Having recently purchased a DSi and a new compact camera, I’ve been looking at SD memory cards.

My usual stops are MyMemory and Play.com – both provide a good range, cheap price and free P&P. However, after looking through both and noting down the best prices for the various card capacities and speeds, I have some recommendations for anybody else wanting to purchase.

SDHC cards (those are the cards of 4GB capacity and above) have 3 speed ratings – 2, 4 and 6 – 6 being the quickest. However, devices never seem to recommend a particular speed so I always plump for type 6 to be on the safe side.

First of all it’s obvious that the worst price can be found in the lower and upper end of the markets – 1-2GB, 16GB and above. 1-2GB can cost you anything between £2.25 and £4 a GB. From 16GB upwards, it will cost you up to £2.81 a GB. Never-the-less there are still some bargains in the higher range to be had.

I won’t link to each card – first of all, because it will take me an age, but also because prices change as does availability, so by the time you get around to looking at them, it may have all changed. This is simply a guide to give you an idea as to where to aim. Besides the only reason why the highest capacity cards are such poor value is because they’re relatively new to the market – given time their price will drop and as the smaller capacities are chosen less, their cost will go up. Thankfully there is a ceiling as SDHC cards have a maximum 32GB capacity ⁱ.

Star Buy

Let’s start with my star buy – the cheapest price per GB. Play.com sell a 16GB type 4 SDHC card for £17.99. This equates to £1.12 a GB.

Best Buys

Of course, not everybody would want that capacity or speed rating, so let’s see the best in each category (I’ve avoided certain sizes due to lack of availability)…

By Size

Best SD (i.e. 2GB and below) Card – 2GB for £4.49 from Play.com

Best 4GB SDHC Card – Type 4 for £6.49 from Play.com

Best 6GB SDHC Card –  Type 4 for £10.99 from MyMemory

Best 8GB SDHC Card –  Type 4 for £10.49 from Play.com

Best 16GB SDHC Card – Type 4 for £17.99 from Play.com

Best 32GB SDHC Card – Type 4 for £69.99 from Play.com

By Speed Rating

Best Type 2 SDHC Card – 8GB for £11.99 from MyMemory

Best Type 4 SDHC Card – 16GB for £17.99 from Play.com

Best Type 6 SDHC Card – 8GB for £10.99 from Play.com

Complete List

And, finally, here is the complete list of cards sizes and speeds, and the best price for each.

1GB – £3.95 – MyMemory
2GB – £4.49 – Play.com
4GB Type 2 – £6.99 – MyMemory
4GB Type 4 – £6.49 – Play.com
4GB Type 6 – £6.99 – MyMemory
6GB Type 4 – £10.99 – MyMemory
8GB Type 2 – £11.99 – MyMemory
8GB Type 4 – £10.49 – Play.com
8GB Type 6 – £10.99 – Play.com
16GB Type 2 – £34.99 – MyMemory
16GB Type 4 – £17.99 – Play.com
16GB Type 6 – £26.99 – MyMemory
32GB Type 2 – £89.99 – MyMemory
32GB Type 4 – £69.99 – Play.com

1. after that you’ll have to move to the little known SDXC format which has a 2TB capacity – having said that, SDHC can and it’s only the specification that limits this[↩]