Digital Camera Memory Cards

How to Choose the Correct Memory Card for Your Digital Camera

Gone are the days when snapping a picture meant hours of tedious work both for the photographer and the subject. The advent of the digital cameras has made shooting as well as posing for pictures a pleasurable experience.

One of the major advantages of a digital camera is the fact that there is no need for you to shop around for good quality film. Memory cards have replaced the ubiquitous photographic film in the digital camera.

These removable memory cards are necessary for storing the images. These days’ digital cameras are equipped with memory cards that are standardized in sizes of either 16 MB or 32 MB.

More often than not, a professional or even an active photographer finds that this memory is simply not enough. That is why choosing the correct memory card for your digital camera is a necessary evil. An extra memory card with a greater capacity will provide additional space to store more images.

An additional advantage is that users can simply upgrade to a number of memory cards without having to purchase new hardware in the form of different cameras. By using memory card readers, users can also transfer images to their computers; erase them from the card and reuse it seamlessly.

Most digital camera manufacturers do not reveal the exact number of pictures that can be taken using in-built memory cards. Hence the user needs to be aware that these in-built cards do not have optimal storage capacities thus increasing the need to have an additional memory card to store data.

Memory cards are a pre-requisite if you are on vacation and need plenty of images to preserve the memories. Running out of memory in your digital camera is not a good idea at this stage, so stock on memory cards. Extra memory cards are a photographer’s inseparable companion. Therefore it is vital to have plenty of space for that memorable picture.

The capacity of a memory card determines how many pictures can be stored on it. Greater the capacity, more the number of pictures that can be saved on the card. The capacity of a memory card is usually measured in MB (Mega Bytes) or GB (Giga Bytes). The latter is equivalent to 1,000 mega bytes and can store enormous number pictures.

There are several types of memory cards that can be used in a digital camera. These include CompactFlash , Secure Digital, Memory Stick, SmartMedia, MultiMedia Card (MMC), and xD Picture Card. Although these memory cards are compatible with several digital cameras, SmartMedia and CompactFlash continue to be the most widely used cards. Compact Flash cards have the biggest storage capacity and are extensively used in high-resolution digital cameras because of their increased storage capacity.

These cards are of two types; type I that is 3.0 mm thick, and type II which is 5.0 mm thick. Professional photographers often go for type II memory cards as they have bigger storage capacity than the type I cards. That need not be the case for an average consumer.

These cards also have a controller chip, which allows for greater transfer rates. However only digital SLRs can use this chip comfortably because the average digital camera does not have the internal buffer required to use this chip. CompactFlash cards are the cheapest of the memory cards available for a digital camera and are quite popular among camera owners.

MicroDrives are much cheaper than CompactFlash memory cards and may interest a less active photographer. However these cards are slower than CompactFlash cards and can also undergo shock damage wiping out all saved data. These cards are delicate and any rough handling can damage them completely. Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard memory are the smallest available memory cards, but are not ideal for digital cameras and are very rarely used here. Recently companies like Fuji and Olympus have shifted the emphasis on xD cards, thus taking away the importance of SmartMedia cards in cameras.

The xD Picture Card can be used in small cameras as well as in CompactFlash compatible cameras. Memory Stick cards were developed by Sony for use in the Cybershot series of digital cameras. Memory Stick is compatible exclusively with Sony digital cameras and is of no use in other brands. It is of vital importance that you choose non-exclusive Memory card formats for your digital cameras. This is because some companies have designed cards that work only on their branded cameras. One of the things to be kept in mind while choosing any memory card for your digital camera is the time required to transfer the images or files to your PC. Often times the bigger cards require a lot of time to transfer the data to a PC and consumers are left twiddling their thumbs.

An additional criterion in choosing the right memory card for your digital camera is speed. High speed memory cards can record data more quickly and also allow rapid data transfer thus saving time. However you need to be aware of the fact that a large memory card does not necessarily mean a fast one. One large memory card could simply be more costly than a number of smaller ones, which could suit your requirements. Older digital cameras are also not designed to hold large cards. So opting for large memory cards may not be the wisest move.

First of all, determine what format and size is supported by your digital camera. If the support is only for 16x, it makes no sense to buy a 32x card. Another point to note is that an external card reader can easily help you transfer files to your computer.

Memory card readers allow users to connect to their PC without the need to connect their digital camera as well. If you have a laptop, then the operation becomes much easier as you can simply slide the memory card reader into a designated PC slot.

source:memorybits.co.uk