Digital Camera Memory

Digital Camera Memory Cards

Executive Summary By David Peterson

A digital camera accessory you should purchase is a spare memory card. What is a memory card?

A memory card is the little removable piece of plastic that your camera uses to store your photos. Memory cards come in different sizes and names such as Compact Flash (CF), Secure Digital (SD), Memory Stick (MS), Smart Media (SM) and xD.

Running out of memory on your card is a little like running out of film in a traditional camera. Fortunately, prices of memory cards have come down dramatically in recent times.

There are two pieces of information you need to know when purchasing a new memory card. What type of card your camera takes, and how large a digital camera memory card you wish to buy.

What memory card type does my camera use?

The simplest way to find out the type of memory card your camera uses, is to take your existing card out of the camera and look on it for one of the types listed above. The size of memory card you purchase will depend on your photography needs as well as your budget. Digital camera memory cards come in sizes between 16 Megabytes (and will fit between 4 and 32 images depending on your camera capabilities and image quality) and 4 Gigabytes (4,000 megabytes - store thousands of images on one of these cards).
My advice is to purchase the largest sized card you can afford.

Memory Card Speed

Another feature to keep in the back of your mind when purchasing a new memory card is the card's speed. The faster your memory card speed, the faster your camera can write it's image to the card, and the quicker you can take another photo. The actual speed will be the LOWEST of either your camera's fastest transfer speed (see your camera's manual) and the memory card's speed. If your camera can transfer at 40X speed, but your memory card can only handle 12X, 12X will be the actual transfer speed. How many memory cards do I need?
I recommend you have at least two memory cards for your camera.

Care of cards
Memory cards, although they seem to be small and flimsy, can be quite robust. It will also depend on the brand of card you purchase. More expensive cards tend to withstand more pounding.

Other Memory Card Tips
- If you transfer lots of images to your computer, purchase a card reader.
- Contrary to popular opinion, airport x-ray machines will not damage your camera's memory cards.
- Turn off your camera when inserting or removing memory cards. Taking the digital camera memory card out while the camera is writing to the card could wreck both your card and camera.

How to Choose a Digital Camera Memory Card

Selecting memory cards for digital cameras can be tough. The quality and number of images depends on the type and size of digital camera memory card you choose. Digital cameras store images on thin, stamp-size memory cards. How large a digital camera memory card you need depends on how many megapixels your camera has and whether you’re shooting RAW or JPEG. RAW files can commonly be 10-20 megabytes in size, while high-quality JPEG images will typically run 1-4 megabytes (always use high-quality JPEG settings).

You need a high-capacity digital camera memory card to store a reasonable number of images. Cards are relatively inexpensive. Small cards, such as 512 MB, should be used only for low megapixel cameras and JPEG files. You need to buy the right type of card for your camera. If it did come with a card, that card is likely way too small. Cards do have speed ratings that indicate how fast they can store and retrieve data, but only the high-end pro cameras can really support the fastest cards.