Do U format NEW SD memory cards in camera?

[kaneohe]

Hopefully this works.....first ever poll following hard to find instructions
(not by Search) in FAQ. Two birds w/ 1 stone.....how to create poll and satisfying curiosity about subject.

I never knew until recently (2 yrs after starting) that I'm supposed to format NEW SD memory cards before use. If it's that important, why is it on pg 141 on owner's manual and not in the beginning. I've also collected a short list of friends and relatives who were similarly ignorant and yet seem not to have suffered (at least so far as they know) any consequences. At least in my circle, we seem to be in the majority. Hence my curiosity.........

 

[braumeister]

Every manufacturer has a slightly different idea of how to format a memory card.

The differences are tiny, so 98% of the time you would be fine just sticking the new card in the camera or whatever.

But those of us who have been bitten once too often by Murphy's Law feel safer spending the few seconds letting the device reformat the new card to its liking.

 

[kaneohe]

braumeister......thanks for your reply. Could you elaborate on the types of problems you have encountered? Was it an immediately obvious problem after you installed the new card or a subtle one that you discovered much
later? What was the nature of the problem? Perhaps camera and SD card manufacturer might be interesting too.

 

[RonBoyd]

My "incident" with Formatting cards in-camera versas not: I have three Canon Cameras that use CF cards. Since they are all Canon Cameras the naming convention is the same. I took a card Formatted with my oldest camera (with numbering in the 5 figure range) and put it in the newest camera (never having taken a shot). Sure enough, the new camera was re-set to the older model's numbering system -- creating a DAM nightmare. (Canon cameras numbering system cannot be set manually.)

I have never NOT formatted in-camera when changing cards since.

 

[braumeister]

Interesting response from Ron. I've never owned a Canon (strictly a Nikon guy), but that makes sense.

The kinds of problem I've seen are twofold.

First, the amount of available space on the card tends to vary, depending on how it's formatted. Not a big deal unless you need to squeeze one more photo or whatever onto it.

Second, the formatting process will frequently give the card a "name" (not sure what the exact terminology is), and the software that is compatible with that product (on another machine such as your desktop or laptop) often looks for that name and gets confused if the card has some other name.

 

[saluki9]

I format my cards every time I put them in the camera. It helps prevent file corruption

 

[CuppaJoe]

Excellent poll, Kaneohe.

I don't have a clue if there has been a problem; I sometimes use the same SD card in both a Canon camera and Kindle. Don't remember if I ever formatted them. I must have three of them floating around since Feb. 08.

 

[Dimsumkid]

Never on a new card

 

[Texas Proud]

Never on a new card... never any problems...

Have changed cards between cameras and have had two directories, one for each camera...

Have used the same SD card with a card reader to move files without formatting (wanted to keep the pics)...


My wife claims to have lost some pics once.... but I am not sure she did something or switched cards...

 

[kaneohe]

I format my cards every time I put them in the camera. It helps prevent file corruption

s9............Thanks for your input. Would you by any chance have a link
to the source of that last statement.?

 

[RonBoyd]

to the source of that last statement.?

Good question. The Owner's manual for the Canon 7D (Page 42) says the following:

"If the card is new or was previously formatted by another camera or personal computer, formatting the card with the camera is recommended."

A footnote is added:

"When the card is formatted or data is erased, only the file management information is changed. The actual data is not completely erased. Be aware of this when selling or discarding the card. When discarding the card, destroy yhe card physically to prevent personal data from being leaked."

 

[saluki9]

s9............Thanks for your input. Would you by any chance have a link
to the source of that last statement.?

I wish I had some hard scientific evidence, it's just a random piece of advice I've learned from the pros that I've bothered for advice.

I'm also a big fan of the photography blogger, guru, etc Ken Rockwell KenRockwell.com who makes a point on mentioning it in every camera review.

Every professional I've talked to seems to have a story of losing part of a shoot from corrupted files on a card.

 

[kaneohe]

Thanks, Ron and s..9, for your info.

Ron, your info on cards retain data even after formatting was interesting. I saw an article saying that if you format a card w/ pictures you wanted to save by mistake, you should stop taking pictures w/ that card to retain the ability to recover the lost pics.

s...9......thanks for that link. Lots of info! I probably didn't spend enough time at it, but I didn't find any reviews that mentioned the need to format.
I'm curious if the problems that people had were in the olden days when things were more primitive, or if they were cards that had been interchanged between various types of devices....e.g. computer to camera,
or perhaps cards that had been used and formatted before, perhaps in another device.

My question related to fresh out of the package cards.......tho I'm learning these things are used in many types of devices (not just camera) and it seems not likely that they all use the same format so how are they formatted when they are removed from the package brand new?

Anyway, I overcame my FOF (fear of) yesterday and formatted an HP branded card after doing a trial before formatting. No easy observable difference......same number of available pics before/after formatting.
Curious thing tho....in both cases, after taking 1 pic, the available when down by 2. Transfered 1 pic in each case successfully to the Mac so I guess I didn't destroy anything.

I think the poll is interesting.....relatively even split between the doers and the don'ters. Like everything in life, a tradeoff between risk and the cost of being safe (not much in this case, except the effort of learning).

 

[RonBoyd]

Like everything in life, a tradeoff between risk and the cost of being safe (not much in this case, except the effort of learning).

Yeah, the professional photographer (think Weddings) would, certainly, have more at risk than the typical tourist with a "shirt pocket" camera... or would they?