Memory Cards

[sail7seas]

Do the photo shops on HAL ships sell memory cards for digital cameras?

 

Thanks.

[jhannah]

Yes, they do. I've seen them. They also have some digital cameras. However, don't expect a big box store price.

[earl_m]

They do but they are not cheap

[sail7seas]

Thanks.

I have a new digital camera I am trying to learn how to use and have no idea how much memory I am going to want seeing as I have no idea how comfortable I'll be with the camera.

 

It gives me peace of mind to know if I want more, I can get another on board if I find I should have brought an additional card.

 

We'll be aboard with Christmas decorations up and I hope to capture lots of those pretty scenes.

 

 

 

[noblepa]

Buy a couple before you leave. They're getting cheaper all the time. My local Costco has two SanDisk 2GB SD memory cards for about $28. My 10 MP Pentax K10D can store over 500 high-quality jpegs on a 2GB card.

 

I just bought two 4GB cards on eBay for $18, delivered. They say SanDisk on them, and they work just fine in my camera, but I've heard guestimates that as many as 80 percent of the cards sold on eBay are fakes.

 

Other format memory cards, such as Compact Flash, sell for similar prices.

 

Paul

[seafun]

Please take at least several memory cards with you. Especially if the camera is new to you.

I learned the hard way on my recent trip to Egypt -- and I was familiar with my camera! Somehow, in pulling my camera out of my pocket, I hit four wrong buttons, in prescisely the correct order, :rolleyes: and deleted my entire memory card!

Mind you, I'm careful about this kind of thing, and had brought five memory cards with me, to prevent losing all my pictures, should something like this happen.

Unfortunately, I deleted more than 200 photos of the markets in downtown Luxor, sunset over the Nile, the Luxor temple obelisk by moonlight, as well as the temple itself all lit up.

Add to those -- it gets worse --all the photos I took starting at dawn the next day, as our cruise ship pulled away from the dock in Luxor, still in the dark, and then many spectacular photos with the growing glow of sunrise and everyday life along the Nile as the sun came up over a two hour period! :eek:

A bid of advice to everyone, that has been learned the hard way.... if this ever happens to you, STOP! Remove the memory card and save it till you get home. There are several computer programs that can restore those lost photos, but only if you don't take any more on top of them. (Guess who started taking pictures again on the card, through his tears, after "losing" all the photos ...:o )

Hence, my plea to take at least several memory cards with you -- they are cheap. The memories in those photos were priceless.

(Oh, in case you wondered, yes, I was able to recapture many of the Luxor photos, but none of the dawn along the Nile.)

Happy travels! :)

[sail7seas]

Sea Fun......... SO SORRY to hear that happened to you. I can feel your disappointment.

 

I will take your advice and bring extra cards. Speak of which, is one brand considerably better than another?

 

I'm having trouble with the camera... it's all new to me and I'd hate to miss photos we could have enjoyed.

 

[seafun]

Since you know I'm not a professional photographer, lol :o

I've always had good luck with the SanDisk brand. I just tried Consumer Reports and they didn't have any ratings for the cards. I've never heard that one brand is better than others.

I'm sure one of our more savvy Photographer friends (with a Capital "P" :) ) can weigh in with more precise advice.

[Constanze]

Thanks.

I have a new digital camera I am trying to learn how to use and have no idea how much memory I am going to want seeing as I have no idea how comfortable I'll be with the camera.

 

It gives me peace of mind to know if I want more, I can get another on board if I find I should have brought an additional card.

 

We'll be aboard with Christmas decorations up and I hope to capture lots of those pretty scenes.

 

 

 

 

Hello,

We purchase ours at a PC store...also you can get them at Circuit City or Best Buy. Depending on the Memory Chip/Cards size... the cost is any where from $10 to $40.....1MG - 4MG..... We purchase ours before hand....the ones on the ship are some what pricy..... I hope this helps! :)

 

Cheers!

Constanze

[iflyrc5]

Sail7seas -

 

Sandisk is a popular brand and very good quality. I have used several brands and have not had problems but I know that others have had issues. You don't say what camera you have. Is it a point and shoot or a digital SLR? All digital cameras today have a "program" or "automatic" mode that sets everything (shutter speed, aperature, ISO) automatically and will work in 90% of your shots. Also - make sure you have at least 3 sets of batteries and take along the charger. If it uses AA batteries - use rechargeable NiMH not the "normal" Duracell type. Depending on flash use and LCD usage you can go through batteries quickly. The best thing to do is get several memory cards and several sets of batteries then start shooting now! Look at the shots - see what you like and don't like - just practice, practice, practice. Remember digital images are just 0's and 1's. Download them to your computer - and start again.

 

One other thing - when you get a new card "format" it in the camera before you use it. This sets it up to use in "your" camera and not just a generic format.

 

Digital photography is my second hobby (buidling and flying radio control airplanes is my other hobby). I took 1700 images in our 9 hour trip through the Panama Canal. If you have any questions I will be happy to try and answer them. Just let me know the make and model of your camera and I will try to help.

[Boytjie]

Thanks.

I have a new digital camera I am trying to learn how to use and have no idea how much memory I am going to want seeing as I have no idea how comfortable I'll be with the camera.

 

It gives me peace of mind to know if I want more, I can get another on board if I find I should have brought an additional card.

 

We'll be aboard with Christmas decorations up and I hope to capture lots of those pretty scenes.

 

Echoing the others: take extra memory cards!

 

You have a lot of time between now and Christmas, play with the camera. Take lots and lots of pictures! Take pictures similar to what you expect to shoot onboard: indoor scenes, decoration etc. It is free, just look a what the results were and delete it all and start shooting more pictures.

 

Digital cameras give us the opportunity to shoot lots of pictures and the chance to delete the bad ones while still having a good chance of ending up with some good ones.

[Mindy1]

Can you have your memory card downloaded to a DVD on the ship?

[jhannah]

Can you have your memory card downloaded to a DVD on the ship?

Yes, you can.

[mountainmare]

Sail--remember that if you take your laptop you can download your pictures and burn your own CDs. I have an Olympus that is 4 years old, when I lost my memory cards the day before our trip to Egypt I went to buy more cards and couldn't find any for my camera--fortunately I have a little point and shoot that I bought for DH--so he would stop telling me about the pictures I "should" take--and that is what I used for Egypt. I would rather have several smaller cards than just one or two huge cards.

[user8]

I bought a 1 GB card onboard during my last cruise but the advice from others about bringing extras with you is something you should heed. I am sure you will enjoy your new camera.

[mamaofami]

Sail, if you don't get the answers you need here, there is a photo board as part of CC. I found them very helpful when we were shopping for a new digital camera. We had a small one but I wanted something a little bigger to capture close ups. They were very helpful over there.

[sail7seas]

Wow, great info. Thanks all of you.

 

Iflyrc5.... wonderfully helpful. Who knew I had to format the memory card? :o I just slipped it into the camera.

 

The battery is a rechargeable thing I slip into a holder and plug in. I should have spares of that? Are they normally available at Best Buy type places?

Sure makes sense to have at least one spare battery.

 

This is my first digital..... I know, I know. It's about time. :D

 

Thanks again.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have bought all my digital stuff at Best Buy -- memory cards -- spare rechargeable batteries -- the charger -- SanDisk -- I like their return policy if anything goes wrong or I don't like what I bought.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wow, great info. Thanks all of you.

 

Iflyrc5.... wonderfully helpful. Who knew I had to format the memory card? :o I just slipped it into the camera.

 

The battery is a rechargeable thing I slip into a holder and plug in. I should have spares of that? Are they normally available at Best Buy type places?

Sure makes sense to have at least one spare battery.

 

This is my first digital..... I know, I know. It's about time. :D

 

Thanks again.

 

Hey -- are you going to start posting pictures here??

[pitdoctor]

Wow, great info. Thanks all of you.

 

Iflyrc5.... wonderfully helpful. Who knew I had to format the memory card? :o I just slipped it into the camera.

 

The battery is a rechargeable thing I slip into a holder and plug in. I should have spares of that? Are they normally available at Best Buy type places?

Sure makes sense to have at least one spare battery.

 

This is my first digital..... I know, I know. It's about time. :D

 

Thanks again.

 

depending on the model of camera they may be availible at Best Buy or another store like that. If not you can probably buy an extra online either from the camera maker directly, or from something like www.batteries.com.

 

I would also make sure you get any memory cards well in advance, otherwise you can end up getting on the trip and finding that the memory card that you got won't work with your camera.

 

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a 4 GB SD memory card with a USB card reader on amazon.com for like $25. I don't know about the long term reliability of the card, but so far it works great, and the card reader works on other SD memory cards as well.

[sail7seas]

Hey -- are you going to start posting pictures here??

 

 

Hey- - :D

 

I just might! :)

[sail7seas]

sorry......

 

double

[sail7seas]

depending on the model of camera they may be availible at Best Buy or another store like that. If not you can probably buy an extra online either from the camera maker directly, or from something like www.batteries.com.

 

I would also make sure you get any memory cards well in advance, otherwise you can end up getting on the trip and finding that the memory card that you got won't work with your camera.

 

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a 4 GB SD memory card with a USB card reader on amazon.com for like $25. I don't know about the long term reliability of the card, but so far it works great, and the card reader works on other SD memory cards as well.

 

 

 

I am soooo happy I asked question here. Such helpful info.

I will buy several different cards and spare battery and be all set to go.

 

People are always so friendly and nice on the ships.

If I find I'm having a problem, I'm not too shy to ask someone who looks like they know what they are doing if they mind helping me. :o

 

Really appreciate the help. I'm just now starting to experiment with the camera. It's intimidating me a bit, I must admit. I'm so used to my wonderful Canon Elph film camera I have loved.

 

I'm very appreiciative for your great suggestions. Thank you.

[noblepa]

Wow, great info. Thanks all of you.

 

Iflyrc5.... wonderfully helpful. Who knew I had to format the memory card? :o I just slipped it into the camera.

 

The battery is a rechargeable thing I slip into a holder and plug in. I should have spares of that? Are they normally available at Best Buy type places?

Sure makes sense to have at least one spare battery.

 

This is my first digital..... I know, I know. It's about time. :D

 

Thanks again.

 

Proprietary rechargeable batteries that are specific to one camera brand or model may be difficult to find in BestBuy. That is one reason that some people prefer cameras that use AA's. Even though rechargeable NiMH or LiIon batteries are available in AA size, in a pinch a good alkaline will do and are available just about everywhere.

 

It wouldn't hurt to have a spare battery available. They will almost certainly NOT be available on board. You may get lucky and find one in a camera store in port, but if the battery fails or simply goes dead just before dinner on formal night, you're out of luck. Also, you're on vacation. You will probably be shooting a lot more pictures than you would at home. Batteries can go dead at the most inopportune times, especially if you're using the flash or the back LCD panel a lot. That LCD draws a lot of current. I know some serious photographers who routinely set their camera to NOT display the photo after it is taken. I have a spare for my digital SLR. I may pick up another spare before my next cruise.

 

Formatting the card in the camera is a precaution that is recommended by every camera manufacturer that I know, but it is not an absolute requirement. I've purchased new cards, popped them into my camera and found that they worked just fine. OTOH, formatting it in your PC or another camera can possibly mess things up just enough that it won't work in your camera. If you forget, don't worry about it. When I upload my pictures from the memory card to my PC, I format the memory card in my camera. There are some potential minor advantages to formatting, rather than deleting all the pix, even though both processes theoretically produce the same end result.

 

If you ever encounter problems with your camera that seem to be related to the image files stored on the card, one of the first trouble-shooting steps is always to reformat the card and try again. Its sort of like your PC. When in doubt, reboot.

 

BTW, just a precaution when buying memory cards. My camera uses Secure Digital (SD) cards. The following may be true of other formats as well: There is a sort of change point at 2GB. That is, the internal format of a 2GB card is a little different than for a 4GB or larger card. Some cameras that are a few years old may not be able to accept the cards larger than 2GB. If your camera uses SD cards, make sure that it can also accept SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards before you buy a 4GB or larger card. If the camera has SDHC printed on the body, on the box it came in or in the documentation anywhere, you are safe.

 

Likewise, if your PC has a memory card reader built into it, as many built in the last year or two do, it may not be able to read SDHC cards. Again, check the documentation or call the manufacturer to make sure.

 

Paul

[sail7seas]

Paul......

 

whew...... I know you mean well but I have little clue what most of that says. :o

 

Too much info for me at the moment. I'll print it out and maybe sometime in my distant future, I may actually absorb it all. Truthfully, I'm not counting on it.

 

Thank you for your considerable effort and I so hope someone else has obtained exactly the info they were seeking. )

 

I'm a first time, brand new digital camera owner. I need things 'dumbed down'.