CHOOSING THE RIGHT MEMORY CARD The memory card is where you will store all of the images you photograph until you off-load them to your computer or hard drive. It’s a very important accessory to own, since you can’t create any images until you have one in your camera. The 60D uses Secure Digital (SD) cards, so if you own a digital point-and-shoot camera you are most likely already familiar with using them (Figure 2.1). There are many different brands and sizes to choose from, and
FIGURE 2.1
there’s a lot to consider when buying SD cards for your camera.
Make sure you select an SD card that has enough capacity to handle your photographic needs.
Here are some tips to help you make your purchase: s The size of your card is very important, especially since the 60D can shoot up to 18 megapixels in both RAW and JPEG file formats. You can find SD cards in many sizes, but you will probably not want anything smaller than 4 GB per card.
It’s also a good idea to have more than one card tucked away in your camera bag to use as backup. s Don’t skimp on quality because of a good price. Remember, the card is the only place that your image files are stored until you can transfer them to a computer. A high-quality card might cost a few more dollars but will be more reliable and will last much longer than a less expensive one. You don’t always know that something is wrong with a card until it’s too late, and having a reliable card is one step to help prevent that. Along with a memory card, it’s also a good idea to have an SD card reader. It is possible to connect your camera to the computer to retrieve the files, but over time you will unnecessarily drain your camera’s battery.
FORMATTING YOUR MEMORY CARD The first thing to do when you have a new SD card is format it. When you format a card, the camera creates a layout for the images to be written more easily and saved properly. Formatting also “cleans” your card, making it a blank slate to write new images to, and is the recommended way of deleting data from the card. You should always format the card within the camera itself, because formatting it from the computer could render the card useless. You also want to be certain that your images and
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C A N O N E O S 6 0 D : F R O M S N A P S H O T S T O G R E AT S H O T S