Page 1: SD/2GB-U
Intro:
Kingston Technology produces all kinds of memory including RAM for a computer to flash memory. Kingston is pushing harder and harder into the consumer flash market. Kingston sent over their high speed SD flash memory for review and the SD2/2GB-U is really fast.
Why SD?:
Regular SD memory is still very much alive. With capacities up to 2GB, it holds more than enough storage for cameras and such. Regular SD also holds a speed advantage over SDHC. This benefit should resolve itself in time. For now, SD reigns king in terms of high speed. Digital SLRs need speed for continuous shooting.
Packaging:
Kingston's look is blue and it shows in the packaging in the forum of accenting. The product looks also like it was made for a Mac. To most people, that means it is an immediate buy. Clearly this is an evaluation unit.
Parts:
Standard issue for flash memory. A protective case and the memory itself with some instructions on the inside. Who needs them with a plug in and go system?
SD/2GB-U:
So what does the U stand for in the model name? Naturally it means "ultimate" as in really fast. The flash memory itself is a 120X product which means it can handle data transfers at 18000KB/s. This is all theoretical and the testing proves that the module can handle faster speeds. The 120X is the guarantied spec, though. Now you see why SDHC has its drawbacks.
The left side of the card contains the lock slider. Interestingly enough, this is just a mechanical slider and doesn't have anything to do with the electronics of the memory. It is up to the interface to allow or disallow writing to the memory based on this. The card is a standard size SD card which will fit in all SD card slots including SDHC.
The back of the card contains the various specifications and information from annoying government agencies.
Testing:
The SD/2GB-U was tested with the »Lexar RW022 that I reviewed a couple of months ago. I pitted the Kingston part against the rival SanDisk Ultra 2 as well as the normal SanDisk SD part. All memory is regular SD and the size is 2GB. This constitute a fair test as much as it can be. As with the previous SDHC card review, I've added the real world continuous shooting test to the mix. Graph coloring: SD/2GB-U - Blue, SanDisk 2GB - Light Gray, Ultra2 2GB - Dark Gray.
This Kingston part really shines against its competitors. It is an extremely fast card and at this speed is probably saturating the USB data bus. This is very impressive for flash memory. Nearly 20MB/s on reads and writes. Wow.
In the real world testing, my S3 IS could not make this card flinch. The writes on the Ultra 2 are fast enough to keep the continuous mode happy and so goes the same for the SD/2GB-U. The flash memory did not exhibit any drops in performance during testing.
Conclusion:
The Kingston SD/2GB-U can be had for $30. This is a very good price considering that the competition goes for the same for a slower speed and more expensive for the same. This product caters to the high speed flash market for continuous shooting. Newer SLRs are being made with SD instead of CF and these cards really usher in a new wave of photography. Look no further than Kingston's SD/2GB-U for high speed SD memory.
I'd like to thank David from Kingston for making this review possible.
Kingston Technology produces all kinds of memory including RAM for a computer to flash memory. Kingston is pushing harder and harder into the consumer flash market. Kingston sent over their high speed SD flash memory for review and the SD2/2GB-U is really fast.
Why SD?:
Regular SD memory is still very much alive. With capacities up to 2GB, it holds more than enough storage for cameras and such. Regular SD also holds a speed advantage over SDHC. This benefit should resolve itself in time. For now, SD reigns king in terms of high speed. Digital SLRs need speed for continuous shooting.
Packaging:
Kingston's look is blue and it shows in the packaging in the forum of accenting. The product looks also like it was made for a Mac. To most people, that means it is an immediate buy. Clearly this is an evaluation unit.
Parts:
Standard issue for flash memory. A protective case and the memory itself with some instructions on the inside. Who needs them with a plug in and go system?
SD/2GB-U:
So what does the U stand for in the model name? Naturally it means "ultimate" as in really fast. The flash memory itself is a 120X product which means it can handle data transfers at 18000KB/s. This is all theoretical and the testing proves that the module can handle faster speeds. The 120X is the guarantied spec, though. Now you see why SDHC has its drawbacks.
The left side of the card contains the lock slider. Interestingly enough, this is just a mechanical slider and doesn't have anything to do with the electronics of the memory. It is up to the interface to allow or disallow writing to the memory based on this. The card is a standard size SD card which will fit in all SD card slots including SDHC.
The back of the card contains the various specifications and information from annoying government agencies.
Testing:
The SD/2GB-U was tested with the »Lexar RW022 that I reviewed a couple of months ago. I pitted the Kingston part against the rival SanDisk Ultra 2 as well as the normal SanDisk SD part. All memory is regular SD and the size is 2GB. This constitute a fair test as much as it can be. As with the previous SDHC card review, I've added the real world continuous shooting test to the mix. Graph coloring: SD/2GB-U - Blue, SanDisk 2GB - Light Gray, Ultra2 2GB - Dark Gray.
This Kingston part really shines against its competitors. It is an extremely fast card and at this speed is probably saturating the USB data bus. This is very impressive for flash memory. Nearly 20MB/s on reads and writes. Wow.
In the real world testing, my S3 IS could not make this card flinch. The writes on the Ultra 2 are fast enough to keep the continuous mode happy and so goes the same for the SD/2GB-U. The flash memory did not exhibit any drops in performance during testing.
Conclusion:
The Kingston SD/2GB-U can be had for $30. This is a very good price considering that the competition goes for the same for a slower speed and more expensive for the same. This product caters to the high speed flash market for continuous shooting. Newer SLRs are being made with SD instead of CF and these cards really usher in a new wave of photography. Look no further than Kingston's SD/2GB-U for high speed SD memory.
I'd like to thank David from Kingston for making this review possible.