What memory card for your 4/3 ?

R

ruben

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Hi folks,

My G1 has arrived already and I cannot decide which memory card to buy for it. I assume most of you should have a specific preference answering to specific customs in using your camera.

My problem is that I am making some kind of big jump, from a tiny 8mp Powershot to this new RAW beast. For the Powershot, if the precedents are of some value, I purchased a simple 8mb Sundisk card only to find that its storage was too big for me, since after some 100 shots I clean and leave there perhaps some 10 or less. So I assume I have there some several hundred pics stored and almost two thousand units ahead, using the bigest size/highest quality, which is what I did so far.

So in advance of the G1 arrival, I thought to insert the 8gb card into the G1 and format it, and purchase a new 4gb for the Powershot.

But perhaps the shooting economics of the G1 are different, and not necessarily meant to shoot at max RAW/RAW size. I don't know, and to be sincere I feel a bit lost.

Would you like to tell how do you manage the size issue in your camera and what would be the accordingly right choice of memory card size ?

Thanks in advance,
Ruben
 
What's wrong with having a higher capacity then you shoot?

You have the extra for emergencies and you can just transfer everything to your PC as you go.

You can buy a very good 16gb card on eBay for $34, Type 4 or 6 speed.
 
I've shot the G1 using RAW+JPEG mode, and lately just the JPEG mode in its largest file size. If the event is "important," I'll shoot RAW+JPEG, but more often than not just JPEG, which makes outstanding images.

FWIW I have a 16GB memory card; of course, I've never come anywhere near filling it up. So the size of the card is a non-issue. The real issue is how many images do you want to store on it before you have to get involved with an extended Photoshop session. We went on vacation last month, I shot about 400 images. That was plenty.

I also set the aspect ratio for the kind of output I'm anticipating. For 4"X6" prints I set it to the 4:3 ratio, so I don't have to crop the images in post later.

I prefer to use the version of Photoshop I'm familiar with; the SilkyPix software is okay, gives good results, but is very slow.

My advice is either card is fine, select the highest resolution JPEG size, and you can decide whether to also shoot RAW.

BTW with JPEGs I like to set the standard film mode for less sharpening and noise reduction, and I reduce the contrast one notch, too. I can add better sharpening and noise reduction in post, and reduced contrast of the out-of-camera file enables me to do levels and curves better in post.

If you like B/W street photos you can do RAW + JPEG, using one of the B/W film modes (I like the dynamic B/W film mode,) where the image in the viewfinder, and playback, will be B/W, but the RAW file will still have full color information so you can do channel mixer later in post to retain more flexibility with your tonal range.

There's lots of other things to discuss regarding how we use our G1s. I like setting the review mode to 1 second in length; this gives me a quick view of the previous image, long enough to tell if I got it, but short enough so as not to interrupt my shooting.

I don't do burst mode, so can't comment on problems others have with the blackout of the viewfinder.

I've lately come to trust the higher-ISO settings of the camera. Coming from a film background, I was skeptical, but especially with indoor lighting, it's better to have a fast enough shutter speed to avoid motion blurr than to have low noise, but blurry images. I no longer sacrifice at the altar of ISO100. Whatever speed gives fast enough shutter speeds (1/20s or faster) is fine for me. BTW, for B/W images the fast ISOs can add just enough sensor noise that it somehow resembles film grain (not exactly the same, but resembles its aesthetic).

I've yet to discover all the capability of this camera. Using it has improved my photography immensly. It's a great creative tool. Hope you enjoy yours, looking forward to seeing some images.

~Joe
 
When I bought an E-300 two years ago, I also bought two 1 GB cards. Each can take 71 raw files. I've yet to fill up a card. The Stingy Film Habit dies hard.
 
I think memory cards (like many computer things) are "dime a dozen" and brand rarely matters. And even the name brands (Kingston, SanDisk, Hitachi, etc.) are inexpensive.

It's not like you'll be keeping this forever. So just go out and buy several, keeping in mind that nearly all electronics are disposable with no long-term thought in mind. In five years (or five months), you'll wonder why you worried about such a thing. And that card will either be sitting unused in some drawer or polluting a landfill in the U.S., Asia or Africa.

I'm using a Kingston MicroSD 16GB card in an SD adapter in a Pentax K10D. No problems whatsoever. I think I paid $30 for it on eBay ("that big auction site").
 
Hi folks,

Ok, I have gone for the 8gb simple one. Just let me remind if necessary that prices out of the Bay and out of the US are fairly different and higher than within the US or the Bay.

What happened was that my US seller decided at the last moment to ship me the camera through USPS Express, instead of the agreed Priority (the difference on his own expense and by his own will) since he wanted the shipment to be insured. Thus I got the camera much in advance of the ordered eBay SD card, and as you know without the card you cannot start.

As for those interested in what is going on for when they put their foot on Jerusalem, the prices for the Sandisk SD card go as follows: the lowest price through local internet order, shipment within 6 days, us$ equivalent to 20 and up to $47 (!).

Lowest price I could find, at known local stationery chain, and paid: $32.(Almost the same price ZeissFan paid for his 16gb. Btw, the same was being sold at a nearby computer games shop at $50.

Yes, this is small dimes and nickels talk, but when you marry with a system camera, or at least when I marry with a system camera..... .....I seem to marry also with the mother, the uncle, the nephew etc. Right now I have both the Amedeo adapter and the OM one, between my eyes (plus shipment, plus 20% tax).

Thanks for the help,
Ruben
 
I mean not to worry you, but counterfit memory cards are rampant on eBay. Especially from sellers from parts of Asia. The cards may work, but will be very slow and their capacity will be no where close to what is advertised.

John
 
From the pass experiences, I will not buy a memory card from Ebay again. 90% are Fakes! I rather spend a little bit at the shop in exchange a peace of mind. BTW I got my 16gb class 6 for $70 in Sydney with the EP1, I got it for a great price :)
 
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