DID YOU KNOW..........

That all CF and SM cards start out the same. They electronically apply the memory so when you buy a 64mb or a 250mb card they basically are all the same so you are just paying for a number.

 

What are you trying to say? You're not just paying for a number, you are paying for the amount of space available on the memory card. Furthermore, there are different read/write speeds available.

 

I'm curious as to what techniques and methods are used to "electronically" apply the memory?

 

What I am saying is that there is no more cost to the manufacter to make a 64mb card or a 540mb card. Its all done when they format the card.

 

Please explain "format".
Having been involved with semiconductor production I'd like to understand how you believe memory chips are manufactured.

 

i think he's saying that a 64mb card and a 256mb card are the same piece of hardware, but the 64mb card has built-in software restrictions. 64mb card has all the space of 256, but it's handicapped by a line of code put there by a capitalist manufacturer. am i right?

i'm not inclined to immediately believe this... would like to see your sources, BernieSC

otherwise, hackers could make a good dime by reformatting a 64mb card to be much larger and selling it at slightly more than the price of a 64mb card...

 

Makes complete sense to me. It's just like over-clocking your CPU.

Here's one that'll burn your britches even more (at least it does mine). The shutter mechanisms put in modern SLRs are all pretty much the same, except that the ones put in entry level cameras (Rebels, N65s, etc...) have a "governer" put on them so that the flash synch speed is lower. There is no reason any modern SLR should have a flash synch speed less than 1/250th sec. Well, there is one reason: they need to provide incentive for you to go up to a more expensive model.

This has commonly been done throughout the camera industry for decades now, entry level cameras have cheap to manufacture features left off/out so that they can push a more expensive model. I'm sure the top-o-the-line stuff is the latest and greatest, but they are playing games with nickles and dimes to make sure there are several price points between entry level and top-o-the-line gear. These are the "steps" you get a customer to walk up towards the big money.

When I was a camera salesman I was trained by both Nikon and Canon reps in strategies to get the customer to spend more money. I thought it was total BS, and did my best to get the buyer hooked up with a decent camera that would do what they wanted. For 99% of my customers this meant a Rebel 2000 (sorry Nikon, yer gonna have to put a cable release socket and ISO control on the N65 to get me to sell it), and save the extra money for lenses, film, and processing. I'd always tell my customers that $500 extra dollars in film and processing will do a lot more for their photography than $500 extra dollars of camera.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Of course, I still get annoyed with cameras that require batteries to operate, so the gear-heads can ignore me.

 

apples and oranges....

My thoughts exactly.

 

Talked to a guy at work that is already doing this. He's been buying 64mb cards and turning them into 256mb cards for himself and his friends. He's going to bring some in tomorrow and show me.

 

I'm no electrical engineer but I still knew this claim that flash cards are the same but formatted in different sizes a little ludicrous. So I asked an electrical engineer if cards of different sizes have the same number of transistors or could be reformatted to hold more data...

his response:

No, they don't. The number of transistors/capacitors and supported electronics is almost directly proportional to the amount of memory needed. Since these are micro circuits, you need immense technical skill and tools to be able to expand or fix these products at home. It requires knowledge of microelectronics, special tools and a low-power microscope or high-power lens made for this type of job. In other words, once you buy it, you're stuck with it.
I've heard of people fusing two or more of these things together to produce double the ram, but I'm skeptical...

 

Thanks for all the responses. I am a photographer not an electrical or electronic engineer. I am only stating what I have been told. There has to be some truth to it. If you look at a CDR and a DVD they are the same size basically have the same coating but one can hold 650 megs and the other can hold 1-4 gigs.

The bottom line is I believe that the cost to make one or the other is no more its all in the numbers that determine the price. Its the modern day add on sale you make a little on selling the camera and then make all your profit selling memory cards.

 

A DVD has several more layers to write data to. Even though they are physically the same size they are quite different. Engineers have successfuly created a CD that can hold over a terrabyte of data.