SD memory

[Dovek916]

I am getting the Pentax Optio 33wr, and I was going to get a 4g sd card for it, so it wouldn't get full if I couldn't upload the pictures often, and I was reading the reviews about this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208086) and I got the impression that over 2g sd was faulty and/or that most devices couldn't take over 2g sd. People aslo complained that it didn't work with most of their devices, and it was formatted wrong, and that it was often corrupt, is this hogwash, or could this be a bad brand? Also, someone mentioned an old and a new sd card type, what is with that? Thanks in advance

[Wyatt]

Some devices can't handle cards bigger than 2GB.

There are two types of SD cards: standard SD and SDHC (SD High Capacity). 4GB isn't an SDHC size, but some devices still can't handle those cards.

I'll see if I can find out if your camera can use them.

[edit]
I'm having a hard time finding information on that camera. It's nearly four years old, so there's not a lot of information readily available online.

However, based on the age of the camera, I'd say there's a really good chance it can't use 4GB cards.

Why not buy a newer camera?

[Dovek916]

Why not buy a newer camera?
Because A)it is more expensive and I don't have the money
B)If I am going to be backpacking, I would rather not have to worry about the camera
C)<song and dance>Because Because Because Because, of all the wonderful things he does</song and dance> ;) :lol: :D
D) It takes AA batteries which is usesful because extra propritary batteries are more expensive to buy than alot of batteries

[turtle]

A lot of the Canon Point and Shoots will fit your category too. I don't know what you're looking to spend, but they take great pictures and are SD and AA like you're looking for.

[chucker]

The entire A series of Canon PowerShots takes AA batteries, unless they recently changed things. So that's not a valid argument. It's obviously not my business, but I really don't think investing in a 4 GB card for such an old camera is worth it. Heck, why not buy two 2 GB cards? It'd probably be cheaper, and is much more likely to work.

[torifile]

And a 3.2 megapixel camera would take AGES to fill a 2gb card. If you're concerned about losing an expensive camera, you should be equally concerned about losing thousands of pictures in one fell swoop.

[Majost]

And a 3.2 megapixel camera would take AGES to fill a 2gb card. If you're concerned about losing an expensive camera, you should be equally concerned about losing thousands of pictures in one fell swoop.

Bingo. Even with my 6MP camera, it takes a lot of work to fill up a 2 GB card. On the past few vacations, I've taken two 2GB cards, and my laptop. I always kept backup photos on one of my cards. I'd take both cards with me every day, and if it turned out that I needed more than 2GB before getting back to the computer, no sweat -- I just erased the backups and kept shooting. But more often than not, I wouldn't shoot more than 2GB in a day (or two or three until I got back to the computer).

Having two sets of photos in different locations is great for your peace of mind.

[drewprops]

The equation changes drastically if you begin to shoot video, as I like to do from time to time.... I'll pull it out at the bar and shoot stupid crap, or who knows where... just easy to whip out the digicam and start rolling video... eats up lots o' space.

I just got a 2GB Ultra card by Kingston for my Canon SD400 and it SEEMS much faster than the previous card... but that was a 1GB Ultra, so it shouldn't be that much different, right?

[turtle]

Yes, both have the same speed read/write speed. Maybe there were some improvements since your last card was manufactured as compared to now.

As for SD cards, my recommendation to you, dovek916, would be to buy several 1GB cards. While it's more to carry, but it allows you the ability to loose the least amount of images if there is a card error. Photo recovery software can do a lot, but it can't save everything. Once I moved into to pro-sumer lever in photography the first thing I learned was to have multiple CF cards rather than one huge one. I've worked with many photographers who have lot whole shoots due to a dead/corrupt card.