Should I format my SD cards????

That's interesting Dave....I'll look that up when I can.

I don't even "Copy" to the PC. I just use the "move" command. In the years and years I have been shooting digital I have never lost a single image.

I will format my cards today, seeing as how I never have before. However, I still believe that formatting them EVERY time you reinsert them into the camera is a bit much. I can't think of any logical reason to do so. It's not going to make your card more reliable.

I'm not being critical, do as you will. No skin off my nose

--
Photography > http://www.stretchedimagination.com
Skateboard > http://www.thegrindsyndicate.com
VideoGames > http://www.fracturezone.com

After downloading my fiels I always format the card in camera. It refreshes the card and is a lot quicker than deleting the old files. If you are deleting all files on any memory device it is always better to format than delete because it means you end up with an as new device.

--
Bluenose

Thauglor said:

I still believe that formatting them EVERY time you reinsert
them into the camera is a bit much. I can't think of any logical
reason to do so.>

Click to expand...

But can you think of any logical reason not to do so? On my D50 I usually have the menu set to the "pencil". Starting there I counted 6 button presses to format while from the same place it takes 9 button presses to delete all. And again, I see no harm in formatting every time.

Regards, Paul
--
Lili's Dad

It takes zero button presses to move the files from the camera to the computer and be done. Mouse clicks aside of course.

If you want to format lots...fine. I don't think it's necessary by any means, but, you know, have a blast.

--
Photography > http://www.stretchedimagination.com
Skateboard > http://www.thegrindsyndicate.com
VideoGames > http://www.fracturezone.com

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REPLIED TO MY POST RE: formatting my sd cards. By the time I got back here today, there were SO MANY helpful comments, I just don't have the time to respond to every one of you like I ususally try to do here at the forum, so...again, THANKS SO VERY MUCH, ALL of you. I WILL be reformatting my cards from now on!

Be well, and get out there and snap those pictures!!!

Bopper

Nikon D80
Nikkor 18-200mm VR
Nikkor 18-135mm
Sigma 70-300mm APO
Fuji s9000
Fuji s7000
Fuji F470

Thauglor said:

However, I still believe that formatting them EVERY time you reinsert
them into the camera is a bit much. I can't think of any logical
reason to do so. It's not going to make your card more reliable.

Click to expand...

Thauglor,

I think the main reason some of us format every time is that it is routine. I find it easier and quicker than deleting on the D40. But Also, It's how I wipe the slate clean for the next session of photos.

I would also like to elaborate on an earlier post I made about seeing corrupted cards. As I have thought over it, almost every time I have seen a corrupt car, it was from someone deleting a few pictures here and there and NEVER fully erasing the card.

From a technical standpoint this makes sense, as memory basically works like a book. There is a table of contents (the file structure) and the chapters (the data). ever time we delete a photo, we are really only deleting the entry in the table of contents, leaving it free to point to a new chapter. For those who erase all the pictures, it is erasing the table of contents all at once. Formatting also erases the table of contents, but should also write in a blank template to follow for the new data. This small distinction should illustrate why those who always erase everything generally have no problems. Erasing and writing in one chapter at a time is eventually going to look messy and possible cause confusion. I would also like to point out that based on the speed of the formatting in-camera, the body is not doing a fully format (writing a zero to ever bit of memory) and therefore should not cause any more wear to the SD card than erasing all photos would.

I guess my point is that we're in essence quibbling over minor technical details. Not formatting is kinda of like riding a bike without a helmet. Most of us do it and go through a lifetime without any injury, but to the few that have an issue, it generally hurts bad. The big difference is that most here who do not format are transferring pictures on a regular basis and are therefor not setting them selves up to lose as much.

So to your friends an family that use P&S cameras, teach them good habits for downloading photos. For your personal use, do whatever you were doing and it'll probably not be an issue.

Thanks,
Brian D.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrbwa1

Thauglor said:

It takes zero button presses to move the files from the camera to the
computer and be done. Mouse clicks aside of course.

If you want to format lots...fine. I don't think it's necessary by
any means, but, you know, have a blast.

Click to expand...

Thauglor, I know I've a crack at you in some other posts so I don't want to prolong that or make this personal - but there's a difference between "this is what I do and I've never had a problem" and good practice - which is the advice that the OP and other readers of this thread are seeking. So I have to say:

1. It takes exactly the same amount of time and effort to copy files from camera to card, as to move them. The only difference is that copying is safer than moving; copying is best practice as I think most people will agree.

2. By the same token: formatting the card in camera before each use takes no time at all (on the D80 at least), and it makes no difference to the lifetime of the card. It provides an almost 100% guarantee that no images will be lost when the card is used. Every use after that increases the risk, as you yourself acknowledge. Formatting "whenever I feel like it" / "once in a blue moon" is not good practice. It's not "silly" or "overkill" to format on every use.

In each case, the risk is small but the consequences are huge. Therefore any practice which avoids that risk at little or no cost is worthwhile.

Saying "I've never lost a file" or "it's very unlikely" doesn't make your habits good practice.

Move instead of copy? Format once every now and then? Go for it.

But I can't imagine why you would do that.

Cheers.

--

Honest question for people that DONT format every time the card goes back in cam
...WHY NOT???????.....Im baffled

I just like to live on the edge !

You guys have made a lot of good points that I won't argue with.

There's a lot that I have thought of to say here but I'm not going to...in fact I deleted a paragraph. However, I will leave you with this...

It's NOT imperative to always format after each use. If you care to, well there is no harm in it. If you don't format after a use you are not taking a chance with your photos. The file system simply does not degrade that fast. In other words, for the average user it's not necessary to be overly strict about formatting and should not be paranoid if you start taking pictures after having forgot to format.

Well enough ?

--
Photography > http://www.stretchedimagination.com
Skateboard > http://www.thegrindsyndicate.com
VideoGames > http://www.fracturezone.com

There is virtually no downside to formatting, and plenty of upsides. You don't need to do it frequently, but it's a heck of a lot faster than deleting images.

Every memory location is not visited in a Format. You aren't "wearing out" the card with it, either way, but deleting images leaves the memory fractured, making the camera file system work harder to pack the next shots in. In extremes, this might slow the card down enough to notice during storage of RAW or long Continuous streams.

-iNova
--
http://www.digitalsecrets.net

Thauglor said:

It's NOT imperative to always format after each use.

Click to expand...

True

Thauglor said:

If you care to, well there is no harm in it.

Click to expand...

True

Thauglor said:

If you don't format after a use you are not taking a chance with your
photos.

Click to expand...

Usually true, however formatting a card after each use is cheap insurance against file system corruption and is usually a faster procedure than deleting the pictures.

Thauglor said:

The file system simply does not degrade that fast. In other words,
for the average user it's not necessary to be overly strict about
formatting and should not be paranoid if you start taking pictures
after having forgot to format.

Click to expand...

I think the greater risk that people could run into is if they "Move" pictures off of the memory card using the Windows OS and then remove the memory card from the card reader before Windows is completely finished. This has inadvertently happened to me in the past when when I would remove the card from the card reader after Windows indicated the transfer was complete AND the light on the memory card reader had stopped blinking. In some cases it turned out that Windows was not really finished until about 30 seconds later. I now always perform a "Copy" so Windows will not write (or delete) to the card. If I do write to a memory card in Windows, I always perform a "Eject" or "Remove Device" command before removing the card.

--
'Life is a photo op'

Steve Simpkin

Manufacturers of solid state flash memory build them the best they can. They test them to determine the number of read/write cycles they can take before they fail or become unreliable.

Excessive formating within the camera or card reader simply uses some of those cycles without any purposeful gain.

Be less compulsive. Take pictures. Remember, memory cards continue to hold more & get cheaper as prices drop & tecnology improves.

Fred

When you Format, you erase the master directory by switching a minimum of bits on the card.

When you Delete, you erase selected directory entries and force the card to make many more entries to specific bits as files are stored.

Formatting doesn't visit every bit. Deleting does visit more bits for the flip to zero out the reference to blocks now made available.

But all of this is moot. At digital camera use cycles, you would have to shoot and re-shoot over the whole card with new info an average of once a day for the next thousand years to burn out the bits. A rule of thumb has been 300,000 cycles per bit being the stress factor.

Even if a cheapo card could only handle a tenth of that, your chances of literally burning out a significant portion of any given card is extremely small.

If a card works on day one, it will likely work fine on day 36,525, or ten years from today.

-iNova
--
http://www.digitalsecrets.net

Regularly formatting memory cards is the #1 defense against corrupted images. Pros tend to format their cards before every use. There really isn't a logical reason to not format a card before using it...

Interesting points. Thanks to you and everyone else for taking up this thread and giving me some great reasons why I will/should start formatting my cards. I appreaciate your and everyone else's comments.
Be well,
Bopper

the D80 manual says you should format the card only in the camera, not to delete pictures from computer. ( not a word for word quote)

Bopper said:

Hi,all,
I have my d80 that uses sd cards as you all know. I was wondering
whehter is would be a good idea to actually format my cards now and
then (in camera, of course). I use my camera to photograph important
things from time to time, like weddings, and other paid jobs, and I'd
like to get the best life out of my cards. I know someday they will
eventually "wear out." But, I'd like to keep them humming right along
as long as possible, so, would formatting help?

And, another question: Is there any way to tell if a card starts to
go bad before being in the middle of a shoot and find that the card
is "toast." (That's why I keep several on hand.)

THanks for any imput.
Be well,
Bopper

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