foggypreacher Loc: Dickinson, Texas

I have a photography friend who was told not to delete files in camera because it causes a hole in the memory card. I delete in camera when I look at a shot and realize I want nothing to do with it, so I delete it then. Once I have filled the card with files, have them all appropriately backed up, I will format the card in camera.

Has anyone heard about making a hole in the memory card due to deleting files in camera? Thank you in advance for your help.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Who ever told your friend that deleting files in camera will create a hole in the memory card has a hole in their logic. Yes, you may delete files in camera. No, it does not create a hole in your memory card. A hole in the memory card; what does that even mean?!
There are standard logarithms used in the manipulation of files on your memory cards. The same logarithm your camera uses to delete a file is what your computer uses. By the way, no files are actually deleted, just the index information for said file. New data will be written over the old file when the index says to do so.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I was told that same story by a photographer. And, I also saw a You Tube Video that backed up the initial story. I chimp occasionally, to check and see if I'm satisfied with the photo I took. I delete and take the photo again. I've had no problems with my SD card making a hole in it, by deleting photos.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Never ever in the last 14 years.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I've been shooting digital since 2000, always deleting in camera when I know the image is not worth keeping. No holes, no downside as far as I can see. I suspect that if there were to be a problem - a hole - in the card caused by my actions, I am certain that after deleting over half a million images during that time I might have seen it by now. I haven't.

The other thing that is often written or said is to not format your memory card on the computer. I've also been doing that since forever. No issues. I've never experienced an electronic card failure - but I did have a pair of Sandisk cards that physically broke - one lost the write protect switch when it was in the write-protect mode rendering it unusable, and the other one just came apart. Sandisk has an amazing lifetime warranty - and they replaced both of them for free without proof of purchase.

When I started using SD cards in my cameras, I came across this site with an SD-specific formatting utility - which is far better than anything you can find on a camera.

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/

It even has an overwrite option with a full format - as opposed to the quick format - that scrubs the card of all data, making the files irrevocable. I have noticed when I format an SD card for use in my Sony, the camera writes a file structure (and a FAT table) to it on first use.

I generally ignore technical advice from non-technical people. I've also been in the computer industry since 1983.

tcthome Loc: NJ

When they say hole I'm sure they mean a storage hole in the memory, not a physical hole & am guessing u already know this but just in case. I have done this & never had a problem but, try to delete pics on the computer only & format the card in camera after the pics are uploaded & backed up. Anyway its something about rewriting over the deleted space without the card be formatted over time causing errors.

deanfl Loc: Georgia

https://youtu.be/ZMAx2jf9-dQ

Here is a YouTube video from The Angry Photographer. He flat out says to never delete photos in camera. He claims to know of 5 instances where people have corrupted cards doing so. I am not saying I believe him but I stopped deleting photos in camera.

11bravo

I guess it is possible IF you set the camera to delete a lot of photos and turn the camera off while it is doing the delete, then that could corrupt the file allocation table (FAT).

HOWEVER, I know my FZ1000 is smarter than I am because if I try to turn it off while it's still writing from the buffer (as in having taken a number of photos in burst mode) to the memory card, it won't shut down until the write is complete.

Perhaps this advice started with old cameras before such "complete
task" protection was implemented. I've deleted photos in camera for years without a problem.

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

I photograph a fair amount of fast action sports where focus is difficult to lock-in and usable images run around 50% if I’m lucky. I continually delete as I go and have never had problems. This is a workflow time saver since it takes longer to load, edit and delete on my computer. Time is money and with a 2nd card slot holding all undeleted files I have nothing to worry about.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I've never realized that this would come up. Depending on the camera brand, this could happen. Some cameras use a small laser to delete the files. This burns a small hole right through the memory card. One can see this because the laser actually illuminates a small clear plastic window. One needs to examine the card with an electron microscope to see this small hole. Eventually, if done often enough, the card resembles swiss cheese. This is not the system used by a lot of cameras, but some. The best way to tell is to erase a file and then immediately open the access door to the card and give it a sniff. If you smell something burning, that's the little bit of smoke generated by the process.
--Bob

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Your friend's friend is pulling your friend's chain.
Hole in the card.

Have you friend describe "hole". A missing "packet of information"? or a physical hole.
The information hole will be of no consequence.

rkaminer Loc: New York, NY

That’s an old theory that came out of spinning hard drives. The files had to be rearranged for a faster access otherwise the disc would take longer to go through the magnetic media. None of this is an issue in solid state memories.

Ollieboy

Maybe that's why my card looks like swiss cheese at the end of a day of shooting.🤔

Collhar Loc: New York City.

Well, I guess you do believe him.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States