Which are the best SD flash memory brands to purchase for a camera?

Hi and thanks for your question!

The best SD card is dependent on the type of camera you have and the quality that you expect to get from it. For example a point and shoot camera can take the standard SD cards we see every where but they can also handle SDHC cards which deliver higher quality and can record pictures a bit faster than the regular cards. On the other hand the Ultra and Extreme SD cards that you may have seen before write pictures faster than any of the others and are truly best for DSLR cameras for speed and space. If you've ever seen a photographer at a wedding or graduation there is a 99% chance they have those cards in their camera because it allows to take pictures quickly, store it, and be ready for the next amazing shot. 

Point and Shoot: Standard SD, SDHC Class 2. They may be able to take Ultra and Extreme cards but these cards run over $50 each! They are best left for DSLRs to ensure compatibility. Plus it won't hurt as much if you were to drop the camera and something breaks. 

Advanced Compact: Standard, SDHC. I also hesitate to recommend the Ultra/Extreme because of price. 

DSLR: SDHC, Ultra/Extreme, hybrid (Ultra/Extreme + SDHC). 

Because I'm not sure about the type of camera that you have I recommend the SDHC card because it can move up or down to work with the camera that you have. You also want to choose a card based on the size you want. If you're taking a lot of pics then bigger is, of course, better. SDHC comes in different classes to by the way. Class 2, 4, and 6. They write at 2, 4, and 6MB per second. Pretty straightforward, no? 

MicroSD cards will work to as long as you have an adapter. I like the microSD because then I can use them in the cell phone or laptop which is grand. Of all these I recommend the microSD SDHC card for purchase. Do ensure that your camera isn't older than 2006-07 because anything before that will not recognize the SDHC cameras. I tried. =( 

I hope this helps!