Does DELETING Photos This Way DAMAGE Your Camera?

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Күн бұрын

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In this week’s episode, we discuss if deleting photos can damage your camera. Who would have thought that deleting photos from your SD card would be such a controversial topic with a multitude of different ways to do it. Over the years I've heard of four different ways to accomplish this and it appears that all photographers transfer and delete their photos in one of these four ways covered in this video. But, one approach stands out amongst them all as the best, safest, and most convenient way to do this, which I discuss in this video. So if you've been wondering if you're saving and deleting your photos in the best way, this video is for you! I hope you enjoy this week's episode and as always thanks so much for watching! - Mark D.
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Пікірлер: 568

@MarkDenneyPhoto 5 ай бұрын

✅QUESTION: What’s your SD card method?

@csc-photo 5 ай бұрын

I've narrowed mine down to Delkin Black and ProGrade Cobalt or Gold

@corykphotography 5 ай бұрын

I use Lexar Professional mostly.

@mjsvitek 5 ай бұрын

Lexar for me 🤷🏻‍♂️

@patrickmorgan7173 5 ай бұрын

Currently using Delkin in the Mirrorless

@MarkHoudePhotography 5 ай бұрын

I import directly from the card into my Lightroom catalogue. Using this method, the files are copied to a new folder that I create during the Lr import and I’m done! After confirming, I’ll then format the card. Although on large trips, I’ll often put the cards aside for a bit just to be safe and have a temporary backup before formatting.

@mjsvitek 5 ай бұрын

I always just format the whole card in the camera after transferring everything to the computer and AFTER COMPLETING BACKUP.

@raystone5985 5 ай бұрын

Same here

@Chris-NZ 5 ай бұрын

Ditto last 18 years, and yes never wipe the card till you have two copies elsewhere 😀

@alexis-llemay8064 5 ай бұрын

Good idea. I do it too. I read somewhere that formatting the card in camera is the best way to reduce any way of data error and card failure.

@Venghous1 5 ай бұрын

Ditto…. I put the card into the reader… transfer to three different hard drives.. put the card back in the camera and then format…

@scottdimond6763 5 ай бұрын

Exactly! Why would anyone ever consider any other approach?

@kqschwarz 5 ай бұрын

I believe that either formatting or deleting individual images does erase or delete anything. If it did, imagine the amount of time it would take your camera or computer to write a "0" to every memory position on the card; it would take tens of minutes for large cards. Formatting a card creates a few folders, but most importantly formatting creates a new blank spreadsheet of memory locations for all the files stored on the card. The spreadsheet is invisible to users, but tells the camera or computer where all the bits of each file is located. Deleting one or more images from a card simply nulls out the memory locations for those files on the memory card, it does not actually delete the image data. Formatting a card simply creates a new blank spreadsheet. The reason formatting a card is so nice for the card's speed (health) is you start with a blank spreadsheet with all memory locations marked as "available". Deleting individual images creates a larger spreadsheet over time that must be managed. Since memory cards are not spinning disks, there is little to no extra time managing a large spreadsheet vs a new blank spreadsheet, but there is more chance of read/write error affecting the former, which is why formatting the card is generally considered the preferred method. All the best.

@spike62002 5 ай бұрын

You are correct, performing a format on an SD card or a hard drive simply erases the file allocation table and in some cases does a quick check of the card or drive for any known errors. A low level format however does go through the contents of the drive erasing the individual entries and therefore takes longer, this method provides a more secure erase of the files themselves.

@dkickelbick 5 ай бұрын

@@spike62002 Furthermore, a total erasing of the SD would reduce to lifespan of the SD card dramatically, because the memory "cell" of an SD card has an limit amount of write-cycles.

@peterjohnson1739 5 ай бұрын

This is true of any computer file stored on any media. A simple erase is quick because it just marks the space in the file allocation table as empty (free). At this point the files are still recoverable using specialist software. If you want to securely delete a file you need to overwrite its contents with something and then mark it as deleted. Security software for “shredding” files on a hard drive will optionally do this several times to ensure that the data cannot be recovered. Not necessary with photographs on an SD card but very necessary for personal file on a hard drive or SSD before scrapping or selling them!

@jayward4600 5 ай бұрын

Format writes zeros to the directory not individual sectors. Like Quick Format on a computer. Tells the directory they are available for overwrite.

@georgedavall9449 5 ай бұрын

Excellent comment and contribution

@rlfisher 5 ай бұрын

Hi Mark! Great survey of the alternative approaches. I do not format the card in the camera until the files are not only on my desktop but also the desktop is backed up to a local external drive *AND* the cloud. Once burned...

@duringthemeanwhilst 5 ай бұрын

I have one extra step after transferring but before formatting, and that's to make sure I have a back-up. I only format once I have that second copy safely saved 🙂

@nickholden3976 5 ай бұрын

Full formatting also marks any bad sectors on the SD card so that the camera does not write data to them. Not so much of an issue these days - but another plus for formatting.

@davidf6326 5 ай бұрын

I didn't know that, Nick, so thanks for the useful information - something of a rarity on the internet 😊I've always tended to use 'format' in camera to clean down cards anyway, but thinking about it now, I've never really done so for any better reason than it somehow seemed like the best option. Pleased to know there is a benefit, even if I was blissfully unaware of it.

@jeffissimo1221 5 ай бұрын

Yeah I never delete from the card. I just reformat the card in camera after downloading the card.

@sh91899 5 ай бұрын

You'd have to run through all of the storage to ID bad cells. I think this is called Deep Formatting or Secure Erase which writes zeros to the flash cells.

@jockturner1547 5 ай бұрын

It’s been fascinating reading these comments. I was always under the impression that formatting was common practice, and rather obvious. Simply shoot your media, manage your data however you do (good practice to get into is when making a backup, backup from the card, not from the hdd you just offloaded to. Reduces chance of having a corrupted file made from the offload process duplicated) then format the card before ever shoot/job. Keeps the cards as healthy as possible and also ensures you have as much space on the card as possible

@thomaslilly5834 5 ай бұрын

Well, there is Quick Format, and there is Full Format. On a Desktop, you'll have both options, with Full Format doing exactly what you say is does but taking an incredibly long time to complete, whereas Quick Format does not (imho). I am pretty sure it is not possible to do a Full Format using your camera, this is always the Quick version, which does NOT look for bad sectors.

@kristianvrum8979 5 ай бұрын

Option #5: As a Canon user, I've always connected the camera to my computer via USB-cable and imported the photos with Canon EOS Utility. When I pack my camera gear for the next trip, I format the cards in-camera. In my case, this means that the cards are never removed from the camera.

@LadyFairChildVideo 5 ай бұрын

same here, never had a problem this way , doing ti professionally with digital files for 15 years.

@bobair2 5 ай бұрын

I rarely do use the usb cable and all my cameras are Canons but If I use my CF 256 GB card then I use my usb cable as the computers I own will read only CF cards under 256 GB directly from the card.I fill up cards quite often and have to replace them with empty ones so I seldom use cable.

@Photo-zl6wt 5 ай бұрын

In response to the Canon EOS Utility for me success was mixed when copying via USB. 5 or 6 times it would hang halfway through the files transfer and had to kill and restart. I think I tracked it down to power-save mode going active on the R7, encase others are having that same issue. I find it too much of a bother to change the power mode before using EOS. I never had issues with the built in SD card slot on my Mac M1 so I go with that now. I also choose tough SD cards to avoid becoming another broken SD card story when I use them as removable solid state media.

@christer1415 5 ай бұрын

A minus with this is that it's often USB 2 in the Canon camera. I haven't checked on all but I would consider my R8 new enough and expensive enough but yet they haven't put USB 3 chips in. The read speed of even value cards (which can have poor write speed) is several times that with the right card reader (internally it can be connected in a variety of ways, externally you need an USB 3 one).

@davestokes3446 4 ай бұрын

If you never remove the card from the camera, you never get to a photoshoot and find you haven't a card in the camera. Scott Kelby has an excellent video on workflow for taking images off the camera which includes not deleting/formating the card until you have at least 3 other copies of all the images.

@michaelhale416 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for another great video. It is good to know that what I thought was my lazy way of dealing with the memory card is actually the recommended way. I always save my files, back-up my files, and then format the card in camera, Really enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work.

@charlesfisher2134 5 ай бұрын

Great information as usual keep up the good work thank you very much.

@mikebartow9415 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Mark! There is another 5th way. That is if money is not a problem. Just always insert a new card and save the old one in whatever file system you devise. Just erasing a photo from the card eventually fragments it too much and formatting it will preserve that file structure. You might want to mention you cannot format the card with your computer and reader as this will format for your computer’s usage. It must always be done in camera.

@jillrsimmons 5 ай бұрын

I was going to ask why you couldn't just format the card after you dumped the media on it, but never realized the file format was different from one item to another. Thanks for this notation in your comment!

@os6219 5 ай бұрын

You’d better format properly any new card before actually using it. That is the only way to ensure that your camera will actually write correctly on it

@alanwilson7792 5 ай бұрын

@@jillrsimmons - It's not that the file formats are "different" - My Nikon uses "ExFAT" but appreciate that the software implementation in camera and on your computer are probably not the same (different O/S and firmware routines) - ExFat is pretty much established these days, but there might possibly be a difference between them or one of them may have a bug. The most important thing to do is the photo capturing, you don't want the capturing of a once-in-a-lifetime event to fail so if you were to be faced with a choice of bugs go with the camera one and your capture should at least work. If reading the card fails on the computer for any reason at least you have the backup of plugging the card back into the camera and trying to read it that way or by using a different computer. Incidentally, for deleting images in camera, the data isn't overwritten - it's just the directory entry that is marked as deleted and the space used by the deleted file is returned back to the file system for reuse. The code to do this repeatedly can get quite complex and over time the drive becomes very fragmented (hence defrag on older pcs) and as a result there is a higher chance of buggy code than for a simple format which just has to write an empty directory structure over top of the old one (plus the bad sector check).

@lengt001 5 ай бұрын

Hi Mark good explanation. The best way to use memorycard is to format them in the camera to use. After backup :). What I also good be a good idee to copy the files to an external drive, Cloud or NAS. And ofcourse an other way is to copy the files to external drive, clod or NAS and save the sd-card. For me once I was Lucky to have the SD-cards when a drive was crypted with bitlocker by a mistake of my system-engineer. No recovery key so no exess to the files. Also a tip when a card fails during a shoot, do not format it then. Take a new formatteren card and use the recovery software from the munafactor to try to recovery you already taken items. Had it once in the early days and recoverd them with Sandisk-recovery.

@sh91899 5 ай бұрын

@@alanwilson7792 most of that is correct up until the fragmentation part. Deleting the file table tells the camera to start writing at the beginning of the card. There will be no fragmentation at all. Defrag on old computers was to move the data outward to the faster edge of the spinning disk and to consolidate the data to reduce seeks that slow down the throughput.

@stevearita3267 5 ай бұрын

Very helpful advice, thank you for doing this video, appreciate it so much!

@mikedoiron3372 5 ай бұрын

I've been using the format method for years and it works great! Excellent video as usual!!

@jbruner4263 5 ай бұрын

Same here. I've always used the format method and have never had an issue.

@SherisView-px2jj 5 ай бұрын

Thanks, Mark! Great information

@thomashudzik3519 5 ай бұрын

Hello Mark, Thank you for providing this very informative video. Again, I learned a few things that you shared within the video. Thank you.

@bkc1965 5 ай бұрын

Very informative video as usual. Thanks for sharing. My first memory card was a 2MB CF card in 1997 or maybe 1998 for my first digital camera. I could take about 10 shots on that camera and I was completely stoked about it. Then I got a 64MB I think and thought that was HUGE. A few years later I bought what I thought was the end-all in memory cards, a 4GB Microdrive. I was sure that I would never need a larger card....haha. Those were the good ole days....not.

@David_Quinn_Photography 5 ай бұрын

oh the good old days when actually not formatting the cards could brick them.

@georgevcelar 5 ай бұрын

The good old days when memory cards costed more than your house!

@deltatom2459 2 ай бұрын

thanks for that video .... that answered some relevant questions ... 👍

@gnuhapi 5 ай бұрын

Thanx for the info on regularly formatting cards. I learn something from every one of your videos.

@John-Shutterlyphotos 5 ай бұрын

Cool Stuff! Thank you

@TheKnags 5 ай бұрын

Hi Mark, Thanks for the great video. One new way for deleting the photos, I recently learnt, is to protect the photos while reviewing them in the camera display and then deleting remining a feature available on my Nikon Z8. However, there is a caveat, sometimes I need to play with the exposure etc to decide if I want to keep the photo. I have also used Light room classic feature of deleting all the rejected photos. Once again thanks for all your teaching as always.

@mattzr2blazer 5 ай бұрын

Great info. Thank you.

@JEmmertz 5 ай бұрын

Always good to have consistent routine in this part of the workflow. Nowadays I have double CFexpress cards in my main body and still use the same routine that I use for the bodies that take CFast. Before 1st use: format in camera. After that, I just create new folders for each new location (or other major change during my shooting session(s)). I never reset the numbering of the files, and I never delete individual files (however bad) or entire folders. When a session is over I mostly hook the camera up to my PC and download everything - if pressed for time I do use an external card reader for that import. Import process also makes sure that there's, firstly, a folder for each day that I've been shooting, and then under that it places the folders from the card, and lastly it puts the individual files with a correct numbering under each of those folders. I know that the number on the last imported photo should match the last number from camera/card, and when all that is done and completed, then I format the card in camera and I will be fully ready for taking the camera and the cards out for the next session. So far I haven't messed it up or missed anything in import, so my routine works for me. Afterwards there could be a need for culling and deletions, but then it is all done on the PC. I can mark/tag photos in the camera if I do know that there is something that must be deleted, but it won't happen until the file is on my hard drives.

@tdsmith 5 ай бұрын

Back in the day, if my father found a landscape location he liked, he would take two film images of the same scene. One was his use-it shot, and one was the backup shot. Your explanation of the SD card file(s) transfer to your computer and subsequent deletion of files from the SD card or formatting of the card is excellent. Most SD cards of 128 GB would hold about three thousand images from a modern digital camera. I back up the day's shoot from my SD card to a designated folder on my laptop and back up that folder to a cloud location ASAP. Using this method means, in the worst-case scenario, I have only lost one day's shooting. If you don't backup to the cloud or a NAS (network-attached storage device) device, you are trading one digital device for another.

@johnwinter6061 4 ай бұрын

I used to do that for weddings. One colour. One black and white.

@GauklerOlaf 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for spending some time with you.

@MrJudahschwartz 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info

@joncothranphotography9375 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for reassuring me that I am doing this correctly. Have a great day!

@hilleviupmanis8687 5 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@kevinrutter4542 5 ай бұрын

Great video once again mark

@elyt 5 ай бұрын

Thank goodness. That is actually what I have been doing since 2018 😌 Thank you sir!

@davidfryman1028 5 ай бұрын

Great information! I have been the same method of pulling the card, transferring to computer, and then formatting the card in camera since about 2010. I've never had a card fail.

@kenjonesstudio 5 ай бұрын

Hey Mark, I had an issue a while back where my card wouldn't hold more that a few images. I was in panic haha. I used to just drag and drop to thrash. I've since been formatting and never had a problem 😊.

@sh91899 5 ай бұрын

yeah, you have to clear the trash on the computer to edit the file table so the camera sees the card as empty even though the files are all still sitting on the card.

@jasoncrosby4052 5 ай бұрын

Woot! Reformatting has always been my preferred method for deleting photos off a card. Glad I don't need to change this process.

@JohnMcCormackREALTOR 5 ай бұрын

Great Video, as usual, Mark. I do things a little differently, at least as a Lightroom user. I allow Lightroom to import directly off the card, and then the created file structure drops the raw files into the catalog. Also being a Mac user I use an app called SD Formater. I'll open that app after I'm confident my files are transferred correctly. The SD Formater allows two options either delete the files on the card or "fully format" that card. The full format is not quick, but it is thorough.

@peterjohnson1739 5 ай бұрын

I always get Lightroom Classic (LrC) to do the importing. It saves time because there is no need to manually create a folder, copy from the card to the folder, eject the card and then import into LrC. LrC does the lot one one operation and can (optionally) add shoot specific keywords at the same time.

@devklepacki 5 ай бұрын

Maybe reconsider doing a fast format instead of full format each time. From my understanding fast format just marks all the SD's space as available to write, without actually writting anything to the card. But the full format actually overrides entire space of your card with empty data, so it's a lot more unncessary additional strain on the card. That's from what I know. Also that's how "safe formatting" works so do data can be recovered from a disk - everything is just overridden several times with random data.

@JohnMcCormackREALTOR 5 ай бұрын

@@devklepacki Good info, I did not realize the full format was doing this to the card. Thank you!

@granitfog 5 ай бұрын

Formatting the SD card clears previous data, so you don't have to delete the data in a separate step on the card before formating. After I transfer data, I just put the card back into the camera and format it. Ooops, I just got to the part of the video where you mentioned this. :-) Regarding delete vs formating. A better analogy is: deleting removes the address of a house from a city master map, but the house is still there until the city decides to build another house in that location. Formating bulldozes the entire city and creats a new master map to use for house allocation.

@devklepacki 5 ай бұрын

I personally never format right away after copying the photos, but rather right before next photoshoot 🙂 Not a big difference, but it's just another backup copy, just in case something copied incorrectly to my desktop, which can acutally happen. Sometimes I even forgot to format it before the next photoshoot, but that's not big of a deal since hundreads of gigabytes on V30 SDcards are so cheap.

@rayjennings3637 5 ай бұрын

I certainly learnt that lesson a few years ago and cycle my SD cards as a result. On my computer I create a folder with the location and the date of the shoot. Inside that folder are two folders labelled 'Originals' and one labelled 'Copies', with a full set of shots from the card in each. The 'Copies' folder is the one I work with in Photoshop. I then put the card in a little plastic box. Once I'm satisfied that all my post-processing is done, which could take weeks, the finished shots are transferred to wherever I might want to permanently keep them. The 'Copies' folder is then deleted and the time and location stamped folder is stored on my 8TB NAS. Only then can the card/s be formatted back in the camera. It might all seem a bit OCD but it works for me and it takes only a minute or three longer to create the folders and copy the files across.

@devklepacki 5 ай бұрын

@@rayjennings3637 Yea! Actually cycling SD cards is such a good idea. It's certainly OCD (haha) but who's to judge? At least you finanly have the best solution to the fear everyone has just before performing a card format. You can't lose anything if the photos are already post processed and only then you touch the original storage.

@eleonoraannigoni 5 ай бұрын

Hi Mark, thanks for sharing! I normally cut the folder from my SD card, paste it to my hard drive, and rename it. And every now and again I format the SD card

@trishfre2 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Mark. At least I know I’m on the right track. I transfer my files to computer then replace card in camera and Format, even if I only have 10 files. I find it’s easier to do that and to have a clean card for my next adventure.

@tonykeltsflorida 5 ай бұрын

When I backup the SD card to my computer and my external SSD drive, I use the format on the camera. It is all part of my backup process. Good Video.

@bartjes2509 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Mark, my workflow is to have multiple cards in a waterproof hardcase. When I'm doen photographing: 1) Transfer to folder on PC 2) Write-protect the card 3) Sort out photo's & post-process 4) Create (multiple) backup(s) op sorted raw and processed photos 5) Remove write protection of card and use again later In that way Ialways have multiple backups of my raw files, it saved me once

@d53101 5 ай бұрын

Very informative video Mark. I normally reformat my SD Cards regularly. Here’s what happened once to me. I got out on a shoot and my camera could not save any files. After a few times checking I looked at the SD Card and the little write protect slider on the side was missing. Only having one card with me meant that shoot was abandoned. Somehow I think the slider came out after I dropped the card on the floor that morning. So one more thing to watch for.

@keithlevkoff8579 5 ай бұрын

Indeed... And cards CAN become corrupted in ways that render them unusable... With the current low cost of media you should ALWAYS carry multiple cards... (And LABEL them so there is no confusion later.)

@d53101 4 ай бұрын

@@keithlevkoff8579 I learned my lesson on that one. Extra card now always.

@puppet_master 5 ай бұрын

Slight disagree, better to minimize physical movements on the card. If possible to transfer from the camera directly it's a better than pulling it out each time. I'll add, the computer's SD slot is what will ware down first, but that's best for both. But yes, formatting does a lot of good things to a card including marking bad sectors that might have cropped up.

@peterjohnson1739 5 ай бұрын

That’s always been my belief. Minimise physical wear and tear on the card and camera’s card slot by importing using the camera to computer USB to USB cable provided by the camera manufacturer with the camera.

@marchinderickx8193 5 ай бұрын

You're absolutely right. I don't understand all these people who eject their memory card from the camera and put it in a PC or card reader. The SD card is the most fragile of memory cards and the less you handle it, the better. Don't let anyone tell me it's faster. A few minutes of transfer while the photos were taken several hours before. Most cameras allow cable transfer. I hope they don't remove the SIM card from their smartphone to download the pictures...

@greyhikes5236 5 ай бұрын

After running out of space on my card during a wedding shoot I decided to delete individual images that I didn't like to give me some more space. After a few deletions a card error appeared then the card became unreadable. Luckily a friend knew how to recover the SD card. This has happened to me twice in my early days of photography. Transfer to PC and format in camera and shoot to two cards in the camera.

@johnmcdevitt4750 5 ай бұрын

I needed this validation

@user-mj7ph1hl6e 5 ай бұрын

I take a very different approach, badly messed up shots get individually deleted, each project gets saved to its own folder on the computer, the computer is backed up to the domestic NAS. If the SD card gets anywhere near capacity, it gets replaced with a new one and the old one is filed off-site (given to my camera mad son for safe keeping) I started buying film fifty years ago, SD cards are incredibly cheap and awe inspiring value.

@stuart1159 4 ай бұрын

I do the same, SD cards are relatively cheap form of storage, so why not keep a backup set of raw files

@JanieP53 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for this informative video! I load my files to an EXT HD. Once I know they are all on there, I then put it back in my camera and format the card.

@Michael_Robinson 5 ай бұрын

I agree with your transfer-then-format method, but I add one wrinkle: I have an extra set of SD cards that I carry as spares. Once I fill up the cards in the camera, I transfer the files to my computer, then place them face-down in my SD card holder to designate that they have files on them. I take the last set, put them in my camera and format them. This way, if something happens and I lose the files on my computer, I can go back and retrieve them again from the cards. It usually takes months to fill-up cards, so I have that extra backup for that period of time. Of course I also have Time Machine running on my Mac and I do periodic off-site backups.

@sh91899 5 ай бұрын

You can instantly do off-site backup by taking your inverted card and putting it in your car. As is, when you copy the files and invert it at your desk, the backups are exposed to house fire, flood, theft and misplacement.

@Michael_Robinson 5 ай бұрын

@@sh91899 Hey, that's a great idea!

@richardhutson4371 4 ай бұрын

As always, your explanations are clear and concise. I use the format function to clean my SD cards, and I've also heard that deleting individual files from the SD card while it's still in the camera is not a good idea because it will adversely affect the numbering system. I don't know if it's true for every camera, but why take a chance.

@timotmon 5 ай бұрын

I've been doing the format method for years. I never even knew that people once thought it was a bad practice.

@cgan2013 5 ай бұрын

You should save another copy of your files onto an external SSD drive. Computer hard drives are prone to failure. Place a second copy on an external drive for safety purposes. I know it may sound redundant but when an internal hard drive fails and you lose everything, you learn quickly. I never reformat my SD cards until I have two copies of my files on two separate hard drives.

@roccop33437 5 ай бұрын

I also keep my raw files on Amazon Prime ... it's free - why not?

@65WZ 5 ай бұрын

0. Insert the card in a reader. 1. I use Adobe Lightroom to import the image files to the designated destination(s), while renaming the files to this format (YYMMDD|HHMMSS|original-file-name). This is done by Lightroom during the import function, using the date & time in the EXIF metadata.. 1.1. The destination folders are organized/structured by quarter/year (Q1 - 01-03 | 2024). 2. I manually copy the new folders to 4 different drives, using the same structure. 3. I process all new photos. 4. Before starting on my next photography endeavor, I format the card from the camera. If I change cameras, I do a low-level format (there is a checkbox for it). I had a Drobo RAID storage that I use as the main storage, but multiple drives failed simultaneously, and I lost roughly 70% of all my digital photography (since 1996). That's why it's ALWAYS important to have backups, that's why I backup to 4 different drives. EDIT: I left out a couple of steps for geotagging the photos, as I didn't think it was relevant.

@elizabethbendik5795 5 ай бұрын

Thanks as always for a wonderful, helpful video. Just wondering if there is a maximum number of times one should format an SD Card...can they be used indefinitely or is there a finite number of times to be used?

@manueldinisphotography 5 ай бұрын

I have to say you blow mine mind away with the towel analogy, granted I am an IT person so it took me a minute to grasp it. This my date myself but I will give you another way to understand the formatting vs erasing. Think of it as a Kardex System, on one side, you have a file cabinet with multiple drawers and separation inside the drawers, each drawer and separation has an identification and holds folders (files/pictures) with information. On the other side you have a set of, let us say, library cards that record where a file/picture was stored inside the cabinet, so when you want to find it again, you would look for it in the library card which then will point you to the physical location of the file/picture inside the cabinet, so you don't have to peruse the file cabinet drawers until you find the file/picture. So deleting your photos is like taking a cabinet drawer or folders inside the drawer to the trash, while getting rid of the photos, it does remove the entry from the library card (a bit more complicated in reality but just trying to get the analogy across). Formatting on the other hand will take the files/pictures and library card to the trash and get a new set of library cards to start over. Hopefully not over complicated.

@Niteskate1 2 ай бұрын

Thanks Mark, I did kind of wonder which method the manufacturers recommend, it's not something you often think about until it's maybe too late. And yes I know first hand how long it takes to clear all your pictures off your desk top after mistakenly dragging them there.

@leniehulse1621 5 ай бұрын

Interesting! I always wonder if deleting in camera is wise!

@RichardUchytil 4 ай бұрын

I heard about this a long time ago (10 years?). I remember reading it was the best way to keep your card fresh. I've been doing it ever since and have never had memory card issues. For the past year I've been taking TONS of photos every weekend for a property management company. Same memory card I've always used. Format the card after I get the photos off and still no card issues. :)

@radpixels5580 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for this video! I'm definitely GUILTY of just deleting files on my cards, but rarely format afterwards. Thanks for the explanation ...it makes sense! A new routine starting today! 🙂👍👏 (PS - Missing the trash can icon, and scattering files all over your desktop made me chuckle .. I've done that a few times...but not with anywhere near 5k files! 😲😆)

@QuarkCharmed 5 ай бұрын

The way the file system works in SD cards, it really makes no difference. Delete all files or format the card - the state of the card will be basically the same. Quick format can be faster, that's the only advantage.

@NECPER 5 ай бұрын

Agree!!

@stetsonhillsphotography5542 5 ай бұрын

I've always followed the formatting method; it doesn't necessarily erase everything, it resets the file structure. As an IT guy, we dealt with the same issues on pc's. Just formatting didn't really get rid of everything, it resets the FAT (File Allocation Table) or the NTFS file structure; after that, new files just write over old data. To fully format and erase everything, one has to do a low level format. In the case of Canon, this is what they say about low level formatting: "." As someone else mentioned below, this type of formatting also marks any bad sectors on the card. Realize, though, that over time the card will eventually deteriorate since all forms of data storage, whether on a spinning hard drive (magnetic) or SSD type (which SD cards have similarity to), eventually the data cells will stop recording. I don't know how many writes/rewrites the typical SD card will take, but I'm quite sure some lab or other has measured it and has published the results. All in all, though, you are correct in that formatting will preserve the life of the SD card over just deleting files as you go.

@marchinderickx8193 5 ай бұрын

Finally someone who knows what he's talking about rather than repeating rumors...

@wismokey 5 ай бұрын

Good discussion. My Nikon D850 uses an XQD card as the main card and an SD as a backup. I do not have an XQD reader so I do transfer and format in camera. I only format after I have at least two external backups. Also, the XQD cards do not have a switch to lock the card. I rarely use the SD card but when I do, I follow the same procedure.

@LSqrd1960 5 ай бұрын

I generally put the SD card into computer, then cut/paste to my computer. I have a file folder for each month for unprocessed files. I don’t swap cards between cameras. I only reformat occasionally. I think I’ve only had one card get funky, the contacts got worn and I had some struggles getting the computer to read. I run my 2x Fuji card slots as primary/backup so I always have 2 copies.

@raagtop363 5 ай бұрын

I've been using this cut and paste method since 2007 and haven't "burned up" a card yet. I still occasionally format in my camera(s). Watching the video and reading the comments, I'm beginning to think as though I've been reckless for the past 17 years!

@hughwhullphotography6148 5 ай бұрын

Another informative video. As to deleting photos, I have another method. I wait until my sd card is filled and then I replace it with a new one. The old one is locked and saved with all it's data/pictures as another backup to my external hard drives.

@Vaportrail56 5 ай бұрын

1-Take SD card out of camera and insert in computer 2-Open picture files, go through pictures and pick the good ones and delete the bad ones 3-Transfer the good pictures to a file I already have under the cameras name on the computer (I have several cameras so I keep the pictures separated by camera) 4-Then I delete all the remaining pictures off of the SD card Thanks for the info, I really was wondering about this.

@hellopsp180 5 ай бұрын

IMHO the best practice for multiple card workflow. take Card 1 and transfer files to the PC take Card 2 and pop that into your Camera + Format the card. Keep Card 1 "Unformatted" in your camera bag. When Card 2 fills up or when you are ready to edit the pictures from your excursion - Repeat the steps above with alternating cards. This way you always have a 2nd Copy with you always, as the original card is not overwritten until you format it before use. You will just need to make sure to format it, So you can actually use the full capacity.

@AmericanPatriot447 5 ай бұрын

Same way I do it thanks!

@ericbeaton7211 5 ай бұрын

I appreciate that you are probably a far more experienced photographer than I am . To me photography is a hobby and I don’t consider myself to be much better than a happy snapper. But in my experience most of what you say is total bollocks. While I agree it is good practice to format your SD cards from time to time, in 15-16 yearsI of using Kodak, Fujifilm, Olympus, Pentax, Sony and Panasonic cameras I have as far as I can remember seldom had the experience where one camera could not read the data from an SD card that had been in a camera from a different brand. Having been burned a couple of times in the past , where I have deleted photos from an SD card in computer. And have been left with SD cards that are unusable I transfer all my photos to computer via the USB cable that came with the camera and then , after a couple of months,delete the photos that I don’t think I need from the SD card in camera. Anyway that is what works for me.

@user-pr3jh1vn7i 5 ай бұрын

I only format a new card. When it's full I copy the files to a dedicated portable Hard-Drive on my PC then fill out the date & location info on a small envelope and put in the SD card. The it gets stored in a safe place, I use a steel Ammo can. Just format a new card and were good to go. I always have the original image data. I enjoy your videos. Steve

@DanaPushie 5 ай бұрын

I'm sure others may have experience different than mine but, I have never had a problem with an SD card. I transfer via file manager, from SD to a new folder on my laptop, backup to an external SSD drive and bulk delete the files on the SD card and remove the card from my computer. My external drive also does automatic, scheduled updates of any changes to my picture files. I only occasionally re-format the card in my camera. I have never had a problem with the file structure on my SD cards after the original file formatting in a camera. Different cards for different cameras. Perhaps I'm just lucky. Great topic Mark. Cheers

@user-kk3hz6oc3z 5 ай бұрын

I never ever delete pictures in camera, or take my cards out of the camera as well. I transfer my pictures to my computer, always by a cabel, and then edited the photos in my computer. Finishing my editing, I erase my pictures by formatting the card in my camera. Never ever run into a failure, so this is my advice how to do it.

@mariodennisVA 5 ай бұрын

When I shot Nikon there were many anecdotal reports in the Facebook Nikon group about deleting images in the camera leading to corrupted cards. There were enough of them that I chose to go with the upload/reformat method. Never had problems.

@apeel2008 5 ай бұрын

My Canon cameras have a choice when formatting as ‘Quick Format’ vs ‘Low Level Format’. I am not 100% sure what Low Level format means exactly, but I think Quick Format just deletes the directory. I always use Low Level (takes a bit longer), but I think it is more of a ‘deep clean’ and better to perform than the ‘quick format’. What are your thoughts on the differences and which do you think is better?

@bobair2 5 ай бұрын

I find in my experience using either format type, it makes zero difference and once the card is full again the previous images will been gone forever as they become overwritten. I have been using Canon digital cameras for 20 years and have never had any card issues. If permanently deleting images is a must then use your computer on a slow format and then use the camera to format yet again-the images,etc will be gone forever.

@apeel2008 5 ай бұрын

@@bobair2 thanks!

@stevengeorges9046 5 ай бұрын

1) Transfer my photo shoot to a folder on my Mac. 2) Keep the photos on my card(s) as a backup. I shoot with two cards. I only delete the photos from that shoot on my cards AFTER I turned the photos in to my client. 3) Only after I finish and turn in the photos do I delete the photos from that assignment using a photo grid-type program such as Photo Mechanic so I can see what photos I am deleting. *This is an extra step, but it has saved me a few times when I forgot to copy a photo shoot to my computer. I also once had a computer hard disk fail before I turned in the photos, but I had the card as an emergency backup. I would rather be safe than fast.

@rrijnders 5 ай бұрын

Option #4 for the win!

@RiccardoPareschi 5 ай бұрын

Totally agree. I normally format my cards every 2/3 transfer to my computer and after a second backup, just in case…

@mark_barrentine 5 ай бұрын

For those who have cameras that save camera settings to the SD card (user mode settings, complete camera settings, and LUT), the format option isn't a good practice as these files would also be deleted.

@blujeans9462 5 ай бұрын

The format method has been the industry standard since I've been using digital cameras (early 2000s) - but I'm guessing back then we would read the instruction manuals much more carefully. :-) What I get confused with is when after downloading everything off my card into my computer - I will wait a little bit, then select the eject command (a lot of folks just pull the card or usb cable out when they are done - but that was always considered a big no-no). Usually the response is 'ok to eject media' - but on occasion it will say it is still in use. Sometimes waiting a bit more or going to another folder will cure the issue - sometimes not. I can only wait so long and eventually I just pull the cable - but I hate doing that! I always wonder why it thinks it is still in use. And of course I worry. lol!

@1701odin 5 ай бұрын

Pulling a USB cable out without "ejecting" media is totally fine these days, unless you have gone in and specifically made changes to the configuration. It used to cause issues back in the day when it was a new technology, but these days it's not an issue. Of course this is assuming you're not in the middle of reading/writing when you unplug.

@peterjohnson1739 5 ай бұрын

The “in use” message could be caused by having one or more of the files open in another program. Perhaps you’ve had a look at them on your screen … I’d suggest systematically closing all running programs until the Eject command works without giving you the error. If it’s still happening and you don’t want to ignore the message shut the computer down completely and then remove the card. The main risk with removing a card that’s not been correctly ejected is that if you remove a card when it’s being written to it may be corrupted. From what you say it seems highly unlikely that your computer is writing to the card.

@barnabusmario 5 ай бұрын

Great video, but where did you get the hoodie?

@jpr-tech 5 ай бұрын

@5:39 that is my workflow with my FUJIFILM X-H1 too! I feel that my SD Card is more reliable formatting it regularly. As opposed to just deleting from my mac.

@chrisbartlett8146 4 ай бұрын

Good Advise I usually clear my cards now by formating and even if i have deleted the files from the computer which is slower I still reformat the cards. Fuji makes this really easy and is very fast.

@Pengranger 5 ай бұрын

Before formatting the card I always ensure I’ve completed my backups of the photos on my MacBook. One copy on the MacBook, one in Time Machine, and one in RAID, which will backup the cloud.

@Deg99 5 ай бұрын

I've been doing exactly as you say the best way is....for many years with no issues.... 🙂

@cmichaelhaugh8517 5 ай бұрын

I use a variation on the “format” method: I shoot with a Nikon Z7ii and a D750. In my vest I carry a waterproof plastic case with 2 batteries, 2 CF Express cards, and 2 SD cards. I transfer files from the cards to my computer at the end of each day. When a card gets close to full and everything on it has been transferred, I put in my case, put the oldest card in the case into the camera, then format it. That way, the computer has been backed up multiple times before the data transferred off the card gets erased. If anything goes wrong with the computer, I have weeks of photos still on the cards in my case.

@DigitalImageStudio 5 ай бұрын

I always put the card in an external fast reader, dump to local storage, and format my cards in camera prior to the next job (therefore leaving erasure of the last set of images until it's absolutely required). Every six months or so I do a low level scan of my storage card media on my PC to check for bad sectors, in the case of SD cards I use the free formatter available from the SD Association.

@EdHelwig 5 ай бұрын

I also use option 4. As another backup option, I leave the media on the card in case I do some dumb on my desktop and still need the files. My habit is to format card before I start a new photo session.

@DavidLeighAlsace 5 ай бұрын

I run on Windows and I simply right-click drag all my photos to the destination and select MOVE instead of COPY. While I don't get the benefits of re-writing the file system, I believe that this is a superior method from an efficiency standpoint to any of the methods mentioned in the video.

@wjgraham63 4 ай бұрын

I like the last one. I remove the card, transfer my media to my laptop, remove card and format in camera. I like the method the best. I also missed the trashcan one time. That was a task to remove all those photos. I never did that again. I just perform the last task and let the camera format remove all my photos when done and ready to shoot again.

@GeorgeENorkus 5 ай бұрын

Mark, You mentioned a few good things about the sd card but I have to tell you my way. (Everyone has a better way some say. LoL As a freelance photographer, I must have the shots to turn in to whoever. Here is my method which is similar to yours but has the little extra amount of safety. After the shoot at home I remove the battery for recharging and the SD card from my camera. Then I place the card in my desktop computer's card slot to download. Then I make a "day and subject" file name and save the photos to it. After they are reliably saved on my desktop computer, I remove the SD card and place it back in my camera. Then I make my backup files. Then comes the post editing if required and any other backups as needed. From there I'm basically finished. If you ask why I don't reformat the SD card directly after downloading the reason is for safety. When I get another assignment in a day, week, or ????, I first prepare my photographic equipment. If I don't cycle my batteries around, I at least know they are good. For the SD card, that is when I reformat it. Once or twice I have accidentally hit an incorrect button which screwed things up. I hope you have never made a goofup like that before since it makes your heart skip a beat. If anything should go wrong I at least have my origional SD card copy as a backup.

@toxophillus72 5 ай бұрын

A slightly different take I read some while ago that it was good practice to use more of the SD card by filling it up more, as using the same section of the card over and over wasn't a good idea. So I tend to almost fill my card before either deleting or formatting.

@kc6715 5 ай бұрын

Yay! I am efficient!

@danatkinson1517 5 ай бұрын

I plug the camera into the computer and import all to LR (Rate and delete later from SSD before editing). Then format cards in the camera. This way I can't forget to put the cards back in. This is especially handy now that my camera, phone, controller and all other peripherals are USB-C so I only need one cable and USB-C transfer speeds are more than quick enough for my needs.

@thebrownknowser 2 ай бұрын

One other quick tip that can save you big bucks in camera repair: always check the SD card for any signs of wear before you place it into your computer or back into your camera. I once missed a small crack in an SD card when I put it back into my camera. When I tried to remove the card again, a piece of the SD card broke off and got stuck in the camera. I couldn't put another card in and had to send the camera away to have the piece removed. It cost more than $250 (Canadian) for the repair. I now always inspect the card as soon as I eject it from the camera, before I place it in my computer, and again after I've transferred my files, before I put the card back in my camera. Cheers!

@IcetipsVideos 5 ай бұрын

I have been formatting cards since my first DSLR in 2005. One advantage it could have (I'm not 100% sure) is that like when you format other storage media in a computer, it looks for spots on the media that have been flagged as possibly damaged and excludes those areas from being written to again. I don't know if cameras are smart enough to do that though.

@Photogal Ай бұрын

Thank you for this. When I want to remove say 10 photos out in the field, because for some reason, they were just all crappy, am I best to do this with the memory card out of the camera and in the computer or is it OK to remove them in Camera with the trash button? Keeping in mind I have 2 SD slots saving the same information to each. Would it remove from both SD cards if done in camera?

@1701odin 5 ай бұрын

Here is my data storage methodology with my photos (or any important data). 1 - I pull the memory card from my camera and copy the photos to my data storage drive on my PC. This drive is actually 2 physical hard drives which are in a RAID1 configuration. This means that everything is written to both drives. If one of the physical drives fails, the other takes over and I can replace the failed drive and it will duplicate the data back so there are two copies. 2 - The memory cards are put in a storage case/back in the camera, etc. I do not format yet. 3 - I import the photos into Lightroom, do whatever culling/editing, etc. necessary. 4 - Periodically, a backup job runs which copies all of my data from my local PC to my backup server. This server is setup such that it can handle 2 simultaneous hard drive failures without losing data. 5 - Also periodically, a backup job runs from my backup server which copies all of my important data to a cloud-based backup solution. 6 - I will format the memory cards in the camera the next time I need to go do a shoot. Typically by this time I will have completed all of the editing so I know I got all my photos done and backed up. My entire house can burn down and I will not lose any of my important data.

@ginamarie6664 Ай бұрын

Would you make a video about your file management strategies? How and where are your backups, etc?

@dwn5hft 5 ай бұрын

As a CE. I'd say the better analogy is more like deleting the files is like removing cars from a parking lot whereas reformatting is like removing the cars from the parking lot then repainting the lines in the parking lot

@johnthomas4567 5 ай бұрын

I usually format anyway, but you can also cut and paste instead of copy/paste as it puts the files on your computer and takes them off the card at the same time. A little more risky, but it's another possibility.

@davestokes3446 4 ай бұрын

This is dangerous, files can and do get corrupted when copying. If you cut and paste, any corrupted images are your only copies.

@mpactdesignmedia 9 күн бұрын

I ALWAYS transfer via a cable. It takes a lot of extra steps out of the process and keeps the SD card in it's slot. SD card failure almost always only happens as a result of 'moving it' from slot to slot and back again. Sometimes it's unavoidable, like when you fill up a card when shooting and need more room, but that's rare for me.

@johnhitchcock7785 5 ай бұрын

Mark, I have a Hasselblad X2D with 1TB of internal memory. I also have a memory card in the camera of 1 TB I use for Hasselblad raw file and jpeg backup of the camera internal memory. One formats the internal memory by the camera format option. I have taken the memory card out and transferred the photos on it to my computer and then erased them on the card (files sent to trash) put it back into the camera and formatted both thereby eliminated the files on the camera. Doesn’t take much time. Would you have any different way to do this since I think many cameras will start to have internal memory as does there X2D?

@andrealavigne7824 5 ай бұрын

The upload to computer & format the card in-camera is the method I've used for years. I don't drag & drop photo files, though. If they're ones for my general photo library (i.e. not photos of projects I make like greeting cards, scrapbook layouts, etc.), I use Lightroom to copy the photos to my computer, and get them in my LR catalogue. Project photos I just use Adobe Bridge and keep them in different (labeled) folders on my computer. I don't know about Mac users, but I always use a USB card reader (my computer doesn't have an SD slot built in) & then "digitally" eject the card from the system before removing the card reader (& thus the card) from the USB port. I have heard ejecting is the best practice, whether with an SD card or external hard drive/flash drive, to keep from corrupting the card/drive. My brother believes it doesn't matter, so I suppose that is another school of thought out there. But I have yet to have an SD card (or external hard drive/flash drive, for that matter) get corrupted - fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc. - while he has. I'm sure there may be other factors involved, but I do all I can to play it safe. Besides, digitally ejecting media usually doesn't take more than a mouse click & a few seconds. I usually format the card the next time I take photos again, though (before I start shooting, of course), rather than right after uploading the files to my computer. I also make sure to back up to at least 1 external hard drive immediately. I have a second drive I back up to that I keep in a fireproof lockbox, just for added security in case disaster strikes. Anyway, thank you for addressing this topic. Hope you have a wonderful day!

@user-ng9gk8gm9n 5 ай бұрын

#1 Deleting worst photos from camera in the field. Nature photography sometimes includes a social element. If I want to show my photos to others from my camera, the good ones are easier to find if I’ve deleted the definitely bad ones, the virtual duplicates, and the similar-but-inferior ones

@robertowen-jones443 5 ай бұрын

I use a 5th way. When I import the RAF into capture one I use capture one to delete the files from the SD card as they are being imported. The option to do this is in the last line of the import screen in capture one.