Digital camera storage cards (Digital Cameras in general)

Name: Morgenhund

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Product:	Digital Cameras in general
Date:	06/01/02 (768 review reads)
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This op might seem slightly off topic, as I intend to compare all the various formats of storage media on the market, rather than purely concentrating on compactflash cards (and not just Memorex ones either). Along with the number of megapixels your digital camera has, the single most important factor in deciding which camera to buy has to be storage media for the camera. Now admittedly the manufacturers always give you a very stingy storage card, in my card a 3.3 MegaPixel Minolta Dimage 5 was delivered with only a 16 Mb Sandisk CompactFlash card, which is not even bigger enough to house a maximum resolution RAW image file (ca. 18Mb).

I had also hoped to include a definitive list of which manufacturer uses what, but that is not such as an easy task, as with the exception of Sony, using their proprietary Memory Stick memory, most manufacturers have had dalliances with both CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards, which makes it very difficult to say, short of mentioning which individual models take which type of memory, which manufacturers use which type of memory with complete accuracy.

>--CompactFlash:--<

Physical dimensions:
43mm x 36mm x 3.3mm (the size of a book of matches according to manufacturers)
Weight: 15g

Available capacities:

16Mb, 20Mb, 32Mb, 40Mb, 64Mb, 96Mb, 128Mb, 192Mb, 256Mb, 384Mb, 512Mb
Ultra compact flash - offering higher transfer speeds available in all sizes from128Mb upwards.
All cards are dual voltage capable (3.3V and 5V)
Ultra CompactFlash offers up to 2.8Mb/sec transfer rate per second - which is about twice as fast as normal CompactFlash memory cards.
Also devices that support CompactFlash can used IBM Microdrives (available in 170Mb, 340Mb and 1Gb sizes)
Parts:
The card connects to the device via a 50 pin connection. The top side has details of the card's capacity. The pin connection is on one end of the card, and to avoid inserting the card the wrong way
(this can happen!) there is a small rail on the opposite end which must be inserted in a certain direction to ensure that the card is properly inserted. There is a label on the underside of the card.
There are USB CompactFlash readers available.
>--SmartMedia--<

Used by some cameras from Minolta, FujiFilm, Olympus, Sanyo, Ricoh and AGFA.

Physical dimensions:
45mm x 37mm x 0.76mm (about the size of a book of matches)
weighs 2 grams

Available capacities:

8Mb, 16Mb, 32Mb, 64Mb, 128Mb (see below regarding voltages)

How it works and parts...

The SmartMedia card uses a contact area (metal surface) whereas the MemoryStick and CompactFlash. There is a slight problem that with continual changing of cards, the panel contacts can wear out (similar to why Sim cards sometimes die). The memory size of the card and the voltage of the card are also displayed on the top. SmartMedia cards come in two voltages 5V or 3.3V. To ensure that you are unable to put a card of the incorrect voltage into your digital camera, there is a notch out of the card on the left hand side (for 5V cards) or on the right hand side (for 3.3V cards). Care needs to be paid when buying the cards to get the correct voltage card for your camera. From various sites it seems that the 5V models are only available up to 32Mb storage, whereas the 3.3V versions are available for all sizes. Finally, there is a write protect tab too, something that is not on the CompactFlash storage media.

There are USB card readers available for SmartMedia.

>--MemoryStick--<

Physical dimensions:
50mm x 21.5mm x 2.8mm (i.e. length of an AA battery)

Available capacities:

16Mb, 32Mb, 64Mb, 128Mb
According to www.memorystick.com there are plans to release memory sticks with capacities of up to 1Gb, with currently data transfer speeds improving from 2.5Mb/sec to in excess of 20Mb/sec.

The memory stick i
s Sony's proprietary storage media format, and is used in their digital cameras (apart from the Mavica range that either takes 3" CDR(W) or floppies depending on the model), Cié PDAs and Memorystick Walkmans. USB readers, Memory Stick Mice (USB), some Vaio notebooks have a Memory Stick slot built-in, floppy drive adapters are all additional ways to transfer the data from a memory stick to your PC other than via the link from the camera (and are often faster alternatives - very useful if you don't have a mains adapter for your digital camera). Memory Gate MemorySticks allow the protection of copyrighted material giving added security.

Parts:
The front side is basically blank, and the bottom side is where it all goes on. The connection is via 10 pin connection, and there is also a write protect mechanism as well to prevent the accidental erasure of data. The pins are located in grooves making it impossible to touch the pins of the MemoryStick. 3rd party vendors have now be licensed by Sony, so you can now buy SanDisk MemorySticks as well as original Sony MemorySticks.

>--So which one is for me?--<
Some considerations when thinking of choosing one.

Price:

Generally CompactFlash and SmartMedia are cheaper to buy than MemoryStick, although often your choice of memory card is determined in the first place by what device (e.g. Digital camera) you have. Also it depends on whether you want to by branded storage media which is always more expensive. For this reason, the MemoryStick often tends to be more expensive than the other two formats.

Capacities availabile:

Generally CompactFlash and MemoryStick are available in higher capacities (see above) and also look to be the formats which are likely to continue to produce larger capacity cards, making them clearly advantageous over SmartMedia for this reason.

Weather condition resilience:

SmartMedia storage was not recommended to me
due to dew building up on the metal contact and also its lower resilience to constantly being changed. Both CompactFlash and MemoryStick were recommended to me as being better if you are due to be using them in a wider range of weather conditions - friends have had problems with moisture affecting SmartMedia cards in cold conditions, which can sometimes cause the contacts to short.

Size (physical dimensions):

There is very little difference between the cards in terms of physical size, and all of them offer similar capacities for a similar size. The fact that CompactFlash cards are the same size as MicroDrive cards, allowing upto 1Gb of storage for its size makes it a current leader, although when Sony introduces the 1Gb MemoryStick there will be nothing to tell between them.

Transfer rate:

At the moment the transfer rate of standard CompactFlash cards is slightly inferior to that of MemorySticks. In both cases I would recommend external USB readers rather than USB links from device to computers, as otherwise batteries are quickly drained.

>--Conclusion--<

Overall the CompactFlash sneaks it over the MemoryStick, thanks to it wider range of supported products, larger currently available capacity, with the SmartMedia coming in third. The fact that it is also a non-proprietary format, i.e. not just restricted to products made by one company is another added bonus. Its reliability is comparable to the memory stick and is available for cheaper, although the only thing it lacks which would be nice is a write-protect feature.

© Mike 2002

PS Not all the extra information questions can be answered satisfactorily, so I have given the middle answer the whole way through where there is not suitable answer.

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