Digital Cameras

[Duane Attaway]

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003, Robert Kennedy wrote:

> I've been looking at a couple of lower end Olympus digital cameras. The
> specs are pretty decent bang for the buck, except for one thing. They
> use the "xD picture card" that Olympus seems to have jointly developed
> with Fuji.
> 
> Is this a coming standard? Are they formatted as standard USB mass
> storage devices? Or will this be the next 30 pin simm, an electronic
> Albatross for those who buy it?

The xD picture card makes other picture cards look huge.

I bought the Olympus C-50 a month ago.  It has the tiny xD memory card you 
mention.  It is about the size of a dime, sharing the same thicknes, 
length, and not much more for the width.  You could swallow one of these 
things.  The xD card is the smallest I have seen yet and can store up to 
512MB each.  There will likely be more different styles of memory cards in 
the future.  Until they get down to the size of a grain of salt.  Perhaps 
they will reduce them further than that...

I believe Toshiba developed the xD memory card and also sells Olympus the
xD chipset for reading it.  They also developed the Smartmedia card.  
Toshiba is also famous for releasing the specs for their products late to
other manufacturers, creating incompatibilities.  Remember the Smartmedia
cards when 32MB was the largest that would be recognized by third party
manufacturers, when the 64MB Smartmedia chips would work with Toshiba
devices?  Well, Toshiba makes the xD card and the largest one that will
work with my Olympus C-50 is the 256MB card.  I went through the same
thing with Toshiba's Smartmedia chips and mp3 players and digital cameras
when they first came out.  Great job, guys.

I'd say the xD card is worth the investment if you don't mind very tiny
memory chips.  And my Olympus camera is worth every penny I paid for it.  
This is the first camera I have owned that can take pictures in conditions
where my eyes can't see.  Exposure time and aperature are adjustable just
like a film camera.  Its rechargable batteries seem to have no end and
haven't failed me yet.  This makes photography fun again.

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