smartmedia cards

The only difference between the Olympus and other brands of SmartMedia cards is that only the Olympus SmartMedia card supports the Panorama function of the camera (see owners manual for details, but basically it allows you to stitch up to 10 images together into a panoramic image). If you never use this feature just buy the less expensive memory. If you have a need for panoramas, and already have one Olympus card, use that Olympus card for panoramas, and buy the less expensive SmartMedia cards for all your other photo needs. As an example, on Amazon, the Viking 128MB card is ... cheaper than the Olympus.

SmartMedia is sold under several brands. Olympus branded SmartMedia allows you to take "panorama" shots. Essentially, you take multiple shots while making sure to overlap edges. You then reassemble these multiple shots using the "Camedia" software that came with your Olympus camera. The difference is that when an Olympus brand SmartMedia card is used, your digital camera keeps exposure settings constant across these multiple shots; which makes for a consistent panorama when you reassemble the individual shots via your computer.

This is a nice feature, but not a feature most of us use often; for example, on a recent two week trip, I took 220 shots of which only 12 were panorama. If you are going to purchase multiple SmartMedia cards, you might be able to do with just one or two Olympus brand cards - especially since they cost more than other brands. I use two other brand SmartMedia cards, and save my Olympus brand cards for when panorama shots present (since you can switch the cards out at anytime - unlike traditional camera film).

Also to realistically determine what the price premium is, check prices for Olympus and other brand SmartMedia not only here, but also at other popular commercial sites.

UPDATE: See end of review.

I bought this SmartMedia card many months ago (right after it came out) but I waited to write the review because I wanted to have some real experience with it first. I'm very satisfied with this product and I highly recommend it. Here are some comments that you might find helpful in the decision-making process. Some of these are answers to questions I originally had, but learned the answers to after using the project.

First, I required a SmartMedia card with lots of memory and support for the "panorama" function of my Olympus C-2100 digital camera. (This function guides the user through taking multiple pictures, panning slightly to one direction after each picture. The photos are automatically "stitched" together by the Olympus Camedia Master software that comes with the camera.) I also wanted a card that would work with my Creative Nomad MG MP3 player, but when I bought it I wasn't sure it would be compatible.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Thin plastic card with gold contacts. Measures 45mm x 37mm x 0.76mm. Weighs in at 1.8 grams. The package I got included a small, clear, medium-hard plastic case and a thin soft plastic sheath. Also included a label and a write-protect sticker. Apparently it offers a tolerance of one million program/erase cycles and zero-power data retention up to 10 years.

STORAGE: At 128MB, this card provides a great deal of storage space - the most to date (Sept 2001) of any SmartMedia card. Olympus was one of the first manufacturers to release this capacity and they did so with full support of the "panorama" feature of the camera. As far as photo storage is concerned, it was the only card I needed for a 10-day Caribbean vacation. At (mostly) 1280 x 960 resolution, I fit nearly 500 pictures on the card before it finally filled up. Surprisingly, it stored more photos than the camera originally thought it could hold (when the blank card was inserted). Used with my MP3 player, it holds about 25 songs - not bad at all!

FLEXABILITY & USEFULNESS: I can use the card in both my MP3 player and my camera interchangeably. The Olympus camera stores photos within the DCIM folder (presumably meaning "Digital Camera IMages," but don't quote me on it), and MP3 files can simply be stored in the root directory. I can literally be listening to an MP3, switch the card to the camera to take a few pictures, then switch back to the MP3 player to keep listening. Also, with a reader like the Zio!, I can use the card like an external hard drive to store or transfer any type of file - this has proven VERY helpful in transferring large files between work and home - it sure beats waiting for a 128MB email attachment to download! In fact, this is probably the most useful benefit of the card. Just BE CAREFUL not to format the card - I haven't tried it, but I believe if it's formatted, you'll lose the support for the Olympus panorama function.

SPEED: Using my Zio! SmartMedia reader (USB), I can transfer files to and from the card at about 800k per second. Transferring the whole card takes less than three minutes. This is faster than I expected, but obviously not as fast as other media types like hard drives. Other readers may even transfer files faster.

PROBLEMS: On only one occasion when I transferred a photo from the card to the computer using the Zio! Card reader, about 50% of the photo was digital garbage, rendering half the photo not viewable. I've experienced this problem in the past when part of a JPEG image is corrupted. However, I don't know if this problem is a result of a glitch in the camera, the media card, or the transfer via Zio! to the computer. (I had deleted it from the card before I tried to view it on the hard drive - oops!) Regardless, with as much as I've used this card, I don't consider this one incident an indication of a real problem. Also, to use this card with my MP3 player required a firmware update, which was very easy to do with software downloaded from the MP3 player site. If you want to use this card in other MP3 players, be sure to check with the manufacturer on compatibility, and remember: DON'T FORMAT the card with your MP3 player because you'll wipe out the panorama feature that's loaded onto the card.

RECOMMENDATIONS: If you're looking for a lot of storage for a great price, plus computability with Olympus' "panorama" feature, then this is the card for you. I recommend getting a card reader like the Zio!, too, which will give you the added benefit and convenience of a tiny and very portable storage device. And I'd recommend this solution to ANYONE who has to transfer large files between two non-connected computers. Finally, if you don't need the panorama function, you may want to take a look at different brands (like Viking or SanDisk). Though this was the cheapest available when I bought it, I believe the other brands are quite a bit less expensive now.

I hope this information was helpful to you.

UPDATE Apr 2002: I have now had this SmartMedia card for over a year and I am still very pleased. Two more times I have had the problem I noted above, but I believe it is due to the camera and not the SmartMedia card. Still it happens too infrequently to be a bother. This card has come down considerably in price, but other brands still may be cheaper.