Memory Card Selection
Most digital cameras use removable memory cards, also called digital media. You can purchase multiple memory cards and swap them when they’re full, so you can expand your camera’s storage capacity. The two things to consider when buying a memory card is card type and storage capacity.
Card Type:
The card type will depend on which digital camera you purchase.
Digital cameras generally support one or two of these six formats:
» CompactFlash (CF), including CF I, CF II, and Microdrive
» Memory Stick (MS), including MS, MS Pro, MS Duo, MS Pro Duo, MagicGate MS
» MultiMediaCard (MMC)
» Secure Digital (SD), and miniSD
» SmartMedia (SM)
» xD-Picture Card
Storage capacity:
The storage capacity of a memory card that you choose will depend on:
1. The resolution, measured in megapixels, of your digital camera.
The higher the resolution, the large the file size and thus more memory space required.
2. The number of pictures you would like to be able to store on your memory card.
Use this chart below as a guide to help you decide the capacity you need:
| Resolution |
Memory card capacity |
32 MB |
64 MB |
128 MB |
256 MB |
512 MB |
1 GB |
| 2 Megapixels |
35 |
71 |
142 |
284 |
568 |
1136 |
| 3 Megapixels |
26 |
53 |
106 |
213 |
426 |
853 |
| 4 Megapixels |
16 |
32 |
64 |
128 |
256 |
512 |
| 5 Megapixels |
12 |
25 |
51 |
102 |
204 |
409 |
| 6 Megapixels |
10 |
20 |
40 |
80 |
160 |
320 |
