My suggestion for the optimum SD Card specs for Olympus Tough are -
SDXC UHS-II, U3, Class 10, V90 With this speed of card you can achieve precise capture with no dropped frames when recording 6K, 4K, Ultra High Definition (UHD), plus high bit rate MPEG-4. They are guaranteed to operate at a maximum read rate of up to 300MB/s and maximum write speed of up to 250MB/s. V90 ensures that write speed will not drop below 90MB/s, which is what is needed to ensure that focus stacking and focus bracketing work well. |
An important (and wonderful) aspect of an Olympus Tough is its ability to undertake focus stacking and focus bracketing "in camera".
To achieve this the Tough needs a very fast SD Card to operate well. Olympus Tough is compatible with SDHC and SDXC cards. That means you can use cards from 4GB all the way to the largest cards currently available, which are 256GB or even 512GB cards. The key is the card speed.
So what is a fast card? Logically, it's one that reads and writes at a fast speed.
What if you don't have a fast card? When you go to use the focus stacking, for example, the camera will lock up and close down.
Write Speed
Write speed is the speed at which memory card can write data from the camera buffer. For beginner still photographers it’s not much of a worry, however it becomes important for photographers who shoot many continuous frames per second or record HD video. If the card is too slow, the camera’s buffer memory will fill and stop recording. If the card is as fast or faster than the camera’s internal buffer, then the only limitation is the camera.
Read Speed
Read speed is the speed at which you can transfer images from the memory card to the computer. And unless you are shooting many images with critical deadlines, this is less important in selecting a card than the write speed.
Speed Ratings:
"X" rating
The “x” rating (i.e. 400x Speed) compares processing times to original recordable CDs (1x = 150 KB/s). This means that a card labeled 40x has a maximum speed of 6 MB/s and a card labeled 400x has a maximum speed of 60 MB/s. Lexar SD cards use the “x” system, SanDisk uses the MB/s system and Delkin uses both. Transcend, on the other hand, only includes the card’s Class rating on their labels (note: Lexar, SanDisk & Delkin also include Class).
Class
The Class system was developed to help simplify card speed ratings. The memory card must meet a minimum processing speed in order to qualify for a particular class. Most new cards on the market are Class 10, which is designated as a 10 with a C around it. That said, a high-quality Class 6 card can also record HD video.
UDMA
UDMA is another maximum speed classification labeled on many CF cards. UDMA 6 cards feature transfer rates up to 133 MB/s, while UDMA 7 cards feature transfer rates up to 167 MB/s.
UHS
UHS speed class can also be found on many SD cards. UHS 1 denotes a 10 MB/s minimum write speed while UHS 3 denotes a 30 MB/s minimum write speed. These are indicated by either a 1 or 3 inside a U.
So, Class and UHS indicate minimum speeds whereas the “x” and UDMA ratings are maximum write speeds.
To achieve this the Tough needs a very fast SD Card to operate well. Olympus Tough is compatible with SDHC and SDXC cards. That means you can use cards from 4GB all the way to the largest cards currently available, which are 256GB or even 512GB cards. The key is the card speed.
So what is a fast card? Logically, it's one that reads and writes at a fast speed.
What if you don't have a fast card? When you go to use the focus stacking, for example, the camera will lock up and close down.
Write Speed
Write speed is the speed at which memory card can write data from the camera buffer. For beginner still photographers it’s not much of a worry, however it becomes important for photographers who shoot many continuous frames per second or record HD video. If the card is too slow, the camera’s buffer memory will fill and stop recording. If the card is as fast or faster than the camera’s internal buffer, then the only limitation is the camera.
Read Speed
Read speed is the speed at which you can transfer images from the memory card to the computer. And unless you are shooting many images with critical deadlines, this is less important in selecting a card than the write speed.
Speed Ratings:
"X" rating
The “x” rating (i.e. 400x Speed) compares processing times to original recordable CDs (1x = 150 KB/s). This means that a card labeled 40x has a maximum speed of 6 MB/s and a card labeled 400x has a maximum speed of 60 MB/s. Lexar SD cards use the “x” system, SanDisk uses the MB/s system and Delkin uses both. Transcend, on the other hand, only includes the card’s Class rating on their labels (note: Lexar, SanDisk & Delkin also include Class).
Class
The Class system was developed to help simplify card speed ratings. The memory card must meet a minimum processing speed in order to qualify for a particular class. Most new cards on the market are Class 10, which is designated as a 10 with a C around it. That said, a high-quality Class 6 card can also record HD video.
UDMA
UDMA is another maximum speed classification labeled on many CF cards. UDMA 6 cards feature transfer rates up to 133 MB/s, while UDMA 7 cards feature transfer rates up to 167 MB/s.
UHS
UHS speed class can also be found on many SD cards. UHS 1 denotes a 10 MB/s minimum write speed while UHS 3 denotes a 30 MB/s minimum write speed. These are indicated by either a 1 or 3 inside a U.
So, Class and UHS indicate minimum speeds whereas the “x” and UDMA ratings are maximum write speeds.