Memory Card formatting: How many times can you re-format a memory card before it is no longer any good?

Winterbabybear Loc: Virginia

How many times can you re-format a memory card before it is no longer any good?

Harold K.

Forever

amehta Loc: Boston

Winterbabybear wrote:

How many times can you re-format a memory card before it is no longer any good?

Maybe not forever, but more often than you are likely to need. In the 10,000 to 100,000 range.

wings42 Loc: San Diego, CA

Since there's no alternative to reformatting/deleting between photo sessions, why worry about it? You might consider carrying one extra memory card to use if a memory card fails.

I've only had one card fail in the past. It was in the middle of a shoot so I doubt that formatting had anything to do with it.

amehta Loc: Boston

wings42 wrote:

Since there's no alternative to reformatting/deleting between photo sessions, why worry about it? You might consider carrying one extra memory card to use if a memory card fails.

I've only had one card fail in the past. It was in the middle of a shoot so I doubt that formatting had anything to do with it.

It might be worth making sure the pictures are actually deleted and not moved to a Trash folder. No space would be freed in that case.

TucsonCoyote Loc: Tucson AZ

AND....if you load your cards into a reader on your PC and work on your pictures then reload them on your cards ......then ALL bets are off ! :XD:
I would only format or delete pictures "in camera".....I've messed up a few cards by playing too many games !

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I am still using 8 G cards from 5 years ago without any problems

Winterbabybear Loc: Virginia

mborn wrote:

I am still using 8 G cards from 5 years ago without any problems

Wow...now that puts my mind at ease! Thanks for sharing!

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I've been using the same cards for 1 1/2 years.No problems.

Video Vinny Loc: Pahrump

Winterbabybear wrote:

How many times can you re-format a memory card before it is no longer any good?

You got me thinking. I dug up my 16MB card and checked it in the old camera. It's just fine. But it is not compatible with my D5300.

:evil:

Zonker Loc: Leesburg, FL

Have never had a failure of the solid state stuff, only the contacts have caused me problems.

rdmesser2 Loc: Central Florida

I am new to the forum, but work for Walt Disney World as a Photog we use Nikon 7100's with SD cards. Cards are formatted every day 365 days a year and very few card failures. There are over 800 photographers working with well over a 1000 cameras and I believe we are still using cards from a 4 years ago when we got all new D90's. So formatting is not an issue. We go through the life of a camera in about 3 months (150,000 clicks). The camera may fail beforethe card.

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

My wife has even run one of my cards threw the washing machine on regular cycle. Still works great.

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Winterbabybear wrote:

How many times can you re-format a memory card before it is no longer any good?

Formatting the card is not the measure of it's lifespan. It's the erasing of individual cells that's the determining factor. The cards themselves have, as part of their circuitry, a load leveler. That is, they never use the same cells twice in a row. And the lifetime of a card is in the 10's of thousands of erase cycles.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

rdmesser2 wrote:

I am new to the forum, but work for Walt Disney World as a Photog we use Nikon 7100's with SD cards. Cards are formatted every day 365 days a year and very few card failures. There are over 800 photographers working with well over a 1000 cameras and I believe we are still using cards from a 4 years ago when we got all new D90's. So formatting is not an issue. We go through the life of a camera in about 3 months (150,000 clicks). The camera may fail beforethe card.

Welcome to the forum, rdmesser2.
Marion