Memory cards (Page 2): I have the same cards in my D850 since I bought it (one of the first ones). There are no moving parts, they are electronic so not much can go wrong with them.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

I have the same cards in my D850 since I bought it (one of the first ones).
There are no moving parts, they are electronic so not much can go wrong with them.
Just practice good formatting routines and they should last a long time.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

coolhanduke wrote:

I have the same cards in my D850 since I bought it (one of the first ones).
There are no moving parts, they are electronic so not much can go wrong with them.
Just practice good formatting routines and they should last a long time.

Hmmm.
I never reformatted any in 10+ years.
I guess if I practiced good formatting routines they should really last a long time.

CliffMcKenzie Loc: Lake Athens Texas

A different take - don't download directly from the camera via a cable to your computer. In the 1990's I fried the Olympus camera's motherboard hooked directly to the computer. Yes, I know, there are thousands of you who never have had this problem. Each time a card is returned to the camera after download, format the card in the camera. Never have had a problem with the system.

RayofSunshine Loc: Nashua, NH

I would like to add a curve thought to this, What does 10 years have to do with a SD card that is used very little. Does the card go bad sitting in the camera??

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Longshadow wrote:

Hmmm.
I never reformatted any in 10+ years.
I guess if I practiced good formatting routines they should really last a long time.

Reformatting has absolutely nothing to do with the longevity of the life of the card. Don’t be silly, I am not that stupid.

It has to do with preventing corruption.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

coolhanduke wrote:

Reformatting has absolutely nothing to do with the longevity of the life of the card. Don’t be silly, I am not that stupid.

It has to do with preventing corruption.

I replied to the statement "Just practice good formatting routines and they should last a long time.", which I inferred that doing so extends the longevity...... said nothing about corruption.

Whatever floats your boat, trips your breaker, or jingles your bells.
I've never re-formatted in over 10 years.
I'm comfortable with not doing so.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

coolhanduke wrote:

Reformatting has absolutely nothing to do with the longevity of the life of the card. Don’t be silly, I am not that stupid.

It has to do with preventing corruption.

Actually, it very much does affect the life of the card.. It uses up one of the write cycles to the area where the File Allocation Table is located. That area gets written every time a file is saved.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

RayofSunshine wrote:

I would like to add a curve thought to this, What does 10 years have to do with a SD card that is used very little. Does the card go bad sitting in the camera??

Electronic components fail from just sitting all the time. Moisture can seep in (resistors) or out (capacitors), and other changes can occur to them and to other components. Components fail for many reasons. Overload is one, but material changes and physical degradation are also biggies.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

larryepage wrote:

Actually, it very much does affect the life of the card.. It uses up one of the write cycles to the area where the File Allocation Table is located

Hmmmm..
I suppose that may actually shorten the life then since there are basically a limited number of write cycles for cards.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Longshadow wrote:

Hmmmm..
I suppose that may actually shorten the life then since there are basically a limited number of write cycles for cards.

Life is just a series of tradeoffs...personally, I'm still a believer in fairly regular reformatting. In the end, an unavoidable total failure is easier to deal with emotionally than a transient one because of a bad choice that I made.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Ioannis wrote:

Do memory cards go bad with age? I have a Canon M50 camera for over 4 years and I have not replaced the memory card since I have started to use the camera. I don’t take it out of the camera for transferring the images I use the usb cable. Any thoughts on that?

You guys must be doing something differently from me! I have a handful of SD cards. Some a bit long in the tooth, some not so much. Almost all of them are 64G cards. About six of them are no longer useable. I get a message "CARD" in both of my D850s when I try to use them. They don't work in my D500 either.
I transfer photos by removing the cards from the camera and inserting them into the card reader slot in my computer. Then re-insert them into the camera and reformat them. I have always ensured that the camera is off before removing and re-inserting the cards.
I use both the one piece cards and the adapters with the micro cards.
I check the contact pins on the cards/adapters regularly with no visible problems.
What am I doing wrong???

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Retired CPO wrote:

You guys must be doing something differently from ... (show quote)

Interesting.
Do they work in a computer (card reader)?
Were they maybe subjected to static electricity?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Retired CPO wrote:

You guys must be doing something differently from ... (show quote)

You are not necessarily doing anything wrong. Inside those cards are some very tiny wires connecting the memory chip to the contacts. Those can fail or become disconnected at one end (it just takes one failure). They could have gotten moisture inside. Or the chips themselves could have failed. Over the years, not only has capacity of the cards increased, but the manufacturers have also learned how to make them more durable and more reliable. Also...there are multiple different manufacturers making these devices. It has been shown that some of them tend to produce more reliable devices than others. Finally...handling is quite important. Avoid touching the contacts...even though design changes have reduced the risk substantially, static electricity can still destroy a card instantly. An unprotected card in the pocket of a garment made with synthetic fabric or wool is at serious risk of static damage.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Longshadow wrote:

I replied to the statement "Just practice good formatting routines and they should last a long time.", which I inferred that doing so extends the longevity...... said nothing about corruption.

Whatever floats your boat, trips your breaker, or jingles your bells.
I've never re-formatted in over 10 years.
I'm comfortable with not doing so.

Ah, yes, you are correct. I ran it all together and should have distinguished one from the other and their non relationship.

kcooke Loc: Alabama

Here’s what I do
Take photographs
Get home and remove card from camera
Insert card in external card reader or in card reader on laptop
Transfer files verify transfer
Remove card
Insert card in camera
Reformat card.
Repeat for next day of shooting.

This has worked for me since I switched to digital about 18 years ago. I try to cycle out old cards with slow read/write times and throw them away. Old slow cards restrict how many photos you can take in continuous mode since the buffer will fill up very fast waiting