Memory Cards Needed
Work out how many memory cards you need for a shoot.
About Memory Cards Needed
Total footage is the photo count times average size, and the cards needed round up to whole cards at the chosen capacity. Planning card capacity before a shoot prevents running out of storage in the field and helps with reliable backup.
Formula
Memory Cards Needed
Total = photos x size / 1024; cards = ceil(total / card size)
- avg size
- Typical megabytes per photo for the camera
Worked example
With the default values below, Memory Cards Needed returns Cards Needed of 1. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Number of photosminimum 0
- 1,000
- Average photo sizeminimum 0.1
- 25
- Card capacityminimum 1
- 64
Results
- Cards Needed
- 1
- Total Footage
- 24.41 GB
- Photos per Card
- 2,621
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Memory Cards Needed
- 3Cards Needed= 1
- 4Total Footage= 24.41 GB
- 5Photos per Card= 2,621
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Memory Cards Needed calculated?
Total = photos x size / 1024; cards = ceil(total / card size) Total footage is the photo count times average size, and the cards needed round up to whole cards at the chosen capacity.
Why does Memory Cards Needed matter?
Planning card capacity before a shoot prevents running out of storage in the field and helps with reliable backup.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 3 inputs: Number of photos, Average photo size, Card capacity. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.