 If you’re reading this right now, chances are you’re looking for a large capacity storage that complements your device be it a video recorder or DSLR. With large-resolution devices literally everywhere in the market, consumers who pick-up these items soon realize that free 4GB memory card isn’t plenty enough for their new device.
Pros on the other hand have more to worry about. Write speeds and capacity both play an important role in both video capture and photography and as much as there are cameras and camcorders in the market the same goes for the number of memory cards for them.
Today we have Kingston’s solution to the enthusiast and/or professional looking for a reliable memory card for their device that meets the professional standard for today’s digital content. For review is the Kingston Digital 64GB SDXC Class 10 UHS-I Ultimate Flash Card (SDA10/64GB). Read on!
FEATURES/BENEFITS
- Versatile — Class 10 performance when used in a non-UHS-I capable device
- Compliant — with the SD Card Association specification
- Secure — built-in write-protect switch prevents accidental data loss
- Compatible — with SDHC & SDXC host devices; not compatible with standard SD-enabled devices/readers; SDXC cards are not compatible with SDHC-enabled devices/readers
- File format — FAT32 (SDHC 16GB–32GB) exFAT (SDXC 64GB)
- Guaranteed — lifetime warranty, free technical support
Specifications
- Capacities: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
- Compatible with SDHC & SDXC host devices, not compatible with standard SD-enabled devices/readers; SDXC cards are not compatible with SDHC-enabled devices/readers
- Secure built-in write-protect switch prevents accidental data loss
- Reliable lifetime warranty
- Dimensions: 0.94″ x 1.26″ x 0.08″ (24mm x 32mm x 2.1mm)
- Operating temperatures: 13ºF to 185ºF (-25ºC to 85ºC)
- Storage temperatures: 40ºF to 185ºF (-40ºC to 85ºC)
- Voltage: 3.3v
- Performance: 300X – up to 90MB/s read and 45MB/s write, ultra-high-speed bus I (UHS-I)
Closer Look
I have to admit, Kingston’s move in using black packaging makes this otherwise simple product look more regal and premium.
User Experience & Conclusion
Taking parts of our storage device testing suite, we will be measuring the potential performance of the Kingston SDA10/64GB using ATTO Disk Benchmark and Crystal DiskMark as well as testing with our standard real-world miscellaneous files copy test (3.13GB of random files ranging from 1KB to 8MB with a couple of large files interspersed among the directories). For these  tests we will be using Kingston’s MobileLite Gen 3 USB3.0 card reader.
Kingston’s packaging states that the SDA10/64GB is rated for 90/45MB for read and write respectively. ATTO shows that Kingston is again being a bit humble in their ratings as we can see read performance going upwards of 94MB/s and write speeds reaching 48MB/s. If you’re recording large-resolution, high bitrate videos those numbers are really going to help as you’ll be putting out a lot of data every second. On to Crystal DiskMark:
As with the benchmark prior, we can see some solid performance from the SDA10/64GB from Kingston in Crystal DiskMark. Small file performance is quite excellent also but won’t be that much of a factor in its real-world application. Now for actual real-world testing:
It took the Kingston SDA10/64GB a total of 2 minutes and 38 seconds to accomplish our miscellaneous copy task. That’s quite up there with most upper-mainstream USB3.0 flash drives. Its quite exciting to see these card also cruise along the smaller files in this test.
Using the SDA10/64GB in our Nikon D7000 and NEX-5N was like removing the lingering worry of that “memory card full” signal we get during long photowalks. We actually live-tested the SDA10/64GB during the Chinese New Year, with lion and dragon dances everywhere letting us use the burst and video prowess of our devices. The Kingston SDA10/64GB flexed our cameras further letting us shoot bursts more often and also shoot in RAW.
In closing, the Kingston Digital 64GB SDXC Class 10 UHS-I Ultimate Flash Card (SDA10/64GB)Â is one reliable piece of work. The impressive performance numbers backed by real-world results makes this a great memory card to work with.
Backed by a lifetime warranty, we award the Kingston Digital 64GB SDXC Class 10 UHS-I Ultimate Flash Card (SDA10/64GB) our B2G Silver Award and B2G Value Award.
