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February 9, 2010 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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Articles |
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Memory cards — those stamp-size slivers of silicon — make digital photography possible. Often referred to as the functional equivalent of film, they are actually much more than that. Here are ten things you should know that will make your use of memory cards more successful and enjoyable. 1. Keep them in a case. The quest to produce smaller and smaller digital cameras has stimulated the development of physically smaller and smaller memory cards. That means that it may be challenging to keep track of them at times, especially if you own a large number of them. Keep the cards in a card case when they’re not in the camera. Card cases come in several flavors, the most common being the tiny plastic ones that are scarcely bigger than the cards themselves.  Tamrac Memory Card Case
 Temba Memory Card Case
They do a good job of protecting the electrical contacts. The most versatile, however, are made of ballistic nylon and manufactured by Tamrac, Lowepro and other gadget bag makers. SanDisk occasionally provides one free with their Extreme line of cards. Some cases have loops that allow you to slip them onto your belt or dangle them from the strap of your gadget bag.  LowePro Memory Card Case
Personally, I don’t like the idea of hanging a few hundred dollars worth of 1Gb memory cards precariously in space so I keep them in a case, in my pocket. If you’re into form-fitted hard-shell cases, check out the offerings from Hakuba. When not in the field, an airtight Tupperware sandwich container is a great place to store all of your cards.  LowePro Memory Card Case
2. Size Matters If you find yourself running out of storage space before the end of a day’s shooting, don’t despair. There are several tactics you can use to remedy this situation. First and most obvious, buy a bigger card. If you are still using the smallish card that came with your camera it’s definitely time to upgrade. Prices are low and all major card makers offer a selection of products at various price points, so you can certainly find an affordable solution. A temporary option — one that will get your through the day if you come up a bit short in the memory card department — is to shoot your high resolution camera at a lower resolution. You’ll get surprisingly good results from your 6-megapixel DSLR if you dial down to 3-megapixels. But don’t be tempted to simply increase image compression (i.e., lower the “quality” setting) instead, because the images won’t measure up. There is a third option that may appeal to folks who use Compact Flash and create humongous image files — consider an Hitachi Microdrive. Microdrives fit Type II slots (the larger CF) and offer capacities up to 8Gb. They are spinning media, not solid state Flash memory, but that’s the subject of another article.  Hitachi MicroDrive
 Hitachi MicroDrive
 Hitachi 6GB MicroDrive 3. Know Your Type Like camera batteries, memory cards are not interchangeable — you are more-or-less limited to using the type specified for your camera. Or are you? There is a little wiggle room here. If you own a device that requires Secure Digital (SD) cards and another device that uses CF you can buy an adapter that allows the smaller SD to be used in the CF slot. Unfortunately, you cannot convert in the other direction for obvious reasons. It’s also possible to use a Multi Media Card (MMC) in most SD appliances, but there’s very little cost savings here, so it’s hardly worth the effort. And of course, some cameras have omnivorous appetites and can digest more than one type of card. Some Sony models accept CF in addition to Memory Stick; some Olympus cameras use CF plus xD; a couple Konica Minolta products use SD and/or Memory Stick separately or simultaneously.  SanDisk Memory Cards & MobileMate MS
 SanDisk Memory Cards & MoblieMate MS
4. They're Not That Expensive Anymore Memory cards were once thought to be expensive, but recently all that has changed. Prices have dropped significantly in the past twelve months while storage capacities have grown. Check the Sunday circulars for sales, rebates and other promotions. In many instances, the best time to buy a large memory card is at the same time you buy a camera. Some retailers shrewdly use memory cards to sneak past camera manufacturers’ Minimum Advertised Price suggestions. Don’t be surprised if you see a hot camera for sale at $599 by itself or, optionally, at $629 with a 512Mb memory card. Do the math and you’ll realize that the card is a bargain.  SanDisk 128 MB Memory Stick PRO Duo 5. Get a Versatile Card Reader Camera manufacturers still provide download cables with digital cameras, but users must wonder why. The better alternative is to use a multi-format card reader. In fact, many people keep one attached to their PC at all times. Plug a Lexar or SanDisk 12-in-1 card reader into your computer and you can transfer image files from virtually any type of memory card via High Speed USB (USB 2.0). The card is recognized as a storage device on your PC, so you can read, write and, in general, treat the card the same way you’d treat an external hard drive.  Lexar Card Readers
6. Double Edged Sword Because they can be erased and reused, memory cards are an excellent example of the successful implementation of a technological solution, namely, perpetually renewable data storage. And therein lies the rub. That which can be erased intentionally can also be erased accidentally. The good news is that if you use an SD card or certain Memory Stick products you’ll find a switch that can be set to help prevent accidental erasure. The better news is that if you do accidentally delete, format or otherwise trash one or more image files you stand a pretty good chance of recovery. First and foremost, you must immediately stop shooting when this happens (another good reason to carry more than one spare memory card with you). Data recovery software from SanDisk, Lexar and other companies is inexpensive, easy to use and generally effective. There is no guarantee, of course. For full details see the companion story “Recovering Deleted Images.” http://www.takegreatpictures.com/articles/default.asp?aid=1898  SanDisk Ultra II SD + USB 512MB Memory Card
7. Two Types of Speed Even for the most computer-adept, the memory card speed rating system can be a little confusing. Speed is a measurement of how fast memory cards handle data. The specification is comprised of two separate measurements: the sequential write speed and the sequential read speed. Cards that write and read data fast allow you to capture images and play them back fast. In this context, speed is good. Some manufacturers, including Panasonic and SanDisk, categorize their cards into different speed groups and create sub-brands to identify them. SanDisk’s Extreme III line writes and reads at 20Mb/second, for example, as does Panasonic’s Pro High Speed SD cards. Lexar Media rates their cards using the nomenclature that’s commonly used to rate the throughput of CD and DVD writers: 150Kb per second is “1X” and all speeds are expressed as multiples of that standard.  Lexar 1GB CompactFlash
8. Dress It Up The card that came with your camera is probably a monotonous blue, black or some other fashion-blind color. That’s not a problem, since memory cards spend most of their time hidden deep within the innards of digital cameras, anyway. But the latest round of products from SanDisk, Sony, Lexar, Kingston and PNY are all dressed up and downright presentable. If you’re into cool colors, check out SanDisk’s pink, orange, green, yellow and blue Gaming Card line. For that muted tuxedo look, pick out something from Lexar’s Platinum series.  SanDisk Memory Cards
9. Shoot and Store Wouldn’t it be nice if memory cards were inexpensive enough and big enough to simply shoot them like film and use for permanent storage? Admittedly, that may not be everyone’s cup of chai latte but if the idea appeals to you, take a hard look at SanDisk’s Shoot-and-Store media line. Lexar Media addresses this market with their Digital Film which is sold under the Kodak label. Both brands are inexpensive, widely available and come in capacities up to 64Mb. While the capacity may not sound like much when your pals are flaunting 2Gb cards, I recently realized that one 64Mb card would hold 24 full resolution .jpg images from my digital SLR and promptly purchased a handful of these budget-price beauties to keep in my gadget bag until I need them.  SanDisk Shoot & Store Cards
10. Bigger and Better The only sure thing is that cards will continue to increase in capacity while they decrease in size. If you have more than one camera, you may be troubled because there are so many memory card formats (better known as “form factors”). As a matter of fact, this is a blessing disguised as a curse. Remember, it wasn’t long ago that the most modern crop of VGA-class digital cameras used removable media that had a maximum capacity of 128Mb — one-eighth the capacity of a 1Gb card. As card manufacturers continue their innovation and push technology forward we all benefit and can enjoy larger capacities, smaller cameras and greater reliability.
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