How to carry spare memory?

In film days I had a film can taped to most of my camera straps. I'm

not familiar with using special photo bags and usually taking of in a

hurry. So I'm wondering are there any convenient and reliable CF-card

containers to be attached to camera straps? Where do you carry your

spare cards? Have you got a systeem like LF shooters right bag (or

pocket) unexposed left exposed?

The padded lunch bag I found at a discount store has three compartments ..one holds the camera, the second my tele adaptor, and the small third one in the door of that second compartment holds my spare cards in their plastic container.

 

OH ... and there is an open zipped compartment on the end for a small drink bottle :-)

 

Small plastic holders for storage cards often come with the cards or I think can be bought from photo shops. Last cheaper smaller one I got came in a blister pack which was no use after opening. So it is wrapped in tissue until I find a container.

Lowepro makes excellent small cases for CF cards. They will hold 4 cards in containers and will also hold 8 AA batteries as well. They are well padded and very well built.

When I bought my Sandisk Exteme III 1GB CF card the package included a small padded CF card carrier with room for 2 spare CF cards (in their plastic containers.) I use this.

Any number of nice, small, accessory wallets can be affixed to your camera strap for this

purpose.

 

I use a Lowepro wallet which fits six cards and has room for some business cards as well.

It has a velcro-fixed belt loop that I use to mount it on my camera bag's accessory loops.

For a camera strap, I'd likely want to stitch it in place for best security.

 

There are dozens of others on the market too.

 

Godfrey

If I'm on a longish shoot (ie something i can't walk to), I'll carry a phd with me in my backpack. If I'm just wandering around my city (pop 250 000, but high density), I'll just take both my CF cards (2GB and 1GB), with the empty one in a pocket. I always format both of them in camera before i leave home, so if i get totally confused and put the already used CF card into the camera, I know right away that it's the one I've already used today.

 

3GB worth of CF is more than 300 RAW shots in a 20D. Taking 300 shots in a day, at some point, Im going to need a coffee break. If out of town, I simply download them to the phd while sitting in a cafe, reformat and I'm good to go. If in town, I simply return to my apartment for a coffee (my city's only Starbucks is about 200m away from my apartment, and i make better coffee than they do, so it makes sense to come home for a half hour), where I can easily copy them to my hd.

 

If I'm shooting an event in my town, I'll carry the phd - even a 10 min sit down is enough time to transfer a gig of photo's.

 

To summarise - empty card in my pocket (usually the same pocket as my cell phone), swap cards when necessary and know that i need to download to something at my next break.

Tamrac now has straps with small pockets at both ends for cards, those might do.

 

The Sandisk SD cards I bought came with a little wallet. I connected that to the strap I'm using where it won't interfere with handling. I put full cards in my pocket and never back into that wallet until they're downloaded and erased. So far, no goofs.

There are a variety of wallets and similar items, soft and hard cases. I have two of the Lowe DMC-V wallets (one with SM for the Fuji and one with CF for the KM D7) and have squeezed extra cards in besides the 4 "pockets." It might not adapt real well to a strap but I suppose could be sewn on - that keeps you from using on other belts, etc. I keep them in there except when in use.

 

You need to use the small plastic cases they came in or find other snap cases or similar holders, carrying them loose or wrapping in paper may expose them to static discharges, maybe get the connectors dusty or dirty or bent. ESD is the more likely to cause real damage but lint in/on the card and then passed into the camera can't be helpful.

 

I used to carry the "wallet" lose in the camera bag as I carried batteries in an outside pocket, with the new camera, I've swapped and the card wallet slips in the outer pocket.

I use a Lowepro memory card wallet.

I wear a doofy looking fisherman's hat and hang media cards from the loops.

I don't understand why you guys are making a fuss over carrying CF cards??? Just throw them in your camera bag or pocket and be done with it! "How to carry spare memory", gee whiz guys! I can't believe you all are making a big deal out of carrying CF cards!

I carry them in a Hakuba hard carrying case, which holds 4 cards. I only have 3 cards I actually use, and the fourth spot is occupied by an old 256MB card which contains a text file that has all my contact information on it. I suppose I did that in the hopes that in the unlikely tragic event that I lose my cards, someone may find them and be able to get them back to me.

 

As far as a system, if the cards are empty, then label side up in the case. Once the card is full, label side down in the case.

Yeah, it's not like they might cost $100 or something and have hundreds of pictures on them. That one I found on the ground at that wedding a couple of years ago, that "pro" didn't seem too worried, he apparently had more so. Although he did say he had been wondering where it had gone.