 Memory
Cards: What You Need to Know
Kris Butler,
ACD Systems
Everyone who buys a digital camera finds
out sooner or later (and more often sooner) that the amount of memory
available either on board or on the card that came included is not enough.
Whether it's a single important event or a weekend trip, most of us as
camera users will want more than the standard 8-16MB (megabytes) of
included memory so that we can take plenty of pictures at maximum quality
before running out of card space.
Having the right amount of memory available will enable you to get through
the event, weekend trip or full vacation without having to run to the
computer to download your photos. After all, while downloading photos can
be quick, it's not yet as convenient as simply changing a role of film,
especially if you're not in the vicinity of your own computer.
So, what's the best solution for choosing and using memory cards? It's a
combination of a few things. Here's what to keep in mind:
1. Size Isn't Everything:
While larger memory cards will let you shoot longer without having to
download your pictures, going for the biggest memory card you can find
isn't the right solution for most people.
One reason is that memory cards can and sometimes do fail. So, if you buy
the mothership 1GB card (that's 1000MB) to last you through your entire
3-week trip and then some, you risk losing all the photos from your trip
if it fails. Rare as this may be, we know it happens and it's not a
pleasant proposition. We recommend you choose multiple smaller cards to
guard against it. Large memory cards also present other unique issues.
Find out more in this related article:
Demystifying Large Memory Cards.
A combination of 128MB cards and 64MB cards for a total of 4 or 5 cards,
including the one that came with your camera, will get most of us through
even a full vacation. Think about your picture taking habits in general,
then use the graph below and discuss it with the camera salesperson to
determine what combination of cards will work best for you. If you're new
to digital photography, keep in mind that you'll almost definitely be
taking 2 to 3 times more photos than you would with film.
2. Don't Count on Deleting:
It's true you can make room for more photos by deleting ones that don't
look great, but think twice or three times before relying on this method
or buying smaller memory cards with this in mind. First off, it is often
difficult to tell what the true quality of a photo is by simply reviewing
it on your camera's small LCD screen.
Also, unless you've consistently been taking each photo two to three times
with different settings to practice your skills and get the best shot,
it's likely you'll be forced to delete photos that might otherwise
represent a nice memory. Finally, it's usually our mistakes in photography
that we learn most from, so by deleting all your bad shots, you're
depriving yourself of good learning experiences later when you sit down at
your computer and go through your new collection.
3. Format Your Card Regularly:
Deleting all the pictures on your card from your computer after
downloading them isn't the same thing as formatting the card using your
camera. As mentioned above, cards do fail occasionally (though rarely) and
one contributing factor can be the existence of unstable data left over
from previously deleted photos, which is more likely to occur if you
delete photos using your computer. The best thing to do is format the card
from the camera's own menu after downloading.
The graph below shows the relative capacity of different memory cards with
up to 128MB capacity. The numbers on the right indicate how many images
you can save on the card, while the numbers across the bottomshow card
capacities.
Copyright 2005 ACD Systems Ltd. All
rights reserved. Article used under license by Ipswitch, Inc.
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