|
PICTURE CARDS*FLASH MEMORY
Honest, Trustworthy, Safe: Quality Digital Camera Products
Please scroll to the bottom of the page to learn some of the
fundamentals of digital cameras and their memory requirements:--------------------------------------------------------------------
| APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF IMAGES PER CAPACITY OF CARD |
|
|
|
|
|
MB = megabytes GB= gigabytes |
|
|
* Average file size using cameras highest resolution JPEG mode. The actual number of images per card will vary and depends on the camera model and compatibility of the scene being photographed. |
See ALSO our MEMORY CARD READERS + WRITERS HERE
See ALSO our MEMORY CARD READERS + WRITERS HERE Below are listed some of the more fundamental principles about digital cameras and their respective memory:
copyrighted, 1/2003 and 1/2005 by R. Wilkes
1 a). MegaPixels - What's a megapixel, and what does it have to do with a digital camera (for convenience, sometimes referred to as a "digicam") specifications?
Basically, the megapixel designations that we almost always see associated with a particular brand, model and price of a particular digicam - perhaps along with a camera's OPTICAL ZOOM [SEPARATELY DEFINED] designation - simply refers to the amount of detailed resolution that the digicam is capable of containing in each photograph. So it is usually directly associated with the potential quality of the photo that the digicam may produce.
For example, let's assume that a photo-sized square consists of many tiny squares, called "pixels". The fewer little squares, or pixels, that a photo can include to make up its entire image, the higher the probability that its detailed quality that we may view will be lower quality. Conversely, the more little squares, or pixels, that can potentially be used to create this image, the greater the potential resolution, or detail, that each photo may include. (Technically, a pixel is created from a series of dots, but the concept of a tiny square representing a tiny pixel is, perhaps, more appropriate in certain respects.)
Using this mental picture of pixels can easily help us to understand how directly pixels can be associated with a digital camera's quality. Each megapixel represents one million of those tiny little squares, or pixels!!! So a 3MP, or 3 MegaPixel digital camera, is theoretically able to duplicate an image - digitally - by using about 3 million tiny little squares, or pixels, to accomplish this!!!
1 b). The term "Optical Zoom" is normally the second most basic feature that an individual should look at when shopping for a digital camera. It refers to the physical lense characteristics of the camera that you are looking at - a digital camera with a "3x Optical Zoom" will permit you to enlarge an area of a proposed photo up to 3 times larger than a camera wit NO Optical Zoom by using the part of the Zoom-in and Zoom-out controls frequently designated with a "T" for "Telephoto," meaning that you can Zoom-in to get a closer look or photo. Optical Zoom can be thought of as the "binocular" part of the camera.
"Digital Zoom" - on the other hand - has largely been considered by many as sort of a gimmicky way of manufacturers to make it look as though you have MORE zoom than you actually DO have - ESPECIALLY when they take Optical Zoom and multiply that by Digital Zoom to come up with a generally meaningless advertising term called "Total Zoom," which is a term that I believe is all-but-meaningless [or, perhaps, WORSE than meaningless because people are actually judging cameras by this bogus term]. Digital Zoom has previously been considered ajust the same as a tool which was nothing more than using the digital zoom on your computer when viewing or editing images - generally having the effect of denegrating the quality of the image. Please do note, however, that some manufacturers are utilizing technologies that cause digital zoom to be a beneficial type of zoom on a digital camera that really adds value to the camera.
I suggest that you either stick to using only "Optical Zoom" and "Megapixels" when shopping for a digital camera, or else - if you KNOW which model that you are interested in and IF effective digital zoom could make a difference in your decision - do your homework first and read a review or two in digital camera photography [online] magazines that are non-profit and generally well thought-of (these can be quite lengthy and include terms that are not usually understood by folks who have not been photography enthusiasts, HOWEVER you can usually get something helpful out of it even by reading the section called "conclusion" or something similar).
2. The word "digicam" - simply a grammatical contraction, if you will - from the words "digital" and "camera", meaning "digital camera".
Digital cameras differ from film cameras in a number of ways, but one of the most fundamental ways is that the digital camera stores your photographs in digital form on a flash memory card, rather than on film. All memory cards now used for this fall into the general catagory of "flash memory" (some may think that "digital film", or "picture memory cards" would be more user-friendly) which are reusable usually many thousands of times! And although some folks may choose to have their photo's from their digital cameras developed traditionally by a film developer, as in recent decades past, most prefer to let their computers do the basic job of transforming the information captured through the camera lense on their digital camera into viewable photographs. Some hesitate, because it is beyond what is familiar to them. But, once the gap is bridged (a gap that is usually always a great deal smaller than imagined), a delightful new way of taking, editing, sharing and storing their photographs is discovered and frequently becomes new source(s) of fun, creativity and usefulness - increased utility, if nothing more!
With a digital camera, results are almost instantaneous, like a Polaroid. You don't have to wait for your film to come back from processing as you can just download [or "tranfer"] them onto your computer. Today, almost every model has a built-in screen that can show you the pictures you have just taken, so if you don't like them you can take them again and record over the ones you don't want. Digital cameras allow you to create images that can be electronically added to documents and other information on your computer. You can add pictures to letters, presentations and newsletters. The cameras allow you to add pictures to your own web pages with a minimum of fuss and expense. You can share them with friends and family by email. Once on your computer, pictures can be edited and manipulated in both subtle and dramatic ways. You can crop shots (that is, cut out a disireable part of a photo, which usually enlarges that portion) to exactly the size you want, and change the color, contrast and sharpness of the whole image, or just elements of it. You can even (apparently, of course) "rewrite history" by removing unwanted items from your shots, as well as adding artistic effects and joining pictures together in ways that are impossible in the darkroom used for film development.
What you need: A digital camera alone is of great possible use (especially with discount-store photo-labs usually offering services where they will print out shots directly from the camera's memory for the same or less than a film camera :) ). However, a computer is the most useful accessory: you can download your pictures onto its hard drive where you will be able to view your shots, easily edit, save or delete them, email them to friends or loved ones and add or attach them to other documents and files on your computer. If you don't want to store them on your computer, there's probably no need to do so - we offer for sale, and most of today's computers already have, a CD drive that is capable of recording new CD's (also know commonly as "CD burning", because the CD's are recorded by a laser light beam that actually affects the special plastic of the CD in such a way as to make it readable by a CD drive, either a newer one that can record [like the ones that we sell] or the older ones that simply read/play CD's, but do not "burn", or record them).
The basic software and cords for interfacing between your digicam and your computer are normally always supplied with the camera, although you may at some later time wish to buy or download [that is, "transfer", usually to your computer] additional, more advanced programs to help you catalog or edit your shots. You can also have your digital photographs 'developed' by an online Internet print service. Simply transfer, or "upload" your pictures to a Web site and the print service will transform your images into prints, exactly as you would with normal film, and then they will mail them back to you "developed" - for a fee, of course. A printer is only necessary if you want to make printed copies of your prints at home or office (rather than using them for emails, photo-CD's, laptop presentations, or on-screen viewing). You can use a standard PC printer or a dedicated digital photo model. However, if you don't have a computer, most cameras come with a video cord that allows you to look at your pictures right on a standard color television [we sell a flash card reader by LEXAR and one by SanDisk that hooks up to a tv (your own tv or one belonging to a family member you may be visiting) and uses its own remote control to allow you to view the shots you just took - or that you took another time - as a slide show, or to pause, to ZOOM in, and includes other functions as well. See it in our "CARD READERS" section - it is the "Digital Photo Player" by LEXAR, a premium producer of high-quality flash cards.]
WE TRY TO CARRY ONLY DIGITAL CAMERAS AND OTHER ITEMS THAT WE BELIEVE THAT WE WOULD BE PLEASED TO OWN AND TO USE OURSELVES.
Perhaps you've got a new digital camera and now you need a memory card to store all those great digital pics. But which card do you buy?
There are a couple of things to consider when buying a memory card: the "type" of flash memory card and its storage capacity. The type of memory card you'll need is determined by which digital camera you buy and what type that camera uses (this information always comes with the camera, and really ought to be shown on the websight where you buy your camera).
The most common types of flash memory cards for digital cameras are: CompactFlash Card(CF), SmartMedia Card, Memory Stick (MS), MultiMedia Card (MMC), Secure Digital Card (SD) and xD-Picture Card.
The storage capacity of a memory card you choose will depend on 2 things:
1. How much you wish to spend for your camera's card - your new "digital film" - and
2. How many digital photos you want it to be able to hold. Memory cards come in different storage capacities, ranging from 32MB all the way up to 4 gigabytes. How many digital photos that card can store depends on the resolution (megapixels) of your camera. The higher the resolution or megapixels, the larger the file size and the more memory each photo uses.
At the very, very top of this web page there's a quick chart that can help you decide what capacity of memory card to buy as far as the second issue (i.e., How many digital photos you want it to be able to hold). As you will quickly see, the higher the megapixels that your camera is rated, the more room they take up on the flash memory card, because they hold more details [more information] about each photo that you take with them. Although they take up more room on the card, they are generally more capable of taking more detailed - hence potentially higher quality - photos.
FOR ADDITIONAL LEARNING INFORMATION, FEEL FREE TO CLICK HERE.
SAFE, HONEST, TRUSTWORTHY: QualityDigitalCamera.com
|
![Memory Stick PRO™ Duo 512MB [SDMSPD-512-A10, SDMSPD512A10] SanDisk $27.75](/t/flash%20memory%20im/SanDisk_512mb_MSPro_Duo512MB_Angled_CARD_____OK.jpg)
.jpg)
