alliebess Loc: suburban Philadelphia

A professional photographer recently told me that I should not delete images in my camera, that this could corrupt the SD card. I've been doing this and had no problems so far. And, if this is wrong, why is there a "delete" button on cameras? Opinions, please?

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

What that photographer told you is true, sometimes. I've heard of many cases where the card was instantly destroyed when this was done, not sure why. So, if you have important shots or video on that card, it could be all history. The best way, recommended by so many, is to upload, make sure of data safety then format in the camera. Why the delete button? Who knows.

whitewolfowner

Actually, the proper way is to delete the photos in the camera only by formatting it.

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

I never delete in camera. I don't know if it can corrupt the SD card or not I just never saw the point of deleting in camera.
My SD card will store almost 1300 RAW files and I carry a spare so there is very little danger that I will run out of space.
I format the card after importing to Lightroom.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Sounds like another Internet myth after a few iterations...

Deleting individual files is no more likely to corrupt a memory card than writing a new file to the card is! The new write puts data to all the places a delete does, obviously plus several more that should make it far worse.

But there is a good enough reason not to, though it is a bit abstract and obscure. Deleting files will cause fragmentation of the SD card. Normally that has no effect whatever. But if the card becomes corrupted it makes data recovery more difficult. Most likely it still will not be a problem, but there is a remote chance that it will interfere with recovery of adjacent files. You could, worst case, lose two files that otherwise would have been recoverable.

It is not a problem you are likely to ever experience.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Have deleted photos directly within six to eight digital cameras with no effect whatever on the cameras or the memory cards. Have no hesitation to reformat a card, but generally do not unless there is a concern such as age of or wear and tear on the card.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I agree with Apaflo that this is likely another urban internet myth, but if you've personally experienced this type of failure, then let us hear the circumstances. There's a difference between deleting and erasing a file (remember the old DOS delete vs erase commands?). Deleting simply removes the I node pointers to the file from the file system (hence the reason you can typically recover deleted files) while erasing writes 0s to each memory location. Not positive, but my guess is that deleting in-camera just removes the pointers, while erasing the file by writing 0s takes considerably more time (just as a low-level format takes considerably more time than a "quick" format). Regarding fragmentation, this is an issue on spinning disk because it involves physically moving the read/write head across the platter which takes substantial time, but on a solid state drive, the access time is the same regardless of where the data is located, so machts nichts.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Allie, I would take that information with a grain of salt.
I've NEVER heard that, but maybe I'm just sheltered! LoL
Yes, I've had cards corrupt but can't attribute the cause to anything in particular except possibly not specifically formatting in-camera with that particular camera.
What I can tell you is that since I've been very careful to format in-camera I've never had a problem, whether I delete in-camera or not.
If you really want to know, call both the tech for the camera company and the card company and ask THEM!!
Most pros learn their knowledge of tech mostly the same way you do. They see it/read it on the interenet. Hopefully most aren't repeating unsubstantiated hearsay, like you're getting right know!!!
To get reliable info, go straight to the horse!!!
SS

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

It is very hard to find any evidence to support this theory, either technically or anecdotally that is reliable. Any storage device can fail or become corrupted which is why backups are required. An SD card is simply solid state storage, and if you have an SSD drive in your computer, would you never delete any files? Fragmentation is not an issue. Neither is deleting in camera.

So by all means delete files in camera until you have downloaded them all and backed them up, maybe even check that the transfer has gone smoothly. Then format the card in the camera and you are good to go. If you delete files in camera without ever reformatting you may increase the risk of corruption eventually.

If you switch cards to different cameras it is a good idea to reformat in the different camera. Cameras have a delete button because it is useful to some people and is a perfectly safe operation. Remember that digital cameras are just computers in drag and professional photographers sometimes know squat about computers. If you use a computer or a thumb drive / memory stick do you worry about deleting files on those?

Rongnongno Loc: FL

When you delete anything anywhere you only access a small part of the storage called MFT. This 'frees' an area that would not be available otherwise. Considering the way devices write onto storage this area gets over written creating what is called 'fragmentation' (a file - digital image or not - is cut into pieces). This fragmentation in turn can create a slowdown when writing and in the worse scenario a 'cross linked file' which is then corrupted an unusable.

That long winded superficial explanation done... Deleting a file in camera will not destroy a card - Never heard of that before -. I have not experience corrupted files - in camera that is -. I have not experienced slow down in camera either.

Still, one recommendation hold true, once you copy/move files from a camera to a more permanent storage formatting is a good idea if you cull your stuff as the more fragmentation the slower. Note that it is a 'recommendation' - Not a rule. You could just as well delete everything* using a computer.

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* There is a difference between the two but that is not the purpose of this thread.

alliebess Loc: suburban Philadelphia

Thanks to all for your collective wisdom! It pretty much backs up my personal experience, but I'm not a pro, just lifelong amateur (film to digital).

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Fragmentation does not occur in the MFT (master file table) except to the extent that the pointers reside there - it occurs when parts of a file are written non-continuously across the storage, which on conventional spinning disk requires multiple head seeks to access the data. Fragmentation does not affect solid state memory as access time is the same regardless where in the memory the data resides (there are no head seeks). Also, an MFT is applicable to NTFS file systems, and since many removable solid state media is formatted with some version of the FAT file system (FAT16, FAT32, exFAT), then the equivalent is the FAT (file allocation table).

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Who said it happened in the MFT????

It said it 'opens up a space for writing'. Space used by the next file.

Your objection is ridiculous as this is not a treatise on deleting recovering formatting process. As noted in my answer it is a 'superficial explanation'.

If one really wants to know what happens is more complex as only one char is replaced to indicate that the pointer to the file space is reusable. Even that is too simple.

As to formatting you have three main types (not to mention the various technology used depending on OS) and none is secure so... Stop trying to correct everything and everyone. You certainly know your stuff and are an expert but others are too. Do not render issues more complex than they needs to be.

Disk infrastructure and management is a complex field that cannot be explained fully in a forum, especially on a forum like this one.

Your post is a 'pedant bulshit' made to impress folks that are unaware. And yes, I am a certified a-hole with an alphabet soup under its name when I was working.

Note: You are right. I should have used FAT##.

whitewolfowner

Those that are whining their agenda of believing that it's ok to delete and format their memory cards where ever their little brain desires; fine, do as you insist but when you run into a problem, don't go whining in the streets for weeks on end. But don't give false information to those who are trying to learn and do things the way they should be done. SD or any other format of memory card should have files (in this case photos) deleted and the card formatted in the devise (in this case their camera) where the files were originated. If you have more than one camera, each should have t's own memory card (or cards). If you find a need to switch a card from one camera to another (not recommended), then have the card cleaned and formatted from the camera that it was last used in, reformat again upon putting in the second camera and fire away. This is what is the standard habits that should be used and taught when teaching another the tricks of the trade. Now let's see how many whiners will come back defending and trying hide their ignorance; the line never seems to end!