Sunday, October 21, 2012

Two Good Reasons to Use Only Small Memory Cards

The largest memory card I carry for my point and shoot camera is 4 GB. Most of my cards are 2 GB and I even have a couple of 1 GB cards. Generally when traveling I go through my 2 GB cards first. Then I'll use my 1 GB card and save the 4 GB for last. I suspect this is contrary to what most people do but I have two (what I believe) very good reasons for doing it this way.

Damage: It is not hard to damage a memory card. You can accidentally turn your camera off before a picture is completely saved. The card can get wet. It could come in contact with something magnetic. And if you have taken only one 8 GB or 16 GB card on vacation, ALL of your pictures could be gone.

Loss: This just happened to a friend of mine. She had one 8 GB card with her and had to take a taxi back to her hotel because she was ill. Not thinking right, she left her camera in the taxi. No trip photos. To say she was upset was putting it mildly.

So my recommendation, if anyone asks, is to take several smaller cards instead of one large one. Today cards are very inexpensive and so are SD card holders, like the one shown below. Another idea for protecting those valuable once-in-a-lifetime pictures: a portable back up device

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