When my parents bought a digital camera for one of their out-of-town trips, I just can't help but laugh my behind off when my Dad asked the salesperson "where does the film go?". It took them quite a while (and a lot of lectures from their loving kids) to understand that a digicam doesn't need film, that it has a memory card that they could re-use, and that they could always buy another one if memory is running low.

But in general, a lot of people do not really get the difference between the wide variety of digital memory cards that has popped out nowadays. Most digicams could accommodate two or more types of memory cards. So, maybe we could help you out a bit with that. To kick things off, there are a lot of memory cards you can choose from, here are some of the choices:

The SD Memory Card - Small size and acceptable capacity is the name of the game. SD Cards hold between 32Mb-2Gb, also there's a 3GB SD Card in development. A 2GB SD Card may cost you around $55-$60, depending on where you buy.

The XD Memory Card - Has a maximum capacity of 1GB and works like the SD card with a price ranging from $20-$70 depending on memory capacity, brand and where you shop. Unless you're a professional photographer taking hundreds of shots per session, you might want to consider it.

The Compact Flash Card - Robust and reliable with a solid form, they come in substantially greater capacities (up to 8GB). Aside from capacity, they also have differing speed cards. Perfect for the digital photography aficionado or a professional photographer. Prices could go as high as $180.

SmartMedia Cards - The old timer of the group. Launched in the summer of 1995, they are somewhat sidelined for newer more advanced options of image storage. You may find that your Digital Camera isn't compatible with SmartMedia Cards so always read the manual.

Memory Stick - Originally used primarily in Sony cameras, you may recognise Memory Sticks from other devices such as your mobile phone or your PSP. Available in several capacities and from different manufacturers. However, they are slightly more prone to becoming damaged due to being physically more vulnerable than its Compact Flash counterpart, which has a more solid and hardened plastic body.

And we come to the difficult part: what should you use? The answer: it depends on what will you use it for. If you want something that you can use in your other contraptions, then maybe the Memory Stick is for you. If you're the type who just take pictures during holidays and kiddie parties, then you might wanna size up an XD or SD memory card. Serious about becoming a digital photographer par-extraordinaire, consider the compact flash card.

In the end, if you just don't get it then maybe you oughta stick to the old school film cameras. A classic never goes out of style, anyway. We leave the decisions to you.

Yep you read it right, Office Depot is now selling Sandisk Memory Stick Pro Duo for $29.99, no mail-in rebates, no coupons, nothing but a great price. You can go to the Office Depot Product Page (link below) and pick a couple out for you camera, PSP, or any other gadget you have that uses the format.

The Sandisk stick have been tested and have faster data transfer than a Sony branded one (which is great for any PSP owner transferring large movies). Now this is a great deal (I paid more than twice that about a month after the PSP came out) but you can also get a 4GB memory stick of questionable (read fake) quality on eBay for about $50-$60, although who knows how longs that it will last you. And if something goes wrong, they don't come with the Sandisk five-year warranty.

Sony has announced its new Memory Stick Entertainment Packs. (We told you about the previous batch here.) These contain either 1GB or 2GB Memory sticks bundled with an installer DVD. This is (obviously) a collaboration between Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Sony Electronics.

Aside from being able to use the Memory Sticks in devices such as Sony's digital cameras, camcorders and some Sony Ericsson phones, you can also use these to watch movies in your PSP.

The Packs come with installer DVDs for PCs which contain four Sony movies, one of which you can access with the complimentary unlock code, and then transfer to your PSP's Memory Stick media.

The movies included in the Memory Stick Entertainment Pack are "S.W.A.T.," XXX: State of the Union," "The Grudge" and "Hitch."

The 2GB and 1GB Memory Stick Entertainment Packs will become available next month and will cost $100 and $60 respectively.

Finally, Sony Europe have announced that the 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo will hit shelves in September. The 4GB micro memory stick, compatible with Sony's PSP as well as digital cameras and other Sony products, has been available for a while in other territories and will be a welcome addition to the Memory stick range for European PSP owners. According to the Sony press release, the 4GB stick can hold up to 1000 MP3 songs, 3000 digital photos in 5 megapixel resolution or more than 9 hours of MPEG-4 video, which probably means it'll hold around 2/3 of that.

The new 4GB stick will come in a new package, presumably to tear apart differences between fake sticks from auction site eBay and legitimate ones, as well as a free Memory Stick Pro adaptor and a 5 year warranty for approximately €170 (approximately US$274). Not bad if you ask me, but they have probably been priced to compete with Sandisk's 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. I want one, and I'll get whatever one is cheapest: Sony or SanDisk!

Buffalo Technologies has just released information on a new series of SD cards with built in USB connectivity. The RSDU cards will be available from mid-July in a variety of sizes. Details that have been provided show these will be available in 256MB, 512MB, 1Gb and 2 GB. Functionality will be like those of normal SD cards and this will be compatible with Windows Me/2000/XP and Mac OS X 10.1.2.

These will be useful for those people who use laptops or desktops and want less fuss by having fewer or no wires at all. There are no more details on data transfer speeds, or prices on release, or even if they will be initially globally available. We'll keep you posted.

          

Sandisk are running a promotion in which you could get $25 off a Sandisk Gaming 512Mb Memory Stick Pro Duo fit for your PSP or other gadgets which use the miniature memory stick format. All you have to do is print off the coupon from the Sandisk website and take it into any GameStop, Best Buy or Circuit City store or buy online to receive your $25 discount.

Using this offer you could get a Sandisk Gaming 512Mb stick for just $19.99. If you are going to buy online, our tip would be to get your 512Mb Sandisk Gaming stick from Best Buy, who seem to have added the discount already on their website. The memory stick is listed for $19.99 through the Best Buy website, but only comes in as $17.99 when you add it to your shopping cart due to a sale.

A 512MB Sandisk Gaming Memory stick for just $17.99 including delivery? Sounds like a great deal to me! And remember, although this is a 'Gaming' version, it still works in other devices such as digital cameras etc. The 'Gaming' part just means you get a brightly-colored memory stick. If you wish the print off the voucher, click the above thumbnail to open the full sized image then right click > Save Image As. Then print the image file.

Thanks for the tip Sam Wrench!

Link: [Sandisk Promotional page and voucher]
Link: [Best Buy - Sandisk Gaming 512Mb Memory Stick Pro Duo]

There's no such thing as too much memory. Ask Kingston Technology. Already known for their 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB CompactFlash Elite Pro cards, the company took another step forward with its elephantine-grade high-capacity 8GB CompactFlash.

The mega-memo card holds more images and helps content management making it the perfect digital storage for commercial photographers. The new 8GB card improves the performance of even advanced imaging applications with ultra-fast transfer read speeds up to 8 MB/sec. It's write speeds can go as fast 6.75 MB/sec.

Kingston’s 8-GB Type I CompactFlash Elite Pro card retails for about $399.99. All Kingston CompactFlash products come with a lifetime warranty and free technical support.

Well personally this is one of the cheapest prices I've seen for a 1GB Pro Duo Memory Stick. The internet superstore, Buy.com have a current discounted price of $35.95 for the stick, however adding to this, SanDisk have their own rebate worth $11 for this stick. This takes the overall price to $24.95. The particular model is the coloured gaming version, SDMSG-1024-A10 (pictured). The rebate form is available here, and also extends to offer you $12 off a Cruzer 512MB micro, and $13 off a 1GB CompactFlash all made by SanDisk. The rebate for Buy.com is only available till the 4th of June, so get buying!

Are you still waiting to get a good deal on Memory Stick Pro Duos? Well if you somehow haven't gotten around to getting any or just want to pick up another one, now is your chance. SanDisk's 2GB Ultra II Memory Stick PRO Duo can be picked up for only $60.99 plus free shipping (after 26 dollar rebate) at outpost.com. SanDisk's 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo is only $31.99 (after its 11 dollar rebate) with free shipping as well at Amazon.com. The prices have gone down dramatically since they have been introduced - I almost paid 80 bucks for a 1GB card and that was a steal because they were at least $150.00 in retail. Memory Stick PRO Duo cards are used in some cameras, the Sony PSP, and other portable devices. So if you want to get a extra memory stick for cheap or have been waiting for prices to drop, now is your chance.

Ok, this is very cool.  It shouldn't be news to anyone that there are now digital cameras on the market that offer WiFi built-in.  Previously, I thought this was the way to go, but I've had a change of heart, and am now completely stoked for the official launch of Eye-fi. 

So what is Eye-fi?  Glad you asked.  It's a media card that combines storage with built-in WiFi connectivity!  So take your pictures, and when you're within range of a (pre setup) computer, your pictures will start downloading to your system.  No hassle with extra cables, card readers, etc.  So why not just buy a camera with built-in technology for this?  Well, maybe I love my camera as it is, or don't have enough dough to get a new gadget like this.  Or maybe I want this little piece of tech from Eye-fi because it works in any device that takes a media card.  There - now the wheels are turning, aren't they?  There are TONS of possibilities with this thing.

It's still in final development, so it's not on the market yet, but it's really only a matter of time.  I'll be waiting for this baby.  I'd love to have this functionality, wouldn't you?