How to Choose the Memory Card?
Memory cards are loved for their small size, reliability and remarkable storage capabilities although they can really mess you up if you mistreat them. This is what happens when you come back from a safari only to find that your digital camera is displaying a card error!
Memory cards serve many purposes, and that is why they come in different form factors, capabilities and speeds. This means that each can only perform with a particular level of data transmission and storage capacity.
With a myriad of tech gadgets that perform a variety of functions, it can be confusing to find the right memory card that functions optimally with them. It will not work well if you use a compact flash on a current digital camera instead of a high-performance XQD.
There is a difference between an SD, SDHC and an SDXC memory card in terms of capabilities and you cannot use a U1 or V10 rated card in place of U3 or V3 when shooting a 4K video that requires 30MB/s write speeds.
One large card Vs multiple small cards
It is very easy to get torn between buying one large card and multiple small cards from Everything But Stromboli aka bulkmemorycards.com for instance. The huge storage of a large card is really tempting keeping in mind that you can easily keep track, costs less to buy per GB and offer a lot of conveniences especially when you are a frequent traveler.
But what happens if you lose it or gets corrupted?
That is the time when you will wish you used multiple small cards because if one dies or gets lost, you will not lose everything. Small cards are also cheap especially if you buy them in bulk and they get faster write/read improvements compared to larger cards.
They are actually great except that they need a greater level of organization.
Just like other technological devices, there is a lot that you can do with memory cards, but you have got to use them right. Decide on the right type and number of memory cards that you need for your device or project and use them well so that they can last for long. Do not just think of memory cards as pieces of plastic and metal but look at what is inside them and what they can do for you.
The first question that comes into your mind when you purchase a memory card is how long it is going to last. Manufacturers like Samsung will indicate an approximate lifespan of 5 years or 10 years for SanDisk since the current technology can provide about a million write cycles.
Your memory card can actually last this long or even more but only if you keep it healthy. This means following good practices when you are using your memory card as follows:
Load your memory card, copy the information or images to the hard drive and then take it out.
Do not work on the images while they are still on the card or keep the card on the computer for longer than necessary.
Reformat your memory card frequently
Do not handle it roughly and avoid removing it abruptly when your device is on and processing.
Choose the right memory card for your purpose
