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What size memory card to buy?

19 years ago

I am going to be buying my daughter and myself digital cameras for Christmas. They come with very small memory cards. Can anyone suggest what size card I should buy to increase the number of shots we can take? Is there a minimum I should consider?

Thanks

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Comments (10)

juanital
19 years ago
Hi Beache! I bought the 128mb's, with the iso setting on 100 (on a FujiFinePix E500 camera, I have the pic size set to 1280x960 when downloaded)...I can get 250 or so pics with it...It's easy to go through when you're having a good shooting day, after downloading though there may be quite less as some did'nt turn out well. But for me that size works well...If I remember right I think it was $20-25 for one...Everyone will have differing ideas as shooting habits are different...

juanital
JoanMN
19 years ago
It all depends on how many megapixels your cameras have. But I ALWAYS set my camera on the biggest size picture possible (in case you get that shot you want to print a 16x20 from!). I use 1 GB memory cards.
JoanMN
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zitro_joe
19 years ago
Joan is correct. What MP setting will you be using your camera and how many pictures you want to keep per card?
*email size is 1-2MP; 128mb is adaquate
*4x6 prints need 3-4MP
*4-8MP will handle 8x10 easy
When you buy the new cameras, dont be sold on the idea that the higher the megapixel the count. That is so far from the truth.

I have had many different cameras for different reasons so I many different cards:
*8x 526MB CF High write speed cards, I use these for event photography and I will be printing on location since I will be switching cards a lot.
*6x 1gig CF high write speed, weddings and sports
*2x 4gig CF regualar, everyday use.
numerouse XD adn SD cards.

I would say a 1 gig would be fine for you though.

Joe
beache
Original Author
19 years ago
For myself I'm getting an 8 MP camera and for my daughter I'm looking at 4-6 MP. She is 11 and this will be her first camera.
Thanks for the help!
JoanMN
19 years ago
You are going to enjoy them so much! and what models are you looking at? Enquiring minds want to know! :>)
JoanMN
aliska12000
19 years ago
For an 8mp camera, I finally got a 2gb card and shoot RAW, you don't need quite as large a card for JPG. Still, at events, I sometimes do shoot in JPG and was filling a 1gb card in 1/2 hour, the 2gb card filled up in about an hour doing some street shots and a parade in RAW. It's best to set the camera to the finest quality possible unless they are shots where you need a whole lot but the quality isn't critical. You can't ever get lost quality back on your important shots.

Then there are the bigger cards. The reason I don't want to get into larger sizes is that if the card gets corrupted, you lose more photos, plus they are a lot more expensive. I have had good luck with my Kingston cards which were cheap and slower, now I have one Sandisk Ultra II, both seem to be pretty reliable. There was trouble with some brands.

Those things are so tiny, it would be so easy to lose the extra ones. I need a better plan to try to avoid that.

Be sure to order the right card for the cam. They either take CompactFlash or SD (or proprietary memory sticks), and it would be easy to make a mistake on that.
zitro_joe
19 years ago
dont forget XD for those fuji and olympus cameras
beache
Original Author
19 years ago
I'm looking at the Canon A630 for me and some sort of entry level camera for my daughter. Probably another Canon. A camera has to feel right in my hand and an optical viewfinder is important to me. I'm used to my SLRs (a Canon and a Nikon) so this will be a big change for me!
zitro_joe
19 years ago
The optical view finder of the P&S will not measure up to the view finder of an SLR. I have really liked what I have seen from the Canon Powershot 550, you can probably find a Canon A610 for you daughter for about $100, thats a deal.

do you already have Canon and Nikon glass, if so then you should think about some other options than a digicam, maybe an DSLR should be you present to yourself these holidays.

Joe
zolablue
19 years ago
What joanmn & zitro joe said. I attended an SLR class last night and we were told the following things:

It is a good idea to format your memory card often. You should format when you first get your camera and depending on how much you use your camera, before each time you shoot. At a minimum at least once per month. That will keep your memory card from getting corrupted by essentially performing the equivalent to a defrag on your computer. Just make sure you have downloaded your photos first because it will be wiped clean.

If it does get corrupted a reputable camera shop will be able to recover most of your photos - my shop says up to 80%. They said a lot of people don't realize this so please inquire.

Always set your resolution to the highest possible setting and the compression (quality) to the lowest setting. This will give you the best quality photos.

I have a 4 gb card but not sure how to recommend so I would listen to others more experienced. You just don't want to risk missing those great shots.

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