I'm trying to figure out what all to order. It appears the Fuji will take xD or compactflash, and I don't know which to chose. I'm also unsure because the 1G xD cards say "m", which I thought I read somewhere means they're slower. Is there anything else I really "ought" to buy along with the camera, memory, rechargeable batteries and carrying case? What about these polarizing lenses, filters, blah blah I've seen? I was looking on jr.com. They didn't seem to be very expensive, but that might reflect their quality too I suppose. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I would mostly go with memory that you might use in another device. Compact flash is used in most of the DSLR cameras, so if you upgrade yuo can use them there as well. XD is used by Fuji and one or two others for the more compact models. I pretty much use SD and compact flash, so i wont buy cameras that dont use either of the two. But if your just starting out, get whatever you want. As long as you get the faster versions of the cards, such as the Ultra II versions of XD or compactflash, you should not notice any speed differences.

Thanks!

as far as i have read the s5200 only takes xD...

If you ask me, I would tell you anything that's not SD or CF sucks, SD and CF are cheap and widely used standards, each one with it's pros and cons. xD and MemoryStick are quite propietary and are too expensive if you ask me. However, if you really need a Fuji or a Sony camera and can live with the memory issue, go ahead.

I my case I was deciding between a Sony H1 and the Powershot S2, the second was my choice only for the memory. With the SD card I can preview pictures in my PocketPC (bigger screen) just by switching the cards, and I can use the same card for many devices. CF is an older standard, but it's quite interesting when you come to microdrives, so for more professional cameras you can get quite big cards.

Regards

Just for the record the SD is the most widely used chip in the digital camera world. While the S-5200 uses just XD cards, the S-9000 uses BOTH SD and CF chips.

MT

As far as I've seen, the S9000 uses xD and CF, doesn't it?

Regards

Ah, that explains it! I've been reading about both the 9000 and 5200. Didn't realize the 5200 has only the xD. Double thanks!

Schmiedel-

You are exactly correct! The great Fuji S-9000 does indeed use XD and CF chips. Please don't worry dearheart, I leave early tomorrow morning to do another Digital Cameras Made Really Easy workshop in Washington DC, aqnd I will be out of your hair. BTW what hairstyle do you wear?

MT

This is used to be the case...however now it is just not true. Check out some websites...for example at bestbuy.com

fuji1 gb xd=$119.99, sale priced even [email protected]$99.99

Sandisk 1gb memory stick pro=$89.99

Sandisk 1gb SD Ultra=$120.99, Standard speed=$98.99

sandisk 1 gb ultra=$125.99 , standard speed =$98.99

In terms of the cards being proprietary, well so what?? Now that prices are comparable, all that matters is that you have whatever works for your camera. Yes there are other devices that use flash memory, but again prices are cheap enough that it really doesn't make much sense to share cards between devices and risk corruption and losing data, or even worse the card itself. Most devices that use flash memory use either memory sticks (or duo's) or SD cards. CF is really only now used in camera's making them as limited in cross functionality as XD cards.

What really matters is image quality and whether a camera meets all your needs, not what memory it uses.