dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Indeed, I agree. But with regard to brand card purity, I have Sony and Panasonic and Canon cameras and remove the cards to read... ooops put Sony in Canon Camera etc and the cameras shrug their shoulders and record as they should, nary a skipped beat ... but simply have an appropriately labeled folder. Like many things, there is a universality of format... like using USB in a Dell, HP and a home assembled... works in all.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

Deleting individual images from the card will, over time, fragment the card and make it less efficient, since the card directory will need to find the empty slot to store future images. If the empty slot is smaller than the image the directory is trying to install, that image will be stored in two empty slots, but not necessarily adjacent slots. Over time, this has the potential to corrupt the card as the directory may get confused. Here is a good explanation of all this and how a memory card works:
http://blog.jeffcable.com/2016/12/why-you-should-not-delete-images-on.html

edrobinsonjr Loc: Boise, Idaho

What is the reason for reformatting? Just curious...

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

You've been fortunate to not have any problems. I'm glad it's worked out good for you, though it's "risky".

I choose to use a number of smaller memory cards (mostly 16GB now), which means having to change them during events I shoot. I get around 500 images per card and do this so that I don't have "all my eggs in one basket", in case a card fails or is lost, my whole day's work isn't lost with it. Sometimes I'll fill 4 or 8 or 12 or more cards in a day.

And I use my memory cards in five different cameras, so I always format every card immediately when I install it, to be absolutely certain there won't be any issues due to differences in the cameras.

And I use a card reader to download my cards, because doing so from the camera via the USB cable would take a long time, requiring the camera to be powered up the entire time and risking low battery shut down that can cause corrupted image files. Plus, since I'm using multiple memory cards, it would mean swapping cards back in and out of the camera during the download.... additional wear and tear on it that's unnecessary. But there's also some risk of wearing out or damaging the USB port of the camera, with frequent use of it for downloading. Most cameras' USB ports are part of the main board and, should it ever be damaged or worn out, would mean replacement of the entire board.... a rather expensive part plus more labor to remove since it requires near complete teardown of the camera to replace. The memory card socket, on the other hand, is a sub-assembly in most cameras that would be a lot less expensive to replace and is much more easily accessed, if ever needed.

Card reader makes more sense for me, too, having to download a number of cards. I don't erase them (or format them) with the computer, either. As a safety precaution, I only "copy" images off my memory cards, leaving the originals in place on the card until I'm sure that everything has been successfully saved to my computer and backup. (In fact, the originals remain on the card until the next time I use it, when I install it in the camera and format it).

That's what's worked well for me, shooting around 50,000 images a year and digital almost exclusively for fifteen years (and less frequently alongside film for another 5 or 6 years before that). In that time I've never damaged a camera, knock on wood, and out of around 100 misc. memory cards over the years, only had two card failures (once SD card wasn't usable right out of the package... the other a Compact Flash card thatworked once, then failed after images were downloaded). I've only used high quality, top brand cards (mostly Sandisk and Lexar). And I've only twice had a problem with corrupted image files. Once was my own fault, due to removing a card from a camera too quickly, while images were still being written to it (newer cameras are so fast, this is unlikely). Another time, also my fault, was corruption due to adding a USB hub to the path to the computer being used by the card reader... and easily solved simply by reconnecting the reader directly to the computer. (For some years now I've used built-in card readers, faster than the older USB 2.0 readers... though newer USB 3.0 is prob. faster.)

But, hey, if some other procedure is working for you... That's great! To each his own!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Follow the link in the response directly above yours. Jeff Cable explains it well.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Read my previous reply to the op.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

I didn't go that deep in my response. Great article.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I don't pretend to be a technical whiz kid, but I trust the advice of people who actually are. You may find the answer to your question here: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-429518-1.html

anotherview Loc: California

Close enough.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

Don't mess with success!

edrobinsonjr Loc: Boise, Idaho

Interesting. Thanks for your reply.

I have a Nikon "coolpix 3000" that I no longer use. I has a whopping 256MB - yes megabyte - Sandisk in it that has not been formatted since I first installed it.
Still, the blog entry was very interesting.

I have not formatted the card in my P900 since installing it and have not experienced a single problem.

Knock on wood or something.

I long for the film days - my F2 is gathering dust in a file cabinet...
Ed

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

I have seen on at least one card mfr's web site that erasing all of the files on a card and reformatting the card accomplish the exact same thing and have done so since the mid 1990s.

Daryl New Loc: Wellington,New Zealand

Waschill has it in a nutshell,if it's not broken,why fix it....

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Nothing

wings42 Loc: San Diego, CA

I'm retired and a birder. Weather permitting (the usual here in San Diego), I take about 800+ shots a week and have for years. I do the exact same thing as Waschill and have never had a problem. I've stuck with two SanDisk Extreme Pro memory cards since starting DSLR photography about 20 years ago. They are very fast and so far seem to last forever.