Alteration in Card availability

I only use 4Gb cards and shoot RAW - I have one 8 Gb card which I bought in the US but it is really my last resort card. I just don't like having so many photos on one card. 4Gb gives me plenty for RAW.

But then I only have 3 4Gb cards and the 8Gb card. Normally enough for all but the longest holiday. If they get full I just re-use them having made sure they are backed up twice before re-formatting.

Not that any of them are getting any use right now.

I think most people would backup and re-use. I did not understand why techno-terminator archived hers so only used them once. I think there are cheaper ways of maintaining a backup

I didn't understand that part either, TT you're not really using SD cards only one time are you?

SD cards are no good as a backup as the information on them is not permanent.

It makes no sense to use a card only once, then 'archive' it. That's almost treating it like film, except you could lose a lot more images if you lost/damaged a card. It's much safer to make a couple of copies on separate hard disks kept at different locations and perhaps another on DVD.

I keep all mine on a RAID array (Netgear ReadyNAS NV+), and backup to an external WD 1Tb MyBook HDD. Once in a while, I copy them all to another external HDD.

Admittedly my system is more expensive than using cards only once, but cheaper options exist.

A simple and relatively cheap solution is to use say, a couple of 160/250/500Gb 2.5" laptop drives connected to the PC via a USB/IDE/SATA cable.

That's what I use with my Netbook. To protect the exposed electronics I cut up the lid of a maargarine tub and screwed it in place on the bottom of the drive. Works perfectly and the biggest advantage is that the 2.5" drives are powered by the USB connection so you don't even need an extra power supply.

A more professional solution would be a WD Passport drive or similar.

Well , I think this is where folks ideas vary .

I've heard of folk losing a card full of pics - fortunately after they were downloaded - but this could be a disaster .

Now I'm using good cards [ which should help ]

I still have all my pics for the previous College course saved on the pooter and an external Hard Drive - and as I said I was surprised how much space they took up.

I'm slowly changing things now - I've bought a 500GB external which will be dedicated to my Photos .

The reorganisation is going to take some time to get it right. After all no storage system is infallible and technology advances all the time .

My card stock now will be 2 8GB cards dedicated to the K-x and 2 4GB cards dedicated to the Optio. All pics are downloaded ASAP , but holidays are a problem - I'm a solo traveller with messed up elbows so my capacity to carry things is much reduced . As a result of this year's trip I will really have to consider whether I do travel with a computer or not.

A little information:

Lexar use memory chip fabricated by a sister company with Micron Technologies. Crucial is another company within the group which uses the same suppliers and facilities.

Lexar also make the Kodak memory cards and USB pen drives.

Sandisk manufacture their own chips (in partnership with Toshiba) - if anyone claims Toshiba are better than Sandisk, they should not be as they could well be the same product.

Kingston however, buy in their chips from different manufacturers including Samsung, Hynix (Hyundai), Toshiba and Micron.


TT mention Sandisk clones - there are too many out there and caution when buying Sandisk is required. There are a couple good pages on ebay that describe how to identify a real/fake.

Other makes also suffer from fakes including Lexar and Kingston but not as often.

The thread reminded me of a friend who fell into a classic sales trap.

He had a Panasonic Lumix camera and when going on a trip to S America wanted some additional SDHCs.

I suggested a couple of 4 or 8 GB Sandisk Ultra (or similar) but he went to the shop that sold the camera and they persuaded him that he had to use the "Manufacturers Original" to ensure compatibility.

Panasonic sell 6GB and now 12GB cards. The 6GB cost him 50% more than a similar (Class4) spec Sandisk!



The question is, why have Panasonic decided to make "non-standard" 6 7 12 GB devices - unless it is to catch the unwary?

Frankly, I don't see the need for these giant cards. I, for one, would never let days pass before uploading my images to a more permanent storage medium (e.g. harddisk).

So far, I have only one 4 GByte memory card. It has never been more than half full and it has hardly left the camera.

You guys must be very trigger happy if you fill the whole card before you reach a computer.

Also, I have found that using the USB cable for transfer is far more easy than using a separate card reader. (And I don't risk forgetting my card at home).

I've filled a 8GB in one day with RAW files from the K10D, at the end I was deleting the bad photos so I could take more
With things like video and high resolution photos you will need a bigger card.

The 645D for example would fill a 4GB quite fast with RAW I believe

I use the card reader that came with the Sandisk extreme III it's noticeably faster than using the camera and a cable, it's just what you want of course.

three 8 gig cards and three 2 gig cards, all lexar or sandisk for every job....
truth is we shoot too many images on a job.....
backups on the laptop till we get home and upload to aperture....

Doing a similar thing Don, but finding now that I'm just importing directly into Aperture on the laptop, that way, you can leave the laptop on, doing whatever preset processing you like, including faces etc. then when you get back home, just export the project as a new library and merge it into the main machine at home.

Depending on the workflow, it can save hours.

Currently shooting on 6x 4GB Sandisk Extreme III cards, but, after filming the speeches at the wedding last weekend and getting through 15GB in 42 minutes, that is under review!! Hopefully, the K-7 replacement will get 1080P, so some 8GB or even 16GB cards will be in our future!