With the number of different memory options for your Cameras, Video Recorders, MP3 Devices and other electronics it is important to know what you are getting before you buy.
There are well over 20 different types of memory cards and Sizes , Shapes, connectors and memory size and type will restrict you to a specific card you should choose.
SD- HD is the newest form of memory card and this type can reach sizes over 2 Gigabyte in data storage. It is important that you device can recognize the new HD format.. older devices marked as standard SD can not use the new cards.
SD is secure Digital and was introduced to prevent copying of copyrighted media. SD and SD HD are similar but the amount of data his higher on SD-HD cards.
Mini-SD is a small version that is often found in small MP3 Players.
Compact Flash comes in Type 1 and 2 They are the most popular in the market but they are being pushed out by SD-HD. CF Cards can hold up to 8GB.
TransFlash Cards are found in Phones and allow storage of larger amounts of data.
Purchasing
When making your purchase you must check with the manufacturer’s specs and find the exact type of card you need for your device.
If you can not find your manual then visit your manufacturers website online before you make a purchase. Some memory cards are not returnable to different stores.
The following list provides a quick reference to the abbreviations used when looking for cards.
Name Abbreviation
PC Card – PCMCIA
CompactFlash I – CF-I
CompactFlashII – CF-II
SmartMedia – SM / SMC
Memory Stick – MS
Memory Stick Duo – MSD
Memory Stick PRO Duo – MSPD
Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo – MSPDX
Memory Stick Micro M2 – M2
Multimedia Card – MMC
Reduced Size Multimedia Card – RS-MMC
MMCmicro Card – MMCmicro
Secure Digital Card – SD
Universal Flash Storage – UFS
miniSD Card – miniSD
microSD Card – microSD
xD-Picture Card – xD
Intelligent Stick – iStick
Serial Flash Module – SFM
µ card – µcard
NT Card – NT NT+