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Formatting memory cards
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Jun 4, 2018 10:48:39   #
OldTxun
 
I've heard that quite a lot recently but I have to say I have not had that experience. I switched to digital about 10 years ago and somehow missed the place in the camera manuals, (several of them) that said you could just delete your photos. So after I download for the last 10 years, I just format the cards in camera. Have never had any kind of problem and still have some of my original cards that get used from time to time. They were usually a lot smaller back then so typically now I don't keep them in camera, but do grab one once in a while.

BTW I did look up deleting photos from cards without formatting not long ago and now have a delete option on my custom menu for just deleting photos and leaving folders intact. I don't typically use folders anyway so it doesn't really make a lot of difference.

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Jun 4, 2018 11:18:34   #
jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ
 
WF2B wrote:
Sounds like more misinformation to me. I do a low level format in camera of every memory card after downloading photos to computer. I’ve been doing this for over 15 years with no problems.
Bud



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Jun 4, 2018 11:24:01   #
speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho
 
julian.gang wrote:
I have heard formatting or bulk erasing memory cards will cause a certain percentage memory loss from whatever kind of memory card and after the memory card is used up it should be discarded, is this true?...Julian
No, not true, fact is that the opposite is true, when correctly formatting the card, it will prolong its "life" (keep it "fresh" and working trouble free)!

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Jun 4, 2018 12:00:11   #
William Hill55 Loc: Roachdale Indiana
 
For years I've always formated in camera or device.. If your shooting with high continous shutter speed you will find your camera will write faster longer if you format each time. At 10 frames per sec you want that card clean.

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Jun 4, 2018 12:00:57   #
jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419
 
julian.gang wrote:
I have heard formatting or bulk erasing memory cards will cause a certain percentage memory loss from whatever kind of memory card and after the memory card is used up it should be discarded, is this true?...Julian

The only bulk memory erasers I am aware of use very strong magnetic fields. I would never use one on a memory card unless I wanted to ensure that it could never be read or used again. Only format/reformat a memory card in the camera.

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Jun 4, 2018 12:47:28   #
mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma
 
No. I reformat after downloading the card. I reformat in the camera.

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Jun 4, 2018 13:28:58   #
FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County
 
amfoto1 wrote:
Absolutely NO!

Whoever said or wrote that is spewing utter B.S.

I format every card, every time I insert it in a camera. Some days that's a 8 or 10 or 12 times.

I've got older cards I've formatted many dozens or even a hundred or more times and never seen the loss of even a single byte.

Shooting digital for 20 years.... almost exclusively for 15 year... several million images... Priobably 100 different memory cards... I've seen exactly TWO cards fail.

One was completely dead brand new, right out of the packaging.

The other died (locked up) after the very first use.

I've never had a card that worked well initially "wear out" and fail later. I've outgrown them when I upgraded cameras and needed larger. But even the old mem cards still work just as good as new.

So I wouldn't worry.
Absolutely NO! br br Whoever said or wrote that i... (show quote)


Just out of curiosity, why would you have to format cards 8-12 times in a day? Do you download your files that often? How many shots? And, how quickly do you wear out the shutter? To quote my higher authority, "How many times are you going to take that same damned picture? The (kid, tree, sky, mountain,etc) hasn't changed in the last two minutes." 😈😈😈

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Jun 4, 2018 13:35:06   #
rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA
 
Gene51 wrote:
The only memory loss I've experienced is trying to remember where I last saw them. /


Now that, Gene, is an age thing that all Photographers will eventually go through. Luckily my phone rings, or I'd never remember where I left it.

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Jun 4, 2018 13:55:54   #
fishone0 Loc: Kingman AZ
 
I don't mean to be sarcastic but where are you getting your fake news from--I have been formatting my card in camera for years--each time I download photos to the computer and never had a problem and it always reads the same amount of GB on the card

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Jun 4, 2018 13:58:23   #
Alafoto Loc: Montgomery, AL
 
Millismote wrote:
Sounds like fake news to me, maybe Trump is right.


What did The Donald have to say about formatting memory cards?

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Jun 4, 2018 14:00:57   #
PW4GDF
 
I realized the 4GB card in my workhorse camera was getting full. So I transferred 1700 something images onto a stick drive through the computer. I tend to just pick out the images I want and leave the rest on the card. Everything on the card is the same. No problems as far as I can see.

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Jun 4, 2018 14:12:01   #
wrangler5 Loc: Missouri
 
You MAY wear out a memory card from repeated write/erase cycles, but it will almost certainly become obsolete (i.e. too small) for camera use long before then.

Until recently I had some 512 MEGAbyte CF cards that I bought to use with my first digital camera, a Nikon D100 (they were a pretty big deal at the time, and were quite expensive, but my daughter did horse shows back then and the ability to not have to "change film" was one of the big plusses in my move to digital capture.) They worked perfectly reliably recording tens of thousands of images - and being reformatted in camera after every time the images were downloaded to the computer. But even if I had a camera that needed a CF card today I wouldn't be using them, simply because they've been outgrown. Same can be said for the 2GB SD cards I got when I moved up to a D7000 - much bigger cards are now available much cheaper, so the old/small cards just sit in the drawer.

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Jun 4, 2018 16:16:26   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
jackpinoh wrote:
The only bulk memory erasers I am aware of use very strong magnetic fields. I would never use one on a memory card unless I wanted to ensure that it could never be read or used again. Only format/reformat a memory card in the camera.


A magnetic bulk eraser won't affect a memory card.

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Jun 4, 2018 16:56:29   #
Stardust Loc: Central Illinois
 
Been formatting SD cards (and USB flash drives - same concept) since they came out and have never had a problem, except on a very cheap, off-brand one once. Theoretically you could actually GAIN a little memory because of stray bits left on the card when you just delete. I usually format in the computer after transferring photos because I have more control to verify the card afterwards but that way will normally require for you to "set" the card when reinserted in your camera - takes just a few seconds. Either way works but the computer way is "cleaner". (Of course now I only use higher end Extreme 90mb/sec Class 3-10 cards due to amount of video I also shoot on trips.

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Jun 4, 2018 17:00:57   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
Stardust wrote:

...
Theoretically you could actually GAIN a little memory because of stray bits left on the card when you just delete.
....



How?

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