jacqui72

Me again..realizing I should have bought an extra memory card for my digital camera since I'm sure I'll take 100's and 100's of pics. Is this something they sell in BKK at good prices, or is it better to buy it here last minute?

Kippy

I only checked out memory card prices when I was in a photo shop waiting for my memory card to be downloaded and burnt onto CD. As far as I could see the prices were comparative to the prices we paid for cards on Amazon in UK. I found that a spare card was essential and it was so easy to find digital services even in the most unlikely places in SE Asia where you could get your photos burned onto disc really quickly, efficiently and cheaply.

simpsonc510

I bought a new camera on Phuket in late September... it's a model that isn't yet (or WASn't yet) available in the USA. SEA has all kinds of electronic toys that we don't have yet. You won't have any trouble buying memory cards.

rkkwan

Prices for camera accessories are generally cheap in Asia, but look at the "Bargain Countdown" section on ecost.com. You can often pick up a SD card for free or very little (after rebate). I don't think Bangkok can beat "free" or "almost-free".

daryleann

ecost.com... have you had experience with them? The cost makes me suspicious but also it seems too good to pass up!

MaryW

In Australia the cost of cards is almost the same as in Thailand (for a similar make of card) if not a bit cheaper - no great deals unless maybe you were buying the camera as well. Here there are a couple of on line electronic shops with very good prices and also Ebay has some very good prices - should be the same in the states I would think

TexasSlim

The size of cards are going to make dramatic increases this year, 8G is already with us, prices will be tumbling down in the months to come.

rkkwan

daryleann - Yes, I have bought from ecost.com many times, and the rebates always arrive, eventually. However, one thing that I should be aware is that many of the stuff they list on "bargain countdown" may be out of stock or on order. So, if one needs something in a timely matter, it's not the best vendor to use.

rhkkmk

i ahve been warned that cards are sometines fakes in thailand....beware....i would get it at home so as to not be disappointed on my trip....

try e-bay also

i take my sticks to camera shops in asia and have them download the pics onto cd's which they do in an hour or two at a very cheap price....you have to manage your sticks however so as to not run out...and yes you will take tons of pics...

daryleann

When I bought my camera we had a 'class' and the guy said to beware when having pics transferrred to cd - make sure it's full size, not 'for emails'. Anyone have anything to say about this? I've been afraid to try, for just that reason.

rkkwan

Any photoshop will simply transfer your files from your memory card to a CD. It's very simple, and the simplest thing to do. Those people won't bother to shrink the sizes of the files or size of the image. So, don't worry.

The real worry is that the disc may not be burned or finalized properly by the burner; or the disc itself has some defects. This DOES happen from time to time. Therefore, make sure you have the clerk play the CD in the computer and check if the files are acessible. You don't want to just take the disc from the burner.

Also, CDs are relatively fragile. You need to protect them well from scratch and breakage for your trip home.

mrwunrfl

Take rkkwan's advice and examine the images on the CD after it is recorded. Look at the first and last images and one in the middle. You shouldn't see any pixellation (boxy, poorly resolved areas, you'll know it if you see it) even if you zoom in some. Then put the cd in a jewel case. Copy the pix from the CD to your computer's hard drive when you get home.

I don't know what "the guy" was talking about, and I wouldn't worry about it if you check out the CD before you leave. I suppose that there is some software that you can set so that it will reduce the resolution of an image to be under some pre-set size but there is no reason why anyone recording CDs as a business would do this because the capacity of the CD is much larger than your memory card. Even if you had more than could fit on a cd it would be good for them to make a second cd. Other reason might be that it would save time to record the reduced res images to cd but that would be at the time expense of actually performing the resolution reduction. Maybe "the guy" was referring to JPEG compression of images recorded as bitmaps, but that would be a good thing and not a problem, imo.

hi50phd

Try the Pantip Plaza, a mall devoted to electronics. You'll need to shop the small stores, though, and look for good prices. Got some OEM batteries (Canon and Creative) there for 1/2 US prices, so you may find a good deal on SD cards.

offwego

Why spend valuable vacation time running around getting possibly improperly burned CD's that you then have to "handle with care" for the rest of your trip? Memory is cheap, especially if you shop around on ebay like Bob says.

Buy some cards and lots of them!

MaryW

Really if you wait and go to Pantip you will be wasting lots of time and the prices there for cards is not too good. If you want to compare prices you can look at www.fotofile.net which is a photography shop in MBK which is the cheapest we have found in Bangkok - prices are still not as good as on ebay and you don't have to waste time looking. Some camera things are good in Bangkok - like lenses (but not as good as Singapore) and batteries etc are good in Pantip.

KMLoke

In Singapore (don't know about elsewhere) I got a 1GB Sandisk memory duo for about US$80.00

What I did previously was to upload into imagestation.com - I paid US$10 a year to be able to access the images at the same resolution.

TexasSlim

If we can just hang on until later this year then we'll be able to buy 10G+ cards which will hold all our holiday pics until we get home. There will no longer be any need to go to shops and burn CDs.

rkkwan

And I got a CD burned in Macau for $2.50. To me, I don't like to spend money when I don't have to.

eurotraveller

I took Rkkwan's suggestion and ordered a 1 gig card for $56.00 I thought that was a great price!