This is the best one SD memory type.
  I am using this one for 3 years and I got excelent performace.
  
  
• Bought to use with Palm TX
  By A2GY1J30UJ3GCE on 2006-03-15
  I bought this product to use with my new Palm TX. For the price, I couldn't ask for a better memory card. The transfer rate is a little slow, but like i said...for the price, you cannot beat the performance!
  
  
• Great product and great price
  By A26WY0B5TJGRNK on 2006-03-23
  If you need a secure digital (SD) memory card then Kingston is a great company. Product is working just great.
  
  
• Kingston 512 MB Secure Digital Card (SD/512)
  By AYMVZSK0HV43U on 2006-03-12
  Excellent product! I would recommend this memory card to everyone who have a digital camera.
  
  
• Alot like most memory cards...
  By A3V5HUK71J5A3W on 2006-03-19
  I haven't had any problems with this. I'm not sure what the difference is between brands of memory cards, but this was a great price and it works fine.
  
  
• Don't buy from Amazon's Stores
  By A17P8C01BOLXNV on 2006-11-03
  The product is excellent and the price I was charged for the item was exceptional. However this was a bad shopping experience for me. The shipping charge wasn't computed or explained until after I hit the comit button for buying the item. The shipping charges /per item more than doubled the price of the item. So for each of the five cards I bought I was charged over double the price of the item even though they all five arrived in the same envelope that cost $1.35 to send by slow mail. All-in-all a very unsatisfying Amazon shopping experience. Through numerous emails with Amazon they refused to assume any responsibility for allowing this gouging to occur under their name. I haven't bought anything else from Amazon and continue to intentionally steer clear of Amazon who apparently cares more for their stores than their customers.
  
  
• Lots of space
  By A2FWE01UN3YPH3 on 2006-01-16
  Works great in my Canon A510, plenty of pics and movie time.
  
  
• Excelente
  By A1ZW1AUU8AUGZT on 2006-02-02
  Hola, por segunda vez he comprado un accesorio marca Kingston, es una tarjeta SD Kingston con la oferta de amazon y me ha funcionado perfectamente, la puedo utilizar en mi portátil, en mi pocket pc y en la cámara, realmente excelente la utilidad y sobretodo el precio. Hay que aprovecharla.
  M. Argueta
  Guatemala
  
  
• Great buy!
  By AYSXYTPI6MS53 on 2006-03-14
  This was a great buy compared to other digital cards of the same MB. Quality is very good.
  
  

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