Which Cards Should You Buy? How Should You Handle Them? Are They Safe In Airport Scanners?

The Experts at SanDisk Offer Tips For Vacationers.

SUNNYVALE, CA, JUNE 30, 2005 - If you're getting ready to pack your suitcase, your sunscreen lotion and your digital camera for a summer getaway, don't forget to pack extra flash memory cards. And, since you'll be capturing plenty of magic moments, the experts at SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the world's largest supplier of flash memory cards, have some tips on how to get better results from your photography and protect your images from heat, rain and even accidental erasure.

• Get Higher Capacity Cards: With card prices falling while digital camera resolutions are rising, consider upgrading your memory, so to speak, with cards that are at least double your previous capacities. If you've been using 256 megabyte (MB) cards, move up to a 512MB or one gigabyte (GB)* model. If you want sharper and larger photos, you'll need to set your camera at higher resolutions and this, in turn, will consume more memory. Consider using a high-capacity, high-performance card such as the SanDisk Ultra® II 1GB.
• Get Faster Cards: All flash cards are not the same. "If you have a late-model digital camera with a rating of 5 megapixels or higher, and if you like to shoot moving objects, you have a better chance of capturing the specific moment from a faster card," says Tanya Chuang, product marketing manager for the SanDisk Ultra II and SanDisk Extreme™ III high-performance cards. "For example, moving from a standard card to a SanDisk Ultra II card provides up to three times faster writing speeds in many of the newer digital cameras that have fast internal processors." (Actual speeds depend on the image processing ability of your camera and the make of your existing flash card, however.) SanDisk offers the Ultra II line in SD™, Memory Stick PRO™ media and CompactFlash®. Even if your camera is not fast or high-resolution, having the faster cards will be welcome when you upgrade to a new camera in the future.
• Get A Faster Digital Camera: Perhaps your camera is a few years old, and maybe it was your first digital camera. If so, think about purchasing a newer model - and look for information on the buffer processing times of the camera. Manufacturers now offer digital single-lens reflex cameras that can record higher-resolution images faster than their predecessors for well under $1,000, and many new, small digital cameras of 5-megapixel resolution currently retail for under $300. Most of these newer cameras reduce noticeably the momentary hesitation you may have experienced when you click the shutter. With a new camera and a faster card, you'll have a better chance of freezing the action.

• Taking Cards Through Airport X-Ray Machines and Metal Detectors: You can put full or empty flash cards in your checked baggage or in your carry-ons with little risk of damage from airport scanners. The International Imaging Industry Association conducted tests last year with security devices used in U.S. airports and found that no damage to the cards resulted with normal travel frequency. As an added precaution, SanDisk recommends that you take the card out of your camera before passing through security devices.
• Avoid Exposing A Flash Card to Water or A Washing Cycle: It happens, not infrequently, that people might accidentally leave a card in a pants pocket and then wash the garment. Or they might drop the card in a swimming pool or waterway. Don't despair. Let the card dry for a couple of days - you can even use a hairdryer with a non-heat blower - and there's the possibility, based on experience reports from SanDisk customers, that the card might still function. Consider testing a completely dry card first in a card-reader of a personal computer.
• Avoid situations that can damage images. Although no battery power is required to store pictures, it's important to have sufficient power when your camera is transferring captured images to your card. If the battery is too low, you could lose one or more images during the transfer, so it's a good practice to stock up on a spare recharged battery. Also, never remove a card while a camera is writing to it or while formatting the card in a camera.
• Recovering Deleted Images: Suppose that, in sorting through your images, you accidentally delete a picture that you really wanted to keep. Or perhaps you've reformatted your card by accident and wiped out all of your photos. They are gone from sight, but usually they remain stored on the card, although in inaccessible memory locations. Using a software program such as SanDisk's RescuePRO®, which you can purchase for $40 through SanDisk's website (www.sandisk.com ) and install in your computer, you can often recover so-called "lost" images by selecting "Full Recovery."
• Coping With Heat: If you leave rolls of traditional analog film on the back seat of a closed, parked car during summer temperatures, you stand a good chance of ruining your film. Although it's advisable to keep flash cards at room temperature, SanDisk's standard flash cards are designed to withstand relatively high temperatures - up to 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit - without loss of stored images. SanDisk's Extreme III cards are designed to operate in extreme temperature conditions at the limits of human physical endurance.
• Making Prints While Vacationing: If you're anxious to print your photos while traveling, before you drop off a card at a professional photo processor or use a self-print kiosk, back up your images on a laptop PC or burn them to a CD or another storage medium. That way, if your card is lost or damaged, you still have another set of pictures.