Here are the mostly used storage devices used by digital cameras:
- Secure Digital Card (SD)
- Compact Flash (CF)
- Multi Media Card (MMC)
- xD-Picture Card (xD)
- MiniSD Card
- MicroSD Card
- USB flash drive
- Memory Stick
- SmartMedia
- External Hard Drive
MMC is about the size of a postage stamp: 24 mm x 32 mm x 1.5 mm, compatible with SD cards. Basic cards, high-speed cards and high-end cards have speeds up to 150x or even higher! (Incredible, right?) Some digital cameras require high-speed cards to record video smoothly or capture multiple still photographs in rapid succession.
SD cards typically have higher data transfer rates, but this is always changing, particularly in light of recent improvements to the MMC (MultiMediaCard) standard. As of 2006, SD card capacities range from 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 MB, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 GB.
MiniSD cards are currently produced in capacities ranging from 16 MB to 4 GB. MicroSD is currently the smallest memory card format commercially available (15 mm x 11 mm x 0.7 mm) and available in capacities from 128 MB through 2 GB.
XD is a type of memory storage developed for digital cameras only (transferring from the xD card to computer only by plugging the camera into the PC) in a small variety: from 256 MB to 2 GB, but they are faster and have a low power consumption.
CF cards can be used directly in PC Card slot with a plug adapter, generally available in capacities from about 32 MB to about 32 GB.
With a Memory Stick (typically a small box that connects via USB or some other serial connection), a user could copy the pictures taken with the digital camera off to his computer.
