  A close comparison of Kepler short- and long-cadence data released prior to
2011 Nov 1 has shown some subtle differences that make the short-cadence data
superior to their long-cadence counterparts. The inevitable results of a faster
sampling rate are present: the short-cadence data provide greater time
resolution for short-lived events like flares, and have a much higher Nyquist
frequency than the long-cadence data; however, they also contain fewer
high-amplitude peaks at low frequency and allow a more precise determination of
pulsation frequencies, amplitudes and phases. The latter observation indicates
that Kepler data are not normally distributed. Moreover, a close inspection of
the Pre-search Data Conditioned (PDC) long-cadence data show residuals that
have increased noise on time-scales important to asteroseismology, but
unimportant to planet searches.
