How many pictures can I fit on a flash card?

The file size for one photo depends on a number of different factors:

  • Resolution: The higher the resolution, the bigger the file will be.
  • Compression: Your camera might give you the option of choosing a compression format (such as JPEG or TIFF) or taking uncompressed photos. Uncompressed files are the largest, and compression formats vary in size.
  • Colors: RGB photos (format for viewing on a monitor) are three times as big as black-and-white photos, and CMYK photos (format for printing) are four times as big as black-and-white.
  • Your camera model and the shooting conditions: Each camera gives slightly different results, and you might even get a different number of photos per card depending on the subject you are shooting and the current light conditions. Taking those factors into consideration, the following charts can give you some general guidelines for how many pictures average users can fit on various sizes of flash cards

By default, most digital cameras will use their highest possible resolution with best possible image quality. While this produces the best possible photos, it also means each image takes up more space on the flash memory card, decreasing the number of images you can save on your card.

8 megapixel camera (3264 x 2448)
File size: 4.2MB

Card size Number of photos
128MB 29
256MB 58
512MB 116
1GB 232
2GB 464
4GB 929

7 megapixel camera (3056 x 2296)
File size: 3.7MB

Card size Number of photos
128MB 33
256MB 66
512MB 132
1GB 264
2GB 527
4GB 1054

6 megapixel camera (2848 x 2136)
File size: 3.2MB

Card size Number of photos
128MB 38
256MB 76
512MB 152
1GB 305
2GB 610
4GB 1219

5 megapixel camera (2,592 x 1,944)
File size: 2.5MB

Card size Number of photos
128MB 49
256MB 98
512MB 195
1GB 390
2GB 780
4GB 1560

4 megapixel camera (2,272 x 1,704)
File size: 2MB

Card size Number of photos
128MB 61
256MB 122
512MB 244
1GB 488
2GB 975
4GB 1950

3 megapixel camera (2,048 x 1,536)
File size: 1.2MB

Card size Number of photos
128MB 102
256MB 203
512MB 406
1GB 813
2GB 1625
4GB 3251

2 megapixel camera (1,600 x 1,200)
File size: 0.9MB (900 kb)

Card size Number of photos
128MB 142
256MB 284
512MB 568
1GB 1136
2GB 2272
4GB 4544

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