Digital photo memory for a 2 wk trip
 

Hello,

How much memory do you all bring with you when traveling for 2 wks?

I have one each of 128 MB and 256 MB SD cards. This has been more than enough for me for 1 wk trips in the past, so I'm thinking of just getting one or 2 more.

It varies so much from person to person. I would estimate the number of photos that you intend to take and the format of the photos. My partner and I take a lot of photos and often use the highest resolution and so 1 gig a day is often the norm. For those who shoot in raw mode it's even higher.

Memory cards are becoming cheaper and cheaper.....why take a chance...go out and get at least a 2gb card...there are lots of places you can get one for not much more than $20 (assuming you are in the US but of course if you're in Canada thanks to the US economy it will be the same thing)

Syd,
(2) 256's are plenty

Wouldn't be plenty for me! I took about 3000 photos on my last trip for two weeks. But then again, I sell my photos, so I'm perhaps atypical. I also have a 10mg camera.

I bring along a photo storage drive, which is about the size of a small paperback book, and holds 30G. I also carry at least three cards - a primary 4G one, and two secondary 1G ones. The backups are in case the 4G dies or gets lost. I have yet to fill the 30G on a trip, but I'm going to Scotland for three weeks next summer. Might get close! :)

Hi S,

>How much memory do you all bring with you when traveling for 2 wks?<

Depends on the size of the pix you take.

I take about 800 shots/week. I sort them in the evening and erase about 5%.

((I))

In the past I had a 256 MB in my camera and a 128 MB as a backup. Before my recent trip to Italy I went out and bought a 2 GB for $25 - 1/2 the price I paid for my 256 MB 4 years ago. Now I carry the 256 as a spare. I can get about 650 photos on the 2 GB at full resolution (4 megapixel camera).

I would fill up your two cards in a few hours - but that's because I shoot with a 12.8MP camera. Each photo file is large.

The question you really need to ask is, "How many pictures will I want to take in two weeks?" If you had a film camera, you would ask how many rolls of 36 exposure film would you need? Then it becomes a math problem: if I bring 10 rolls of 36, I can take 360 pictures.

For a digital camera, you answer this question by figuring out how large, on average, each image JPG file will be on disk. This depends on what kind of camera you have and what mode you shoot in. My 6.3MP camera for example uses about 3MB per image. So divide 128MB by 4 = about 43 pictures on the 128MB card; double it to 86 pictures for the 256MB card.

How large on average are the JPG files from your camera, each? You can often find this info in the manual of your camera; you can also just look at the "properties" of some of your images on your computer to see their file size (it will vary per image, so kind of average them). At that point you can figure out how many pictures your cards can hold and whether you'd need to buy more.

It depends on how large your photo files are and how many you are going to take.

I took 1400 photos using a 6 megapixel Nikon Coolpilx LI (point and shoot) on a 16 day trip to the UK. I downloaded photos at least every other day to my laptop, so I wasn't constrained by only having a 500 MB memory card. However, my entire collection takes up 1.5 GB on my flash drive. So, if I were going to redo my trip and use only my memory card, I would want a 2 gig memory card. If I had a camera that did 10 megapixels, however, that wouldn't be enough.

I use 4 cards to be able to seperate pics by category. I have 2 128MB and 2 256MB cards. I store them seperate from my camera and bag in case it gets lost or stolen. My camera is 5 mpx

Newer dSLR that records RAW in 14-bit (vs 12) will also take up more room. A 1GB card can save about 100 pictures in RAW on my old Canon XTi, but only about 75 on my new 40D, even though resolutions are the same at 10MP.

One thing about JPEG is that yes, memory card is cheap, so just buy plenty. But if you find yourself in some remote areas with nowhere to buy more cards or download the files; and are starting to run out of room on your memory card, <b>change the JPEG quality setting to &quot;medium&quot;</b> from &quot;fine&quot;. Chances are, you won't notice the quality difference, but that will cut down the size of the files. Keep the resolution at highest, only change the &quot;quality&quot;.

I think we're making this a bit more complex than it needs to be. Syd, you said 384 was enough for 1 week trips in the past. Therefore, 768 <i>should</i> be enough for 2 weeks. However, I would suggest getting a 1 GB card (should be around USD 20), which would give you 3.5 times the 1 week memory (assuming you take the 128 and 256 as backups). Also, based on the fact that you're using relatively small cards, I'm guessing you're using an older camera. Beware that it may not be compatible with cards larger than 2 GB (SDHC cards).

FWIW, I currently have 3.5 GB and will be ordering another 2 for a 2 week trip in Nov. This is designed to ensure I have enough for <i>1</i> day as I'll also be bringing a portable storage device (with 120 GB) to offload each night. (I wasn't planning on 2 more, but recently took 2.5 GB over 5 hours at the zoo.) However, I shoot raw with an 8MP camera (photos are 8-10 MB each).

Paul

Yeah, I do have an older 4 MP camera.

Thanks for all the info.

we took a Photo-chute with us in '06... here's a sign of the times - it was a whopping 20 Gig! no viewer, but a built-in USB cable, battery &amp; a one-button synch with most new cameras. We synch'd every night with our 2 Canon Elph's, both in the 4-6 Meg range, and cleared the memory cards (leap of faith at first!). We brought home several Gig's of pix after a 4-week trip. Took some movies too, which were MUCH larger than photo's. Look at the latest/greatest camera specific mini-drives. You'll never regret taking multiple shots of that unforgettable view.

oh, man - I had to look... no regrets- I got plenty of use out of my unit :-)
get this one cheap and forget having to buy new memory cards!
http://tinyurl.com/yqkeoc

Good thing you didn't ask them how many rolls of film to bring.

wally - I saw that guy on the trail above Vernazza at dusk taking long exposures of the classic harbor shot with the town's lights just coming on... he had 2 Nikon bodies, several lenses, tripod, camera bag(s). He'd gone through almost 10 rolls in that spot alone! I had enough trouble getting down the trail with my pocket camera - I couldn't imagine rollin' with all that photo schwag! :-) I started thinking about who I'd trust anymore in my area to develop the film... then what? digital photo disc? ouch.

we just returned from 3 weeks in Italy and Switzerland...our camera, sony cybershot 7.2 pixels, we used a 4gig memory card and we had plenty of room to spare...

I bring my Smartdisk Photobank 40GB and 512MB card. I transfer all the files every night and delete the files on the card. In a few occasions I have to do it during the day when the card is full.

ronin: <i>I saw that guy on the trail above Vernazza at dusk taking long exposures of the classic harbor shot with the town's lights just coming on... he had 2 Nikon bodies, several lenses, tripod, camera bag(s). He'd gone through almost 10 rolls in that spot alone! I had enough trouble getting down the trail with my pocket camera - I couldn't imagine rollin' with all that photo schwag! :-) I started thinking about who I'd trust anymore in my area to develop the film... then what? digital photo disc? ouch. </i>

That will probably be me in a few weeks. :-) I haven't worked out the logistics of where on the trail I would shoot from or how dangerous it might be getting back to town after dusk, but that's certainly something I'd love to shoot while I'm there.