One Large Memory Card Or Multiple Small Cards?

In a recent dPS poll, we asked What Is Your Favorite Memory Card Brand.  As readers tallied their votes and left comments I noticed a trend appearing.  Some readers would note the size of the cards they used and others would in return ask why they used such large cards.

In this post I’d like to present some thoughts on both approaches to digital photography.  WhenI talk about “One Large Card” below, I don’t mean that’s all any person ever has.  I’m using for a GB per GB comparison between the two approaches.  Many that subscribe to the One Large Card ideal often have a few of these large cards.

IN THIS CORNER: ONE LARGE CARD

Large cards have their allure, I admit it.  Sizes now head North to 32GB and beyond.  That’s a lot of storage and tempting for most.  Let’s take a look at some pros of the single card theory:

• Easy to keep track of.  It’s always in the camera.
• Great for trips.  No toting around tons of cards.
• The larger the card, the less it costs per GB.
• Large cards hold a lot of movies, which take up large amounts of space.
• No need for organization.

And really, that’s about the best arguments I’ve head in favor of one card.  Most like the convenience, especially with more and more cameras shipping equipped with HD video capabilities.  The larger card also mean less card changes when you do eventually have to swap.

The biggest con against the single card theory is loss.  Loss can be physical (card is misplaced, card gets smashed, camera with card is stolen, card gets smashed while being stolen after you misplaced it, etc…) or electronic corruption.  Corruption runs the gamut from a single photo to an entire card becoming unreadable.  Otherwise known as the “All your eggs in one basket” theory, it’s a real issue especially while traveling.

One last con, older cameras can’t always format the entire card.  From experience I know a Canon 5D Mark I will not format more than 8GB of card, even if it’s a 16GB card.

IN THE OTHER CORNER: MULTIPLE SMALLER CARDS

Smaller cards, and sometimes lots of them, have pros and cons as well.  First, the pros:

• If one card dies or is lost, not all photos are lost
• They are cheaper to buy when extra space is needed.
• Often the smaller cards get the faster read/write improvements before the larger cards.
• Goodwill can be harbored when extra cards are lent to those who may suddenly run out of space.  This is often worth at least one beer for the lender.

For all the pros, the biggest con is organization.  I realize some of you read that sentence and rolled your eyes in disbelief.  You are the ones who are naturally organized and like it.  But there are some out there who have a hard time with organization.  And that means checking cards twice before using a new one for fear of deleting shots.  For the unorganized it also means clutter, especially while on a trip.  Lastly it means changing cards more often and this tends to happen most at the precise moment when something cool is going to happen, or so says Murphy’s Law.

Personally I travel with a few larger (8 and 16GB) cards because I shoot a lot and am not the best at being organized with cards on the road.  I have also recently acquired a Canon Rebel T1i with HD video recording capabilities which ends of sucking down gigabytes like you wouldn’t believe.  So having those larger cards is an advantage for me.

Whichever method you have chosen or will choose, it has to be right for you.

OK – over to you – Do you use One Large Memory Card Or Multiple Small Cards? Or do you use both approaches depending upon the situation?