Sandisk has just used the electric prod on its series of SD Flash memory cards. Nothing else can explain the huge 50% jump in speed, which also sets a new record for SD flash memory cards. The stupendous speed increase is expected to be extremely useful for professional photographers.

The new cards, expected to be available worldwide in September in 4-gigabyte (GB)2, 8GB and 16GB capacities, are designed to deliver peak performance when used with the new digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, Nikon D90.

Featuring a 50-percent speed boost from previous 20MB/s cards, the new SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/s Edition SDHC card makes it possible to record 39 images in continuous shooting mode at 4.5 frames per second with a file size of 6.0 MB JPEG L Fine per image.3 The Nikon D90 camera captures high-resolution, 12.3 megapixel still images, and it is Nikon first DSLR to offer movie recording capability.

SanDisk Extreme III SDHC 30MB/s Edition cards are expected to be available worldwide in September. The manufacturer suggested retail price is U.S. $64.99 for the 4GB card, US $109.99 for the 8GB card, and U.S. $179.99 for the 16GB card.