Transcend 500S UHS-I V30 64GB SDXC Memory Card Review

Introduction

Transcend intoduced a new Secure Digital card lineup in March 2018, bringing new model names to their SD cards. The mid-tier Transcend 95/60 MB/s is now called the 500S, and adds the Video Speed Class 30 (V30) to the label. The 500S card offers 95MB/s read and 60MB/s write speeds, making it a good value for many uses. The V30 rating means the card can provide at least 30MB/s continuous write performance, an important consideration for 4K HD video cameras. The 500S is available in a wide range of sizes: 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256 GB capacities. The 64GB version TS64GSDC500S with UPC 760557841173 is tested in this review.

Inside the 500S contains MLC flash memory to provide a long lifespan compared with less expensive memory types. The card meets JIS IPX7 standard and will withstand immersion in water up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) deep for 30 minutes. Its operating range is -13 to 185°F (-25°C to 85°C). The card is made in Taiwan. Transcend backs their SD cards with a 5 year warranty (cards purchased before March 31, 2018 had a lifetime warranty).

Performance

The Transcend 500S was tested in various USB 3.1 and 3.0 card readers. Its benchmark performance measured up to 97.9 MB/s sequential read speed in card readers. The sequential write speed reached 68.6 MB/s, slightly better than the 60MB/s write speed claim. The bencharks of the 64GB card are very close to the 500S 128GB SDXC card speeds.

Card: Transcend 500S V30 64GB
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

The Transcend 500S will be included in upcoming digital camera tests. The write speed in cameras will be added to the following table when results are available.

Cameras tested with this card: Canon EOS R, Fuji X-T3, Nikon Coolpix P1000

The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.

The internal card register contains information about the SD card. The 500S card register shows a production date of April 2018. The OEM ID J` is similar to other SD cards produced by Transcend.

Available sizes and prices

Compare prices on the Transcend 500S card. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below. Prices are updated daily.