Interchanging SD cards in different cameras

I'm presently using a Panasonic DMC-FZ30 and am getting a D80. I want to know if I can use the same SD card in both? Will it allow me to take a partially used SD card from the FZ30 and use it in the D80? Or, must it be blank before inserting in either/or? I'm not being cheap and may never do this. I just want to know if it would work in an emergency?

I'm new here but did try to find the answer before posting. Thanks for any help ... and/or advice on using different brands of equipment.

I believe the D80 formats the card when you put it in, so it can recognise it.

SenorSquirrel said:

I'm presently using a Panasonic DMC-FZ30 and am getting a D80. I
want to know if I can use the same SD card in both?

Click to expand...

Yes! All SD cards will work in the DMC-FZ30 or the D80. Some SD cards may be faster than others, but they will all work.

SenorSquirrel said:

me to take a partially used SD card from the FZ30 and use it in the
D80? Or, must it be blank before inserting in either/or? I'm not
being cheap and may never do this. I just want to know if it would
work in an emergency?

Click to expand...

I would not recommend it. It may work if the cameras used different named sub folders on the SD card (they probably do) but it is always best to format an SD card in the camera (using the camera's format function) before first using it in that camera. Different camera's do not always format using the same file system (FAT16 vs FAT32 for example).

--
'Life is a photo op'

Steve Simpkin

gheat99 said:

I believe the D80 formats the card when you put it in, so it can
recognise it.

Click to expand...

That is true if the card has not already been formated (a brand new card for example), but once the card is formated using a file system the camera can recognize, it will not prompt you to format the card when inserted.

--
'Life is a photo op'

Steve Simpkin

I have used the same sd card in both a D80 and an fz10, but I'm pretty sure I formatted it in each camera before taking any pictures with that camera. From what I recall, they use sufficiently different file structures to PROBABLY allow you to have pictures from both cameras on a single card, but I wouldn't recommend it.

--
Someday maybe I'll think of something useful to put in here...

Is it unreasonable to suggest that you TRY it? The experiment
would take only a few minutes, and would be more reliable than
mere opinions.

Not unreasonable. I PERSONALLY would try to avoid it simply because of the possibility of corruption of files, especially if the file structures are basically the same, or if one camera misreads the 'free' space and tries to write a file that is too large, or missreads the data location and overwrites it, or part of the FAT, etc. I'd rate all of these as highly unlikely, but unless I had a compelling reason to try, or did so accidently, I myself would avoid it. That's why I recommended against it. If you've already backed up the files, etc, and don't mind the minor risk, sure, it may be worth the experiment to find out.

ITguy said:

Is it unreasonable to suggest that you TRY it? The experiment
would take only a few minutes, and would be more reliable than
mere opinions.

Click to expand...

--
Someday maybe I'll think of something useful to put in here...