Memory card capacity is not as expected?

pego99

New member
On my D90 in raw mode I was getting over 2000 shots on a 32GB SD card.
On my D7000 I am getting around 900 shots in Raw.
Are the raw files twice as big on the 7000 as conpared to the 90?
This doesn't seem right.
 

Sambr

Senior Member
The D7000 is going to use more space- what do you have your RAW files set to ? Compressed,uncompressed makes A big diffrence on which is chosen.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I've got them both. Typical D7000 RAW file is, yes, just about twice as big as the D90's (just checked a folder from Yosemite last year and the typical D90 is 11-12MB where the D7000 is 19-22MB). But it has two slots, so double up your storage!! Cards are cheap, especially if you don't need a fast one for shooting many shots in rapid succession (sports, birds in flight, etx.). You paid for the resolution the D7000 provides so enjoy it. And dump that card a little more often.
 

stmv

Senior Member
first,, unload the pictures after every major photo day, or around 200 pictues. First, the workflow is less if you spread it out, second, why risk a in camera card fail (it happens) and loose 800 pictures.

so, after every primary usage of my camera, I store out the photos, If I have been just shooting a few random shots, sure, leave on the card until a more major photo shot.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Thanks. What is the best settings to use for raw files?

There are two options on the D7000, Compressed and Lossless Compressed. Lossless Compressed saves about 20-40% from uncompressed (depending on image content) and Compress saves 40-55%. In "Mastering the Nikon D7000" Darrell Young says this regarding Compressed RAW...

There is a small amount of data lost in the compression method. Most people won't be able to see the loss since it doesn't affect the image visually. I've never seen any loss in my images with the Compressed mode. However, I've read that some people notice slightly less detail. Nikon says the Compressed mode uses nonreversible compression, so after you've taken an image using this mode, any small amount of data loss is permanent.

My opinion is that if you're going to shoot in RAW mode it's because you want all the information available to you for manipulation - so why in the world would you want to lose any of it just to save a few bytes? If you don't need the information you should shoot JPEG's in Fine mode and get your thousands of pictures on a 32GB card. But if you're shooting RAW don't skimp - if only for that one time you can see the loss and regret it like crazy.
 
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