Product Description

4 GB Extreme III SD Card (SDSDRX3-4096-A21)

Product Details

• Brand: SanDisk
• Model: SDSDRX3-4096-A21
• Dimensions: .80" h x .80" w x .5" l, .33 pounds

Features

• One of the fastest, most rugged and most durable memory cards on the market
• Minimum 20 MBps sequential read and write speed
• Built to work under extreme conditions, including extreme temperatures and high altitudes
• RescuePRO recovers images, documents, mail, video, music and other digital files

From the Manufacturer
Serious professional photographers who demand one of the fastest, most rugged, and most durable memory cards on the market should choose the SanDisk Extreme III SD card. Built to work under the most challenging conditions, with SanDisk Extreme III you’ll get more speed, better performance, and unmatched reliability.

That’s because only SanDisk Extreme III memory cards feature innovative ESP Technology for the fastest speeds and highest performance. ESP stands for "Enhanced Super-Parallel Processing". Simply put, it means you are getting the fastest read/write speeds available – an amazing minimum 20MB per second sequential read and write speed – speed you’ll definitely appreciate whenever you find yourself shooting and storing pictures in harsh environments, extreme temperatures or at high altitudes.

Every SanDisk Extreme III SD card comes with RescuePRO so you can recover images, documents, mail, video, music – just about any digital file, with ease. Built with leading-edge media recovery algorithms, RescuePRO lets you preview recoverable data before you try to retrieve it. With RescuePro’s unique recovery algorithm for MPEG audio and MPEG video recovery (MPEG-1/2/3) what you see, and what you hear, is what you can recover.

Advanced Features:

• Fast 20 MBps sequential Read/Write speeds
• Ideal for demanding photo shoots under severe weather conditions – heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, etc
• Durable, reliable and thoroughly tested for heat, cold, shock and vibration
• Class 6 speed performance rating (based on SD 2.0 specifications)
• RescuePRO data recovery software - ensures your photos will always be there
• SanDisk's lifetime limited warranty

What is SDHC?

To support the higher capacity needs, SD cards are now requiring a different design. The new SD 2.0 specifications which supports 4GB and up, is called Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC). The SD Association has created and defined 3 speed classes to help you identify speed and performance capabilities/minimum requirements of SDHC cards and their SDHC host products.

Cards address data (read and write) at numerous speeds. Many factors impede this performance. SDHC guarantees a minimum read and write speed necessary to handle recording high quality video and audio. The maximum card speed may vary, but you can always depend on SDHC cards to meet your SDHC host product's high quality performance requirements.

SDHC Compatibility Information

Because SDHC works differently (supports the new higher capacity cards) this new card format is not backwards compatible with legacy SD format host devices.

Customer Reviews

Sandisk Extreme III 4 GB SDHC Card with MicroMate Reader - Great SD Set for SDHC Compatible Devices
The SanDisk 4 GB Extreme III SDHC Card with MicroMate USB 2.0 Reader is a great set. Sandisk cards average about $15 to $20 more per card than some of the off-brands like transcend and dane-elec. If you don't have an SDHC reader, this set includes a reader for your computers that aren't SDHC compatible. If not you can just transfer your pics directly from your camera with your card still inserted.In general I would still choose SanDisk over that one or even over PNY and Kingston.

As long as your devices are compatible with the SDHC format, this card is a great buy. 4 GB is a nice size though I do prefer 8 GB capacity for high capacity storage. Sandisk is generally very reliable in honoring their warrantees, though I have yet to have an issue with their SD or SDHC memory cards.

The class 6 speed is the fastest speed available in mass market SDHC cards. Class 6 guarantees minimum transfer speeds of 6 MBs, but I've gotten speeds up to 20Mbs! That's based upon sequential reads and writes, which isn't totally realistic but still possible to attain in some circumstances. That makes this card perfect for storing pictures in RAW image formats.


General SDHC and SD Card Tips

There are a few tips that I've learned the hard way through buying TOO MANY different memory cards.
1. Make sure your device is compatible with the card! Even in regular SD cards, some older electronics aren't compatible with that large of a size (2 GB). In terms of SDHC cards, make sure your camera or other device is SDHC compatible. SDHC is different from regular SD and only newer devices tend to have built-in compatibility
2. Once you install this in your camera or device, you will generally want to format the card with your compatible device's interface. That is because the standard formats for certain devices, particularly Canon, are different from the factory installed format
3. Just like your devices, most computer SD card readers are not compatible with the SDHC format. So use a card reader or download the pictures via USB connection to the camera with the card still installed.
4. For some reason, placing the card in the locked position allows some older laptops to still read it. This is just to be used in a pinch however, and it won't apply to all systems
5. If you did not properly format your card, you may be able to save things to it and then have them "disappear." If this happens to you, make sure you use the software recovery tools BEFORE you try to save anything else to your card. That way, you can retrieve your images without over-writing them.
6. Make sure you know what you are going to use this card for. Once you have set up everything and ensured it's all compatible, you still have to decide on speed. If you are using this for storing RAW images instead of JPEGs or HD video, step up to the faster class 6 speed format if you can afford it.
7. If you are going to pay more for a faster speed, make sure your device can benefit from it. For example, some Kodak cameras are set to a fixed voltage and cannot go faster than standard speed. So the extra cash spent on Class 4, 5, or 6 is basically wasted.

Conclusion

It's great to start off your SDHC card collection with a set like this that includes a spare reader. It's also a good idea to have several extra cards on hand just in case. This 4 GB card is a nice performer. If you have a high capacity camera (10 Megapixels or more) and are storing videos or RAW images, the extra cash for the 8GB card is worth it. Or you may want to step up to the larger 16 GB size that is now available.

Enjoy!

This SD card just works!
For anyone with a fast 10-megapixel camera that accepts high-capacity SDHC cards (check with your manufacturer!), this choice is a no-brainer! Nikon USA reassuringly has this specific card on their "approved" list for the D80 and other recent DSLR models.

Shooting in high-quality RAW format, capacity is now up to 326 images (or more), meaning less chance of running out of image storage -- usually at the worst possible moment -- when you're paying more attention to the scene before you rather than the image count-down indicator. And if you shoot in .jpg format, you now have a virtual warehouse for your images. The free USB reader is a bonus, allowing for quick, reliable image transfers to your hard drive, Mac or Win.

The downside? As of June, 2007, these cards are still relatively expensive and in scarce supply. But, based upon past SD card history, it should become a non-issue over the coming months. Still, if you want speed, reliability AND capacity for your new digital camera NOW, this card is worth the price.

20 MB per second, no kidding!
This device does exactly what it claims and a bit more. Every other memory card I have benchmarked has been overrated, many shamelessly. Sandisk claims 20 MB/s and I measured 20.1 with HD tach, with a 20.2 burst rate! My digital pictures are 18 MB so I definitely need the speed and Sandisk Extreme III brings home the bacon. Well done!