Memory Cards?

[PoohJen]

Everyone's recommendations on the digital camera thread were great, so how about memory cards? I need to get a new memory card to store all those great pics I'm gonna take on my November cruise. I notice the prices can really vary. Is there a difference in quality among brands? I was pretty happy with the price I got at Cosco for a SanDisk 512 mb, but buying a "no name" brand online would be alot cheaper!

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[scottygirl]

PoohJen,

I just bought the same SanDisk 512MB SD memory at Costco yesterday!! I already have a SanDisk 64MB SD memory and have had no problems with it whatsover. I think it is best to stay with a reputable manufacturer for something like this, although any memory could end up corrupted. Why take a chance on those precious photos? By the way I paid $30.00 for the 64 MB and $58.00 for the 512MB plus I get 20 free pictures developed at Costco!

 

[wdwoldtimer]

What no-name brands are you looking at?

The only significant difference between memory cards of the same type and size is the access speed. Some cards will write faster which means your camera will be ready for the next shot faster. This isn't a big deal for most people unless you do a lot of action photography. A Sandisk 512mb for $58 is a pretty good deal.

What you have to be careful about with no-names are that the memory chips they use are inferior or unreliable. When it comes to taking and storing your precious vacation pictures, I think it's worth it to go with a good brand.

 

[lovethattink]

We just got our 1st digital camera, and I got a Kodak memory card 128 at Walmart, so paid alot for it. Question...is there any problems with the camera and memory card going through security? Can memory get wiped out? We lost all our cruise pictures a couple cruises ago on our 33mm. So the cruise we went on afterwards, we spent an arm and a leg at Shutters buying pictures for "just in case."

 

[wdwoldtimer]

Your digital cam and it's memory card are unaffected by the security machines. The biggest threat to your pictures is someone playing around in the menus and accidentally formatting the card.

 

[PoohJen]

Thanks, y'all - I feel good about the Cosco deal (same deal as Scotty Girl) - I'm sure I paid alot for my original 64mb, so this is great for 512! You've put my mind at ease. (old timer, I think the cheapest brand I've seen is "Kingston")

~tink, I don't know the answer to that. I know people get concerned with 33mm film at security, but I've never known that to actually happen (great, one more thing to worry about!).

I also bought a sleeve of 800 speed 35mm film for the trip at Costco. I love my 35mm camera; one of these days I'll have to upgrade my digital from 2mp.

 

[wdwoldtimer]

Oh Kingston is a good brand as well. They specialize in memory devices as Sandisk does. What you have to be careful of are the real no-name stuff....i.e. ones that actually have no name at all.

 

[Thunderrd]

I opted for the San Disk Ultra 512 SD card from costco. I just got a new dig camera and had been pricing the cards and costco just lowered the price by $20, so I figured why not? Plus I wanted to take action pics.

I think the costs at costco are comparable or less that at other stores after their MIR (mail in rebates) and that appealed to me.

Some brands of digital cameras will have a special feature that will only work if you use their brand memory card. I had an olympus like that but I can't remember what it did as I never used that feature even though I rec'd an olympus mem card as a MIR when I bought the camera.

As far as going thru security and your memory card, I didn't give it a second thought and mine were all fine going thru the security at the port. My camera and all mem cards were in my carry on that I placed on the belt.

One thing you might want to consider is buying a back up memory card so that you would have at least 2 just in case something does happen to 1 of them. I have never had a card fail but I've read about that. Also if you had a 2nd card you could take more pics if your other card was full. Mem cards hold different mb's so your 2nd card doesn't have to be the same but could be larger or smaller depending on your needs.

Also be sure to have an extra battery(s) so that you can use your camera for pictures while the other is charging.

 

[tvguy]

Buy a cheap one and try it at home first. I have been told that only about 2 companies make the chip, so they are all the same.
Sort of like the difference between a Scion, a Toyota and a Lexus. Just the price.

 

[sweet angel]

I posted in the other thread that I just ordered two Olympus 256mb cards thru amazon.com. They had the best price I could find.

I originally wanted a 516mb card, but read on the site for my camera (Olympus) that in order to use it, I would have to send my camera to them to have them upgrade the software. I only got the camera for Christmas...it's a C50 5megapixel. Sometimes I hate that technology changes so quickly!

 

[lUVTOGO]

I just bought 2 256mb's for 54.00 total (Kingston's) on Newegg.com and will received 30.00 back as a mail in rebate. I don't know if this is still up there, but it was a great deal.

 

[PoohJen]

Yeah, that sounds like a great deal, luvtogo! (I'll just pretend I didn't read it, 'cause I'm too lazy to return my Costco buy and then too lazy to turn in rebate forms...)

Sweet Angel, I had read your post about software incompatibility/upgrade; I stopped at Circuit City and the sales rep told me the 512 would be no problem on my 2mp Kodak. So...fingers crossed...!

 

[sweet angel]

I stopped at Circuit City and the sales rep told me the 512 would be no problem on my 2mp Kodak. So...fingers crossed...!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too. I figured I'd toss the info out there, because had I not found out about it, I would've bought the 512mb card and not been able to use it. I wouldn't have been a happy camper.