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How Many Photos Can 512GB Hold?

In: 
Published: 08/12/2022

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As a photographer, your productivity can be influenced by how much storage space your camera has. A 512GB storage device offers plenty of space. If you asked, how many photos can 512GB hold? You'll find the answer to your question and how to figure it out for yourself below.

How Many Photos Can 512GB Hold?

A 512GB storage can hold up to 426666 images and as few as 7757 images. The average range of JPEGs you can expect it to store is between 77570 to 426660 images. For RAW files, it can hold between 7757 to 42666 images.

Although these estimates are not precise, I am sure that 512GB contains 4096000000, 000 bytes. An entire decade's worth of pictures would fit perfectly in that space. You can find a near-accurate estimate using the average image file size, even though each size varies.

A person with clean nails is holding a black memory card near a white wall

What Factors Affect the File Size of an Image?

The size of each picture and various features can impact your camera captures. It does not follow that two images of the same scene will necessarily be the same size, even with the same level of exposure.

How do these factors affect the number of images you can store? I've answered that below:

Quality Settings

Your camera's ISO measures the film's sensitivity, and the noise on an image increases as your ISO settings are raised. Your photos are harder to compress with this rise in noise. During compression, this alteration causes the file size to increase.

File Format

Almost a dozen distinct formats exist for storing photos. However, RAW and JPEG are still the most used file types. Your image's size will change depending on these formats. Here is how the two forms impact the size of your photo:

JPEG Image

You discard most details and only store the relevant data when you compress a photo from its original format to JPEG. Thus, a JPEG's size is smaller when you compare it to the original image. A 512GB storage space can hold several thousand JPEGs.

RAW Image

By default, the quality of a RAW file is superior to that of a JPEG. It's at least twice as big as a JPEG. This difference stems from the fact that a RAW file undergoes lossless compression. After compression, a RAW file maintains the same quality as the original photo.

Camera Resolution

The camera's resolution is the total number of pixels in a single shot. Each image's quality is relative to its pixel count. The rule of thumb is that the greater the number of pixels, the better the quality of the picture. As a result, the larger the image size.

What Size Memory Card Do You Need?

When considering the various types of memory cards, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Depending on your requirements, you have about seven classes to choose from. Without any doubt, the sizes of each of these vary greatly. So, let's talk about which memory card size is best for you.

Photo Use

The size of each image varies depending on the quality and resolution. Some pictures require higher resolutions and quality settings than others. As a result, some images are larger than others. Here's what I recommend based on your photography needs:

Landscape Photo

Most landscape photographs use a 3:2 aspect ratio. A picture's resolution is affected by the ratio of its horizontal and vertical dimensions. In this case, 24 megapixels (MP), or 6000 by 4000 pixels, is ideal.

This number of pixels equals between 4.5 and 8.2 MB in JPEG file size. The same image in RAW format might be anything from 52 MB to 64.9 MB in size. As a result, 512 GB of capacity is what most landscape photographers should aim for.

Real Estate Photo

Listing images should be at least 330 pixels wide and 220 pixels high by default. This size ranges from about 10 to 50 MB. Thus, I advise sticking to a minimum storage capacity of 512GB. However, greater storage capacity may be worth the investment in the long term.

Wedding Photo

The average pixel count of a wedding photo taken during the shoot is 20MP. However, the processed JPEG file is roughly 10MB. If the smallest image size is 10MB, you can store up to 51 200 pictures. Thus, if you primarily shoot weddings, you may get by with just 512GB.

Types of Memory Cards

A memory card is your camera's principal storage means. A memory card slot is standard equipment for digital cameras. Depending on how much data you need to store, you can select from several types of memory cards. Let's talk about some of the most typical ones:

CF (CompactFlash)

Due to its quick processing speed, the compact flash card is popular among photographers. This card typically comes in capacities between 8GB and 512GB. It can hold up to 14,222 RAW files and 142,222 JPEGs.

Seven black colored memory cards facing down on a purple surface

SD (Secure Digital)

It is compatible with Pentax cameras, Hasselblads, and other medium and miniature cameras. As it is small and lightweight, it is ideal for taking pictures within the house. It's useful for a wide variety of other low-resolution images, too. In tabular form, detailed information about this card can be found below.

SD card format Storage SizesSpeed 
Secure Digital 2GB or less 2MB/S - 10MB/S 
Secure Digital High Capacity 2GB - 32GB 10MB/S - 12.5MB/S 
Secure Digital Extended Capacity 32GB - 2TB 10MB/S - 12.5MB/S 
Secure Digital Ultra Capacity 2TB - 128TB Up to 985MB/S 

MicroSD

This device is noticeably smaller than an SD card. Its compact size makes it a good fit for many modern cameras. The ultra-capacity variants can store 128TB of data, while the ordinary models can only store 32GB.

Speed

The card's processing speed is crucial when choosing a storage capacity. You can measure this speed in megabytes per second (MB/S). The SDUC can have a maximum processing speed of 985MB/S. There is no discernible difference in processing time between compact flash, SDXC, and SDHC.

How to Calculate the Number of Images 512GB Can Hold?

You can determine how many pictures 512GB can store in simple steps. So, you can guess this amount by knowing the average size of an image file recorded by your camera. Here's a list of the average file size based on the camera resolution:

Average Image File Size for JPEG

  • 4(MegaPixels) = 1.2MB
  • 5(MegaPixels) = 1.5MB
  • 6(MegaPixels) = 1.8MB
  • 7(MegaPixels) = 2.1MB
  • 8(MegaPixels) = 2.4MB
  • 10(MegaPixels)= 3.0MB
  • 12(MegaPixels) = 3.6MB
  • 14(MegaPixels) = 4.2MB
  • 16(MegaPixels) = 4.8MB
  • 22(MegaPixels) = 6.6MB

Average Image File Size for RAW

  • 4(MegaPixels)= 12(MB)
  • 5(MegaPixels)= 15(MB)
  • 6(MegaPixels) = 18(MB)
  • 7(MegaPixels) = 21(MB)
  • 8(MegaPixels) = 24(MB)
  • 10(MegaPixels)= 30(MB)
  • 12(MegaPixels) = 36(MB)
  • 14(MegaPixels) = 42(MB)
  • 16(MegaPixels) = 48(MB)
  • 22(MegaPixels) = 66(MB)

Related Questions

How Many Pictures Can a 512GB iPhone Hold?

About 174,762 photographs can be stored on a 512GB iPhone. The typical file size is around 3MB if you shoot in 4k resolution. Considering that 1 GB equals 1024 MB, 512 GB equals 524,288 MB. A rough calculation indicates that 512 GB can hold around 174,762 photographs.

How Many Photos Will 256GB Hold?

With 256GB of space, your phone can hold about 50,400 photos. When shooting at 12MP on a GoPro, it can take 60,960 pictures. It should be able to keep between 6,554 and 13,107 RAW images and around 26,208 JPEGs.

Conclusion

In photography, having a safe space for storing your photos is essential. Many photographers find that 512GB is ideal for storing various images. However, there are other factors affecting the average size of a picture. The maximum number of photos that you can save depends on this size.

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