Do you think I have enough memory?

[DebºoºS]

Leaving in 19 days and am getting nervous and excited.

I have 2 SanDisk 2.0 UltraII compact flash cards for my D200. That isn't going to be enough is it? I'm not shooting RAW but jpg format. Seemed like enough a few months ago now I'm wondering. I won't have anyway to download pics. I guess I could have them burn a CD but I've read they compress the pics a lot to do that. I thought I'd go through pics at night for keepers & trash the rest. Just got a second battery and a new Nikkor 50mm.

 

[ukcatfan]

I won't have anyway to download pics. I guess I could have them burn a CD but I've read they compress the pics a lot to do that.

I have never heard that. I doubt that they would want to do that anyway b/c the larger they are, the more disks they sell. I would personally back them up to disk and still keep them on the card. You never know when on of them might fail and that way you have a backup. I use a laptop and keep a copy on the drive and on DVD. I do not erase the cards until I confirm that they are on both.

Just guessing, I would say that the D200 JPGs are around 4MB, so you have around 1,000 shots. Does that sound like enough to you? If you are going for three days, then I bet it would be, but if you are going for two weeks, then no way. You still have plenty of time to get a new card or two from Newegg or Buy or someone like that.

Kevin

 

[JR6ooo4]

does the 2.0 refer to a 2gig card?

I only carry five gigs and shoot raw. But I do download every night. When shooting theater I can fill 4 gigs during a three hour show plus before and after crowd shots. The shows are big and I try to get closeups of evey person so I take many shots...

Mikeeee

 

[DebºoºS]

Thanks Kevin,
I've only run out of memory once at MGM. I ran in and had them make a disc. Then trashed some pics to make room for the nights shots. It was only after I got home that I read that it wasn't a wise idea that they compress the pics. I think it was Kelly who mentioned it. Not sure. I'll do a search.

I'm only going to be there for a week but it is my first trip with the D200. It's not a whole family vacation either. DS is coming up from college to spend the week with me.

 

[garris3404]

Last trip I shot 2500 picture with my D50 over 2 weeks. I had 2.5 GB in cards. I had to make 3 trips to Walgreens to burn them to CD. It took a long time. If I was you, and was not taking a laptop. I would get a few more cards. You could buy some locally, take them down unopened, and return them if you don't use them. Better safe than sorry.

 

[handicap18]

Flash memory isn't very expensive. I'd pickup more CF cards. With my D50 on a 2GB card It gives me 568 pics. Though I can get closer to 620 depending on the lighting. With the D200 you wont get more than 500 I'd guess. My avg file size is probably around 3MB. On the D200 at full JPEG its probably closer to 5MB per file. Being that on a 2GB card thats 400 files. So 800 or so for the week.

Last trip I went for 4 days. Took 1300+ pics. I had 3 1GB cards. Luckily I also had the laptop because I need to clean out 1 card for the last day. Granted I took on avg 340 pic's per day which is kind of high. But 2 2GB card with a 10MP dSLR for me would not be enough.

Yeah I'd definately get more cards. Check out newegg.com or buy.com. You can set 2GB CF cards for less than $50 with shipping and 1GB cards for less than $30.

Once your home, you can always use the extra cards for backing up files till they get on disks. I still have 3 or 4 cards that I haven't erased. Probably wont erase them till I absolutly need them.

Smart move on the 2nd battery and the 50mm. I didn't use my 50mm enough on my last trip. Missed out on getting better Spectro pics and other things.

Just my take.

 

[DebºoºS]

You could buy some locally, take them down unopened, and return them if you don't use them. Better safe than sorry.

Thanks, Good idea. You're right better safe then sorry.

 

[tinksdad]

Flash memory isn't very expensive. I'd pickup more CF cards.

I agree!! I have a 4GB that pretty much stays in the camera and two additional 2GB cards and I have filled up two and was working on the third. If you are worried about it, then you'll not take shots or work on a lower resolution, neither of which will serve you well.

 

[DebºoºS]

does the 2.0 refer to a 2gig card?

I only carry five gigs and shoot raw. But I do download every night. When shooting theater I can fill 4 gigs during a three hour show plus before and after crowd shots. The shows are big and I try to get closeups of evey person so I take many shots...

Mikeeee

yup 2G. Wow that's a lot! 4G in 3 hours.
When I was doing shows or celebrities it was wayback in the 80's & 35mm manual Nikons bulkloaded with film. Back then I made sure I had every angle of everything so that I didn't miss a shot. Disney trips are way different for me. As much as I love love love taking pics I enjoy the parks and people I'm with more. So maybe I'll be more selective
nah, I better get more memory.

 

[DebºoºS]

I agree!! I have a 4GB that pretty much stays in the camera and two additional 2GB cards and I have filled up two and was working on the third. If you are worried about it, then you'll not take shots or work on a lower resolution, neither of which will serve you well.

Wow! Maybe I should get 4GB more then. I would cut back on the resolution if I thought I was getting close or stop taking pics to save space. I've done that with the Coolpix with horrible results.

 

[DebºoºS]

Once your home, you can always use the extra cards for backing up files till they get on disks. I still have 3 or 4 cards that I haven't erased. Probably wont erase them till I absolutly need them.
Smart move on the 2nd battery and the 50mm. I didn't use my 50mm enough on my last trip. Missed out on getting better Spectro pics and other things.
.

Good idea to keep them as backup. Did you find your battery made it through a whole day of shooting? I was planning on carrying one and then charging at night. A few years ago our camcorder battery died at WDW. DH ordered one online & had it sent overnight to the BWV. Now that was an expensive battery.

Another question for all. Do you use your lens hood? The 18-200 hood is pretty big. Just wondering if I should bother. FL sun is bright and I know there's flare but I don't remember having flare problems before with my long tele zoom.

 

[handicap18]

The battery lasted just about most of the day. It really depends on how much you view the pics in the LCD screen. That eats up a lot of battery life.

I had the lens hood on almost all the time. Problem with the 18-70, 18-135 and 18-200 is that the lens goes right to the very edge so they are more prone to lens flare. Just remember to take it off when you get indoors and want to take pics with the flash. The hood will give a shadow from 18mm to about 28mm or so when you use the flash. Maybe further with the 18-200 as it is a longer lens than the other 2 lenses I mentioned.

 

[MICKEY88]

Good idea to keep them as backup. Did you find your battery made it through a whole day of shooting? I was planning on carrying one and then charging at night. A few years ago our camcorder battery died at WDW. DH ordered one online & had it sent overnight to the BWV. Now that was an expensive battery.

Another question for all. Do you use your lens hood? The 18-200 hood is pretty big. Just wondering if I should bother. FL sun is bright and I know there's flare but I don't remember having flare problems before with my long tele zoom.

I always use my lens hood, it adds an extra bit of protection, against hitting the front of the lens and scratching it..