How much memory do you tote around?

[Ellis Vener]

Between SD, CompactFlash, and other memory device (like the new XQD used in one of the bays in the D4) formats, how much capacity do you carry around when you are shooting on location?  Not including external storage drives that you can download a card to (although that is also an interesting question but it is for another time)

I just added mine up and it totaled 360GB, mostly CF format.

[RobSaecker]

Only 40 gigs here, all SD. I've yet to fill up an 8 gig card in a single shoot. I guess I need to work harder. 

[BernardLanguillier]

For a single day, normally 2*32GB.

Typically 2*4*32 GB for multi days trips.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Ellis Vener]

For a single day, normally 2*32GB.

Typically 2*4*32 GB for multi days trips.

Cheers,
Bernard

Is 2*4*32 the same thing as 8 32GB cards?

[torger]

It depends... I recently have been out quite often with only an old 1 GB CF card, it takes about 25 pictures. It was no deliberate plan to have that little space, it just happened to get that way and I have not needed more for an evening's shooting with the tech camera since I don't do as much random shots with that camera.

With the DSLR and sports though, I can fill a 16 GB card in an hour. I try to shoot less these days though, the post-processing is a pain when having 500+ images to go through. Actually I rarely bring more than 16 GB for an event just to make sure I don't shoot too many pictures.

[BernardLanguillier]

Is 2*4*32 the same thing as 8 32GB cards?

Yes, but it means 4 sets of (1 CF and 1 SD card). :-)

Cheers,
Bernard

[Jim Pascoe]

I find this a very odd question.  Is it not like saying "I'm going to a party - how much wine should I take?"  To which I would reply "It all depends how much you are going to drink".

For a wedding I usually now usually have a 32gb card in the camera - which allows for around 1000 pictures, and a couple of 8gb cards in the bag as backup. I also have a second camera to hand which has a 16gb SD card in.

If I was shooting landscapes I should think a 32gb card would last me for most of a week.

Jim

[Pingang]

32G CF X 2
16G CF X 4
8G CF X 4
16G SD X 3
8G SD X 2

2.5" Removable HDD 1T X4

On usually 2 Canon FF DSLR and 1 60 or 80 mpx P1 back on H2, and a Sony NEX-7, yes, it is very heavy. The nowadays light weight pack is 5D3 and NEX-7 with adapter for Canon lens.
Nikon D800E has never left studio so far.

Pingang
Shanghai

[GuzziRob]

3 x 8Gb cards for me, but I mainly do landscapes and rarely take more than a handful of images a day! 

That said, with the upgrade to the D800E from the 5D II I am thinking I may need larger capacity cards, and probably faster than the 266x I currently use!  I am also adding a D7000 as a backup body so will need a couple of SD cards for that (as well as some SD for the D800E as backup!).

This is going to get expensive isn't it!

[Scott O.]

I find this a very odd question.  Is it not like saying "I'm going to a party - how much wine should I take?"  To which I would reply "It all depends how much you are going to drink".

Jim

Interesting question and I agree with Jim's comment.  Depends on subject and your own personal style.  I come from a Zone System and Hasselblad background, where I learned to carefully craft and take a small number of images.  This is probably ingrained in my thinking.  I have been on trips where a fellow photographer winds up with 10,000+ images and I wind up with 800.  I did a 10 day Colorado River trip on 1 battery, where others were charging nightly.  Having said this, reevaluation is occurring due to the large D800 file sizes!

[Petrus]

This is going to get expensive isn't it!

The last time I checked it is 5 times more expensive to shoot color slides than use memory cards JUST ONCE...

It is getting ridiculously cheap...

Once in my life I carried 270 rolls of KodaChrome 64 for 7 months around Asia. Now the same number of shots, with better quality, would fit on a couple of SD cards.

[149113]

I have a Pelican 0915 and right now it's filled with (12) 32gb Class 10 cards. That goes with me pretty much everywhere when I am shooting.

[Ellis Vener]

I have a Pelican 0915 and right now it's filled with (12) 32gb Class 10 cards. That goes with me pretty much everywhere when I am shooting.

Does your camera allow for in camera backups while shooting?

[Kerry L]

I carry as much as 56Gb, with 2 CF cards in camera (D3) and several more in a Pelican wallet case. I set the 2nd slot as a back-up.

I shoot 14bit RAW and a 16Gb card holds 600+ images. I haven't come close to filling one on a single days shooting.

I worry more about a card failure (or heaven forbid, an accidental re-format) than I do about running out of space. For that reason, I use several smaller cards rather than one larger one.

I have a 10 day photo trip planned for the fall and my plan is to download one camera card to my laptop each night and then re-format it for use the next day. I'm going to store the second card in a Pelican wallet untill I get home and have everything properly transfered to my main computer and backup HD.