We just got ours and put it out. If you use the internal memory you must take the camera down to download it OR take your laptop to the field. You cannot download the internal memory to a card. The SD cards it takes are pretty cheap, just do a web search on them. It will not take larger than a 256, but that is about 600 pics anyways. We are getting two cards so we can just swap cards in the field. Get the rechargable 6V battery, instructions say it will run it 2-3 weeks, there is a battery charge indicator on the lcd, swap battery when it gets down to 20%. We are planning on putting a solar charger on ours so we don't have to swap batteries. Good luck!