Facts About Digital Camera Memory Card

Memory card is an essentialdigital camera part of digital camera. There are many types of memory cards available in the market and it’s critical to know some knowledge about these before you buy your digital camera. Here are some basic tips on the most common types of digital camera memory cards to help you buy the best memory card that suits your need.
CF(Compact Flash): CF Card is a very small removable mass storage device and designed with flash technology, a non-volatile storage solution that does not require a battery to retain data indefinitely. First introduced in 1994 by SanDisk Corporation, CF memory Card has a controller chip in the card. The controller chip allows higher transfer rates. Most cameras can't take advantage of this extra speed, though. Only cameras with larger internal buffers - mostly digital SLRs - can take advantage of high-speed CF. There are two varieties of CF-Type I and Type II. Type II is thicker than Type I. Type I is flash based only and Type II is older flash based, but usually Microdrives. Compared to many other types of memory card, CF is inexpensive, easy to find, and works in a lot of digital cameras. For those reasons, it's one of the most desirable types of digital camera memory. It's available in capacities up to 512 MB.
SD(Secure Digital):SD is a highly secure stamp-sized digital camera memory card, which weigh approximately two grams. The main benefit of SD is SD Card has cryptographic security for copyrighted data based on proven security concepts from DVD Audio. It links various kinds of digital equipment through its easy connectivity and supports a host of application formats and does not require the use of a PC. It has broad interoperability and compatibility and can also be used in selected PDAs, organizers, phones, and MP3 players. Some famous camera brands such as Canon is slowly phasing out the use of CF card even on their camera. The newer Canon 450D is now on SD memory.
SDHC: the next generation of SD cards but offers increased capacities (4GB – 32GB) and faster transfer speeds of up to 6MB per second (Class 6). It provides removable memory for compatible digital devices including cameras, camcorders, PDAs, MP3 players and more. It is physically the same as SD, but offers higher capacity and transfer speed.  
MMC(MultiMedia Card): SD and MMC cards are nearly the same and most devices can support both. Unveiled in 1997 by Siemens AG and SanDisk, it is based on Toshiba's NAND-based flash memory, and is therefore much smaller than earlier systems such as CF. They have been more or less superseded by SD cards, but still see significant use because MMC can be used in most devices which support SD cards. The main difference between SD cards and MMC cards is that SD cards have a write-protect switch for added data security. The current maximum capacity for Secure Digital and MultiMedia Card is 512 MB.
MS(Memory Stick): Memory Stick was developed by Sony and is only compatible with Sony digital cameras. Memory Stick family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity and faster file transfer speeds; Memory Stick Duo, a small-form-factor version of the Memory Stick (including the PRO Duo); and the even smaller Memory Stick Micro (M2). In December 2006 Sony added the Memory Stick PRO-HG, a high speed variant of the PRO, to be used for high definition still and video cameras. Memory Stick is available in capacities up to 256 MB and the new Memory Stick Pro is available in capacities up to 1GB.

SM(smart media): It’s being phased out because of its weak compatibility.
XD -Picture Card: Introduced by Olympus and Fuji in 2002, the XD Picture card is the newest digital camera memory format. Its tiny size - 0.97" x 0.98" x 0.67" - means it can be used in very small cameras. The XD Picture Card can also be used in any CF compatible camera with the available CF adapter. XD cards are fast in comparison with older formats such as SM, MMC and MS and have a small form-factor in comparison with other formats (although both microSD and are significant smaller). Further, XD cards have a low power consumption. But they are generally more expensive than other cards formats.