Memory Card Types
Introduction
A memory card is your film, and the bigger the memory card, the more pictures you can fit on it, but what type do you need? How large and how fast is the right one? Who makes the best brand for your camera?
These are all questions you have to answer before you start taking pictures with your digital camera.
The five main types of digital camera memory cards include, SD, xD, CompactFlash, SmartMedia, and Memory Stick. That list might sound confusing, but it is usually rather easy to tell what type of memory card you need.
Before I go into the specifics of each type, regardless of the memory card type, the size is one of the most important factors these days. The memory card you get with the camera will probably be too small, and won’t even take the “normal” twenty-four images we are used to from our film cameras, unless you reduce the quality of the images. I recommend getting a one gigabyte card these days, as more and more digital cameras also allow for some limited movie capture mode, and being able to take more images is never a bad thing.
The prices of memory cards are also at a fairly low price, and so it is just easier to buy one or two larger sized cards than a few smaller ones that you might misplace.
If you can’t afford a full gigabyte for storage, than at least get a half-gigabyte (512MB) memory card.
Anything less and you start to get into not being able to hold enough high quality images, and that is really what you bought your digital camera for right?
Secure Digital – SD Cards
Some of the smallest and thinnest memory cards are the Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard memory and so they are usually seen in smaller digital cameras, PDA’s, cell phones, and MP3 players.
The only difference between the two memory types is that Secure Digital cards have a write-protect switch for added data security.
xD Cards
The first digital camera I had used xD Picture cards, they were introduced by Olympus and Fuji in 2002, and are the newest type of memory. Its tiny size of only 0.97” x 0.98” x 0.67” means it can fit into tiny cameras.
The xD Picture Card can also be used in any CompactFlash compatible camera with the available CompactFlash adapter.
Since it was developed and introduced by Olympus and Fuji, most current compact digital cameras from those manufacturers use the xD Picture Card media.
CompactFlash Cards
One of the most common types of digital camera memory is CompactFlash. More higher end digital cameras, and digital SLRs, are CompactFlash compatible.
There are two types of CompactFlash, just to confuse you even more. They are both physically different, thus some cameras can’t take both. There are Type I and Type II, and Type II is thicker. So check to make sure that if you buy a Type II that your camera can hold it. Type II CompactFlash is usually a higher capacity card, so if you are buying a 512MB or 1GB card, it is currently most likely that it is a Type II card.
One of the main reasons so many camera makers adopt the CompactFlash standard is that the cards have a controller chip that allows for higher transfer rates. Most cameras can’t take advantage of this, as they need to have large internal buffers. Most digital SLRs can take advantage of this though.
Inexpensive, easy to find, and work in a large variety of digital cameras, CompactFlash is one of the more desirable types of digital camera memory. The only complaint, it is a bit bigger than most other types, and so to save room, it seems like there has been a big shift towards other types of memory.
SmartMedia Cards
SmartMedia used to be one of the most common types of digital camera storage media. It was used in most Olympus and Fuji digital cameras until the introduction the xD Picture card, in 2002. SmartMedia is being phased out for newer memory types.
If you buy a camera that uses SmartMedia it might be a good idea to stock up on memory cards as they might not be available for too much longer.
Memory Stick
Sony developed the Memory Stick technology for their CyberShot digital cameras and other Sony electronic devices. You are unlikely to see their Memory Stick technology compatible with any other cameras other than Sony, so if you have a Sony, you probably need to buy a Memory Stick.
What Else?
Well, other than the size of the memory card, and the type, you also need to worry about its speed, and brand. Sometimes camera makers have it set up that you need to use their memory card, be it Olympus for an Olympus camera, to be able to use all of the features inside the camera. Usually this is just a recommendation, and you can use other companies memory cards just fine.
Sticking to brand names, SanDisk, Lexar, Kingston and other big brands is always your best bet. Not saying the memory you could get from a lesser known name won’t run as well, but the warranties and failure rates on brand name memory is less, though you do pay a little more for that piece of mind.
Don’t let their “pro” and “platinum” names confuse you, as sometimes one companies “pro” line is not even as good as the basic line of another company. Always look for the fastest transfer speed rating. A camera with 80x will be able to write the image to the memory card much faster than a camera with a 32x rating, meaning a faster cycle time for more pictures. You might not notice much of a difference when taking pictures, but being able to move through pictures on your camera, transferring them off the camera, and cycle times are all effected by memory card speed.
So my final advice, buy a brand name memory card, that works with the type of camera you have, get it as large and as fast as you can afford, and you should be able to enjoy your camera that much more.
Norcent’s DC-10: Just a 10 MP Digital Camera
Want to show off a ten megapixel camera, but don’t have much money? Norcent has got you covered with their DC-10. For $200, you can get a 10.1 megapixel digital camera, but don’t expect to get any other bells and whistles as the camera is pretty much sub-par in every other respect.
It has a 2.4-inch LCD, maximum ISO of 200, 3x optical zoom, VGA video capture and 32MB of built-in memory. All pretty much standard or sub-standard fare.
The camera runs on a pair of AA batteries which makes it easy to take lots of horrible pictures at a resolution that is way beyond what you need. A better choice, but costs twice as much would be the Canon PowerShot A640.
VistaQuest Keychain Camera
If you really want to show off how digital beats film, you don’t make a camera that looks like a film based camera, you show off the versatility of the technology. Like the VistaQuest Keychain Camera.
It takes a three megapixel still image as well as 640×480 video all contained within a small 2.5 inch frame. It has some internal storage, but accepts SD cards, also it uses AAA batteries.
Retailing for $69.95 USD starting at the end of this week.
Olympus Woodcam
There is something that just makes me laugh, watching technology be shoved inside a wooden frame. I have seen people put their computers in wood, and putting wood on or in cars used to be very popular as well, a trend that seems to be coming back lately, but a digital camera in wood? Well, that’s interesting to see.
I am used to the metal finish of my digital camera, but there is something more warm, more earthy about the Olympus Woodcam.
The wood that Olympus used is Japanese cypress, other than that no details are known about the camera. Other than the occasional splinter, I’d love to have one of these as more of a conversational piece than a daily used digital camera, no matter the specifications. Check out the full Olympus line at Digital Camera HQ, and no, they don’t list the woodcam yet.
Casio Exilim Z-1000 Review
Digital Photography Review has a great review up on the Z-1000, a special compact digital camera, as it was the first to break through the 10 megapixel barrier in a compact form.
Announced back in April, the Casio EX-Z1000 was the first compact to break the 10 megapixel barrier, though it was soon followed by a cascade of models featuring what we presume to be the same (Sony) 10.3MP 1/1.8-inch CCD sensor. Headline-grabbing double digit pixel count aside this is pretty standard Exilim fayre; friendly operation and ease of use, 3x optical zoom and stylish, slim, all-metal body. The 2.8-inch 16:9 aspect ratio wide screen LCD is unusual, but at its heart this is a point-and-shoot model in the truest sense, albeit one with more than a dash of style.
They liked the resolution, and the good edge-to-edge detail as well as the all-metal body, its build and finish, and how easy it is to use. Some negatives they mentioned include a noisy ISO 400+, as well as a misleading “image stabilization” mode, which only increases the ISO, and does not really stabilize. This seems to be one to try before buying, though it did end up getting a recommended rating.
Check out other cameras getting up there in the megapixel ratings on Digital Camera HQ.
Canon PowerShot A710 IS Review
Digital Camera Resource Page has a review up on the A710, an upgraded Canon PowerShot A700 with image stabilization and another full megapixel of resolution.
The PowerShot A710 IS takes an already excellent camera — the A700 — and adds some one really useful feature (image stabilization) and one not-so-useful feature (more pixels). Despite going up from 6 to 7 Megapixels, the A710’s photo quality remained very good, with noise levels that are perhaps lowered than on its predecessor. When you look at the whole package — from the photo quality to the image stabilizer to the manual controls — you’ll see that the A710 offers a lot of camera for your $400.
In the end they compare the A710 IS to the new PowerShot G7, saying the A710 IS is the poor man’s G7, as it has many of the same features, but it is still a very poweful and worthy addition to the PowerShot line, and I have to admit to being a little in love with any camera that has image stabilization, and the 6x optical zoom is not a bad thing either.
Check out more reviews on the A710 IS.
Nikon D80 Review
Digital Camera Resource Page has a review on the Nikon D80, a digital SLR that is said to be better than the D70, but no where near the professionalism of the D200.
The front of the D80 has a lot in common with Nikon’s other D-SLRs. The lens mount is an F-mount, and virtually all “CPU” Nikkor lenses will work. If you have some ancient Nikon lenses you may want to check with tech support before assuming that they’ll work with the D80. Just don’t forget about the 1.5X focal length conversion that I mentioned at the beginning of the review.
Deep inside the lens mount — behind the mirror — is the D80’s new 10.2 Megapixel DX-format CCD. This is apparently not the same sensor that the D200 uses, but it may be the same one as on the Sony DSLR-A100.
Directly above the lens mount is the D80’s pop-up flash, which is released electronically. This flash has a guide number of 13, which compares to GN 13 for the Canon Rebel XTi and EOS-30D, GN 13 for the Olympus E-500, GN 15 on the Pentax K100 (albeit at ISO 200), and GN 12 on the Sony A100. If you want more flash power then you can attach an external flash to the hot shoe that you’ll see in a bit.
In the end, they have nearly nothing but good things to say about the D80. They were impressed with the photo image quality, and that it is even worth upgrading from the D50 or D70. So it is safe to say, if you are looking for a budget digital SLR from Nikon, the Nikon D80 is the way to go.
Canon PowerShot G7
Canon has officially announced the PowerShot G7, the latest camera in the G-series which was last updated with the launch of the G6 way back in 2004. I thought that the G-series was going to die, as it was considered a strange bridge between a high end digital camera buyer, and an entry level digital SLR buyer, which was a quickly closing niche, but in all their wisdom, Canon has come out with what sounds like a pretty solid camera.
The new features of the G7 include a 10 megapixel CCD sensor, 6x optical zoom lens, and hardware optical image stabilization. Canon also decided to drop the G6’s 2-inch foldout LCD screen, instead providing a fixed 207,000 pixel 2.5-inch screen.
The G7 is different on the inside as well, with a Digic III image processor that is in every way better than the Digic II, and provides ISO 1600 picture taking. The PowerShot G7 also has an impressive 1024 x 768, 15fps video capture mode.
“In the PowerShot G7 we have created the ultimate prosumer compact digital camera for the discerning hobbyist, the photo enthusiast and for those who require uncompromising photo quality for business and industrial applications,” states Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the consumer imaging group at Canon U.S.A., Inc. “Faster, more responsive, more efficient and easier to use, thanks to Canon’s proprietary new DIGIC III image processor and a newly enhanced and intuitive user interface, the PowerShot G7 digital camera also offers users a greater level of creative control and flexible shooting options than ever before.”
If you like the specs of the PowerShot G7, you will have to wait until next month to get it, and you can expect to pay around $599.99 USD.
Pentax Optio T20
Still a month away, the Optio T20 was announced recently, showing off a 3-inch touchscreen LCD. The Pentax Optio T20 is a 7 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, a 640 x 480 pixel movie mode at 30 frames per second, and a small stylus that allows you to use the touch screen without touching the screen with your oily fingers. The stylus also allows you to play around with the “Drawing Function”.
You’ll also find a rechargeable Li-Ion battery, 12MB of internal storage, and an SD card slot as part of the feature set. Thats SD, not SDHC yet. All for a reasonable $350 USD. Check out the T20 at Digital Camera HQ.
Disney Digital Cameras for Kids
Many children have seen the change to digital, and want to join in the fun, but with the high cost of a decent digital camera, they don’t seem like good childhood playthings. Disney has stepped in to provide a solution: cheap digital cameras for kids.
The Disney Pix line of digital cameras, camcorders and peripherals made especially for kids and teens. The products have been designed by Disney in collaboration with the manufacturer, Digital Blue, maker of digital devices and software for the youth market.
Ranging in price from $20 to $80, each digital camera is colorful and the outer design is based on a particular theme – your child can choose among Disney Chrome, High School Musical, Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars, Little Mermaid, Disney Princess and Tinker Bell themes. Included in the package is Disney’s proprietary photo editing software, which they can use to customize their photos to include Disney characters, stamps, frames etc.
The specs range, but the “high-end” camera, the Disney Pix Max, will cost you $79.99 USD and has a 3 megapixel resolution, a 1.5” color LCD screen, a 4x digital zoom. It also has an expandable memory card slot, built-in auto flash and TV out.
The cameras should be out on the market now, but it has been said that it is still a little difficult to find.
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