Do faster memory cards improve DSLR camera performance?

A salesman from Tristate Camera just sold me a 300x speed Compact Flash card. He stated that by going with a faster speed memory I could drop my shutter times and that it would shoot better in low light. I was in a hurry so I went with it as it was like $100 for a 8GB.....but now Im thinking he was just making that up....does anyone know if this faster card will improve my low light shooting?

Do faster memory cards improve DSLR camera performance?
The memory card has nothing to do with the camera's low light performance. Or with any aspect of image quality, for that matter. Complete BS.





The only reason you'd want a blazing fast memory card is if you do a lot of sports photography and take long bursts of pictures in continuous mode. A faster memory card will let you continue for more shots before the buffer fills up.


The camera keeps pictures in an internal memory buffer as you shoot them and writes the files to the memory card while you continue shooting. The faster the memory card, the faster a picture is moved out of the buffer - making room for the next shot.


The buffer itself can hold about 10 to 20 pictures on most dSLR cameras. So with a slow memory card, if you take pictures at 3 frames per second (or more, depending on your camera) the buffer will fill up after about 20 shots and the camera will slow down. With a fast memory card, you keep shooting at maximum speed until the memory card is full.


If you never take more than 10 pictures in a row, you can use any old memory card.
Reply:Your memory card has NO effect on how well the camera shoots in low light. The card is simply a recording device and doesn't care what its contents are.





The 300x card will however help you shoot more frames per second, it will clear the buffer of your camera nice and fast so that it will be ready for the next shot a lot quicker (you wont have to stand there waiting for the camera to finish recording before you can take the next frame)





300x cards are a good investment, but not for the reason the sales guy told you :) unless you need to shoot many frames VERY quickly you wont need that card, however $100 was a pretty good price and a fast card is always a good investment
Reply:Your first mistake was buying from a reseller without checking their ratings from earlier customers...always check the possible merchant at "www.resellerratings.com" before making any purchase! Tristate has a VERY LOW customer satisfaction number..as do many sellers on sites other than Amazon.com...Best to get all photo gear from reliable stores..B%26amp;H Photo is one of the best..Adorama Camera has been great for me..
Reply:Salesman lied...bad salesman.





Here's a book that'll help you avoid getting scammed again:





http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Cameras-Ph...





It's a must-read if you want to get the most out of your camera.





V
Reply:Some times they will, but not always