Pentax K10D Memory Card Compatibility
The Pentax K10D needs SD memory cards. 32GB is the largest capacity SD card that can be used in the K10D.
SD memory cards that satisfy the SDXC or SDUC requirements won’t function correctly in the K10D. These cards will be At least 64GB or larger, so they can easily be avoided.
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Recommended K10D SD Cards
Below are some possibilities to pick from that will work correctly with the K10D. With any of the cards outlined below, you won’t have to stress out over poor functionality or card failure.
- Sequential read speed of up to 100MB/s
- Class 10, U1 rating delivers speed and performance for full HD photography and HD videography.
- V10 video speed rating to capture uninterrupted HD video at 1920x1080 format
- Compatible with point & shoot cameras, DSLR cameras, standard & advanced HD-enabled video cameras, and more
- Reliable & Durable: Magnet Proof, Shock Proof, Temperature Proof, Waterproof
- Quick transfer read speeds up to 90MB/s.
- Write speeds are not capable of recording 4k video.
- Class 10 rating for Full HD video (1080p).
- Waterproof, temperature proof, X-ray Proof, magnet-Proof, and shockproof.
- UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) supports Full HD video and burst shots. 130MB/s transfer speeds1 let you upload footage to your PC in an instant.
- Built to survive tough conditions and heavy usage, whether you’re at home, outside, or on the go. Backed by 10-year limited warranty.
- Highly durable with comprehensive 7-proof protection.
- Backed by a 10 year warranty.
Best SD Cards
Lexar, PNY, Samsung, and SanDisk both produce excellent memory cards. Avoid buying cards from cheap third party brands.
Low-cost cards are more liable to experience data corruption, meaning that you’ll lose all of your photos stored on the card. The decrease in quality is not worth the minimal amount of cost savings.
Get a reduced capacity card in case you want to reduce costs. They will be a tiny bit more affordable and you will not have to fret about the SD card failing.
Do not forget, SD card failures are very infrequent. In my time, I have only experienced 2 cards become corrupted. Age could have contributed to the failure, as the SD cards were bundled with used digital cameras.
Pentax K10D SD Card Compatibility
The Pentax K10D is limited to using SD memory cards. There are currently four separate specs of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. The benefit is that there is an improvement in the max capacity and read/write speeds with the introduction of every new technical spec.
Secure Digital memory card readers are backward compatible. A card reader built into a digital camera that can use SDXC cards will also be able to use SDHC and SD memory cards.
The Pentax K10D’s card reader can only read the initial two SD card specs. SDUC or SDXC SD cards won’t operate correctly.
- Secure Digital (SD) - These memory cards have a maximum capacity of 2GB and are compatible with the K10D.
- Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) - The capacity of these memory cards range from 4GB to 32GB and are also compatible with the K10D.
- Secure Digital eXtended Capacity (SDXC) - The capacity of these memory cards range from 64GB to 2TiB.
- Secure Digital Ultra Capacity (SDUC) - The capacity of these memory cards range from 4TiB to 128TiB.
Pentax K10D Memory Card Full Error
Attempting to use a card that has a capacity of 64GB or larger in size in the K10D will cause the digital point and shoot camera to show an error message.
Get a card which has a storage capacity of 32GB or smaller to prevent the problem.
If you are using an SD memory card that has a storage capacity less than 32GB, and the card is not working correctly, try to format the SD card while it is in the camera.
Speed, Class, & Capacity
SD Card Image Capacity
Here is a quick estimate of the quantity of large JPEGs you could expect to fit on an SD memory card.
- 4GB - 1920 images
- 8GB - 3840 images
- 16GB - 7680 images
- 32GB - 15360 images
Memory Card Speed
The speed rating for SD cards is established by sequential read and write speeds. The speed of the SD memory card is important for when many shots need to be written to the card.
SD Card Speed Class Rating
The Class speed rating of an SD card is determined by the sustained write speed of the memory card. A Class speed rating of 2 means that the SD memory card can maintain a write speed of more than 2MB per second.
- Class 2 - 2MB/s
- Class 4 - 4MB/s
- Class 6 - 6MB/s
- Class 8 - 8MB/s
- Class 10 - 10MB/s
The highest rating an SD card can get is Class 10. There are memory cards that are considerably faster than 10MB/s. Those SD memory cards use other technologies, such as UHS (Ultra Highspeed Bus), which have a separate rating specifications.
Sustained write speeds of 2MB, 4MB, 6MB, or 8MB per second means the card has a speed class of 2, 4, 6, or 8. Cards that have write speeds of 10MB/s or faster are rated as Class 10.
Conclusion
Buy an SD memory card for the Pentax K10D based on price. An expensive card isn’t going to improve performance. As long as it is a speed class 10 card, you will be fine. My recommendation is the PNY Elite 32GB SD memory card.