Sandisk Extreme III 4GB SDHC w/Reader - $20 AR (or less)

Mac

Senior member
Oct 31, 1999
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If you are looking for high performance flash media, this is a deal. It was posted over at SlickDeals about a month ago but went out of stock. The rebate is rather steep but true high speed flash memory commands a premium.

Sandisk Extreme III 4GB SDHC

Rebate

To make the deal better, it is a kit that includes the Sandisk SDHC MicroMate reader, a small carrying case for the media and reader, and, Sandisk's RescuePro software utility (for retrieving images/data from corrupted media).

An even better deal, you can purchase up to three cards. The rebate increases to $40 per card for the 2nd and 3rd card. Net price is $40 for three (3) 4GB cards.

There are two options for the rebate: (a) a Visa Debit Card from Sandisk; or (b) an in-store credit (which Adorama will increase the rebate amount by another 10%). I chose the debit card.

Regarding the memory, it is rated as Class 6 (highest for SDHC) but a more accurate description would be Class 6 on steroids. Class 6 means the media is able to write a minimum of 6MB/sec. I have always been somewhat skeptical of premium flash cards but this stuff made me a believer. I ran some informal benchmarks on my computer and it was significantly faster (50 to 60%) than any other memory that I had, even some older SD cards rated at 150X. In fact, I believe my test environment may have been the limiting factor because when I tested two cards, they had identical speed, over 9MB/sec sustained. I believe Sandisk says it will do 20MB/sec but specifies as "sequential read/write". (Note -most media can be read much faster than it can be written).

BTW, I did some comparisons with some other Class 6 rated cards: PQI 8GB; and A-Data "Turbo" 4GB. The Sandisk trounced the PQI, nearly twice the speed and about 15% faster than the A-Data (strong performance for a cheap card).

This memory is not for everyone. Make sure that your device is SDHC compliant and can benefit from the speed. I have a semi-pro 10MP DSLR that can pump out 3.5 FPS. Using this card, it will shoot highest quality jpgs continuously at rated speed until the card is full.

Only downside that I can see is the high rebate. But, if you have a need for this type of memory, then you are probably accustomed to paying full price so the rebate is welcome relief.
 

ChillyPenguin

Member
Dec 20, 2001
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Nice!! Just the deal I have been looking for. I just bought a Nikon D80 and this will be great. The USB reader makes it that much better b/c many built in SD readers on "older" systems will not read SDHC. (Note that XP may require an "untested" Hotfix from M$ to read SDHC with built in readers. I ran into this on my Dell Inspiron 9400.)

Thanks OP.
 

Java Cafe

Senior member
Mar 15, 2005
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Ordered two 8 GB CF cards with a similar deal. But, a little while latr, Adorama wrote back to say, they are backordered. 10-14 days is their estiamte of getting new stock. :-(
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
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I don't know if anyone's still interested in this, but the cards are back in stock as of today. The back order message is gone from the page, and I've ordered 3 cards with no issue so far.
 

RandomFool

Diamond Member
Dec 25, 2001
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www.loofmodnar.com
Cool, Just ordered one. I've been looking to get a nice SD card for my camera, and a USB card reader. Only downside is I won't have it for my trip tomorrow.