4GB Card

4GB Card Review

4GB Card

The Good

Large capacity storage for a variety of types of files; works with a wide range of devices, non-proprietary (does not just work with specific products)

The Bad

Small cards can be lost easy (buy largest possible and keep in device to minimize risk of loss)

The Bottom Line

Overall, if you have a device that supports removable memory, you’re going to want at least a 4 GB card. Larger models are available but the prices can increase exponentially.

Review

With more and more electronics allowing you to use removable memory, the need for purchasing a 4 GB card might seem pretty pressing. However, there are important questions to answer: Is a 4 GB card large enough for your needs? What brand 4 GB card is going to be the best choice? We’ll look at both of these questions below.

First, you need to make sure that whatever device you have can use a 4 GB card. There are a number of types of removable memory on the market, including some proprietary types like the Sony Memory Stick. Not all removable media is going to be compatible with every device so know what you can use before you buy.

You also need to be very careful when searching for the right 4 GB card. You’ll find some that are SD, some that are SDHC, etc. There is a difference between these two types of cards. While some devices do support both, not all of them do.

Now let’s talk about the amount of storage available on a 4 GB card. The most common use for these cards is in digital cameras. Most of these cameras have little or no internal hard drive so you need to use removable memory cards to store all of the photos you are taking.

How much can you store on a 4 GB card? The hard answer is that it depends on the photo quality. If you’re taking pictures at the 8 megapixel level, you’ll be able to store just over 1,000 shots on a single card.

If you lower the picture quality to about 2 megapixels then you could practically quadruple the number of photos that can be stored. Whether that is sufficient space depends on your photography needs.

You’ll also need to decide which brand of 4GB card to purchase. The best known is probably SanDisk. They make the largest number of these cards and have a strong reputation in the industry. You’ll also find other names, such as Transcend and Kingston, in the market, too.

Although most of the 4 GB card models on the market are going to get the job done, you might feel more confident trusting your photos or other stored data to a name that is well-known in the industry. For that reason, SanDisk or Kingston would probably be the best choices.

Regardless of which brand you purchase, the prices are fairly reasonable, too. Most of the 4 GB card models are going to run you less than $10 to $15.

You may want to check out my other guide on Creative Player and Mp3 Audio Player.

Here's 4GB Card Selections:

Kingston 4 GB Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card SD4/4...	Customer Review: In the vast world of memory storage chips this is as good as any. Found this item on Amazon and the price was fair for a 4GB chip. Used it in my digital camers and it works fine. Holds a lot of data and you are unlikely to fill it up unless y... Read More	(346)
Kingston 8 GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Memory Card SD4/8...	Customer Review: In the vast world of memory storage chips this is as good as any. Found this item on Amazon and the price was fair for a 4GB chip. Used it in my digital camers and it works fine. Holds a lot of data and you are unlikely to fill it up unless y... Read More	(346)
Sony 4 GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Flash Memory Card M...	Customer Review: I bought it because my camcorder hard disk failed hoping to use it to record my video on the memory stick. Only after I read the instructions I realized that I can only store pictures on it. Well, I'll use it with a future camera.... Read More	(498)
SanDisk 4 GB Class 2 SDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDB-...	Customer Review: I ordered four of these and three were DOA. I repeatedly changed position of the switch to no avail. Still DOA. I use the only live one just to store data from my computer. Not usable in any of my cameras.... Read More	(105)
SanDisk Standard - Flash memory card - 4 GB - Clas...	Customer Review: The brand and size card is listed in the specs manual for the Nikon D80.The capacity seemed extreme, so after a week in the wild, shooting in RAW format we had several shots still to go from the over 300 available.Better to have it and not need it th... Read More	(4)