Pixels vs Compression

[technogran]

I am going to the U.K. for 18 days in June. In order to store more photos on my compact flash cards, is it preferable to use a higher number of pixels (2048x1536) with a Fine compression setting, OR use a lower number of pixels (1600x1200) with the Superfine compression setting. Either of these settings will give me 60-65 photos on a 64 Mb card. My camera is a Canon S30 and I have very little experience with it. The largest size I would want to print would be 7 x 5 inches. Anyone knowledgeable with digital cameras please?

[ronners]

As far as I know, it's pretty much the same thing. On one hand you have smaller pixels and a smaller image, or bigger pixels and a bigger image, so it may not make much of a difference. What I'd really recommend is getting yourself more memory cards, taking a laptop for download, or getting one of those nice portable storage devices (the <A HREF="http://www.justmemorycards.com/category10_1.htm">x-drive</A> or <A HREF=http://www.steves-digicams.com/2001_reviews/nixvue.html">Nixvue Digital Album</A> for example). I recently bought a 340MB CompactFlash card on eBay for $75.

If you want to 'edit out' photos as you go to save space, you may also consider investing in one of those magnifiers which fits onto your LCD screen (the <A HREF="http://www.steves-digicams.com/2001_reviews/opt-x.html">Opt-X</A> for example) to give you a better enlarged view of each captured image. Making decisions on what to keep based on how they look on a 1.5 inch screen probably isn't a good idea, but if you can view an enlarged version it's possible.

Cheers,

Ron.

[technogran]

Thanks Ron for your reply. I have a couple of 64 Mb cards, and 1 48 Mb card, besides the 16 Mb which came with the camera. I will consider whether to invest in larger cards to add to my collection or lugging my laptop on the plane and bus and downloading to that. I don't really like to set the camera to the lower settings anyway, but just wanted to know if there was any major difference if stuck with that choice at any time.
Cheers Joan

[nmess]

Ron,

I have been pondering this very issue. I have a D1 like yourself, and have a 1g micro drive. On a day to day basis this will work fine, as even at max res and in the NEF Raw format I can store a bit over 100 shots. But for the reasons you cited I had been exploring low cost alternatives, including buying a laptop as storage for extended trips.

After reading your remarks about the x-drive, I checked out various portable mass storage units and think this might be the answer. I'm wondering if you have any experience with the Vosonic line of devices or if anyone else has experience. I noticed while shopping, they also make a unit for not much more that will also allow you listen to MP3's, view pics on a 2.5 in display (providing they are JPEGs) or watch MPEG's.

If anyone is interested, I see them listed at http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/ for about $250 for a 40g storage unit, and about $399 for the 40g unit with player. Both are palm size, and I think either would make a nice addition to a camera bag.

Any reviews would be welcome.

Thanks,
Ned