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Images inside the digital cameras can be placed on the memory cards or sometimes we can use internal memory. Usually internal memory is available only for testing purposes so you won’t have enough space to save all your images. So the memory card is a must have
Before we use them, it would be nice to read something useful about memory cards. In the next few lines, I will try to present a few basic tips about memory cards and handling procedure which can help you to protect your images before you lose them.

basic maintenance

If you like water, your camera and memory cards don’t like it. If you want to keep them in good shape, take care about them. Don’t leave them on the wet places, avoid worm places (don’t leave them in your car during the sunny day). When you buy your memory card, you’ll probably get some kind of users manual. So, read it before you go out with your new card.

error messages

Sometimes you’ll see a card error message and best idea is to stop shooting. In some cases you won’t be able to see your images but they are still recorded on the memory card. Image recovery procedure sometimes can help and the main reason why you should stop using the card is to avoid possible overwriting your other images. Data recovery services are not so expensive like they were before and you’ll maybe had a chance to save your images from damaged cards.
removing procedure
After you upload images to your computer, make sure you follow the proper procedure to eject the card before removing it from your card reader. Please close all applications you have been used for accessing to your card and then choose “Safely remove USB mass storage device”. (Check attached image)

two cards is better then one

I hope you won’t have a chance to learn this on your own skin. Imagine that you’re on the lonely island with a hundred beautiful girls. Who will believe to you if you don’t have images to prove this. Yes, I know…. Few seconds before, I wrote about recovery procedure, but sometimes there is no recovery procedure that will help you to get your images back. If one of your memory cards decides to die, take another one and continue shooting.
turn off your camera before you removing memory card
Almost all cameras have some kind of protection so you won’t be able to remove your memory card without powering off your camera. Usually cards are protected with some kind of doors so if you open memory compartment, camera will go off. This will help to avoid electrical shock that can kill your card or even your camera. Unfortunately some cameras don’t have this option so please read your manual and remember to turn of your camera before you remove memory card.

avoid using old cards

New memory cards can be bought for a couple bucks so don’t forget on this task. Old cards are not so fast and they have a limited read-write cycle. New card will help you to make more shots while you’re far from the home.

take care about your batteries

Writing images on the card can take some time and check your batteries so they won’t be dead before camera completely write an image to your card. This can help you to avoid read and write errors which can be caused when an image is not fully written to a memory card.

burst mode

When you need to shoot lots of images quickly (burst mode), take care about your camera. Sometimes it needs a little time to write all images and the fast memory cards can be a good choice in these cases. Slow memory cards can be the reason for slow writing and you’ll need to wait some time before you can check your images on the display. When it is in “burst” mode, camera will save images in the camera “buffer” which is a much faster memory then your memory card. After you stop shooting (or camera buffer goes full), camera will start to transfer images on the memory card. Turning camera off during this process can produce system error and you’ll lose your images. Smart cameras will finish this job and they will continue with buffering after you turn them off.

March 17th 2008 | Posted in Blog,Cameras | Comments(4)