XD Card - Olympus XD Camera Storage Format

What are xD Picture Cards? - xD Format Information - Olympus XD Card Prices
If you use any kind of electronic device, from cellphones to MP3 players to digital cameras, chances are you need some sort of flash memory card to store your digital data on. One memory card format is called XD Picture Card. What is XD Picture Card? xD-Picture Card (also known as xD Memory Card and just "XD Cards") is a proprietary format created by Fuji and Olympus, with a specific form factor (1" wide by .8" deep by .07" thick) and a variety of memory storage sizes. The "xD" stood for eXtreme Digital in the olden days (around 2002) when it was first invented. Today, a number of companies like Sandisk and Lexar also sell xD cards. Just like Sony Memory Sticks or the more common SD memory cards, the xD-Picture Cards look like little plastic chips that you slide into your camera or cellphone. However, XD cards are quite a bit smaller - about half the size of an SD card (see photo below for comparison). xD memory cards allow you to store digital pictures, music, or other electronic files, allowing them to be saved and transferred from one device to another, or from a device to a computer. Olympus xD Picture cards come in sizes ranging from 16MB to 2GB (as of early 2009).

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If you are ready to buy online, we recommend Amazon.com. We are always impressed by their competitive prices, fast shipping, and customer service -- plus almost everyone already shops with them and trusts them. Since technology changes so fast, you can browse their up-to-date list of best-selling xD memory cards here.

Olympus XD Picture Cards - XD Memory Card

xD Cards come it 2 basic types as of 2009 - the Type M card and the Type M+ card (1.5X faster). There used to be a Type H card (which was about 3X faster than the M cards) but it was discontinued in 2008. If you are buying a new digital camera, you'll want to make sure to get the M+ type xD memory card in order to handle the higher data speeds necessary for capturing video clips. The M+ cards are only available in larger sizes, 1GB and 2GB. So how fast are these cards when it comes to reading and writing data? The M xD cards read at 4MB/sec and write at 2.5MB/sec, while the M+ cards read at 6MB/sec and write at 3.75MB/sec. When it comes to what type of memory card to buy, you really don't have a choice -- you need to buy the type that your device requires. So if you buy an Olympus digital camera and plan on using some of your old SD memory cards, think again. You HAVE to use xD Picture Cards with your Olympus camera - it's not a choice. Same thing if you buy a Sony camera that uses only Memory Stick cards -- you can't use an old xD card or SD card. So remember to look at that when you are buying a new phone, camera, or gadget -- can you use old memory cards you have or will you need to purchase new ones?

Best XD Card Readers

To transfer your data from an xD card to your PC or laptop, you have a few options. The first is to connect via an USB cable -- ie, connect your digital camera to your PC with a USB cable and copy the photos over that way. The second option is to use a built-in memory card reader on your computer -- sometimes these are built into the side and can accomodate the insertion of SD cards, xD cards, MMC cards, etc. You just pop the card in and it shows up like a drive under My Computer and you can drag and drop files wherever you want to. The final option is to use an external memory card reader that connects to your PC via a USB cable, and you then plug your xD card into the external reader. You can pick up these card readers pretty cheap - around $15-$25. Our favorite is the Sandisk 12-in-1 card reader, which handles almost all card formats, including xD Picture Card - runs about $25. There are more to choose from here.

1GB XD Picture Cards - 2GB XD Olympus Card

A 2GB xD memory card can hold approximately 800 photos on a 10MP digital camera, and about 1200 pictures on a 6MP camera (in HQ mode). A 1GB xD Picture Card can hold half as much. How much do xD cards cost? As of early 2009, you can buy a 1GB xD Picture Card for about $14-$15 and a 2GB xD memory card for about $20 -- both the M type and M+ type cost approximately the same amount. As you can see, the 2GB xD cards are a better deal, with twice the storage capacity for only 50% more. If you're spending $15, just spend the $21 or whatever and get the 2GB card (confirm that your device can handle 2GB cards first, as some older devices can't handle xD cards larger than 512MB or 1GB). Check lowest prices on xD cards at Amazon here.

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