S2 IS - memory advice

[chris_20]

Hi, I'm planning on buying my first digital camera (an S2) in the next few weeks.

I'm a bit confused though about the kind of memory to get for it.

I'm hoping to use the S2 for photography and movie clips, would a 2GB card be ok for this?

I had a look at the SanDisk website (http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Catalog(1051)-SanDisk_Ultra_II_SD_and_SDHC_Cards.aspx) but it lists so many different types of memory card, all a bit confusing!

SanDisk Ultra® II SD™ and SDHC Cards
SanDisk Extreme® III SD™ Cards
SanDisk Standard SD™ and SDHC™
SanDisk Shoot & Store™ SD™ Cards

Any advice on the kind of card I should get would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

[iem]

hi chris,

i am no expert, as i just ordered my S3 today.

a few hours ago i ordered 2 sd high speed cards from buy.com.
a 1 gb 133x and a 150x 2 gb card.
total cost $58 because of $20 off for signing up with google checkout and free shipping

i also already have two 512 mb regular sd cards because i already have a digital camera. it's just oooooooooold.

i do plan to take some test video with them just to see what happens. i don't know for sure, but i have a feeling that a regular sd card will also handle movies.


yesterday i posted this message in the memory forum
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26729

as best as i can tell, the high speed cards are more for video, rather than photos. the reason i bought 2 high speed cards instead of 1 regular sd card and 1 high speed card is because i figured that there will be times when i'm taking photos and will want to instantly be able to take video. if i had a non high speed card in the camera, i would have to take it out and put in the high speed card and that may cause me to miss the video.

also, after comparision shopping, the high speed cards are maybe $4-6 dollars more a piece, well, at least the ones that i picked out.

i also think that sd cards work similiar to usb thumb drives, that you don't always have to buy a popular name brand and you will get good results. i bought one transcend card and one patriot brand card. people here have them and don't have any complaints. the prices for these cards were more in line with what i wanted to pay and they have a 5 year warranty.

i also posted this message about the write speed of sd cards.
it may shed some light on your question
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26751


if you plan to take a lot of movies at an event or something and aren't near your computer to download the movie clips or photos, you will need more than 2gb, because 8 minutes of video approx takes up 1 gb of space.

i hope something i've said helps and that you enjoy your camera when you get it.

indera

[chris_20]

Hiya IEM, thanks for the reply.

I've found some SD cards on Amazon (http://amazon.co.uk) & they're reasonably priced.

I've still got a tripod, batteries and a charger for them to buy so I'll probably just buy one SD card at the moment.

Can I ask what batteries you plan on using with your camera?

Do you know if 2700 MAH NIMH batteries are the best available for a Canon?

Chris

[iem]

hi chris,

you're welcome. glad i could help.

i plan to use the energizer 2500 mah nihm batteries that i already have. on the review page for the camera, that's what's listed
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s3-review/

i don't know what's the best battery or brand for the camera.
i would imagine that the 2700 batteries would get more photos per charge.

last year when i was researching batteries for my camcorder i learned and read horror stories about the no name brands that were really cheap, so i figure the same is true for digital camera's.

i also read a lot of messages back then about fast (1 hour) versus slow (3 or more hours) chargers and that overall, chargers that took longer to charge were better for the batteries. i also figure that many people think/feel just the opposite is true. i can't say that i understand the details of this, but because the charger i bought came with 8 batteries and 4 batteries should let me take at least 500 pictures, i figure 4 batteries would last at least a day (smile), but i carry all 8 anyway.

www.ecost.com and www.buy.com have sales on memory cards.
the thread S3 IS write speed that i started here may be helpful to determine the speed of cards that you want. the people that responded really explained what the purpose of the "x" numbers are for, which really helped me out a lot.

i haven't bought a tripod yet. i want to find out if the one i have for my camcorder will work with the camera. it would be nice as they are both canon. if it does, then i don't need one, unless i want a table top model.

indera



Hiya IEM, thanks for the reply.

I've found some SD cards on Amazon (http://amazon.co.uk) & they're reasonably priced.

I've still got a tripod, batteries and a charger for them to buy so I'll probably just buy one SD card at the moment.

Can I ask what batteries you plan on using with your camera?

Do you know if 2700 MAH NIMH batteries are the best available for a Canon?

Chris

[sseatle]

Chris 20,

The one thing you may want to remember when deciding on how much memory you need per card, is that you want to avoid putting everything on just one card like a 4GB. Putting all your eggs in one basket can lead to disaster, if you lose that card or it breaks at the end of your vacation or photo shoot. It is safer to use multiple cards and spread the risk.

steve

[RebelRat]

I use Sandisk Ultra II on most of my cameras. They have no problems keeping up to my cameras.

[RebelRat]

Fast chargers generally heat up the batteries too fast. The batteries end up almost too hot to handle. Heat kills batteries (early failure) very quickly. I have stopped using fast chargers after I have had numerous failures.

[chris_20]

Hey all, I've ordered a memory card and a battery charger + batteries.

Ansmann Digispeed 4 Fast Charger + 4 x 2700 mAh NiMH Batteries (from Fotosense for £35 / $64)

Transend 4Gb 150X Secure Digital SD Card (from Amazon.co.uk for £33 / $68)

Should arrive on Monday hopefully. :)

My S2 came with 4 Panasonic LR6-AA Alkaline batteries and they barely lasted an hour. :( I'm guessing there's still life in them but they've stopped producing enough power for the camera to operate - is that right?

I'm going to take your advice sseatle and spread the risk by getting a 2GB SD card in a month or 2 which I'll use solely for storing photographs (4GB solely for movies). I don't fancy filling the 4GB card with photo's just in case the worst was to happen.

Anyway, it was a bit daunting getting my interest in photography started but this forum has been a great help so thanks for the advice everyone. :D

[1349]

Hey all, I've ordered a memory card and a battery charger + batteries.

Ansmann Digispeed 4 Fast Charger + 4 x 2700 mAh NiMH Batteries (from Fotosense for £35 / $64)

Transend 4Gb 150X Secure Digital SD Card (from Amazon.co.uk for £33 / $68)

Should arrive on Monday hopefully. :)

My S2 came with 4 Panasonic LR6-AA Alkaline batteries and they barely lasted an hour. :( I'm guessing there's still life in them but they've stopped producing enough power for the camera to operate - is that right?

I'm going to take your advice sseatle and spread the risk by getting a 2GB SD card in a month or 2 which I'll use solely for storing photographs (4GB solely for movies). I don't fancy filling the 4GB card with photo's just in case the worst was to happen.

Anyway, it was a bit daunting getting my interest in photography started but this forum has been a great help so thanks for the advice everyone. :D


i just googled my batteries i got with my camera to find more info on them and i found this post.

i charged my "pansonic LR6.AA" put them in my camera.. didn't even turn it on.
took my camera out for the day and it started dying every time i tried to take a photo.
i checked out the batteries.
one of them is leaking very badly.. another was leaking a little bit.
has anyone else had this issue with those batteries?

i was planning to upgrade to the lithium ones anyway but im really concerned about the damage something like this can cause to a camera.
ps.. i brought the camera 1 month ago.
i'd love some feed back from people about this.

[Jack]

I highly recommend you purchase batteries and charger from Thomas Distributing:

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/shop/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=sanyo+eneloop&osCsid=a98rm8a91donrsllit8gi3gna7&x=0&y=0

Purchase the 4-pack Sanyo Eneloop 2000 mAh batteries at $9.97.

and the MAHA MH-C204FA-DC battery charger at $25.97:

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/shop/maha-mhc204fadc-aa-aaa-chargerbrincludes-110v-ac-power-adapter-and-12v-dc-car-power-cord-p-662.html?SP_id=&osCsid=4ebg55ncj6p71po7h1q66ugb91

This charger includes the car adapter so you can recharge on the road.

You might want to purchase 2 sets of the batteries, so you can always have a spare set.

I have been very happy with Thomas Distributing (no, I am not affiliated with them in any way) and the Sanyo Eneloop batteries and the MAHA charger.

Jack