{"id":1876,"date":"2014-05-13T09:26:25","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T19:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/suggestionofmotion.com\/auto-draft\/"},"modified":"2014-09-11T13:29:47","modified_gmt":"2014-09-11T23:29:47","slug":"panasonic-gh4-memory-card-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suggestionofmotion.com\/blog\/panasonic-gh4-memory-card-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Transcend 64GB U3 SD Card Speed Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"

With bitrates as high as 200mbps<\/strong> on the GH4, Panasonic recommends using only UHS Speed Class 3<\/strong> SD cards to maintain the necessary write speed. Do you really need to buy a stack of new cards to get the most out of the GH4? Let’s find out.<\/p>\n

UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) SD cards must maintain a minimum<\/em> write speed of 30MB\/s (or 240mbps), so it sure does sound like the right fit for the GH4’s high bitrates.<\/p>\n

I recently picked up a Transcend 64GB U3 card so I decided to run some speed tests to find out just how this new card stacks up to my stable of trusty class 10 cards.<\/p>\n

\"Class<\/a><\/p>\n

Our Story Continues<\/h2>\n

When we last left off<\/a>, I was attempting to shoot 4K video (100mbps) with the GH4 using a mere class 10 card. The speedy U3 card I ordered had yet to arrive, so my only choice was to shoot with my existing cards.<\/p>\n

\"Class<\/a><\/p>\n

I peeked through parted fingers that shielded my eyes from sudden flames as the red record light appeared on the GH4’s LCD screen.<\/p>\n

Then the red dot disappeared.<\/p>\n

Then the red dot blinked back into existence. I stared in awe as the GH4’s red record light continued to blink on and off in this fashion as the camera continued to record 4K to the class 10 card.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic<\/a><\/p>\n

10 seconds passed, then 20 seconds, then 1 minute. I expected to see the dreaded “write error” message at any moment, but no error came. The GH4 kept chugging along and recording 4K video at 100mbps without a skipping a beat.<\/p>\n

I shot in several of modes– 4K (100mbps), 1080P\/96fps (100mbps), and 1080\/24P (100mbps). I waved the camera around to stress the codec as much as possible, but the GH4 just kept on recording without the slightest hint of a problem.<\/p>\n

Now for the real<\/em> test– 1080P @ 200mbps. Surely no lowly class 10 card would hold up under such a high bitrate.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic<\/a><\/p>\n

I switched to the 200mbps mode and started recording. Everything started off fine, and then…it just kept on going<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic<\/a><\/p>\n

A lowly class 10 card with no mention of “Extreme” or “Ultra” in its name was recording 200mbps video on the GH4 without breaking a sweat.<\/p>\n

After 10 minutes, I stopped the recording. The GH4 surely wasn’t going to do it for me.<\/p>\n

Test Time<\/h2>\n

How can this be? A 32GB card that costs less than $20 works just as well as a spiffy new U3 card that Panasonic is telling us to get, what’s the big idea?<\/p>\n

The only way to be certain that this wasn’t a fluke was to test the cards in a controlled way, so I fired up Crystal DiskMark to benchmark the read\/write speed of the different SD cards.<\/p>\n

\"Crystal<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite having just witnessed the impossible, more big surprises were still to come.<\/p>\n

Transcend 32GB (Class 10)<\/h2>\n

\"Transcend<\/a><\/p>\n