Instruction manual

8
Single-use lithium iron disulfide batteries make excellent backup batteries
because they maintain their charge for years. Use rechargeable lithium ion
battery packs for normal use.
1.2.2 Lithium Ion
The most common rechargeable battery used in cameras is the Nickel Metal
Hydride (NiMH) battery. They are not quite as powerful as lithium ion, but cost
less.
These batteries don’t reach their full level of performance until they’ve been
charged several times. On the other hand they are sensitive to overcharging, so
only use chargers specifically designed for NiMH batteries.
1.2.3 Alkaline
Only use traditional alkaline batteries for emergency backup. They are not
strong enough to power a high-drain instrument like a digital camera for more than
a few dozen photos, and they are harmful to the environment.
1.3 Media Cards
1.3.1 Types of Media Cards
Digital cameras use a variety of flash memory cards to store their photos, the
most popular being: Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC), CompactFlash
(CF), Memory Stick (MS), Extreme Digital (xD), and SmartMedia (SM).
Media cards are great for storing photos or video. They don’t need electrical
power to hold data and they should hold data for about 100 years without
deterioration.
The type of memory card you use is dictated by which digital camera you buy.
These physically different cards are not interchangeable. Regardless of the
media, the table below gives an approximate number of photos that a particular
card will hold, depending on the resolution of the camera.
Camera
type
File size *
32MB
64MB
128MB
256MB
512MB
1GB
2GB
4GB
2-megapixel
900KB
35 71 142 284 568 1137 2275 4551
3-megapixel
1.2MB
26 53 106 213 426 853 1706 3413
4-megapixel
2.0MB
16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048
5-megapixel
2.5MB
12 25 51 102 204 409 819 1638
6-megapixel
3.2MB
10 20 40 80 160 320 640 1280
* Average file size using the camera’s highest resolution JPEG mode. The actual
number of photos per card will vary and depends on the camera model and
compatibility of the scene being photographed.
Cameras normally come with a small memory card (e.g., 32 MB or 64MB) but
this will not be sufficient for your needs. For CAP mission purposes, you should