How often should memory card be formatted?

7 years 6 months ago #499622 by Cory J
I don't understand why there is so much ambiguity with certain things online.  I have googled this question and I find some who say daily, while others say only when you need it.  Then there are those that say when you download images, format the card immediately after.  

So what frequency is best practice?  


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7 years 6 months ago #499660 by effron
I format my cards following every download to computer, and copying to a portable hard drive....

Why so serious?
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7 years 6 months ago #499662 by PhotoViking

effron wrote: I format my cards following every download to computer, and copying to a portable hard drive....


:agree: Same thing here!

Festina lente!
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7 years 6 months ago #499672 by Lavender Photo
Anytime something funky seems to be happening to my card. I try to format more often, but it often slips my mind and I get nervous about deleting images that are backed up in a few different places.


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7 years 6 months ago #499688 by Otto F
Same here, when ever I download images to my computer


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7 years 6 months ago #499705 by DacrimL
As previously stated above......

......always as soon as the images are downloaded to the computer and checked to see if they are all there.....then format card & replace in camera ready for the next photographic stint.


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7 years 6 months ago #499742 by Peter Nunez
Every time after you download images.  


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7 years 6 months ago #499761 by cybersholt
It may also be worth saying that formatting it with the proper tool  ( From the SD Association ) vs the built in operating systems tools, can actually improve the card's performance in certain situations. Personally I'm not sure about how each specific camera handles reading / writing data but Arduino and the numbers are quite interesting.   

Thank you for making PhotographyTalk.com your photography community of choice.
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7 years 6 months ago #499765 by Screamin Scott
I always use the format feature in the camera to format SD cards when needed.

Scott Ditzel Photography

www.flickr.com/photos/screaminscott/

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7 years 6 months ago #499776 by Kenta

Screamin Scott wrote: I always use the format feature in the camera to format SD cards when needed.


+1 same here


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7 years 6 months ago #499804 by Danny Carson
After each download for me


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7 years 6 months ago #499854 by Happy Snapper
+1 after each download  

Gripped Nikon D810 --- Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 --- Sigma 10-20mm f/4 --- Nikon 50mm f/1.4 --- SB600
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6 years 8 months ago #537721 by Maxzz
I would see no reason to format the card on a regular basis, simply erasing all images on the card is sufficient. Bear in mind that most flash based media have a limit on the number of writes and so formatting is going to help you reach that limit a little bit faster.The only upside to formatting, which is probably where this idea came from, is that it can be faster than file delete. That I might do if the card was full or close to it. However, if I'm transferring anything less than half the capacity of the card, I'd probably just erase the files afterwards.
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