SanDisk announces 32GB Class 10 SDHC

SanDisk chose the Photo Marketing Association show in Sydney to debut its latest-generation SDHC card.

(Credit: SanDisk)

In August, the company will ship the new Class 10 32GB cards as SanDisk Extreme SDHC, simultaneously rebranding the current Extreme III line as simply Extreme. The other cards available in lesser capacities (4, 8 and 16GB) will also be upgraded from Class 6 to Class 10.

The Class classification is based on a card's minimum transfer rate. An FAQ published by the company clearly delineates the difference between minimum sustained (Class ratings) and burst transfer rates (maximum attainable speed); video requires a certain level of performance for the former while dSLRs need the latter for optimal burst shooting results. It also points out that past a certain fixed point, the camera or camcorder cannot take advantage of a faster card, though a reader might be able to.

Of course, there are still no Class 10 needy camcorders on the horizon, so for a while these higher-rated cards will only be good for delivering more burst frames in a dSLR or faster reader-to-PC transfers. Which has nothing to do with the Class ratings, but that other transfer rate spec.