My love for taking and developing photography started more than 35 years ago. What is frustrating to me is that I never followed the love I had for photography, and as a result it took a back seat to all the other ‘corporate’ trappings, and I can honestly say that my heart is much emptier as a result of my path. My wish is that if you love photography that you will not take that same path, and will continue to follow your passion. I know that going forward, I will.

This site is the result of my finding my way back into this rewarding field. Through the many lessons learned, we can all grow. Let’s make this work for all of us. A community of passionate photographers looking to compete in a field that is growing in size, depth, complexity. But as I do at times, don’t get discouraged. NO ONE HAS YOUR POINT OF VIEW. As a result, no one can place a judgement on what you do that has any weight. True, there are composition and lighting “standards”. But many standards posed by microstock sites would eliminate some of the world’s greatest photographers. The difference is “art” and “commercial art”. Most microstock sites are only interested in commercial art. Being rejected from those sites is not rejection of your work. It just doesn’t fit into their “business plan.” Therefore, if you are rejected, don’t be discouraged – go forward – continue to develop what you love to do.

Anyway, I’m glad you came to Selling Photography Online. Obviously this site will deal with much more than “selling”. But in order to continue to do what you love, finding a way to spread your work to the world and find ways to make some cash in the process is certainly our goal here.

Please take the time to sign up for my newsletter. While I’m not sure when it will start to come out, you wouldn’t want to miss the great stuff that is coming up. The signup form is on the right sidebar.

Now go take more photos!
David Jensen

Disclosure:

sellphotographyonline.com and digitalcamera-memorycards.com contain advertising and some contextual affiliate marketing links, meaning I may get commission on sales of those products or services I write about. Though if you’re reading this blog, I expect you know this. The content of posts on this blog are never influenced by advertisers or an affiliate partnership, nor are posts written for the sole purpose of promoting a product. My purpose is to present positive and negative reviews or content based on my research, experience, and impressions to serve as a guide to help you find a solution.

 With the prices for high-resolution cameras getting less expensive everyday, and with “memory” historically dropping in price and increasing in size, it’s not surprising to see the prices of portable digital camera memory cards decreased to almost ridiculous levels.

Along with the demands for higher quality digital imaging, consumers also demand that the capacity and speed of their memory storage devices demonstrate faster write speeds for multiple shots and high resolution video, and fast read speeds for transferring images and videos to computer systems quickly.

What does that mean, for example, while taking photos or video? The speed of your card will determine how fast your camera stores a photo when you click the shutter, and the lag time before you can take another photo. If you are shooting video with your camera, without a Class 4,6, or 10, you may result in less smooth, jumpy videos.

Since these cards can be considered a long term investment due to their longevity and reuse, consumers are willing to spend more for premium products.

This article will discuss: Speed classes, Sizes and Capacities, and Card Types 

The SanDisk Extreme III  continues to be the top rated SDHC card on the market today, for performance and value.

As a Class 6 device, the card has transfer speeds up to 30MB/s, and is currently priced at around only $89.00 here . The 16GB Card will hold about 48 minutes of Full HD video.

The same card in 8GB can be found for $32 here, and in 4GB for less than $16 here.

 What are Memory Card Class Ratings?

The first cards could be read at 3.6 MB/s and written at 0.8 MB/s. Faster cards were required by the increasing resolutions of digital cameras, as well as more demanding consumers. As a result, SD/SDHC was divided into three classes: 2, 4 and 6; the numbers represent the minimum sustainable write throughput in MB/s. Recently a Class 10 rating has been created, yet has not yet become recognized as a valid class by the SD Card Association, as of Oct 2009.

How do these classes compare when it comes to speed?

Simply, the higher the class rating, the faster the read and write speeds. Pricing obviously also correspond to the class rating, with the faster speeds being more expensive. But as discussed earlier, these prices for the faster speeds continue to decrease.

One note to make is that the speeds listed for the different cards are based on “read” speeds, for example when you read the card to transfer it to your computer. “Write” speeds are lower than the listed speed – up to 80% less.

Different brands of cards will have somewhat different speeds for the same class, so it is important to base your decision on which brand to buy based on reliability. SanDisk remains the leader in this industry, so speed comparisons will be made using the SanDisk cards.

Here are some speed comparisons, using the Sandisk SD/SDHC Cards:

Class 2: Read 7MB/sec; Write: min 2 MB/sec

Class 4 (Ultra II): Read 15MB/second; Write min 4MB/sec

Class 6 (Extreme III): Read 30 MB/second; Write min 6MB/sec

Class 6 (Extreme IV): Read 45 MB/second; Write min 6MB/sec

What speed and size should you buy for your camera?

The easy and obvious answer to that question is: the fastest speed you can buy an the largest size you can afford. But to be more specific, it depends on your usage. Two factors demand at least a Class 4 or 6 card: high definition video and multiple shots. Your card speed will determine the quality of your video, and the time between photo exposures in multiple shots. At this point, it would be recommended that you use a Class 6 card. If you will not be shooting fast multiple exposures or HDTV, a Class 2 or Class 4 will work. But again, because of declining costs, a Class 6 card is still the best choice at this time.

What about size? Here’s a guideline: for every Gigabyte of storage space, you will be able to record either 3 minutes of HDTV (1920×1080), 11 minutes of 640×480 video, 65 RAW 10 MP (megapixel) photos, or 224 10MP Superfine photos.

Looking at the above chart, it would be reasonable to deduct that if shooting in HD video or RAW photo formats, a minimum of 8 GB would be required for most applications. If shooting a lot of video, 16GB or 32GB would be better choices.

Many people claim they feel more comfortable with two 8GB cards than one 16GB, “in case something goes wrong with one”. But consider this – whether your images are on small of large card, if you lose the images, it’s a loss either way. Plus, putting cards in and out opens more possibility to damage or physically losing a card. My advice: purchase a high quality card at the size you need. Recommended card brands are SanDisk and Lexar. You may pay slightly more, but your chances for loss are reduced.

Digital Camera Memory Card Formats:

The card you use is determined by the camera you purchase. While the industry focuses primarily around two types, there are cards that are specific to manufacturers as well. So consult your manual or website of your camera to find your card format. Typically, most cameras are using SD/SDHC or Compact Flash (CF) cards. Other card types are Mini SD, Micro SD, Memory Stick Pro/II/Duo, and xD Picture Cards.

SD/SDHC Cards

The Secure Digital (SD) card was invented by SanDisk in 2001 and was based on the multi-media card (MMC) standard. Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) cards were created to go beyond the original SD’s 2GB capacity, and are currently are available up to 32GB, but technically, could be expanded up to 2 terabytes, using the SDXC format.

SD/SDHC cards are the most common storage medium among digital cameras. SD Memory Cards are designed to meet the security, capacity, and performance requirements for a variety of digital devices including cameras, GPS devices, mobile phones, and laptops.

Compact Flash (CF) Cards

CF Cards are commonly used in professional digital cameras. Compact Flash memory cards are designed with flash technology, a non-volatile storage solution that does not require a constant power source to retain data indefinitely. CF cards are slim, lightweight, and consume only 5% of the power required by small disk drives.

Memory Sticks

Extremely compact and only four grams in weight, a Memory Stick offers outstanding data storage. The Memory Stick is guaranteed to work with every Sony device including the Sony PSP, with the Memory Stick Pro being supported for higher capacities. MagicGate technology provides a secure environment to download and play back copyright protected content.

Mini SD Memory Cards

Mini SD memory cards are commonly used in mobile phones and cameras. Mini SD offers all of the benefits of regular SD cards but in a smaller size. As an extension of the existing SD card standard, the Mini SD card allows cell phone and consumer electronics developers to design ultra small devices. It can also be used in devices with SD slots by using the included an adapter.

Micro SD & Micro SDHC Memory Cards

Micro SD is currently the smallest memory card available and is commonly used in mobile phones, cameras, and GPS devices. They are about a quarter the size of a regular SD card. All of our Micro SD cards come with regular-SD adapters for using them in all devices that accept SD cards. All Micro SDHC devices take Micro SD cards but not all Micro SD devices take Micro SDHC cards, so make sure your camera/phone/etc. is compatible with SDHC if purchasing.

xD Picture Cards

The xD-Picture Card is a type of ultra-compact memory media that has been developed jointly by Fujifilm and Olympus. It meets the demands of new camera technologies that deliver larger image files and have the ability to record high-quality movie footage. xD picture cards have a high read/write performance and are only 2 grams in weight.

What I have done is listed what is felt to be the top picks for various categories, based on many reviews, and the research I’ve done recently for my own purchase. I’ve listed them from least expensive to the most, but that obviously shouldn’t be the deciding factor. It’s important to note your usage, your level of expertise, the level of quality you require, and the various features you need. One thing to remember, size isn’t everything. For many people 8 megapixels should be sufficient, but 10 or 12 megapixels is optimum.

Features to make note of in your decision: megapixels, optical zoom, HD Video, image stabilization, face detection, and red eye removal. These features are practically a given if you are buying a sophisticated new camera now.

One thing you will find, is that the cameras today are excellent, and continuing to get better all the time.

 Best Budget Digital Camera
- Nikon CoolPix S570 12MP 

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a great camera!! For the budget under $200, you can’t go wrong with the highly rated Nikon CoolPix S570 . Simple, small, stylish, easy to use, and feature-packed for its price, it features wide-angle, 12 Megapixel sensor, image stabilization, a 5X Zoom Lens, and 640×480 video recording. It’s Nikkor lens, with a 2.7 aperture, helps in low-light situations. One more cool feature is the Smart Portrait System, which makes it a great camera for fun and family. For the price, this is a very solid choice. Available in Red, Black, or Silver.

More reviews and current lowest prices on the Nikon CoolPix

Best Digital Camera with Best Image Quality
- FujiFilm FinePix F200 EXR

Using a new technology called “binning” or “pixel fusion,” the FujiFilm FinePix F200 EXR’s Super CCD EXR provides superior picture quality, enabling high resolution, high sensitivity, low noise, and a wide dynamic range. What this means for you is exceptional quality, even in low light capabilities, and superior balanced contrast. Combine that with a 28-140mm Fujinon lens with a 5X Optical Zoom, a 12 Megapixel sensor, some Manual shooting modes, a 640×480 video, this easy-to-use camera is a great choice in the $300-$400 price range.

More reviews and current lowest prices on the Fuji FinePix F200

Best Pocket Digital Camera for the Serious Photographer
- Canon Powershot S90

The new Canon Powershot S90 offers a 10.0 Megapixel sensor coupled with Canon’s DIGIC 4 Image Processor, and a new control ring around the barrel for fast control changes. With a full set of Manual controls, this compact and pocket-sized camera is tremendous for the advanced amateur. The lens is great for low-light shooting with an aperature of f/2.0, 28mm wide-angle, 3.8x Optical Zoom, Image Stabilization, and the ability to shoot in RAW format for ulimate creative control. The large 3.0-inch PureColor System LCD provides you with even greater true-to-life color reproduction. You’re getting alot for your money.

More reviews and current low prices on the Canon Powershot S90

Best Mega Zoom Digital Camera (and HD, manual controls, and RAW)
- Canon Powershot SX1 IS

My personal latest addition, and one of top consumer groups, is the powerful Canon SX1 IS, featuring an optical zoom that will take you up to 20x, or 560mm. On top of that, it features HDTV 1920 X 1080p video recording capability, a good sized high resolution 10MP Sensor, and a flip-and-twistable LCD screen. Because of these features, the SX1 becomes a unique camera. Even the zoom and video are image stabilized, a huge issue common with many cameras. However, its image quality will still fall short of a true DSLR camera, but with the CMOS processor, normally only found in DSLR’s, it comes as close as one can. This camera rocks, and I’m very happy with mine. Click here to see the Moon Zoom Test Photos taken with my SX1.

More reviews and current low prices on the Canon SX1 IS

Best Entry Level Digital SLR Camera
- Nikon D5000 (with 18-55mm VR lens)

Want the top-rated Entry-level Digital SLR for top of the line quality? For top quality, a DSLR is the only choice. The Nikon D5000 gives you that quality level, plus a 12 MP CMOS sensor, flip-and-rotate screen, a wireless flash controller (great for changing flash angles), 720p HD video capture, and a 18-55mm VR lens with wide angle and image stabilization. It also supports a wireless data upload, using an Eye-Fi card. The great thing about all this is that the combination of body and lens are sold for around $700. An additional kit includes a 55-200mm lens, for less than $900. These kits make it very easy for the serious amateur photographer to move up to the DSLT world of photography at a very reasonable price, with a very solid camera choice.

More reviews and current low prices on the Nikon D5000

Photography is a wonderful hobby enjoyed by lots of people all over the world. It’s a very enjoyable passtime, but also a very technical one. There’s a bewildering range of cameras, lenses and accessories, and photographers also have to get to grips with computers and image editing software packages. It can get very confusing, especially for newcomers to the hobby, and there always seems to be something to new to learn, even for experienced photographers.

With this in mind we’ve put together a list of over 50 free resources that will be useful to anyone involved in photography. We’ve compiled a list of the best and most comprehensive websites that will help you get the most out of your photography equipment. You’ll find a gold mine of articles on equipment and technique, plus advice from some of the most active and well-known professional photographers practising today.

We’ve divided these websites into categories for easy reference, but please bear in mind that many of these websites deal with more than topic. Many talk about both photography techniques and camera equipment, for example. We’ve categorised them according to how we think you will find them most useful. The resources section at the bottom of the article has links to more articles about photography websites, so check them out.

Beginner’s Zone

These websites are an excellent place to start for beginners. They have content for more advanced users too.

Digital Photography School
Very comprehensive photography resource. Lots of inspirational and informative articles.

Photodoto
Click on the Photography 101 link for an excellent set of articles for beginners.

About.com: Photography
Photography articles and techniques from the team at About.com.

Inspiration

The EOScars
More and more digital SLRs are coming with a movie recording mode. The highest spec models rival the quality of high end movie recording equipment and have been used to shoot music videos and movie trailers. The EOScars compiles the best movies recorded with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Photography Now
Portfolios from past masters and contemporary greats.

World Press Photo
Anyone interested in photojournalism needs to check out this website. You can look at the winning images from the annual World Press Photo Contest and read interviews with professional photojournalists.

National Geographic Photography
Beautiful showcases of inspirational photography plus tips and advice from National Geographic photojournalists.

Exposure Compensation
Focusing on the work of inspirational photographers from around the world.

Technical Stuff

Cambridge in Colour
A series of very technical tutorials about aspects of digital photography such as camera sensors, histograms, colour management and autofocus.

Luminous Landscape
Another website with a comprehensive series of technical articles. One of the oldest and most prestigious photography websites around.

Depth of Field Master
Depth of field is commonly misunderstood. This website explains depth of field very well. You can also print out depth of field tables for your lenses – a must for landscape and architecture photographers.

Ken Rockwell
Straightforward technical advice from a pro photographer.

Canon Professional Network
Lots of technical advice for Canon users and inspiration from Canon’s Ambassadors – pro photographers using Canon equipment.

Canon Digital Learning Centre
More technical advice and tutorials for Canon users.

Nikon Digitutor
Camera specific tutorials for Nikon users.

Pentax User Magazine
The website of Pentax User Magazine, brought to you by the publishes of ePhotozine (another great photography resource), lots of useful info for Pentax camera owners.

Photo Notes
Technical articles. Some excellent summaries of camera specs – click the Lookup link to see them.

Photography Equipment

It’s stating the obvious but photography is impossible without the basic equipment of a camera or camera body and lens. There are hundreds of pieces of equipment and many brands to choose from. These websites will help you make sense of the choices.

Digital Photography Review
Comprehensive reviews on just about every new piece of digital photography equipment released over the last few years. The first stop for anyone interested in purchasing new gear or understanding more about the features of what they already own.

Radiant Lite
Lots of equipment reviews.

Photography and Photoshop Technique

Photo Answers
The official website of UK photography magazines Practical Photography and Digital Photo. Lots of news and technique to complement the magazines.

Strobist
All the information you need to use your camera’s portable flash unit to its full advantage.

Joe NcNally
Joe McNally built his reputation as a commercial photographer specialising in the use of Nikon’s portable flashes. He passes on his knowledge in his blog.

Photoshop Daily
Photoshop tutorials from the publishers of UK magazine Photoshop Creative.

Apogee Photo Magazine
Articles, tips, techniques and portfolios.

Photojojo
Technique and creative ideas.

Photography Blogs

Discussion about the topics and techniques that matter most to contemporary photographers.

The Online Photographer
Lots of articles about equipment, technique and the concepts behind photography.

Epic Edits
Lots of techniques and advice. The recent series about making fine art prints is very useful.

All Day I Dream of Photography
Lots of interesting photography articles.

Toy Cameras

Toy cameras have become very popular over the last few years. Learn all about them at these websites:

Holga Blog
All about holgas.

Toy Camera

Light Leaks
Print magazine featuring the best toy camera photography from around the web.

Square Frog
Life through a plastic lens – techniques and tips.

Four Corners Dark

Professional Photographers

One of the best ways to learn about photography is to study the work and ideas of professional photographers. Luckily, the trend for pros to blog about their work has created some priceless educational resources. Here are some of the best:

Chase Jarvis
Professional commercial photographer Chase Jarvis on the latest developments in the industry.

The Digital Trekker
Travel photographer Matt Brandon talks about his work and the ideas behind his photos.

Pixelated Image
Humanitarian photography David duChemin discusses his career and work.

Pixsylated
Syl Arena’s photography web magazine. Includes the excellent ‘Lessons I didn’t learn in photo school’ series.

Photo Smudger
London based snapper Tom Miles shares his real world experience. Essential reading for any student or photographer aspiring to work in London.

Digital Pro Talk
Social photographer David Ziser blogs about making a living in the competetive world of social photography.

Photocrati
Articles for photographers, by photographers. A wealth of information and insights from some of the world’s best pro photographers.

Interviews by Crash Taylor
Social and wedding photographer Crash Taylor interviews some of the best known names in the business. Essential reading for anyone who wants to break into wedding or social photography.

Other Useful Resources

Photo Compete
Once you’ve polished up your photography skills no doubt you’ll be tempted to enter a few photography competitions. Photo Compete has a listing of current photography competitions.

Photo Competitions
Even more photography competitions including the big name competitions from companies like Sony and National Geographic.

Pro-Imaging Photo Competitions
But make sure you read this before entering a photography competition. There are competitions that take away your copyright – this website lists the competitions that don’t.

Photopreneur
A ton of ideas for making money from your photos.

Photo Netcast
Photography podcasts bought to you by a team of passionate photographers.

Photographers who photograph need models, stylists and make-up artists. You can search for them at Model Mayhem and Purestorm. You can also search by geographical area there.

Purestorm

In light reports of photographers being harassed by security guards and police, it’s a good idea to know your rights. These websites have the information that you need:

Photographers’ legal rights – UK

Photographers’ legal rights – United States

Photographers’ legal rights – Australia

Last Click

JPG Mag
The magazine that publishes your photos and your articles.

Resources

Oia Sunset

It amazes me how many sites there are where one can join the club and add your photos. Flickr, Webshots, Google Web Albums, Snapfish, …….wow.

JPG

This weekend I stumbled across JPG, and quickly joined in. Added a few photos right away. Within a couple hours, I add a dozen friends/contacts.

The first thing that really attracted me to this site was the THEME assignments. You add a photo based on the theme they have going. The themes I entered under were “Decay”, “Transformation”, and “Nostalgia”.

What a great idea.

Pixelpipe

I had to try Pixelpipe, if nothing else than for the sheer huge number of sites that it will distribute photos to all at once. Pixelpipe is a free service. Setting up was very simple, but it took quite a bit of time, since you need to enter all your login info for each of the photo sites. At first I was excited about how much time this was going to save me when submitting photos to the sites that sell them. But what I found after a half-day of entering info, was that there aren’t too many of the “money” sites that are participating with Pixelpipe at this time. Perhaps this will change, but for now, the site predominantly distributes to “photo sharing” sites.

In iteslf that could be a good thing if you do keep a photostream at flickr, like to send your photos to Picasa web album, Snapfish, etc. If you do, it will save you time and I would recommend that you at least check it out.

Free Report

Get a copy of my report that lists 101 ways to make money with your photography. It will stimulate your thought process, give you ideas you can implement right away, and ideas that you can start working towards today.

Send Me the Free Report 

“101 Ways to Make Money With Photography”

Morning Market on Santorini

Okay – so you’re ready to start looking for sites that will buy your work. Here are the basics, regardless of what you hope to do.

1. First step: Choose your best 10 images. Some sites will review your first 3 to 10 images to determine if you have an eye, and know what you’re doing. So it’s important to note that you should choose your best 10 images.

2. Next, name each file to the image name (in Windows, right-click , then Rename). Then, you need to add details to each photo. Do that by right-clicking the file or icon/thumbnail, go down to Properties, then open the Details tab. In that window, you will find all the information about that photo, including the exif info, dates taken and modified, camera used, etc. The important things to fill in here are the Title, Subject, Tags, and Comments. Some Microstock sites will collect this info when you upload the file, saving you the time of retyping it at each site, for each photo – a laborious process.

3. Next you need to register with the sites that will sell your images for you. There are sites that are free to use, and some that charge a monthly or annual fee. All of them have some qualifying process, with varying degrees of complexity. Start with the free sites. But note, just because they are free doesn’t mean they are “easy”. Most are still discriminating about what photos they accept, so make sure you submit your best.

Okay, here we go. Let’s start with the free sites. If you go down the list with me, you can go to each site’s registration page by clicking on the links furnished:

Free Sites That Sell Your Photos

123RF

DreamsTime

Can Stock Photos

Crestock

FeaturePics

fotolia

Imagekind

Image Vortex

iStockPhoto

Pixmac

SmugMug

Shutterstock

StockXPert®

NOT FREE -  these sites have a setup, monthly or annual fee

MorePhotos, Zenfolio, Shutterpoint