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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Smart Media cards
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 07/26/2002 07:32:33 PM · #1
I need to know if there is a difference in brands for Smart Media cards? That is...is the huge price difference justified for the same 64mb card, but different brand?
 07/26/2002 07:36:31 PM · #2
Good question. Also, how does this apply to compact flash cards?


 07/26/2002 07:42:31 PM · #3
Haven't found a difference in SmartMedia cards. However, go for the largest capacity you can find (128MB for SmartMedia)...its the best deal. Found $40 128MB SmartMedia cards at Fry's Electronics in Silicon Valley... probably doesn't help RedRuthann or Karen Bryan in CT or MA.

sjgleah
 07/26/2002 07:43:47 PM · #4
Haven''t found a difference in SmartMedia cards. However, go for the largest capacity you can find (128MB for SmartMedia)...its the best deal. Found $40 128MB SmartMedia cards at Fry''s Electronics in Silicon Valley... probably doesn''t help RedRuthann or Karen Bryan in CT or MA.

sjgleah

* This message has been edited by the author on 7/26/2002 7:43:29 PM.

* This message has been edited by the author on 7/26/2002 7:43:46 PM.
 07/26/2002 07:45:38 PM · #5
My largest Smartmedia is 32MB because that's the largest my fuji camera would take. I have a couple of those. I purchased a 256MB compact flash card with my new camera - cool thing is I can write from one to the next if necessary in the camera. Just didn't know if the brand made a difference in recording quality or anything.

 07/26/2002 07:50:21 PM · #6
there appears to be a difference in transfer speed; ie how fast the camera (or PC interface) can store data on the media -- the faster the xfer rate, the more rapidly you can shoot pics (for instance the D60 is advertised as capable of 3 frames per second for 8 seconds at high res)
-- people who need that kind of performance would probably pay extra for high-speed media

* This message has been edited by the author on 7/26/2002 7:50:09 PM.
 07/26/2002 07:52:50 PM · #7
Hmmm. I considered the IBM Microdrive, but didn't want to spend, nor could I spend the extra $400 to buy it. That holds 1GB. Also, it's pretty fragile, I was told. Does it write faster though than a regular Compact Flash? And what is "better" CF or SM?
 07/26/2002 07:53:44 PM · #8
Originally posted by spiderman:
there appears to be a difference in transfer speed; ie how fast the camera (or PC interface) can store data on the media -- the faster the xfer rate, the more rapidly you can shoot pics (for instance the D60 is advertised as capable of 3 frames per second for 8 seconds at high res)
-- people who need that kind of performance would probably pay extra for high-speed medi

I suspected that was the case...when I use the Sandisk card vs the Olym, the camera drags. I notice a big difference, but wasn't sure if it was the card or my camera. I usually use a 128, but have several 64s too.

THANKS!
Ruthann
 07/26/2002 07:57:46 PM · #9
I bought the 1GB fragile one (less than half the price of the better one) I never take it out of my camera. As I understand it, you may loose data if it is dropped. (if I drop my camera it wouldn't matter much anyway).
 07/26/2002 07:59:54 PM · #10
Originally posted by Karen Bryan:
... And what is "better" CF or SM?

quoting from ASUS EMagazine ...

CF: "Advantage: Most Commonly used, High compatibility, Type II slots support Micro Drive, incorporates control chip.
Disadvantage: Bigger in size, uses more power, does not support I/O system."

SM: "Advantage: ultra-thin, supports SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative), low power, water-proof
Disadvantage: has a bigger surface, low compatibility, only support two types of voltage, does not support I/O system."

for the full text, go to "Buyers Guide to Memory Cards" at //www.asusemag.com.tw/latest/ch13/ch13-1.htm





* This message has been edited by the author on 7/26/2002 8:00:08 PM.
 07/26/2002 08:02:41 PM · #11
Excellent. Thanks Spiderman! (My hero!)

 07/26/2002 08:03:43 PM · #12
Compact Flash cards have the card controller built into them.Some brands are faster than others--they will take the 5 or 6 shot burst faster than others.Smart Media has no controller--its in the camera.As far as I know they record frames about the same.Olympus has apanorama mode programed into their SM cards and they are more expensive than usual.
 07/26/2002 08:06:28 PM · #13
Spiderman--what do they mean by i/o system?
 07/26/2002 08:11:37 PM · #14
Here's a review of various brands of Compact Flash memory at dpreview.com.

SmartMedia cards are all produced by Toshiba and Samsung. However apparently the olympus panorama feature is only available in olympus branded SM. According to thisthis you may (or may not) be able to duplicate this feature (or restore it to a card used in another device which may have erased the data needed) with a little technical know-how and a hex editor.

Mostly any differences are in the speed of the memory for both CF and SM. Since SM has only memory on it its unlikely to have signifcant speed differences. CF can have a slightly wider variation because it includes the hardware to make it recognizable as a drive to a PC (IDE hardware).
 07/26/2002 08:14:26 PM · #15
Some cameras, for instance my Olympus camera, only allows panoramic shooting with an Olympus smartmedia card. A VERY annoying marketing card since they are not sold near my home.

You may want to check your camera since it is an Olympus, and see if this is the case. If it is you may want to pick up one of the camera brand cards.
 07/26/2002 08:16:37 PM · #16
I have changed SM cards and enabled the panorama feature on non-Olymmus cards. It's not that hard to do.
 07/26/2002 08:16:46 PM · #17
Originally posted by Digipixer:
Spiderman--what do they mean by i/o system?

sorry - i have NO idea - i've gone back and reread the article to no avail - perhaps a member of a more technically-advanced species will help us out :)
 07/26/2002 08:21:05 PM · #18
That I/O thing is strange because you can write to a SM card like another hard drive.If you haven't messed too much with an image you can load it back on the card,put it in the camera and show it on a TV in a slide show.The camera has to recognize the image so you cant change it too much.
 07/26/2002 08:54:19 PM · #19
Originally posted by Agamemnon:
[i]Some cameras, for instance my Olympus camera, only allows panoramic shooting with an Olympus smartmedia card. A VERY annoying marketing card since they are not sold near my home.

Hit-this- in Puppets post.
 07/26/2002 09:10:39 PM · #20
Had a few widows open for a while, did not see that until after I posted =)

Thanks, even though I think I am not going to get that done.

* This message has been edited by the author on 7/26/2002 9:11:33 PM.
 07/26/2002 09:21:16 PM · #21
Olympus has come out with Camedia4 and Camedia Pro. They have a stitch option that will stitch together pix that don''t use the panorama mode.So I think user pressure has made them rethink the Panorama-enabled cards and their higher price.

* This message has been edited by the author on 7/26/2002 9:22:00 PM.
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