Many novice photographers don’t realize that the quality of their SDHC card can affect their camera’s performance. That is because memory card are about a lot more than just storing data. They must also be able to capture data too. Each SDHC card captures the data at a set speed. Depending on this speed, your camera may process photos slowly or very quickly. The class number is the rate at which the SDHC card will transmit data, like when you are moving your pictures from your camera to computer. However, the class number also indicates this speed at which your camera will store the pictures, thus freeing you to fire away rapidly while shooting.

If you want to shoot video with your camera, then you must have a high class SDHC card. However, if you are using a really basic point and shoot camera, then your camera may not even be able to utilize the fast speed of a high-end SDHC card. Most digital cameras will tell you the optimal speed in the user manual (in the section for how to insert the memory card). The user manual will also have a list of specs where the camera’s optimal compatibility is listed. This speed is usually listed as the minimum amount. You can get away with the minimum class SDHC card but, if you want the best performance from your digital camera, then you should aim for a much higher class than listed.