Sony Memory Stick Pro vs Standard Memory Stick

Does anyone know if using the Memory Stick Pro will give a digital camera
faster write time and improve the lag time between shots. If so how much
faster. Is it worth spending the extra on the "PRO" version?

Thanks
John

 

We haven't seen any difference in lag time with the Pro memory (Sony
brand 512MB). It does format much quicker (big deal), and transfers
to the computer are marginally faster (~20%, using USB2.0).

I'd say if transfer speed is important to you, and you have USB2.0 on
your system, and/or you need more than 128MB on a single stick,
then Pro is probably worth it. Otherwise stick with regular sticks .

RickW

 

I've made casual measurements of write times comparing the Memory Stick
Pro and Memory Stick with the Sony F717 model camera. I find that write
time on single-shot operations are approximately halved (camera is free
to operate with MS Pro in 1.5-2 seconds compared to 4-5 seconds with
Memory Stick 128Mbyte), and TIFF file storage is improved by about
15-20% (that'a about 8 seconds faster to write a TIFF).

My MS Pro card reader is USB 2.0 enabled, but my computer is only
equipped with USB 1.1. However, I do feel there is a small improvement
in transfer responsiveness.

While this doesn't seem like much, the difference in performance is
quite noticeable if I switch from an MS Pro card to a 128Mbyte Memory
Stick while out shooting. The additional write time delay immediately
surfaces and becomes an annoyance. With the MS Pro cards in the F717,
if I lock the white balance, exposure and focus settings, I can then
make repeated exposures with virtually no delay between shots as if I
were shooting a film camera, where with the Memory Stick in the camera
there is a noticeable moment between each shot that I must wait for the
write to complete.

Godfrey

 

What are the startup times with a 128MB old MS vs. a 256MB MS Pro???

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

 

How about the viewing playback times between pics?

 

Ok, I just checked. I have 43 pictures on a 256MB Memory Stick Pro and
60 pictures on a 128MB Memory Stick. Startup times from power on are
virtually identical (about 1.5 seconds with camera in Playback mode).
Card acquire time (from the point of inserting a card to when the first
image appears on the LCD is too short for me to measure with any
accuracy at all, either one is up and ready in less than a second.

Godfrey

 

It's identical between Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro. I believe the
time between when the camera presents the thumbnail preview and then
the sharper image rendering is constrained not by data transfer speed
but by camera processing speed.

Godfrey

 

Thanks. My impression (incorrect?) is that the F717 is a tad slower at
startup than the F707, and I was hoping MS Pro would speed it up.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

 

We didn't see any improvement in TIFF writing speed.. ~30 seconds
with both the old and Pro memory.

RickW

 

I had both cameras at the same time (my 707 is on "permanent loan" to a
friend of mine now) and didn't notice any difference in startup time.

Godfrey

 

Thanks for all the info, Although with the mixed opinions I'm still not sure
if it is really faster or not. I'm getting a Sony DSC-P72 and I really am
only concerned about write speeds to JPEG. Maybe it depends on the type of
camera you have that effects write speeds. I think the jury is still out on
this.

John

 

Best advice I can offer is to find a retailer with a good return policy,
and try it. The P72 only comes with 16MB so you'll need an
additional card in any case.

RickW

 

That's decent advice, but I've only rarely seen retailers that will
take a return on a memory card other than for damage/defective reasons.


IN answer to Rick's question, I was estimating before, watching the
write indicator light inside the battery cover. Since you piqued my
interest in obtaining more solid numbers, I spent a few minutes to
measure more formally, timing with a stopwatch from start to end of
write with both Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro cards using the
indicator light as a trigger. The cards are both Sony brand. The camera
is a Sony DSC-F717. I repeated each operation several times (seen in
parens below) and averaged the results.

JPEG full resolution "Fine" mode: MS Pro - 1.9 secs, MS - 3.2 secs (20x)
TIFF (JPEG setting unchanged): MS Pro - 39.9 secs, MS - 47.1 secs (3x)
Format: MS Pro - 2.1 secs, MS 20.25 secs (2x)

By these measurements, Memory Stick Pro cards prove to be
- 40.6% faster on JPEG Fine write time
- 15.3% faster on TIFF write time
- 89.6% faster on Format time
than Memory Stick cards on identical operations performed in this camera

Percentage differences are calculated by the formula:
percent == 1 - (MS Pro time / MS time)

RickW, how have you made the measurements you're posting??

Godfrey

 

Well, I still disagree with you ... In single shot use, JPEG fine mode
shooting, the camera feels much more responsive with the Memory Stick
Pro card than the Memory Stick card. As I said in my original post, if
one locks the white balance, exposure and focus, you can shoot nearly
as fast as you click the shutter release with the Pro card, but you
must pause longer between each shot with the standard Memory Stick
card. It's the difference made by a 40%+ faster write time, nothing
else, as nothing else has changed.

Godfrey