In the early days of digital cameras, when photographic technology was the primary concern, camera manufacturers didn't put much focus on memory formats. A look at the early camera models from the late 1980s and early 1990s reveals a mixture of removable media. As digital cameras began to have standard features, manufacturers paid more attention to media and developed industry standards for memory cards.
SD Cards and DSLRs
SD cards own the digital camera market. Nikon, Canon, Olympus and Sony DSLR cameras all use SD card technology. As of 2011, the consideration is not so much if SD cards are compatible with a DSLR camera, but which speeds and size of cards are compatible.
Types of SD Cards
SD cards come in different shapes and sizes, both literally and in terms of storage. The market in 2011 contains standard SD card, SDHC, SDXC, miniSD and microSD, as well as high-capacity versions of these smaller cards. SD cards have a standard size of 24 by 32 mm, and SDHC -- high capacity -- and SDXC -- extended capacity -- have the same measurements. Digital SLR cameras most often use this size of card, and not the mini or micro cards, which are more common in cell phones and compact digital cameras.
Capacity
DSLR camera manufacturers try to be forward thinking, but it can't always predict technological changes. As a result, some DSLR cameras are limited to the type of SD card that was on the market at the time of the camera's release. Take, for example, the Nikon D50, one of Nikon's first entry-level SLRS. Nikon released the D50 in 2005, before SDHC and SDXC cards were widely available. As a result, the D50 takes SD cards up to 2GB. SDHC cards store between 4GB and 32GB of information, and SDXC cards hold from 32GB to 4TB of data. Check your DSLR manual to see which cards your camera supports.
Speed
In addition to the three capacity formats of SD memory cards, DSLR owners need to consider the speed of an SD card. An SD card's speed was never an issue before DSLR cameras had HD video functions, but now photographers who are keen to record video in addition to photos need to think about speed. SD, SDHC and SDXC cards are marked with a speed rating -- 2, 4, 6 or 10, as of April 2011. Speed class 2 is appropriate for regular-quality video recording, but HD recording necessitates an SD card with a speed class of 4 or 6, at least. If you aren't sure which cards to use, check your manual or manufacturer's website.
Tags: digital cameras, DSLR cameras, SDHC SDXC, SDXC cards, camera manufacturers
