Pentax Memory Card Compatibility
SDHC
- Pentax *ist DS
- Pentax *ist DS2
- Pentax *ist DL
- Pentax *ist DL2
SDXC
- Pentax K-S1
- Pentax K-S2
- UHS-I, U1, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 10MB/s write speeds.
- Excellent choice for photos.
- Capable of recording Full HD (1920x1080) Video.
- Inexpensive with more than good enough performance.
- Larger capacities are available for a reasonable price.
Best SD Cards
The best memory cards I own have been the SanDisk Extreme Pro, Lexar Professional, and PNY Elite Performance models. I have under no circumstances experienced a card failure or unusable data with any of those SD memory cards.
Every single issue I have experienced has been with low-cost unbranded SD memory cards.
A shrewd way to save money is to buy a smaller capacity memory card from a quality supplier. By making that choice, you will know your shots are safe on the SD card.
Recommended SD Cards
- UHS-I, U1, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 10MB/s write speeds.
- Excellent choice for photos.
- Capable of recording Full HD (1920x1080) Video.
- Inexpensive with more than good enough performance.
- Larger capacities are available for a reasonable price.
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 30MB/s write speeds.
- Good for burst shooting photos and recording 4K video.
- Larger capacity cards are available.
- Reliable & Durable: Magnet Proof, Shock Proof, Temperature Proof, Waterproof.
- Comparatively expensive for faster read speeds.
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 30MB/s write speeds.
- Only makes sense for professional use or if you need the largest storage capacity available.
- Temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and X-ray-proof.
Pentax SD Card Compatibility
Check to be sure that you have the most up to date firmware installed on your camera for the best compatibility.
You need to be aware of the four different types of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards that can be used. They can be told apart based on the card’s capactiy.
- SD (Secure Digital) - 128MB to 2GB.
- SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) - 4GB to 32GB.
- SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) - 64GB to 2TB.
- SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity) - 4TB to 128TB.
Image Capacity
Listed below is a fast approximation of the total number of max-quality JPEGs photographs you can be expecting to store on a SD memory card:
- 16GB - 4,640 images
- 32GB - 9,280 images
- 64GB - 18,560 images
- 128GB - 37,120 images
Speed, Class, & UHS Ratings
Card Speed
Speed ratings of an SD card is classified by the sequential read and write speeds. SD card speed is critical for video as well as continuous shooting.
A slow memory card can cut down the number of continuous photos a camera can take. This is due to the camera’s buffer not being able to write to the card quickly enough.
With video, a slow SD card can cause recording to stop. The video file could also end up being corrupted. If you are going to capture video, it is critical the memory card you use meets the requirements of the camera.
Read speed is important for file transfers to a computer. If you have cards that are full, a memory card with a fast read speed will cut down on the time it takes the transfer to finish.
Speed Class Rating
The sustained write speed of an SD card is represented by the Class rating. Cards that have a minimum write speed of 10MB/s are labeled as Class 10.
- Class 2 - 2MB/s
- Class 4 - 4MB/s
- Class 6 - 6MB/s
- Class 8 - 8MB/s
- Class 10 - 10MB/s or faster
Every name-brand SD card that you can purchase will receive a Class 10 rating. To determine the class rating of a memory card, look for a number inside of the C on the front label.
Ultra High Speed (UHS)
The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus is often found in SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC cards. The UHS bus memory cards to achieve faster write speeds.
There are 3 separate specs. They are called UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.
Look at the front of the SD card to figure out the rating of a card. If the card has UHS, a Roman numeral I, II, or III can be seen on the front of the memory card.
- UHS-I - Maximum transfer rate of 104 MB/s
- UHS-II - Maximum transfer rate of 312 MB/s
- UHS-III - Maximum transfer rate of 624 MB/s