New Problems To Face When Saving Memories In A New Digital Era
With family get-togethers, holiday pageants and winter vacations, it's definitely the season for taking pictures. Amateur photographers everywhere are grabbing their cameras to capture the perfect holiday memory - and now more than ever, they're using digital cameras to do the job. According to Photo Marketing Association International (PMAI), 12.8 million digital cameras will have been sold in 2003 vs. 12.1 million film cameras with 33% of U.S. households owning a digital camera by the years end.
Many of these digital cameras no doubt ended up as holiday gifts - and along with them the digital media where the pictures are actually stored. Other digital toys like portable MP3 players and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) use digital media to store information, making memory cards, flash media and microdrives products that people should become accustomed to in the new era. However, like computers, digital media can suffer from corruption and make your information inaccessible. If you run into problems and think your precious holiday pictures are lost forever, don't panic. There is hope.
There are many types of digital storage media available today in various capacities, ranging from tiny 8MB memory cards that come bundled with cameras to huge 2GB microdrives. The most popular format is probably CompactFlash Memory, which was first introduced in 1994 by SanDisk Corporation. CompactFlash is based on flash memory semiconductor technology that stores text, audio, video and images on flash chips. Flash is both non-volatile and solid state, meaning that no battery is required to retain data and there are no moving parts. These qualities make Flash a rugged and reliable storage format that is perfect for portable digital devices because it offers better data protection than disk drives with moving parts.
SmartMedia cards and Memory Sticks are also popular storage formats developed by Toshiba and Sony, respectively. SmartMedia cards are very thin and more fragile than other formats with a top memory capacity of 128MB. Sony's Memory Stick is the dominant memory format for Sony products. It is used widely in digital cameras, computers and the Clie' handhelds. Memory Stick is also starting to appear in the products of other manufacturers, most notably Konica. Both of these formats are also very small and have no moving parts that are subject to mechanical problems - perfect for active use and transfer between devices.
Another popular format is the Microdrive from IBM. Introduced in 1998, these mini drives started with capacities of 170MB but have grown to handle up to 2GB. Although not as resistant to impact as CompactFlash and other solid state memory cards, Microdrives have proven to be reliable, solid and one of the most economic storage devices available for digital products.
Regardless if you use these formats or one of several other that are currently available (e.g. MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital, xD Picture Card, Mini CD-R/CD-RW), the point is that people are now trusting their pictures to a different media than traditional film - and with that new media, comes new problems. Instead of overexposure or a damaged roll, you have to deal with corrupted data and hardware failures. Most digital media is formatted with the FAT (File Allocation Table) file system for data storage and organisation. When this file system gets corrupted, the device that uses the memory card can't find the data so whatever information you have stored is "lost." Even though it still exists on the memory card, the data is inaccessible. What could cause the file system to become corrupted? When the device becomes low on power or when the card is removed while the device is on are common situations where the file system may no longer point to the data. When hardware failure occurs, the digital media is physically damaged and cannot connect with the device that reads the data. This typically happens due to accidental breakage or rough treatment.
In either case, it is important to remember that recovery is always a possibility. Although Data Recovery companies typically deal with hard drives as their primary role, many also have the technology and expertise to handle all types of digital media. With their technique of finding critical data to rebuild the file system, Data Recovery companies use special tools to find and recover lost data.
Low Cost Data Recovery Service
UK's cheapest logical data recovery service for all hard disk drives (IDE/SATA), diskettes, memory sticks and flash cards.
Hot Topics In Photography
Your Guide To The Best Rated Digital Cameras
There are many different models and types of digital cameras available just as there are lots of different styles and skill levels of photography. Which digital camera you choose will often depend on ...Photoshop Tutorial Secrets From the Trenches - Seven Essential Steps to Digital Workflow
I've been shooting with digital cameras in my portrait and wedding photography studio for about five years now, and in that time I've taken well over 50,000 exposures.Our studio has been around for...
My First Digital Camera
About a week before my son was born, I bought a digital camera. I wanted to create a baby book for him that would include not only his first year milestones, but also photos to capture his physical gr...The Difference Between DPI and PPI
Most people heard the term DPI. In most cases the term is used in the wrong context to express the number of pixels in a photo, the number of dots in a print or the maximum dots per inch a printer can...
Seven common mistakes when taking digital photos
You have probably taken photos before just to find out later that they did not come out as expected. Although digital cameras are getting smarter there are still a lot of decisions that the photograph...Is It Time YOU Thought About How You Can Make Money Taking Pictures?
If you and your camera are inseparable - if your images are really good - if YOU are the one always pressed into service when the need for pictures arises (and you love doing this) you have probably a...Tips for saving money on your online photo prints
Taking photos with your digital camera and viewing them on your computer screen is fun. Sometimes you'd like to make hardcopies of your photos. One of the easiest ways to print your photos is by using...How to Compose Landscapes
There really are no effective formulas for composing good landscapes. Nonetheless, the general suggestions that follow can probably help you get bet-ter ones.1. Every landscape should have a focal ...
How To Get The Best Results When Printing Your Own Digtal Photographs
The joy of using a digital camera and then having the ability to print out photos in the comfort of your own home is a great, empowering feeling. Usually, when you own a computer, the printer is a com...Old Film Camera Out, Digital Camera In
Digital cameras have created a revolution in the world of photography. Although this maybe a tad too expensive, the results can be absolutely marvelous. Unlike others, Digital Photography captures an ...
Most Recent Photography Supplements
- How to Choose a Digital Camera
- Scanning paper prints to digital photos on your hard disk
- Tips for scanning paper photo prints
- The Top Five Tips For Great Digital Photos
- How to Choose Photo Paper
- How To Take Better Landscape Photographs With Your Digital Camera
- Understanding Shutter Delay in Digital Cameras
- Digital Photo Printer Reviews - Which Is Best For You?
- Top 11 Tips For Photographing People
- Five Tips for Steady Cameras
- How to Choose a Digital Camera
- Online Photo Album - Why Should You Get Your Own Online Photo Gallery?
- Digital Photography - The Top Five Reasons Why
- What is a digital photo JPEG file?
- Turn Your Old Photo Paper Prints into Modern Digital Format Albums
- Even A Professional Photographer In Milwaukee Has Moved Into The Digital Era
- Digital SLR Camera Reviews - Best Picks
- Tips for Taking Great Lightning Photos
- Shooting photos in Aperture priority mode
- Taking great digital photos of your home
Newly Popular Arts Articles
Now, Your Zodiac Compatibility
The zodiac circle has twelve signs beginning with Aries and concluding with Pisces. Each sign has traits that set it apart from the others These twelve signs are covered by four elements, fire, earth,...Do A Sporting Stag Do In Birmingham
If you're planning a stag do in Birmingham, you'd almost have to include some sporting activities. After all, Sport England has awarded Birmingham the title National City of Sport. Situated just west ...Your Guide To The Best Rated Digital Cameras
There are many different models and types of digital cameras available just as there are lots of different styles and skill levels of photography. Which digital camera you choose will often depend on ...Photoshop Tutorial Secrets From the Trenches - Seven Essential Steps to Digital Workflow
I've been shooting with digital cameras in my portrait and wedding photography studio for about five years now, and in that time I've taken well over 50,000 exposures.Our studio has been around for...
No! The Bank Doesn't Want Your House!
When faced with the threat of foreclosure it is very easy to assume that your bank or lender simply wants to foreclose on your home and it isn't worth the fight to keep the home. This defeatist attitu...
Seven common mistakes when taking digital photos
You have probably taken photos before just to find out later that they did not come out as expected. Although digital cameras are getting smarter there are still a lot of decisions that the photograph...Robotshop Creates Fun For Everyone
RobotShop's growing clientele has certainly pushed them to be more creative with their work. Not only has RobotShop been able to provide good quality service to their customers ever since they've emer...Is It Time YOU Thought About How You Can Make Money Taking Pictures?
If you and your camera are inseparable - if your images are really good - if YOU are the one always pressed into service when the need for pictures arises (and you love doing this) you have probably a...Tips for saving money on your online photo prints
Taking photos with your digital camera and viewing them on your computer screen is fun. Sometimes you'd like to make hardcopies of your photos. One of the easiest ways to print your photos is by using...How to Compose Landscapes
There really are no effective formulas for composing good landscapes. Nonetheless, the general suggestions that follow can probably help you get bet-ter ones.1. Every landscape should have a focal ...
