Editorial Review

Designed to make 2-megapixel digital photography affordable, Hewlett-Packard's PhotoSmart 318 is a good choice for those seeking a simple, basic camera with the image quality to replace a film point-and-shoot.

Optics and Resolution

The 318 uses a 2-megapixel sensor that captures enough detail for crisp 8-by-10-inch prints. For the typical family photographer, 2 megapixels is a great balance between price and performance. If you typically make poster-sized prints or crop the edges off your photos to improve the composition, you'll want a higher-resolution model, but if you simply point and shoot, 2 megapixels is ample.

While many cameras in this price range use a simple and inexpensive focus-free or fixed-focus lens, the 318 uses a true autofocus system, resulting in sharper photos under more shooting situations. Lens aperture ranges from f2.8 to f8, and the camera will focus on objects as close as 8 inches from the lens. A 2x digital telephoto zoom is among the camera's features, but remember that digital zoom tends to reduce the sharpness and detail of your image, so it's best used sparingly.

To compose your images, either use the traditional camera viewfinder or the 1.75-inch LCD display (which is also used to review the shots you've taken). Having both types of viewfinders offers the best of both worlds: if you're used to using a film camera or want to conserve battery life, use the viewfinder. If you want to see exactly the picture you'll be capturing, use the LCD display.

More Features

The PhotoSmart 318 is clearly designed for point-and-shooters who think simplicity is more important than having a huge assortment of advanced features. Photo quality is adjustable, there's a self-timer, and the flash can be switched on, off, or set to red-eye reduction, but otherwise, the camera automatically sets everything.

Power

Four AA batteries provide power, and a set of alkaline batteries is included. Like virtually all digital cameras, the 318 can exhaust a set of alkaline batteries in no time, which is why we recommend lithium or rechargeable batteries instead. If you use the camera once a month or less, lithium AA batteries are a logical idea, since they'll hold their charge for years when sitting in an unused camera. If you use the camera more often, then the lithium batteries don't make economic or environmental sense--we recommend getting a set or two of rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries and a charger. To ensure you'll always be ready for action, keep one set in the camera and the other set in the charger. In a pinch, you can use alkaline batteries, but we recommend turning off the LCD display in this case to extend the battery life as much as possible.

Storage and Transfer

In an effort to keep costs down, HP ships the 612 with 8 MB of internal memory instead of a removable memory card. This solution has its pros and cons. It's less expensive, and you never have to worry about leaving the memory card at home (the digital equivalent of forgetting the film), but it also means you need to install HP's software and USB cable on your computer to transfer images because you can't use a dedicated card reader. The 8 MB of internal memory holds approximately 20 images at the camera's default settings.

Though the internal memory is reusable, it does limit the number of pictures you can take before you need to return to your computer to transfer your photos. For more capacity, you'll need to add more memory. Fortunately, the camera comes with a slot for standard CompactFlash memory cards.

Size

At 4.5 by 2.7 by 1.7 inches and 8 ounces, the 318 is relatively compact, making it easy to bring along in a purse or pocket.

Contents and Recommended Accessories

The package includes the camera, USB cable, CD with drivers and HP photo software, four AA alkaline batteries, wrist strap, and camera user guide.

Everything you need to get started is included in the box, but we recommend these accessories to make the most of your camera: a carrying case, a set of NiMH rechargeable size AA batteries, and a higher-capacity SmartMedia memory card. Compatible accessories for this camera are listed near the top of this page. --Shane Burnett

Pros:

• 2-megapixel picture quality at an affordable price
• Autofocus lens superior to the fixed-focus lens found in many competitors' cameras

Cons:

• Very limited set of features
• Internal memory and disposable batteries are fine for occasional users, but more frequent use will require upgrades to these accessories

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (18)

Great Card...Good price!!
Just got my Kodak DC3400 camera and added the Viking 32mb card as a second card. Images are perfect...and a good value from Amazon.

Great Deal!
This isn't the first Viking Components memory card that I've bought... and it certainly will not be the last! I purchased this card for my new Panasonic PV-DC2090 Palm Cam... it is the perfect addition for the second card slot. I was pleased with the amount of storage capacity for the price... nearly twice as much for the same price as other brands. I've never had any problems with any of the Viking products I've used. Viking always comes through with Superior Quality at the BEST price. The bottom line - this is a great deal!

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (34)

Great
I ordered this but something happened and I got a 128 mb chip instead. Either way its great been using it for a few years now and I've had no problems.

JUST RIGHT
FILLS ALL THE GAPS OF MY HP.315. I CAN GET A LOTTA CLICKS OUTTA THIS BABY, EVEN ON BEST QUALITY.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (188)

Buy this or a microdrive
If you've had a 2 mega-pixel or above camera for more than a few days then you've realized that an 8 or 16 mb memory card is not going to cut it. In my opinion, you really have two good alternatives. (1) a good capacity compactflash memory card like this Viking card, or (2) one of the microdrives.

This 128 mb Viking memory card is a good value on a cost per megabyte basis (I have not seen a better compactflash value anywhere), and it offers more peace of mind since it has no moving parts. However, the microdrive does cost less per megabyte (in fact, for the same cost you'll get 340 mb of storage vs. 128 mb with the Viking), although you'll have a miniature hard drive to worry about in terms of potential lost photos.

I've got both, but I'll only use the microdrive on long trips where I know I'll need the storage space. And then I'mn exceptionally careful with it. Most people will be happier going the compactflash route, in which case this Viking card is the best value and very reliable. I'm very pleased with it. Go ahead, it's pretty much an essential accessory.

Viking Makes a Quality Compact Flash Product
Since getting a 128 MB Compact Flash card by Viking to use with a 3.3 megapixel Canon G 1 digital camera this past June, my whole family has been pleased with the quality of the card and the fairly rapid data transfer from the card to our PowerBook computers. So far, so good. The warranty on the card is for five years per the website. We use a different mfgr's PCMCIA device to hold the card for data transfer and it is so easy to use. We just hope the card continues to work as easily in the future (5 years down the line) as it does now with no data loss. (We prefer equipment that uses compact flash to smart media technology as compact flash cards hold so much more in less space).

A recent afternoon of picture taking (about 33 shots) by part of our household (outdoor waterfall and state park panorama photography, but without the wide angle lens) at highest resolution only filled up half the card, so we were pleased. If they had brought the wide angle lens, they still could have gotten all the shots. The card is comparable in speed to another card made by the originator of compact flash technology (SD), but not the fastest speed on the market, yet good enough for us (we are talking mere seconds for data transfer with that PCMCIA device!).

We've found that if you take pictures for fun and are a serious hobbyist, but not a pro, a good size card is 96 to 128 MB--so this 128 MB card is a handy size to have (pros need a bigger card of at least 256 MB due to non-stop shooting). We carry a couple of 96 or 128 cards and can then take enough pictures on each card without having to change cards per se while shooting a lot of pictures at one location.

...

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (153)

More memory than I know what to do with.
I popped this into my Canon S100 and with the default resolution, got a reading of 1478 shots available! That's an incredible amt of space and for someone heading off on an extended trip, it should be quite a boon. I have been following CF costs on a dollar-per-meg basis for some time, and while the newest & largest cards have tended to carry a premium, this one does not. It is roughly fifty cents per meg, less than 1/4 of what it cost per meg only 18 months ago!

Best Performance and Minimal Price
This is an outstanding card. It is one of the best performing cards on the market and also one of the most reasonably priced. I wouldn't spend the money on Lexar or some of the other over marketed cards. This card works flawlessly in my Canon S40 and is *very* fast. I also bought the Viking PCMCIA reader for my notebook and it's awesome as well. It plugs in and works. What more can you ask for?

I did a lot of research before buying this card and if you have time, go to dpreview and check out the reviews->digital media. They have a very straightforward and comprehesive analysis of compact flash media while cutting through the marketing hype. You'll learn a lot there and save yourself some money.

According to Viking's Rules...
In my informal comparison of the transfer rate of 256MB compact flash cards by Viking, SimpleTech, and Kingston, the Viking card came in a distant third. The Viking card took about 40% longer to transfer identical data. My card at least, did not meet the stated specified transfer rate.

So where speed of transfer is important, the Viking card may not be the best choice. For other less critical tasks, the Viking card has proven perfectly adequate.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (50)

Nothing better than a half-gig hard drive for your Pocket PC
It's probably a little early in the CF card's lifespan to write this review, but I'll focus on potential uses rather than reliability.

I basically bought the card for my HP Jornada 567 Pocket PC 2002. It already had 64 megs of memory, but I wanted more. I also already had a 256 MB card for my Nikon Coolpix 775, so this one was more for the handheld than anything else.

My HP can playback MP3's directly off the CF card without modification, and with drag-and-drop functionality from my notebook's hard drive, which is nice. That way I can store around a hundred songs for music on the go, which I typically listen to in the car, using a cassette adapter through the HP's headphone jack.

I also enjoy watching movies on the go, and with the downloadable Windows Media Encoder, I can reformat almost any movie file into .WMA format, and bring it with me. The card could conceivably store three full-length feature films at 192 x 144 resolution without much problem.

It's also great for carrying large text documents with you wherever you go...like, say, your novel, technical manuals, the Bible, as well as a couple dozen songs, and still have room for a movie or two...amazing! I don't know how I got around without this baby.

Another plus is that you will *never* run out of space while taking photos on vacation with your digital camera, even at the highest settings, unless you do field work for National Geographic.

So far, this card has changed my definition for personal entertainment and functionality. Viking makes pretty good hardware, too. Just watch out for any rebates they offer (there was no offer on *this* card, but be careful).

Now I'm just waiting for the Gigabyte card...

Not a bad card for the price
I've had three Viking Compact Flash cards now that I've used with two cameras: a Canon Digital Elph S330 and Powershot G5. Although people have reported seemingly higher-than-average failures and errors with Viking's cards, neither of my 128MB cards or the 512MB I have for my Powershot have ever had a problem.

However, Viking doesn't exactly make the fastest cards on the market; higher resolution camera users will find the limited (1.5 Mb/s) transfer rate way too slow unless their cameras have a fairly large buffer; users needing exceptional speed may be advised to purchase a Sandisk Ultra II card (or better). Still, Viking's cards are an exceptional value for the price.

Problem with card or camera?
After reading some of these reviews, I thought I would add my two cents. I had some of the same problems with error corruption. I lost a few pictures after several weeks of use. I thought that it was due to the CF card. I actually got a quick response from Viking and after trying what they suggested (and failing to resolve the problem), they issued an RMA number and I had a new card within the week. Today, while perusing through some reviews of my camera (Canon Powershot s400), I read a review that suggested that the camera corrupts images with CF cards above 256MB. I don't know if this is true, but I don't have any other CF device to test this theory. So far, I have started using my card again, but I haven't reached above 256MB (the problem apparently occurs above 256MB of storage).

Editorial Review

Features

• Reads and writes to: ATA Flash, CompactFlash, and SmartMedia
• Reads and writes at 1.5 MB per second (10X) allowing fast file transfer to and from your flash card
• Compatible with most Windows and Macintosh environments
• Computer recognizes the card reader as multiple additional drives on your computer; allowing the utmost in flexibility and convenience
• One year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (111)

More than what's advertised
I first bought (and have reviewed) the ScanDisk reader, with which I had too many drive conflicts and installation problems. The Viking unit is better thought out, and this is apparent from the moment you open the box and notice how it is neatly and carefully packaged. I installed the Viking software (30 seconds, no options), rebooted and plugged the drive into my USB port. It was recognized by the OS and the correct drivers were installed and, voila, I was in business! I seems to read a little faster than the ScanDisk drive, has better indicator lights for on/active & reading, and includes an adapter that allows you to use the CompactFlash card in your laptop without need of the larger drive. As a last little bonus, the drive can also read SmartMedia cards!

A good product; needs better support
After trying to get my IBM laptop to download pictures from my Nikon digital camera via the serial connection and discovering that the two units were incompatible, I decided to buy this card reader. It works well, but I have to follow a particular procedure or else I get a Windows 98 protection error or, barring that problem, the computer refuses to read the card.

1) Make sure the computer's USB hub has been disconnected before shutting down.

2) Plug in the USB hub (but keep the card reader unplugged for now).

3) Power up the peripherals, including the USB hub.

4) Boot up the computer.

5) Plug card into the card reader.

6) Plug the card reader into the USB hub.

7) Watch as Windows becomes confused because it also has a Zip drive attached to the hub.

8) Copy the pictures off the card in the reader.

9) Unplug the reader from the hub.

I had to do something similar when I tried using the reader on a Mac G3 tower.

It's a rigamarole, but it works. When I talked to the folks at Viking, they said it was a software problem (the usual contention made by hardware manufacturers--and vice versa) and said they couldn't help me.

So, it's basically a good unit, but Viking needs to work harder on compatibility and support.

Satisfy your need for speed!
Assuming that spending the bucks on a memory reader isn't going to cause any heartburn, you won't be disappointed by the USB Flash Memory Reader.

Essentially, what you are buying is speed. The USB Flash Memory Reader is fast, fast, fast. I've experienced a screaming 25-50X improvement! Transferring jpeg images files from my Nikon CoolPix to my Windows laptop previously took many minutes via a serial cable connection. Comparable transfers now require just a few seconds.

The USB device is plug-and-play and pretty funky looking (think: iMac cool). The drivers for Windows and MacOS are available.

CAUTION: I'm told there are unique technical issues surrounding the Diamond Rio MP3 Player's proprietary audio files.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Lightning fast read and write speeds allow you to get the best performance from your PDA, MP3 player, or digital camera
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (28)

buy online
I bought a digital camera and I would like to add some memory. Because there are so many different cards, I was afraid to buy online. The search engine is very good and I was able to find a card matching my camera. The card fits well and add 99 pictures above a card holding 24. The pictures are similar if not identical in quality compared with the one purchased with the camera.

Want to know how many pictures a smart media can hold?
Here is general guidline of about how many pictures a smart media card can hold. This list was made up using a 2.1 mega pixel camera at 1600x1200 resolution. (The Fuji Finepix 2300). So if you have a higher mega pixel camera the amount of pictures it can hold will decrease and you will be able to hold a few more pictures with a lower mega pixel model. But these numbers will give you a basic idea so you will know what capacity of smart media card is for you. (1600x1200 resolution) Example: Listed is the card capacity with the amount of photos it can hold in the camera's Fine (best mode), Normal, and Basic photo modes. (Fine,Normal,Basic)

8 MB (9,19,39) 16 MB (19,39,75) 32 MB (40,82,155) 64 MB (82,170,330) 128 MB (168,350,700)

*Most camera's normal mode takes pictures of good enough quality for most photos you will take, unless the camera is under 1.3 mega pixels.

*Many cameras come with a 8MB memory card. But that usually isn't enough memory for most people, here is what I would suggest purchasing:

My suggestions:

1-1.9 mega pixel camera - 8MB or 16 MB

2-2.9 mega pixel camera - 32 MB

3 mega pixels and up - 64 MB

Works great
I've ordered three of these things. They work great. Never had any problems. They come with a nice plastic case that is perfect for storing the cards in my camera bag.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Lightning fast read and write speeds allow you to get the best performance from your PDA, MP3 player, or digital camera
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (68)

Who could ask for more?
I have the fuji 40i digital camera with mp3 player built in and movie camera with sound feature also. What a super camera, so small. But I found after loading my mp3's and taking my movies, I had no memory left for pics. (fuji comes with a 16meg card) So I read the reviews on Amazon and noticed people said the Viking cards worked on the fuji cameras. (fuji needs a special ID memory smartcard for audio) So I purchased my Viking 64 meg smartcard from Amazon and I'm thrilled. According to what I have read , this is the maximum card you can use with this camera. Everything works. I can now take 51 pics in the 2400x1800 mode while holding my favorite mp3's and movie in the camera. Life is beautiful! Super price (can you believe the drop in smart card pricing?) Thank you ,Amazon and Viking!

1000 PICS in a match book that is as thin as a dime !
This card enables me to take about 1000 pictures (at the lowest resolution) with my Olympus 460. This is the largest smartmedia card you can currently buy and only has one minor draw back. The panorama feature is not available on Olympus cameras that have a panorama feature since this is not an Olympus brand card. Over all this is a great product. With such a high data capacity card as smartmedia USB reader is almost a must. I can download the 64 MB that are on this card in under 2 Minutes with a USB reader. Before with the serial connection that came with my camera it took (or felt like) hours! This is also the cheaper of the 2 64MB Smartmedia currently on amazon now.

Want to know how much smart media cards can hold?
Here is general guidline of about how many pictures a smart media card can hold. This list was made up using a 2.1 mega pixel camera at 1600x1200 resolution. (The Fuji Finepix 2300). So if you have a higher mega pixel camera the amount of pictures it can hold will decrease and you will be able to hold a few more pictures with a lower mega pixel model. But these numbers will give you a basic idea so you will know what capacity of smart media card is for you. (1600x1200 resolution) Example: Listed is the card capacity with the amount of photos it can hold in the camera's Fine (best mode), Normal, and Basic photo modes. (Fine,Normal,Basic)

8 MB (9,19,39) 16 MB (19,39,75) 32 MB (40,82,155) 64 MB (82,170,330) 128 MB (168,350,700)

*Most camera's normal mode takes pictures of good enough quality for most photos you will take, unless the camera is under 1.3 mega pixels.

*Many cameras come with a 8MB memory card. But that usually isn't enough memory for most people, here is what I would suggest purchasing:

My suggestions:

1-1.9 mega pixel camera - 8MB or 16 MB

2-2.9 mega pixel camera - 32 MB

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Lightning fast read and write speeds allow you to get the best performance from your PDA, MP3 player, or digital camera
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (67)

Great Value
Have owned 4 months. Bought 2 128MB cards. no problems for 3 months. camera stopped recognizing 1 of the cards, but Viking promptly replaced. Best customer service I,ve seen for a long time. rebate was extra slow to arrive, took about 3 months.

At least this one works
In another review, I describe the negative experience I had with a Sandisk 128MB card. In summary, the card was defective and I lost 240 pictures. More recently, I have been using this Viking card and it has worked flawlessly, at least so far.

I have a 2 megapixel camera, and in HQ mode each photo is approximately 500K, and in SHQ mode 1MB. This means you can fit 256 or 128 photos in the respective modes. In my brief experience I have found the HQ mode sufficient for most photos, so for me this card stores the equivelant of 10 rolls of film. For my 2 megapixel camera, this has been a convenience. For those who plan to save even larger files, I would say that the 128MB size is essential. And with the falling prices on these cards, it makes more sense than ever to invest in a card this size.

The cheapest Smart Media on the market
I recently received a Fuji Finepix F601 as a gift; the giver, a professional photographer, included a Fuji 128MB Smart Media Card as a matter of course. Thank goodness he knew what he was doing in terms of storage needs, at least -- the 601 only comes with a 16MB card, which on the 601 is only enough for 5 images at the highest recording level. If you're getting a compatible Fuji, Olympus, or other-brand camera, you really need the highest storage card possible.

But it turns out these cards are fragile, and fingerprints can short them out or cause problems with the camera or reader being able to access their contents. So the best way to keep them around forever is to get a 128 MB card and never remove it! Ideally, then, this should be a solution coupled with the purchase or ownership of a camera which interfaces directly (USB or firewire) with the PC, so there won't be a need to remove the card. Ever. That security, and the ability to store over a hundred 8x10 print-quality pix on one wafer-thin card, makes the bigger sized card easily worth the extra cost if you're getting a Fuji or other-brand digital camera.