Canon FS100 - Advice needed on SD Cards

[DJT75]

Newbie to camcorders.

I've just ordered a Canon FS100, pick it up tomorrow.

I'm readind reviews on SD cards on Amazon & finding not all work in all devices, or some don't work in Card Readers. Not too sure who accurate these reviews are but obviously don't want to waste my cash.

Can anyone advise on a decent quality SD card for this camcorder that'll work in a card reader also?

Also - how much recording will a get from a 1GB? I'm looking at 8GB cards at the moment, possibly a 16GB.

thanks

[A n d r e w]

Can anyone advise on a decent quality SD card for this camcorder that'll work in a card reader also?

Any SDHC-compliant card will work (Secure Digital High Capacity as opposed to the original Secure Digital). Not sure which "class" is recommended for the FS100. Class 4 is adequate for AVCHD (high definition) camcorders, so should be fine for your camcorder, too. Check the instruction manual, which can be downloaded from the Canon website as a PDF if you haven't sone do already.

Also - how much recording will a get from a 1GB? I'm looking at 8GB cards at the moment, possibly a 16GB.

I hear it's about 2 hours on an 8GB card for the FS100. The instruction manual should tell you that, too.

Andrew.

[DJT75]

Thanks.

How does the whole "Class" thing work - what's the difference?

[A n d r e w]

On SDHC write speeds (and SD cards in general) see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card#SDHC

While class 4 is probably adequate for the FS100, buying a faster card (e.g., class 6) might increase the speed of transferring clips from the card to your computer using a card reader, as has been discussed in a similar thread. But read speeds vary even within single classes; another variable is access speed. So no hard-and-fast rules.

[DJT75]

Beautiful.....thanks

So the SDHC 8GB Class 6 card I've found for a tenner on Amazon will do the trick nicely for 5 hours recording.

cheers

[luxlondon]

i got 16gb class 6 video recording time from 4 to over 10 hours

[daz4590]

my 32gb card will do over 7hrs on best quality in my FS100

[yshreberk]

Hello guys
My question is, should a Class2 card is also adequate for this camera recording at highest qulaity (XP)?

[daz4590]

Originally Posted by yshreberk

Hello guys
My question is, should a Class2 card is also adequate for this camera recording at highest qulaity (XP)?

I'm not sure. I think any card will work but I would recommend a Class 4 minimum so you have no problems.

[Spy]

I bought one the other day.

Picked up a Transcend 16Gb Class 6 card for £17.99 delivered here 7 Day Shop

They also have the 8gb Class 6 card for £9.99

[akkers]

If you want to use you cam at full resolution then you need a class 6 card.

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by akkers

If you want to use you cam at full resolution then you need a class 6 card.

I very much doubt that. Class 4 is adequate even for HD camcorders which record at up to 17mbps. The highest quality setting on the FS100 is only 9mbps.

A glance at the relevant page of the manual would settle the matter.

Andrew.

[akkers]

If you insert any card lower than class 6 in the HF100 you get an error message that you cannot use the highest resolution.

[yshreberk]

Originally Posted by akkers

If you insert any card lower than class 6 in the HF100 you get an error message that you cannot use the highest resolution.

Originally Posted by A n d r e w

A glance at the relevant page of the manual would settle the matter.

Andrew.

the manual mentions only class 2, without regard to video quality.
SP is 6Mbps, XP is 9Mbps. so a class 2 card (which guaranteed a 2Mbps) sure cannot be adequate for XP (or even SP?!?!) - or am i wrong about it?

[RenaultSport]

Originally Posted by akkers

If you insert any card lower than class 6 in the HF100 you get an error message that you cannot use the highest resolution.

Dont you mean class 4? This is what the manual sais.