No one can tell exactly how many pictures can be stored on an 8 GB storage because it depends on several factors such as the size of the picture, the format of the file, and the device you are using to capture the pictures.
But don’t worry, we have broken down the techniques of how to calculate the number of pictures that an 8 GB storage can hold in this article. So, let’s explore the capacity of holding pictures according to the memory card size.
How Many Pictures Will 8GB Hold – Showing Calculations How Many Pictures An 8GB Memory Store?
The capacity of a memory card started at 256 MB earlier which is almost distinct. Nowadays, memory cards are measured in gigabytes on the market. 1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1000 Megabyte (MB). It means, that if the size of your pictures is 1 MB, then it can hold 1000 pictures in a 1 GB memory card.
However, you will never get exactly 1000 MB from a 1 GB memory card. Almost 900MB out of 1GB is usable in a 1GB memory card. Similarly, on an 8GB memory card, nearly 7500 MB is usable.
So, you have to calculate based on the size of the usable portion of your memory card. Here is the formula to calculate how many images can be stored in a memory card:
Size of the memory card storage / Size of a picture = Number of pictures the memory card can store.
For example, the available storage of your 8 GB memory card is 7.4 GB or 7400 MB and the average size of pictures is 3MB. So, your memory card will hold 7400/3=2466 pictures.
How to Identify the Size of Pictures?
It may be difficult to perform the calculation and identify the exact number of pictures that an 8 GB storage can hold because of the picture size. All pictures are not the same in size and it is hard to identify the average size of the picture.
To rescue you from this problem, we’ve provided some charts that will show the average size of the picture according to the resolution of your camera and the device that is used to capture the pictures.
Here is the chart of average file size according to the Megapixels of the camera:
For JPEG Format Images
| Megapixel | File Size (MB) | The number of pictures Can Store an 8 GB Memory Card |
| 4MP | 1.2 | 5722 |
| 5MP | 1.5 | 4577 |
| 6MP | 1.8 | 3814 |
| 7MP | 2.1 | 3269 |
| 8MP | 2.4 | 2861 |
| 10MP | 3.0 | 2288 |
| 12MP | 3.6 | 1907 |
| 14MP | 4.2 | 1634 |
| 16MP | 4.8 | 1430 |
| 22MP | 6.6 | 1040 |
For RAW Format Images
| Megapixel | File Size (MB) | The number of pictures Can Store an 8 GB Memory Card |
| 4MP | 12.0 | 572 |
| 5MP | 15.0 | 457 |
| 6MP | 18.0 | 381 |
| 7MP | 21.0 | 326 |
| 8MP | 24.0 | 286 |
| 10MP | 30.0 | 228 |
| 12MP | 36.0 | 190 |
| 14MP | 42.0 | 163 |
| 16MP | 48.0 | 143 |
| 22MP | 66.0 | 104 |
You can now see the number of pictures that can be held by your 8 GB memory card from the above chart.
How Many Pictures Can 8 GB Hold – Depending on Devices
Here is the list of average image sizes varied to devices:
- A Smartphone with 12 Megapixel (MP) camera can capture images at an average size of 3-6 MB.
- A DSLR Camera with 30 MP can capture two types of images at the same time. The average size of RAW images is 27-35 MB and the average size of JPEG format is 12-15 MB.
- A GoPro Camera with 12 MP can capture an image with a size of 7-10 MB on average.
Now according to this specification, let’s calculate the total photos that can be stored by an 8 GB memory card.
Smartphone
An 8 GB memory card can store less than 1,333 images with an average size of 6MB per image.
8000 / 6 = 1333
Again, an 8 GB memory card can store less than 2,666 images with an average size of 3MB per image.
8000 / 3 = 2666
DSLR Camera
In the RAW format, an 8 GB memory card can store less than 228 images with an average size of 35 MB per image and less than 296 images with an average size of 27 MB per image.
8000 / 35 = 228
8000 / 27 = 296
In the JPEG format, an 8 GB memory card can store less than 666 images with an average size of 12 MB per image and less than 533 images with an average size of 15 MB per image.
8000 / 15 = 533
8000 / 12 = 666
GoPro Camera
If the picture is captured on a GoPro camera, an 8 GB memory card can store less than 1,142 images with an average size of 7 MB per image and less than 800 images with an average size of 10 MB per image.
8000 / 10 = 800
8000 / 7 = 1142
The Chart of Total Amount of Stored Picture According to the Size of the Picture and the Memory Card
| Devices | Smartphone | DSLR Camera | GoPro Camera | |||||
| Size | 3 MB | 6 MB | RAW | JPEG | 7 MB | 10 MB | ||
| 27 MB | 35 MB | 12 MB | 15 MB | |||||
| Total Picture | 2,666 | 1,333 | 296 | 228 | 666 | 533 | 1,142 | 800 |
A Bonus Tip on ‘How to Estimate How Many Pictures Can 8 GB Hold?’
If you are a Digital Camera user, then you can easily estimate how many photos can be captured on your memory card using that device.
After turning your Digital Camera on, you will find the number that indicates the maximum capacity of captured photos on the upper-right or lower-right corner of your display.
Also, you can press the ‘Playback’ button and it will show the total captured pic out of total space. For example, if the number is 36/5000. It means 36 pictures are captured and you can capture a maximum of 5000 photos on your camera.
You can also see the estimated maximum number of photos that can be stored on your 8 GB memory card, in the same way, as using a GoPro or a DSLR camera.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Storage (GB) Is Needed to Store 2000 Pictures?
Suppose you need to store 2000 pictures which an average size of 3 MB. Then observe the formula below:
2000 * 3 = 6000 MB
6000 MB / 1000 = 6 GB
So, you need a total of 6 GB of storage to store 2000 pictures with the size of 3 MB. As there are no 6 GB memory cards on the market, you need an 8 GB memory card that will easily hold the pictures in it.
How Many Pictures Can A CD Hold?
The total storages of a CD are 700MB. It depends on the size of the file to identify how many files a CD can hold. If you want to store images with an average size of 3 MB, then the CD will hold 700 / 3 = 233 images in total.
If the size of the image is 35 MB, then it will hold 700 / 35 = 20 images.
Is It Safe to Store Pictures on A Memory Card or SD Card?
In my personal opinion, it isn’t safe to store pictures on a memory card or SD card. First of all, it is insecure to keep pictures on a memory card because anyone can find all your picture by having that memory card. On the other hand, your memory card can be damaged at any time and you will lose every data stored in it. I would recommend you store your pictures and important data in cloud-based storage.
Conclusion
We have provided all the possible ways to calculate the capacity of holding pictures on an 8 GB storage in this article. Multiple charts are also provided in this article to help you identify how many pictures can your memory card store.
We hope you are now able to estimate the total amount that your 8 GB storage can hold by applying the formula that is mentioned above in this article.
If you have any further questions or personal opinions, then please leave us a comment in the comment section.
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