Making the move to digital.

[HughK]

Have made the decision to not lug my old workhorse Canon AE-1 on hikes any longer and move to the digital age, looking seriously at the Canon G10.

My question is about memory cards, is it like memory in a computer and you buy as much as you can at the beginning, because you will always use it. Or can it be overkill- too much memory that you don't use? I know what the salesperson will tell me.

I take landscapes, fauna and flora from hikes, tourist pictures- 4gb sufficient?

Thanks in advance.
Hugh.

 

[David Metsky]

Memory is cheap. I recently bought some Class 6 SDHC 8 Gig cards for $12, and the prices continue to go down. Right now the prices are around $15 for 8 Gig, buy two and never worry about running out of memory. I buy mine from newegg.com usually.

 

[woodsxc]

David is right on both counts. Go big, get lots of space. That way, you can shoot at the highest resolution and not run out of room. It's not like carrying lots of extra rolls of film, it takes up no space and weighs nothing and means you can just switch cards if you run out of memory six days into a ten day trip (happens a lot on our family trips). Or, if you break one card, you have a spare.

I have a 2 gig memory card and haven't really tested its limits, but I know it holds over 150 normal resolution (5 megapixels) pictures. That was enough for a 4 day backpacking trip.

 

[David Metsky]

I take thousands of shots per trip, plus lots of video. Lots of memory let's you explore and experiment.

 

[Woody]

In addition to the size of the memory card, the number of shots you get on a memory card will depend on the megapixals of the camera you are using and the file type you are using to save your images. A Canon G10 is a 14.7 effective magapixel sensor. With a 2GB memory card you will be able to store approximately 94 RAW images or 306 or more Large JPEG images. Using a 8 GB card the storage would be approximately 378 RAW images or 1227 (or more) large JPEG images.

Source

I have several memory cards that I can use so I can keep clicking away.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

One other factor. Photographing with a higher ISO (e.g. 1600) takes more memory than with a low ISO (e.g. 100), up to 33% more IIRC. So if you shoot in low light and use a higher ISO for some photos, you will also use more memory. On several day hikers I have filled a 4G card with images. Yes, I take too many images. Given the current prices for memory cards I see no reason not to buy a couple of 8G cards, (although Doug Paul may give us a few reasons ).

Carrying a spare memory card at all times is just as important as carrying a spare battery IMHO.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Carrying a spare memory card at all times is just as important as carrying a spare battery IMHO.

And a lot lighter!

 

[David Metsky]

One other factor. Photographing with a higher ISO (e.g. 1600) takes more memory than with a low ISO (e.g. 100)

Except the G10 images look horrible at ISO 1600. 800 is as high as I'd go, and only in an emergency.

There's no reason not to buy 8G cards, which I think give you the best bang for your buck right now. Soon that will shift to 16 Gig cards but not yet. At this point buy Class 6 (the fastest) simply because the price difference is so small and the transfer speed (not the picture taking speed) is worth it.

 

[Grumpy]

Woody48 already has indicated this, but Canon's specs for the G10 (as posted on B&H Photo Video's site) are:

• 47 RAW images per GB of memory

• 153 JPG images per GB of memory

B&H Photo also lists a 2GB Sandisk SD memory card to fit the camera for about $14. A 4GB card is about $35.

(I've used Sandisk CF cards for eight years now, and find them to be very reliable, so I'm kinda sold on Sandisk. This is like my film shooting days, when I had a soft spot for Kodak Tri-X 35mm film in factory loaded cassettes -- I shot thousands upon thousands of those, and only recall one having been defective.)

The amount of memory and battery capacity one needs depends on individual shooting habits. I happen to shoot a lot -- many duplicates or near-duplicates, different compositions, details, etc. -- and so need more image memory and battery juice than many other people. Once you get accustomed to it, digital also invites more shooting.

For myself, I'd probably get a half dozen (or more) of those 2GB memory cards, and at least one (maybe two, or even more) extra rechargeable battery for the camera.

Both the amount of memory and number of batteries I'd have in the kit also would depend on how frequently I expected to move image data to a computer or other mass storage system (is that "upload" or "download", in geekspeak?) and have access to electricity for battery recharges. Less frequent data transfers and recharges translates to more memory cards and betteries, natch.

G.

 

[David Metsky]

I've used less expensive Transcend cards for several years now, no problems at all. Personally, I don't worry much about brand names with memory cards, they're pretty much commodities now. I usually buy the second least expensive brand, I still don't like using the lowest bidder.

 

[DougPaul]

Given the current prices for memory cards I see no reason not to buy a couple of 8G cards, (although Doug Paul may give us a few reasons ).

If you insist...

The downside of a large card is that if you have a failure, you risk losing more images. Take your choice: convenience vs risk.

Doug

 

[w7xman]

If you insist...

The downside of a large card is that if you have a failure, you risk losing more images. Take your choice: convenience vs risk.

Doug

Bingo!

Happily carrying many 2-4 Gig cards!

 

[MichaelJ]

The downside of a large card is that if you have a failure, you risk losing more images. Take your choice: convenience vs risk.

Before anyone says it's a hypothetical, this happened to me in the middle of the Maroon Bells Wilderness in Colorado. My battery died in the middle of writing to the card, and after replacing the battery the camera noted the corruption of the last image (the directory, actually) and would not write to the card any more. This is actually a good thing, as the potential existed for subsequent photos to trash previous ones. I was lucky enough to have more cards with me, and I now always carry a number of smaller cards instead of just one or two huge ones.

 

[DougPaul]

Before anyone says it's a hypothetical, this happened to me in the middle of the Maroon Bells Wilderness in Colorado. My battery died in the middle of writing to the card, and after replacing the battery the camera noted the corruption of the last image (the directory, actually) and would not write to the card any more. This is actually a good thing, as the potential existed for subsequent photos to trash previous ones.

Glad to see that at least some cameras make this check and refuse to write any more on a corrupted card. Presumably you were able to recover all except the last image.

Doug

 

[David Metsky]

Two years ago 2G cards were the big cards and we were carrying multiple 512M cards.

 

[MichaelJ]

Presumably you were able to recover all except the last image.

Ayup.

2GB as "big" and 512MB as "small" are still more than adequate if carrying a 6MP camera. I've upgraded to 2GB as small and 4GB as large for my 10.1MP

 

[David Metsky]

2GB as "big" and 512MB as "small" are still more than adequate if carrying a 6MP camera.

Depends on your shooting. I've filled up 2G cards in an afternoon of shooting at tele festivals, and I've missed good shots while changing memory cards. I'm happy with the 8 G cards although I haven't yet filled one up in a day.

On my recent trip to Japan I shot 12 G of images and video. It was much easier with two 8G cards (plus a 2G backup) then with 7-8 2 G cards. I don't like changing memory cards while out shooting, I guess.

 

[nartreb]

Metsky nailed it the first time. Buy a couple of reasonably-priced cards now (anything from 2GB to 8GB, they're all cheap; off-brand is fine); if you find yourself needing to change cards in mid-hike (because not having to change film means you shoot way more than you used to, or because you're shooting video), buy another, higher-capacity card later -- by the time you get back to the store the price will have dropped again.

To answer your original question: memory for PCs is usually a performance bottleneck and you usually want as much (of the very best) as you can afford. Memory for cameras is just storage (like hard disk space on a PC, but even less relevant to performance). Having a bit extra can be useful, but even the manufacturer's suggested minimum is plenty for most people.

Edit: I second the motion to buy a backup battery. At least as important as a backup memory card.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

More is better. If you end up shooting all your images in RAW, 4GB is probably too small. Get more cards or larger capacity cards. When I sold cameras just 4 years ago, an SD card that costs less than 50 bucks today would have cost 300 or 400 dollars. That's all relative, of course, but you can't dispute that memory is very cheap today. Go big. I also sold AE-1 cameras way back when (John Newcomb), but don't expect ANY digital camera, no matter the cost, to last 30+ years!

 

[HughK]

Thanks to all for the great response.

I think a lot of times when there are discussions about equipment the topic tends to drift toward which model is better over another. But for me what actually determines a good or poor experience with a new device are these small things- memory cards, extra battery, when does functionality begin to degrade, etc. Just like a trip report this information really serves to help manage my expectations.

The next step will be to get some photos up on the forum.

Thanks again for the help and advice.
Hugh