CF cards

[dougj]

i took 2 512 meg cards and 2 256 meg cards to europe for that reason (losing only the photos on that card, not everything).
some people like to go to internet cafe's or photo places and put their photos on cd to send home...

[Eagle]

stabone76, from what I've seen on various photo forums, there are different "schools of thought" on whether to travel with numerous smaller capacity cards or a few large capacity cards. All of the "experts" on these forums seem to have their own theories, usually based on "experience". I can only relate my own preferences in this regard.

To some extent the size of Memory Card used will be dependant on your photo style -- do you normally shoot JPEG's at highest resolution, medium resolution or RAW/TIFF files? If you're shooting RAW then higher capacity cards are a good idea, in order to be able to store a reasonable amount of photos on a card.

This also depends on the Camera equipment you're using. The larger the sensor resolution, the larger the file sizes. For example, if you're using a Camera with a 6 MP sensor, then you will need more memory card capacity than someone using a 3.2 MP Camera. A good example of what size Cards to use can be seen on this web link - www.digicamhelp.com/learn/camera-questions-and-answers/memory-card-capacity.htm.

In my own case I started out with a 5 MP compact P&S Camera, with 2-512 MB Cards and 1-256 MB Card. Although I'm still kind of "new" to digital photography, this has been adequate so far. However, I've found that I tend to take more photos with digital than I ever did with film, so it's important to have enough capacity to last for a day's shooting. I've also found that it's not always convenient when travelling to search out a photo shop or whatever to get photos burned to CD, so having enough capacity to last for a few days is a necessity. I'm considering a Portable Hard Drive for my next trip, but haven't reached a decision yet (Epson P-2000 or FlashTrax XT are the "front runners" at the moment).

Now that I've upgraded to digital SLR (Canon 350XT - 8.0 MP) I decided to increase both CF card capacity as well as speed. On my next trip I will be travelling with at least two (and perhaps three) SanDisk 2 GB Ultra III Cards. I bought the first card before the new Lexar high speed cards were introduced (also there were some "problems" last year with Lexar high speed cards and Canon Cameras, so decided to go with SanDisk for the first card; Lexar have now introduced a new HIGH speed series, and I might give these a try for the next card). This is the approach I've chosen for photo memory, and I feel it's the best solution for me; others will have to make their own decisions.

As far as the cost between the different sizes of Cards ($100 for 1 GB or $50 each for 512 MB), this is not really a factor in my decision. My choice is based on which size card will be the best for my purposes, and I save up until I can get the one I want.

I'm also considering travelling with both the compact P&S as well as the dSLR, as the smaller Camera is a lot easier to throw in a pocket if I'm going out in the evening (the dSLR will be securely locked up in the Hotel, with the Memory Cards removed!). That means I'll likely have at least six CF Cards in various capacities at my disposal.

Again, everyone's situation is different but hopefully this answers your question.

[dougj]

stabone76 said:

dougj, how much did it cost and do the internet cafes let you burn cds from their cpus? Is it worth it to take my own blank cd's?

no idea, I didn't do it. I just used my cards.

[gougeAway]

I can't really remember what I paid to have my cards burned to cds - but it wasn't too much. They all provided cds - and they did the burning themselves (although I never asked if I could do it myself, they probably would have said yes).

Most internet cafes and photo stores provided the service.