jaack65

I have a canon s50 camera and was advised to change storage format on CF Card from JPG to RAW. There are hundreds of JPG images on the card now. Is it safe to change the way image is stored without cleaning out card??? The tip was given to me when I said I'd be using GIMP.
What is consensus on clean out of CF card before change of format or NOT ?
Regards,
Jaack

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

It is a camera setting and should not affect the card. The camera does the writing. I have done it in a 7D and a 10D with no adverse effects.
I also clean out my cards regularly and put on external media and regularly reformat my CF cards after downloading them.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

It shouldn't effect it but just to be on the safe side take all the jpeg photos and download them into wherever you store your photos and reformat the card in the camera to clear it.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

It will have no effect on your card, but using an active card as file storage for your photos isn't a very good idea. Cards can fail or become corrupted from usage. Then what would you have? It's best to download and backup your files every chance you get.
Why change how you shoot? Do you know the difference between RAW and JPG? Are you prepared to do the editing that RAW requires?

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Jaack, personally, I'd transfer all of the images on the card to a hard drive, then format the card, then change the storage format. I'm fairly certain that changing the format of the files stored will not affect those on the card already. However, I'm just a bit more cautious than most when it comes to changing, essentially, computer file systems in midstream.
--Bob

mkaplan519

As others have written, it makes no difference what file format is being stored on the card as long as it is your camera that is storing it, then it knows what format the card is in and how to write. Some people write RAW + JPG at the same time.
I do agree though that I hope you are not storing your photos on the card. Hopefully you are copying them to a computer and then making backups on to other media.
I copy my photos off my card to my desktop. Once there I right away make backups of those files on to 2 different external drives (I then have 3 copies of each file). I then remove them from the camera card.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Should not be a problem.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

It makes no difference, as stated many times above. GIMP would not care what images are on the card. The question is , why are you storing your images on a card?
I get my pics off of the card as soon as possible,

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I believe he means storing them when taken by the camera.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Should have no effect. The storage mode is controlled by the camera not the card. Note many cameras have a RAW+JPG format that creates two files from each image, one of each. Note if you are not used to Canon RAW, Windows does not display a thumbnail of Raw or Photoshop specific files, only an icon and file name. So I guess it is possible for you to do something strange and have a problem DL'ing to your computer. Knowing nothing about GIMP, does it have a Raw converter like ACR? Being an older Camera all aps should have the proper converter for its Raw. Do you still have the Canon supplied software for the camera? Its Raw converter might be best for you. Enjoy.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I have changed formats on a card (accidently) and did not have a problem. BTW only time I store images is when I am on a trip until I am home and have the images on my main computer

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It's just 1s and 0s. Neither the camera nor the card care how they're organized.

warrenvon Loc: Ellicott City, MD

By now you may well be even more confused by all of the responses given above.

1. The camera via your menu settings sets the image capture mode as either .JPG or RAW.
2. JPG is an image format that compresses the image data by an amount that you select. . .fine, small or basic or similar terms.
3. Raw image capture file format is essentially the raw data as captured by your camera sensor. . . there is no or little file compression applied.
4. Your memory card has a separate file storage system, based on a computer standard. It is totally unrelated to your camera image data processing i.e JPG or RAW. The memory card is a simple storage device with no way of modifying your camera generated files. To do so would be to corrupt your camera images . . that's not good.
5. Your computer based image processing application. reads the camera generated image files either RAW or JPG and generates your images.
6. JPG images are produced in your camera as finished (processed) images that need very little post processing in your computer based image processing software; while RAW image require that you post process them in your image processing software.

The files that your camera generates, RAW, JPG, TIFF or DNG etc. are totally independent of the card that is used to store them. That memory card is a simple storage devise. It is a portable extension of the hard drive built into your computer. . . nothing more and nothing less than that.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

Download the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack and install it. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26829

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There would be no problem with switching the camera to save images in RAW format from now own, instead of JPEG. The files already on the card should not be effected, regardless what you do.

Just to be clear, you can't go back and change previously captured JPEGs into RAW format.

And, you would be wise to immediately save those "hundreds of JPGs" already on the card to another, safer place such as your computer's hard drive. Until that's done, your images are highly at risk of loss, accidental corruption, inadvertent overwriting, etc.

So, it's not necessary to "clean out" the memory card before changing the file type that's being saved.... but it would be very wise to do so anyway, for other reasons.

It also is a good idea to occasionally "format" the card itself in-camera. This deletes all the current images from the card and readies it for new use. But, of course, it's important you copy any of the existing images that you want to keep off the card first, before formatting it.

Note: quick formatting doesn't actually remove the images from the card... it just marks them as okay to be written over. Because of this, if you accidentally format a card, then realize you haven't retrieved the old images from it yet, it often is possible to recover those old files with an image rescue software. Still, it's better to develop a good work flow that copies all the images off the memory card on a regular basis. A memory card is a poor place to "store" irreplaceable images! Especially when it's the only place they're stored!