Digital Camera Memory Cards: What to know before you buy

When you buy a digital camera, one of the most important elements of the camera is the memory card. The memory card will dictate everything you are able to do with your new camera from storage capacity to the actual performance speed of your camera. Digital camera memory cards come in a lot of different brands and sizes, but this guide will show you how to differentiate between them and look for the right specifications.

An important thing to note is, when you buy a new digital camera, the standard memory cards for digital cameras are usually extremely small. The most advantageous part of the new camera purchase (if it is your first digital camera) is that you can store tons of new photos in your camera, so it is wise to make the most of it.

The speed of your memory card is only an issue when you are dealing with a new HD digital camera.  The way you can tell how much speed a card has is based on its class.  The classes range from 2-10 (2,4,6, & 10) and HD can only be supported with Class 4 and higher.  To be safe on this one, I would suggest choosing a class 6 for HD cameras, just because some HD cameras aren’t compatible with Class 4.  But for most regular cameras, a class 4 memory card will make your camera operate very fast and smoothly.

There are essentially two different options for the memory card for digital camera: SD or SDHC.  The SD card usually supports up to 4GB of storage and the SDHC can store up to 32GB.  If you’re not big on computer knowledge, this can be the difference between about 1,600 pictures and 6,500!  Most people would recommend the SDHC memory card just based on the fact that you shouldn’t ever have to buy another memory card because the SDHC cards can store so many more pictures when compared to the SD digital camera memory cards.  The ideal size for most people is about 8GB.  It is large enough to shoot quality HD video and also can store over 1,000 different pictures.  But one thing to consider is how many megapixels your camera has.  The more megapixels, the more detailed the images, and the more detailed the images, the more memory they will take up on the card so you won’t be able to store as many photos. 

One of the most important factors when picking out a digital camera is making ABSOLUTELY sure what kind of digital camera memory cards it is compatible with.  Many cameras are only compatible with microSD cards, where it is much much smaller and will not fit into a regular SD slot.  Granted, many times you can find some type of adapter that will enable you to use a regular SD slot.

Make sure to ask the sales rep about type, size, and speed.  Make sure you have your camera handy, or at least know the model and make.  This way you can work together to find the perfect fit.