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Kingston Class 10 UHS-I 256GB SDXC Memory Card Review

Kingston Class 10 UHS-I 256GB SDXC Memory Card Front

Introduction

The Kingston Class 10 UHS-I 256GB SDXC card offers 90MB/s read and 45MB/s write speeds. The card is model number SDA10/256GB. The Class 10 card is UHS-I compatible to work in a range of high performance digital cameras and devices. The card is also offered in 16, 32, 64, 128 and 512 GB capacities.

The card label has an anti-counterfeit Kingston logo that changes in appearance depending on viewing angle. The card also has a yellow write protect slider. The bottom of the card is etched with batch numbers and states the card was made in Taiwan. Kingston backs the card with a lifetime warranty.

Kingston Class 10 UHS-I 256GB SDXC Memory Card Back

Performance

In benchmark testing, the Kingston Class 10 UHS-I card reached up to 90.8 MB/s sequential read speed. The sequential write speed measured 47.8 MB/s in the fastest test. Both numbers are just about the specified speeds of 90 MB/s read and 45 MB/s write.

Card: Kingston Class 10 256GB
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

Kingston Class 10 256GB
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 LRWM04U-7000 UHS-II Reader90.83347.52970.6170.6708.4762069.30.30474.28.7982147.80.24660.0
Delkin Travel Reader90.74745.02570.5010.6708.4912073.10.17643.08.5012075.50.17542.7
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II USB-C Reader SDDR-40990.63747.30169.7890.7075.4361327.10.33180.95.9591454.90.20850.7
Lexar Professional Workflow SR2 UHS-II90.52747.47370.2480.6708.5132078.30.19748.08.7912146.20.16339.9
Sony S1 High Speed UHS-II Reader/Writer90.36344.70270.2820.6445.2251275.70.18745.75.6771385.90.15738.2
Hama USB 3.0 UHS-II SD Card Reader90.25446.75770.0870.7197.1121736.30.18946.28.5782094.20.15237.1
SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II Reader/Writer90.13047.68470.0870.6515.7221397.00.26965.75.8161419.90.15136.9
SanDisk ImageMate Pro Multi-Card Reader/Writer90.12347.22369.7080.6855.3331301.90.23457.25.7311399.30.20048.9
Delkin Black Rugged Card Reader90.00744.82269.9280.6405.0781239.70.23356.95.6271373.80.20249.4
DriverGenius USB 3.1(G1) / 3.0 UHS-II SD Card Reader89.95247.22771.2730.7746.6271618.00.19447.37.6191860.10.20951.1
Hama USB Type-C 3.1 UHS-II SD Card Reader89.85246.78069.5460.6637.8241910.10.19748.28.9452183.80.16640.5
SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II USB-C Reader89.82145.63470.1560.6705.6711384.60.26364.25.8491428.10.18445.0
Kingston FCR-HS4 Card Reader89.79847.53770.1560.6698.4912073.10.19748.28.5622090.30.15137.0
Delkin Multi-Card CFast SD UHS-II microSD Reader89.70647.58770.4900.6188.3882047.90.19748.08.6862120.70.16841.0
ProMaster Professional Dual Card Reader SD UHS-II89.56845.67670.3630.6718.5432085.80.27767.78.8102151.00.22755.4
Lexar Professional Dual Slot UHS-II Card Reader89.54547.47770.3860.6698.4012050.90.23657.68.6492111.50.24158.8
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF989.41647.48370.3970.6708.2242007.90.19647.98.5702092.20.18545.2
Delkin Dual Slot SD UHS-II and CF Card Reader89.33245.54770.2940.6708.5432085.80.19748.28.8042149.50.22755.4
Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 / SD UHS-II Card Reader89.29447.61369.7660.6837.6411865.40.19547.77.9741946.80.19447.4
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II SD Reader/Writer88.94547.71069.5920.6838.3842046.90.24058.58.7622139.10.24960.7
Transcend SD Card Reader RDF5 Black88.63747.83469.6030.7635.7371400.70.23356.95.7371400.70.19647.9
Kingston MobileLite G4 UHS-II88.40547.74168.7030.6818.7582138.30.24660.28.9242178.70.20750.6
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF8 Black88.30143.29769.1220.6817.0691725.90.19547.67.8191908.80.20149.0
SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One USB 3.087.07745.36965.6550.6544.5431109.10.19146.74.5671114.90.17843.6
Delkin Universal Memory Card Reader84.31147.51466.9960.6557.5581845.10.19647.77.7071881.60.20950.9

In camera testing the Kingston 256GB card performed similar to its benchmark results. Additional results from cameras will be added as more cameras are tested.

Kingston Class 10 256GB
Tested in Camera
Write Speed
(MB/s)
Canon Rebel T7i46.5
Sony A946.2
Canon 77D46.2
Canon EOS M545.7
Canon EOS R44.3
Fuji X-T342.6
Nikon D750033.2
Nikon Coolpix P100031.0

Cameras tested with this card: Canon EOS R, Canon 77D, Canon EOS M5, Canon Rebel T7i, Fuji X-T3, Nikon D7500, Nikon Coolpix P1000, Sony A9

Recommendation

The Kingston Class 10 UHS-I 256GB SDXC card provides a lot of capacity and decent read and write speeds. Its performace met the advertised claims, but it did not exceed them by a large margin.

The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.

Kingston Class 10 256GB SD — Internal Card Information
Serial number (PSN)20055903
Product Name (PNM)SD256
Product Revision3.0
Manufacturer ID (MID)0x000041
OEM ID (OID)42
Manufacture Date (MDT)08/2016
Total capacity248,789,336,064 bytes

Available sizes and prices

Compare prices on the Kingston Ultimate SD card. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below. Prices are updated daily.

CardSize
GB
Lowest
$ / GB
Prices
AmazonB&H PhotoAdorama
Kingston Ultimate SD16N/ACheck price Check priceCheck price
Kingston Ultimate SD32N/ACheck price Check priceCheck price
Kingston Ultimate SD64$0.57$36.38Check priceCheck price
Kingston Ultimate SD128N/ACheck price Check priceCheck price
Kingston Ultimate SD256$0.63$161.52Check priceCheck price
Kingston Ultimate SD512$0.94$481.28Check priceCheck price