The Ultra 40MB/s is the value choice in SD card storage from SanDisk. This Class 10 UHS-I compliant memory card supports a read speed of 40MB/s and write speed of at least 10MB/s. The Ultra SD is available in many capacities: 8, 16, 32 SDHC and 64 and 128GB SDXC. This review is for the SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB SDHC card.
When testing the SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB card the initial sample was found to have an unexpectedly high write speed. Because of this apparent anomaly, additional samples were obtained from different sources. After testing multiple samples it appears the high write speed may not be typical. Results for three different cards are included below.
The SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s cards were tested in a variety of USB 3.0 SD card readers. The read speed measured up to 47MB/s which is comfortably above the advertised speed. The write speed varied in different samples of the card. The first sample (Card 1) had significantly higher write speed than specification and reached 45MB/s sequential write. This is essentially the same as the SanDisk Extreme 45MB/s SD Card that was discontinued in late 2014. It is notably faster than the Ultra 64GB card and other Ultra cards that average between 15-20MB/s write speed. The card with unusual write speed has a manufacture date is 11/2014 and the product name encoded in the card (SL32G) is consistent with an Ultra card. The second and third sample cards had later manufacture dates. Both cards 2 and 3 had maximum write speeds between 19 to 20 MB/s.
Card: SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 1
Benchmark: CrystalDiskMark 3.0.3 x64
Program settings: 1000 MB, 5 passes, random test data
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.40GHz
RAM: 32GB DDR3 1600
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 1 Card Reader Benchmarks | Seq. Read 1000MB MB/s | Seq. Write 1000MB MB/s | Rand. Read 512KB MB/s | Rand. Write 512KB MB/s | Rand. Read 4KB MB/s QD1 | Rand. Read 4KB IOPS QD1 | Rand. Write 4KB MB/s QD1 | Rand. Write 4KB IOPS QD1 | Rand. Read 4KB MB/s QD32 | Rand. Read 4KB IOPS QD32 | Rand. Write 4KB MB/s QD32 | Rand. Write 4KB IOPS QD32 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lexar Professional Workflow SR1 | 47.878 | 45.570 | 45.656 | 40.460 | 9.237 | 2255.0 | 3.046 | 743.6 | 7.050 | 1721.1 | 2.373 | 579.3 |
Transcend SD Card Reader RDF5 Black | 47.780 | 45.474 | 45.656 | 40.233 | 7.111 | 1736.0 | 2.486 | 607.0 | 5.932 | 1448.3 | 2.304 | 562.5 |
Lexar LRWM04U-7000 UHS-II Reader | 47.754 | 45.025 | 46.527 | 40.015 | 9.912 | 2419.8 | 3.066 | 748.6 | 7.386 | 1803.3 | 2.293 | 559.9 |
Lexar Professional Workflow SR2 UHS-II | 47.752 | 44.673 | 46.185 | 39.936 | 10.086 | 2462.4 | 3.055 | 745.9 | 7.401 | 1807.0 | 2.293 | 559.8 |
Kingston MobileLite G4 UHS-II | 47.738 | 44.969 | 46.314 | 39.969 | 9.756 | 2381.7 | 3.051 | 744.9 | 7.256 | 1771.4 | 2.343 | 572.0 |
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II SD Reader/Writer | 47.725 | 45.032 | 46.489 | 39.989 | 10.283 | 2510.4 | 3.042 | 742.7 | 7.388 | 1803.6 | 2.382 | 581.5 |
Kingston FCR-HS4 Card Reader | 47.606 | 44.719 | 46.223 | 39.995 | 10.044 | 2452.1 | 3.051 | 744.8 | 7.370 | 1799.3 | 2.349 | 573.5 |
Lexar Professional Dual Slot Reader | 47.531 | 45.642 | 46.336 | 40.518 | 9.485 | 2315.8 | 3.909 | 954.3 | 7.233 | 1765.8 | 1.797 | 438.7 |
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF8 Black | 47.498 | 45.602 | 46.299 | 40.544 | 9.687 | 2365.1 | 3.518 | 858.8 | 7.291 | 1780.1 | 1.771 | 432.3 |
Kingston Multi-Card Reader FCR-HS3 | 47.178 | 42.796 | 38.352 | 32.876 | 10.375 | 2532.9 | 3.044 | 743.2 | 7.385 | 1803.0 | 2.324 | 567.4 |
SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One USB 3.0 | 46.880 | 44.416 | 43.337 | 37.663 | 5.307 | 1295.7 | 2.211 | 539.8 | 4.680 | 1142.7 | 2.063 | 503.5 |
Card: SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 2
Benchmark: CrystalDiskMark 3.0.3 x64
Program settings: 1000 MB, 5 passes, random test data
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.40GHz
RAM: 32GB DDR3 1600
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 2 Card Reader Benchmarks | Seq. Read 1000MB MB/s | Seq. Write 1000MB MB/s | Rand. Read 512KB MB/s | Rand. Write 512KB MB/s | Rand. Read 4KB MB/s QD1 | Rand. Read 4KB IOPS QD1 | Rand. Write 4KB MB/s QD1 | Rand. Write 4KB IOPS QD1 | Rand. Read 4KB MB/s QD32 | Rand. Read 4KB IOPS QD32 | Rand. Write 4KB MB/s QD32 | Rand. Write 4KB IOPS QD32 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Transcend SD Card Reader RDF5 Black | 47.802 | 19.882 | 45.834 | 11.478 | 4.675 | 1141.3 | 0.852 | 208.0 | 4.942 | 1206.6 | 0.948 | 231.4 |
Lexar Professional Workflow SR1 | 47.802 | 19.988 | 45.916 | 10.144 | 5.484 | 1338.8 | 0.927 | 226.4 | 6.145 | 1500.2 | 1.022 | 249.6 |
Lexar Professional Workflow SR2 UHS-II | 47.393 | 20.015 | 45.524 | 8.056 | 5.916 | 1444.3 | 0.931 | 227.3 | 6.655 | 1624.8 | 1.049 | 256.1 |
Lexar LRWM04U-7000 UHS-II Reader | 47.393 | 19.914 | 45.620 | 9.322 | 6.150 | 1501.5 | 0.942 | 229.9 | 6.697 | 1635.0 | 1.036 | 252.9 |
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF9 | 47.291 | 19.897 | 45.686 | 7.751 | 6.037 | 1473.9 | 0.915 | 223.3 | 6.694 | 1634.2 | 1.030 | 251.4 |
Kingston FCR-HS4 Card Reader | 47.284 | 20.028 | 45.554 | 1.643 | 5.931 | 1448.1 | 0.932 | 227.5 | 6.675 | 1629.7 | 1.033 | 252.3 |
Delkin Travel Reader | 47.263 | 19.868 | 45.093 | 7.693 | 5.990 | 1462.5 | 0.940 | 229.4 | 6.718 | 1640.2 | 1.050 | 256.4 |
Lexar Professional Dual Slot Reader | 47.248 | 20.001 | 45.819 | 8.447 | 5.619 | 1371.8 | 0.934 | 228.1 | 6.266 | 1529.8 | 1.041 | 254.1 |
Delkin Dual Slot SD UHS-II and CF Card Reader | 47.246 | 20.003 | 45.634 | 7.121 | 6.079 | 1484.2 | 0.938 | 228.9 | 6.737 | 1644.7 | 1.036 | 252.9 |
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF8 Black | 47.235 | 19.615 | 45.804 | 5.650 | 5.540 | 1352.6 | 0.888 | 216.9 | 6.243 | 1524.3 | 0.981 | 239.5 |
Lexar Professional Dual Slot UHS-II Card Reader | 47.235 | 19.908 | 45.598 | 9.678 | 5.889 | 1437.8 | 0.892 | 217.9 | 6.662 | 1626.4 | 1.019 | 248.8 |
Delkin Universal Memory Card Reader | 47.227 | 19.552 | 45.901 | 5.880 | 5.515 | 1346.5 | 0.894 | 218.1 | 6.382 | 1558.1 | 1.014 | 247.5 |
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II SD Reader/Writer | 47.223 | 19.925 | 45.510 | 7.761 | 5.914 | 1443.8 | 0.942 | 230.1 | 6.721 | 1640.8 | 1.038 | 253.4 |
Kingston MobileLite G4 UHS-II | 47.184 | 19.813 | 45.495 | 8.175 | 5.903 | 1441.2 | 0.610 | 148.9 | 6.641 | 1621.3 | 0.646 | 157.8 |
Kingston Multi-Card Reader FCR-HS3 | 46.755 | 19.636 | 37.799 | 5.529 | 5.906 | 1441.9 | 0.934 | 228.0 | 6.679 | 1630.6 | 1.035 | 252.7 |
Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 / SD UHS-II Card Reader | 46.525 | 19.914 | 44.642 | 5.393 | 5.499 | 1342.5 | 0.708 | 172.8 | 6.460 | 1577.1 | 0.769 | 187.7 |
SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One USB 3.0 | 46.366 | 19.520 | 42.514 | 5.180 | 3.810 | 930.2 | 0.820 | 200.1 | 4.012 | 979.6 | 0.896 | 218.7 |
Card: SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 3
Benchmark: CrystalDiskMark 3.0.3 x64
Program settings: 1000 MB, 5 passes, random test data
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.40GHz
RAM: 32GB DDR3 1600
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 3 Card Reader Benchmarks | Seq. Read 1000MB MB/s | Seq. Write 1000MB MB/s | Rand. Read 512KB MB/s | Rand. Write 512KB MB/s | Rand. Read 4KB MB/s QD1 | Rand. Read 4KB IOPS QD1 | Rand. Write 4KB MB/s QD1 | Rand. Write 4KB IOPS QD1 | Rand. Read 4KB MB/s QD32 | Rand. Read 4KB IOPS QD32 | Rand. Write 4KB MB/s QD32 | Rand. Write 4KB IOPS QD32 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Transcend SD Card Reader RDF5 Black | 47.904 | 19.693 | 45.760 | 8.456 | 4.611 | 1125.8 | 0.854 | 208.4 | 4.965 | 1212.2 | 0.953 | 232.7 |
Lexar Professional Workflow SR1 | 47.810 | 19.774 | 45.908 | 8.767 | 5.481 | 1338.1 | 0.922 | 225.2 | 6.149 | 1501.2 | 1.018 | 248.6 |
Lexar LRWM04U-7000 UHS-II Reader | 47.398 | 19.670 | 45.532 | 8.622 | 5.981 | 1460.1 | 0.935 | 228.2 | 6.645 | 1622.2 | 1.028 | 250.9 |
Lexar Professional Workflow SR2 UHS-II | 47.395 | 19.730 | 45.819 | 11.431 | 6.283 | 1533.9 | 0.932 | 227.6 | 6.796 | 1659.2 | 1.040 | 253.8 |
Lexar Professional Dual Slot Reader | 47.342 | 19.822 | 45.916 | 7.748 | 5.653 | 1380.2 | 0.929 | 226.7 | 6.437 | 1571.6 | 1.015 | 247.7 |
Kingston FCR-HS4 Card Reader | 47.242 | 19.799 | 45.524 | 7.790 | 5.901 | 1440.7 | 0.921 | 224.9 | 6.708 | 1637.8 | 1.044 | 254.8 |
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II SD Reader/Writer | 47.227 | 19.730 | 45.510 | 7.742 | 5.791 | 1413.8 | 0.938 | 228.9 | 6.690 | 1633.3 | 1.038 | 253.5 |
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF8 Black | 47.225 | 19.760 | 45.797 | 10.063 | 5.628 | 1374.1 | 0.882 | 215.4 | 6.209 | 1515.9 | 0.982 | 239.8 |
Kingston MobileLite G4 UHS-II | 47.184 | 19.719 | 45.499 | 7.736 | 5.959 | 1454.8 | 0.928 | 226.6 | 6.703 | 1636.6 | 1.035 | 252.7 |
Kingston Multi-Card Reader FCR-HS3 | 46.743 | 19.778 | 37.774 | 7.556 | 6.031 | 1472.5 | 0.933 | 227.8 | 6.672 | 1629.0 | 1.046 | 255.4 |
SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One USB 3.0 | 46.370 | 19.725 | 42.508 | 7.504 | 3.810 | 930.2 | 0.819 | 199.9 | 4.021 | 981.6 | 0.892 | 217.8 |
The performance of Card 1 and Card 2 were tested in cameras. As in the benchmark test, Card 1 card performed similar to the Extreme 45MB/s card. Both Ultra 32GB Card 1 and Card 2 were tested in the Canon T6i and T6s. Their performance was markedly different. Card 2 averaged 18.8 MB/s write speed, whereas Card 1 averaged 41.0 MB/s. Because the Card 1 sample does not appear typical of Ultra 40MB/s cards, it will not be included in future tests. Instead, Card 2 will be included in future camera tests.
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 1 Tested in Camera | Write Speed (MB/s) |
---|---|
Canon Rebel T6i/T6s | 41.0 |
Nikon D7200 | 40.7 |
Nikon D7100 | 39.9 |
Nikon D5500 | 39.9 |
Olympus E-M5 II | 38.1 |
Sony A6000 | 35.2 |
Cameras tested with this card: Canon Rebel T6i/T6s, Nikon D7200, Nikon D7100, Nikon D5500, Olympus E-M5 II, Sony A6000
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 2 Tested in Camera | Write Speed (MB/s) |
---|---|
Canon 80D | 18.8 |
Canon Rebel T6i/T6s | 18.8 |
Canon 5D Mark IV | 18.6 |
Fuji X-Pro2 | 18.5 |
Canon 5Ds | 18.4 |
Pentax K-3 II | 17.6 |
Nikon D500 | 17.6 |
Sony A7R II | 17.3 |
Sony A6300 | 16.8 |
Olympus PEN-F | 13.5 |
Fuji X-T10 | 8.4 |
Cameras tested with this card: Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 5Ds, Canon 80D, Canon Rebel T6i/T6s, Fuji X-Pro2, Fuji X-T10, Nikon D500, Olympus PEN-F, Pentax K-3 II, Sony A7R II, Sony A6300
Comparing the internal card information between samples, the cards differ in manufacture date. Card 1 has a different total capacity from the other two samples. Curiously, the capacity of Card 1 is identical to that of the Extreme 45MB/s 32GB card, with which it shares performance characteristics.
The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 1 SD — Internal Card Information | |
---|---|
Serial number (PSN) | 262702444 |
Product Name (PNM) | SL32G |
Product Revision | 8.0 |
Manufacturer ID (MID) | 0x000003 |
OEM ID (OID) | SD |
Manufacture Date (MDT) | 11/2014 |
Total capacity | 31,914,983,424 bytes |
The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 2 SD — Internal Card Information | |
---|---|
Serial number (PSN) | 1448088957 |
Product Name (PNM) | SL32G |
Product Revision | 8.0 |
Manufacturer ID (MID) | 0x000003 |
OEM ID (OID) | SD |
Manufacture Date (MDT) | 03/2015 |
Total capacity | 31,925,993,472 bytes |
The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 3 SD — Internal Card Information | |
---|---|
Serial number (PSN) | 537003831 |
Product Name (PNM) | SL32G |
Product Revision | 8.0 |
Manufacturer ID (MID) | 0x000003 |
OEM ID (OID) | SD |
Manufacture Date (MDT) | 04/2015 |
Total capacity | 31,925,993,472 bytes |
Compare prices on the SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s card. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below. Prices are updated daily.
Card | Size GB | Lowest $ / GB | Prices | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amazon | B&H Photo | Adorama | |||
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s SD | 8 | $1.25 | $9.99 | Check price | Check price |
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s SD | 16 | $0.75 | $11.99 | Check price | |
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s SD | 32 | $0.27 | $8.49 | Check price | Check price |
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s SD | 64 | $0.20 | $13.00 | Check price | Check price |
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s SD | 128 | N/A | Check price | Check price | Check price |