Best practise for formatting SD card in Mac and OM-1?

[richard stern]

I use a Lexar Professional SD card in both slots of my OM-1. I use FastRawViewer to cull non-keepers and then Lightroom for processing the others. As I use Pro-cap and SH-2 quite a lot, I frequently need to format the cards. I usually do it just in the camera (wrench, P.1), but there in an option in my Mac laptop to erase the SD card first. If I did that, would erase the FAT system on the card and render the card un-formatable in the camera, or should I jut ignore that option and stick to what I'm doing?

Thanks in advance.

 

[John Bean (UK)]

Don't format any SD card on any computer unless you use the official SD formatter tool .

Format in the camera. If the card has been meddled with by a computer the SD formatter tool will fix it - but still format it in the camera anyway.

 

[Guy Parsons]

I use a Lexar Professional SD card in both slots of my OM-1. I use FastRawViewer to cull non-keepers and then Lightroom for processing the others. As I use Pro-cap and SH-2 quite a lot, I frequently need to format the cards. I usually do it just in the camera (wrench, P.1), but there in an option in my Mac laptop to erase the SD card first.

As in the first reply, always use the official SD Association formatter and never the default format found in all computers. https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/

If I did that, would erase the FAT system on the card and render the card un-formatable in the camera,

No, the format leaves the card "blank" in the sense that it returns the FAT system (most likely exFat) back to zero, wiping all references to any files on the card, and leaves the card fresh and empty, ready to accept more files. Just like buying a new card from a shop and putting it straight into the camera. The old files are still on the card, it's just that the blank FAT table now makes them "invisible".

The camera format does not do anything magic, it usually* simply clears the FAT table and then sets up the folder structure that it will make when it takes the first picture

or should I jut ignore that option and stick to what I'm doing?

Format in camera is easy and convenient, so do that and leave any computer formats to when you think you may have a faulty card.

* The "usually" was used as some cameras do more than just clear the FAT table. my Sony compact also seems to juggle the bit addressing ability in order to help even out wear on the card. Recovery programs cannot get back files after the format.

On most other cameras recovery programs can find the old files on a camera formatted card.