Adding Memory Is Cheap, But Be Sure Your Camera Can Handle It
Adding Memory Is Cheap, But Be Sure Your Camera Can Handle It
Hartford Courant, CT
Q: We own a Pentax Ist DS camera purchased 2 years ago. With the prices of SD (secure digital) cards going through the floor, I’d like to get some 2-gigabyte SD cards. But I don’t know if our camera can address that much memory. Nowhere in the camera manual is there a discussion on memory size limits. Is there a limit to the amount of memory digital cameras can use?
A: You will be pleased to know you were right on the money with your question about the Pentax Ist DS and its maximum memory capabilities. As it was shipped it could not handle memory cards above 1 gigabyte. You can download a firmware update at www.pentaximaging.com/
customer_care/show_
firmware?firmId=3, which will allow the camera to use cards larger than 1gigabyte.
Be sure to buy the high-speed memory cards for use with your camera. Digital SLRs are designed to take advantage of high-speed memory. It will allow you to take pictures in more rapid succession, view them on your display faster, and cut down on the time it takes to download them from card to computer. My favorites are the Sandisk Ultra II models. They have a lifetime warranty, are extremely reliable and available at great prices right now. Even those without a digital SLR can benefit from high-speed memory.
Shooting speed and image review times are likely to be the same, but with a USB 2.0 card reader the high-speed memory will download pictures to the computer in a fraction of the time required with normal memory cards.
Q: I have read and heard many different opinions on storing photos and 35mm slides on CDs or DVDs. I keep hearing that both methods have a short shelf life, and that after three or four years you should recopy the discs. I want to transfer 40-year-old slides and am very confused about what to do. I am used to 100-year-old photos, so I am having a hard time accepting the short life span.
A: There are differing views on the shelf life of burned CDs and DVDs. If you want to eliminate most of your worry, get archival CDs and DVDs designed for long-term storage. The brand I am most familiar with is from Delkin Devices (www.delkin.com).
- McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Add comment December 15th, 2006