14 DAY TRIAL // Without a doubt, photographers and videographers who really want to push their digital cameras or camcorders to the limit require some ultra-fast memory cards that will help them achieve this goal, and that's exactly the type of product Kingston released at CES 2011, namely the SDHC UHS-I UltimateXX memory cards.
Available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models, Kingston’s UltimateXX line complies with the SD Association standards for the UHS-I speed class, meaning that it can reach some pretty impressive speeds, of up to 60MB/sec. read and 35MB/sec. write (which means that they're roughly three times faster than SDHC Class 10 cards).
These high read and write speeds will prove to be quite a boon for photographers, who'll be able to take high-speed sequential shots, but also for videographers, who'll be able to safely record HD video onto them.
The new memory cards from Kingston are compatible with SDHC and SDXC host devices, and although they work best when paired with a UHS-I device, they are also backwards compatible with Class 4, 6 and 10 equipment.
It's also important to mention that these cards sport a built-in write-protect switch that prevents accidental data loss and have the exact same dimensions and normal SD cards, namely 0.94" x 1.25" x 0.08" (24mm x 32mm x 2.1mm) and a weight of 0.09oz (2.5g).
“Kingston is pleased to be one of the first manufacturers to offer SDHC UHS-I memory cards to our customers,” said Mike Kuppinger, Flash card product manager, Kingston.
“Being a member of the SD Association enhances our ability to bring new technology to market. As the devices that support SDHC UHS-I become prevalent, our UltimateXX cards are at the ready,” Mr. Kuppinger concluded.
Naturally, pricing for these super-fast cards is also pretty high, since one will have to pay around 70 US dollars for the 8GB model, 180 US dollars for the 16GB version and a whopping $349.99 for the top-range 32GB card.