Digital Camera Memory Cards

R

Rois

Registered User
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Can anyone shed any light on the various cards required for digital cameras. For example why are SD cards so much cheaper than XD or Memory Stick Pro Duo cards?

What are the SDHC cards for - are they better than just SD cards. Is any particular card better than the other in terms of picture quality or speed? I need a new camera but am totally confused about the range of cards and the price differential between the card types.

Why do the different cameras use different memory cards?
 
wikipedia will answer most of your questions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card
SD seems to be the most common format. SDHC is a high capacity version (>4GB I think), some older devices may not be able to read SDHC.
XD (fuji & olympus?) and memory stick pro (sony?) are more proprietary formats.
Speed of the cards matters most for professionals, who are shooting X frames per sec. If the card isn't fast enough, the camera's internal memory will soon fill up.
 
Here as well l[broken link removed]


THey sometimes offer them in Aldi and Lidl as well.I got two 2gb SD cards in Aldi for 10 euro before Christmas.THey should not be expensive anymore
 
Don't let the card type influence your camera decision. Decide what camera you want and then decide.
I use SD's now and can get a 4gb for under tenner on ebay. I have recently bought compact flash cards for a different camera and they have come down in price too. And I used to use XD cards. There used to be a difference in price but not any more. And within the one brand there will be different cards required. (ie some Canon SLRS take compact flash others take SD)
You will probably end up with an SD camera but decide on the camera first and worry about the card later. The best advise it to buy the cards online rather than instore.
 
Good point. For example make sure that the camera has a decent quality lens or all the other bells and whistles might not be worth much. In many cases the traditional camera manufacturers will have better lenses but shop around and make sure to read as many reviews as possible.
 
blacknight said:
Don't be too put off. If you grab the memory cards on ebay you'll save a fortune
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Some SD cards on eBay are fakes and bad quality ........Whether you buy direct from Hong Kong or from UK

Check this out :

[broken link removed]
 
Arguably it goes without saying that buyers should check the reputation of sellers on eBay (and elsewhere) but maybe it's no harm in stating the obvious sometimes.
 

What is regarded as a decent quality lens please? I was tempted by a Sony but put-off by the price of the card.
 
Rois said:
What is regarded as a decent quality lens please? I was tempted by a Sony but put-off by the price of the card.
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Agree with the point about getting a good quality lens above all the other fancy gimmicks.

The manufacturers are now pushing bigger and bigger megapixel counts on the public, because 95% of the population are impressed by this. But this isn't important if the lens is substandard.

Most of us will only ever be printing out photos in 6x4 or even 7x5. At this size something like 3mp if fine, you'll never need 12mp!! 10 and 12mp is only needed if you plan to blow your prints up to massive sizes.

As for the lens, there are a couple of names to look out for:
- Carl Zeiss - these are very good quality and are often seen on some Sony's
- Leica - I have one of these on my Panasonic
- Nikon - another good name
- Schneider - often seen on some better quality Samsungs.

Cameras with these lens tend to get good to excellent reviews.

BE careful of camera's with manufacturers own brand lens. I did a lot of research before buying my Panasonic and own brand lens did not rate well.

To summarize, a 4mp Carl Zeiss lens will probably give superior image quality to a 6mp Samsung own brand lens.

Read the review websites before buying - thats always good advice.
 
ClubMan said:
Any reason you have omitted Canon from that list?
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So you own a Canon clubman?

I was just typing off the top of my head and forgot about Canon. Yes they do indeed produce very well reviewed cameras.
 
I just meant in relation to lenses.

But - yes - I have always had a soft spot for the PowerShot range.
 
Thanks for advice especially re lens, I have a much better idea now of what to look for. One more question how important is the HD function and the Face Recognition technology (sorry that's 2 questions).
 
By "HD" do you mean High Definition on a digital video as opposed to still camera (still cameras usually have basic movie capture built in but I'm not sure that they normally have HD?). I'm not sure how important these bells and whistles are generally but it really depends on your needs. I'd say that I use about 5% of my camera's features to be honest!
 

Yes, some of the cameras I'm looking at offer "HD Still and Video Capture" but I'm not sure what this means in terms of a digital camera. These are just normal digital cameras not camcorders.
 
Honestly Ive used both cards! I found no difference, but SD are the more popular format and more companies opt for them. Just different formats! much as petrol and diesel! both make cars move but are totally different components!( what a stupid comparison!) I imagine the fact that they are more widely available would make them cheaper in the long run! I would definately not let the card type decide the camera you choose! look for good pixels amount, especially if you're camera have a decent zoom!(you'll need higher resolution if using zoom alot because you are literally zooming in on the full picture and cropping!) also with this changeable weather I would opt for a camera with a good ISO range! Aperature(for different depths of field) etc.. is important if you have the patience and time to take awesome photos and know what you're doing!!" In all don't let the memory determine your choice of camerA!

canon are the leading photograph specialists still I think! This is why they have the best SLR's out there! and used by professionalS world wide! but I have no favouriteS!

 
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