Digital Photo Tip 3
Shoot all images on Large Fine JPEG setting: So the pimple-faced clerk at the camera counter convinced you that you'd be a goof if you didn't go with the 5 mega-whatzel over the 4 whose-apixel? Well, you paid extra money for more pixels, so use them. Shoot your photos on the Large Fine JPEG setting. Yes, the files will be bigger and yes they will take up more space on your memory card. But you never know when you'll snap the grand-prize winning shot or the one that you'll blow up and hang over your couch. Extra memory is cheap. Don't skimp on file size.
Finding the right size memory card requires some soul searching. Keep in mind you'll be traveling, and dragging a laptop will just tempt you to think about the work you're trying to get away from. Carry a memory card (or multiple cards) with enough capacity to get you through the entire trip. Estimate how much film (number of pictures) you'd typically shoot on vacation and buy a card that will allow you to shoot that number plus some (you may shoot more, since you're not paying for film).
If you're using a 4-megapixel camera, a 512MB memory card will allow you to shoot about 225 images, depending on the specific camera and file sizes it creates. That would be the equivalent of less than 1 roll of film per day. If you're using a 5, 6, or 8 megapixel camera, a 1GB card will allow you about the same number of images per day.
