Memory Card Question

[misse336]

How many memory cards/ GB of memory do you take for your Florida vacation per day?

I'm starting to worry that I won't have enough memory while I'm there. I have a t5i and 2 memory cards with 32 gb each. I will mainly be taking photos, not video, although there may be a few short video clips too.

 

[fritodenny]

I've been here at WDW for 6 days now and have take 763 pictures. About 35-40% of them were taken in raw + jpeg which added an extra 31 mb per phot. I've only used 16 GB of my 64 GB card. Its going to depend on how large each file is that you save to the card.

 

[nvtsallo]

I shoot raw and mostly stills. I average 700-1000 pics per day on my high side. I generally have a 32gb cf and ti moves to my 64gb sd card in my canon 5d3 and did not ever need to swap cards. Adding the raw + jpg them I would grab a pair of 16gb cards at the minimum and dont open them so you can use them if necessary but if not return them when you get home. I empty my cards nightly.

 

[jiminyfan]

I always carry one main and 1-2 back ups. Was using a 32 and only filled it once. Just got a 128 and I think I should be good even shooting videos. Never know if a card will crap out so always have something ready to go.

 

[Saimaeve]

I shoot raw

I carry about 3-4 just in case. (Im notorious for losing them inside my bag) Upload to my computer each night.

 

[jeffrose]

Get an external hard drive dump all photos/video each day or when memory is full on to it.

I always take a lot of 1 to 2 min video ...its such a better documentation of the moment and in the future you will be really happy
IMO - In this day, I cant comprehend why people take as many photos as they do ...video is sooo much better

Here is what I do = label a folder for each day as so:

08.04 - Mon - MK
08.05 - Tue - EP
08.05- Wed - Ak
and so on....

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[mom2rtk]

It doesn't matter what I plan. I always end up needing more than what I have. I don't bring a computer, and memory is cheap, so I take lots of cards just to be on the safe side. I haven't counted, but probably have a dozen or more.

They do sell cards in the gift shops, but they are 8 BG low end no-name cards. It's better to buy extra before you leave home.

 

[photo_chick]

I ended up using about 64 GB per day on my last trip. I use a 6D and shoot RAW. I didn't shoot any video.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

In addition to nine 16gb cards, I bring a laptop and external drive. I download and clean the cards each night in preparation for the next day. I download the files to both the computer and external hard drive so I have duplicates. My photography is a major part of my trip and I bring a lot of gear including three DSLR's (two for me and one for the DW).

 

[Skywise]

Until I got my 128gb SD card (freedom!) I regularly carried 4 32gb cards.

I shot with a Canon T2i and RAW and would get about ~800 pictures on 2 - 3 cards (it's rare that I went past 2 cards during any trip anywhere though).

Now I'll do alot of video of the fireworks and various stage shows plus the hotel room and the resort and, of course, the family (when they're not putting hands in front of their faces or dodging out of the way. ). My rule of thumb is if it moves or is animated, video it, otherwise photograph it.

I think the 2 cards should be fine but I'd get another 32gb or 64gb just to be on the safe side (and then go crazy!)

 

[Groucho]

In addition to nine 16gb cards, I bring a laptop and external drive. I download and clean the cards each night in preparation for the next day. I download the files to both the computer and external hard drive so I have duplicates. My photography is a major part of my trip and I bring a lot of gear including three DSLR's (two for me and one for the DW).

I bolded the most important part here - hard drives are *not* reliable, especially bouncing around in luggage, so redundancy is really key. The best option is to have your pictures both on an internal laptop drive and an external drive. They're so cheap nowadays that it's hard to justify not having one. With what we spend on cameras and lenses, what's $60 for a small 1tb portable drive? If you don't have enough space on your laptop (like if you're running on a smallish SSD), get two USB drives. It's still cheap insurance!

As for the original question... I usually average 500-some shots a day and occasional short videos, and would rarely fill up a 32gb memory card shooting 16gb raws. Next trip will be 24mp raws but I should be fine; I have my really-really-fast 32gb, my really-fast 32gb, and my fast 32gb. Plus a handful of 8gb ones.

It's also not a bad idea to take a photo of your cell phone screen right at the beginning of the trip, in case your camera's clock is inaccurate - then you can adjust all the later photos to get the correct time easily. Especially if you're crossing time zones.