Memory Cards Buying Guide
Memory cards are ubiquitous tiny devices that have made our digital life a lot easier.
If you are a novice photographer and you want to take as many practice photo shots as your heart so desires, but you do not want spend extra money on film, then a high capacity memory card is perfect for you.
If you are into video documentaries and you are using a digital camcorder, the memory card can greatly help you along with a DVD to record your video.
Or if you simply are a gadget fan and you have all sorts of hand held devices like cellular phones with MP3 players and cameras, and you download multimedia files each day for you and your loved ones, you definitely need more memory cards for your stuff.
But you need to know the kinds of memory cards available on the market as well as the features you need so that you can budget your money well and you can get the best buys.
Smart Media
the Smart Media is has a very limited capacity – just between 2 MB and 128 MB. They are being used by a few brands only such as Fuji and Olympus.
Memory Stick
This memory is used mainly by Sony Corporation’s electronic devices. The memory sticks have capacities between 4 MB and 128 B and can be used only with compatible and specific slots. They are fast becoming less popular with the arrival of newer memory cards that have higher capacities.
Memory Stick Pro
This is a newer and more advanced version of the Memory Stick. This has higher capacity and can provide a unique protection technology for you data. You must note that it will work only with certain compatible digital cameras.
xD Memory Card
Developed by Fuji and Olympus, the xD Memory is one of the newest kinds of memory cards available in capacities higher than 512 MB. You will want to buy this if you want more high resolution photographs stored on your camera before downloading.
SD/MMC
Secure Digital Media (SD) and Multi Media Card (MMC) are very similar to each other. In fact, SD has grown out from MMC. SD has a built-in copyright protection feature. Both cards are slightly more expensive compared to the others.
CompactFlash
The CompactFlash is one of the oldest types of memory cards still in use today. Physically, the CompactFlash is larger compared to others. CompactFlash are flash-based memory and still used especially with professional level digital cameras.
CompactFlash II
The CompactFlash II differs with the first version apparently in their thickness, the second being thicker. Most CompactFlash II memory cards use a Micro-drive instead of being flash-based drives like the first version. The type I memory cards can be accommodated into type II slots while the type II memory cards can not be accommodated into type I slots.
Memory Card Storage Capacity
You need to determine the maximum number of mega pixels your camera can handle. The higher the mega pixels, the higher each picture file size becomes. And the higher the file sizes of each photo, the lesser the number of photos can be accommodated in a memory card.
Type of Digital Camera or other Digital Gadget
You should make sure that you buy a memory card that fits into the slot of your digital device otherwise your memory card would be totally useless.
Memory Card Reader
Although most digital devices can directly connect to the computer though a universal serial bus or Bluetooth, there will be unavoidable circumstances when you need to buy a card reader like when the digital device itself gets broken and you need to download the memory card contents into a computer.
