A new niche in digital photography is etched following the arrival of 8 MegaPixel digital cameras due to technological breakthroughs which enable image sensors to pack more pixels in the same area. However, let us not forget that with this increase in MegaPixels comes an increase in file size, and thus, a need for bigger memory storage.

Before we touch on memory size, let us talk about the various types found in the market today. Below is a memory compatibility matrix showing the kind of memory each of the five 8 MegaPixel digital cameras use.

As you can see, all of the digital cameras cater for the CompactFlash™ memory card. It is of little wonder though for the CompactFlash™ card is by far the most popular and least expensive card of the lot.

Out of these five digital cameras, only the Olympus CAMEDIA C-8080 and the Sony Cybershot F-828 have a dual memory card slot feature. Why two when one has proven to be enough? Or is it really? Not only can the extra memory storage card serve as a backup, the memory storage capacity of the camera is effectively increased as well. And that is certainly a good thing when these big boys are set to capture at its maximum resolution using minimal compression and turn into memory space sucking monsters.

And how big can these file sizes get up to? We have detailed a chart below to give you a rough gauge of how much memory is used on a typical 8 MegaPixel digital camera. The numbers provided below are only a rough gauge as file sizes will fluctuate according to the amount of detail captured by the camera.

Here's a little 101 on memory storage to get you up to speed. Basically, memory storage is measured in terms of megabytes (MB) or more recently, due to the increase of memory card capacity, in gigabytes (GB). More bytes translate into more memory space which in turn stores more photos. So depending on the image format and resolution you are going to shoot at, you should be able to roughly determine the memory capacity you are going to need.