Many photographic devices are switching to SD and although the SD cards are very small and not so easy to handle as the compact flash there is nothing really that can be done about it. Everything is just going to get smaller and smaller no matter how loud you might complain.
Sandisk is a quality manufacturer of flash memory and although their products are a little more expensive than the lower tier brands I use sandisk exclusively in my cameras and have not had a problem yet.
Whether you need a Sandisk Ultra II or one of the faster Sandisk Extreme III or Extreme IV really depends on how fast your camera is. For the point and shoot cameras it is unlikely to see a difference with the faster versions and the money will probably be wasted.
This Sandisk Ultra II card is a usb version and the card is folded to allow insertion in a computer at the usb port. Under windows 2000 or XP no drivers are necessary and the card is identified and installed quickly with no problems.
In business it is very useful to have this function because you may be overseas and want to send some photos back to the office using another person's computer or maybe the hotel's computer or indeed to give some photographs to a colleague on their laptop. Card readers usually require some drivers and it is a bit inconvienient to start installing drivers on people's computers just so you can do something one time only.
The SD card has two hinges which allow it to fold. They are very small and initially I believed that they would break easily. However after several months of using this SD card I am convinced that they are sufficiently strong.
Here you can see the usb connector. Of course it is not exactly the same as a normal usb connector and so it is a little more fiddly to insert but quite ok. At the rear of the SD card if you look carefully there is a small led which is of blue colour and flashes when the device is transferring data via usb. It is a nice touch.
When I used the SD card for the first time it actually got stuck in the camera which was incredibly annoying. However it has not happened again so I am still pleased to use this card.
Included with the card is a keyring holder and also the normal type of holder for SD Cards but which can hold the SD card either in open or folded configuration. The speed of use in the camera was fine and also the speed of transfer via usb is very good. Recommended.
