Old wives’ tale?
A few people questioned why it ’s of import to format your retentiveness card now and again . You ’ll recall that I suggested you should format your memory card using your digital camera ’s data format command rather than simply delete the photos . In fact , some photo professional initialise their visiting card each and every time they are done charter a batch of photograph . ( I am not that much of a stickler . )
It ’s really just a question of performance . storage cards are like hard drive in that they get fragmented when you repeatedly store and wipe out lots of single file . There ’s no way to defragment a memory bill , so format it answer that role .
A secondary grounds to format your memory card is to prevent information corruption . Personally , I ’ve never fancy this encounter , but I ’ve read many accounts of people seeing weird behaviour when they go too long between circuit card formats , and specially if they share a exclusive memory card among more than camera . Indeed , even a few Digital Focus readers chime in to say they ’ve encountered corrupted cards – which a format doctor . Formatting is no more difficult to do than delete images , so I recommend it as a good exercise .
Will formatting reset my file names?
A few folks worried that arrange their memory card will readjust the single file - identify counter in the photographic camera , give them duplicate file cabinet names when the photo are copied to your computer .
This is a valid worry , but it depends upon your television camera . Some models will commemorate the number in the file name and continue incrementing after a data formatting , but others won’t – they’ll restart from 0001 every time you format .
That ’s frustrating , but even so , it ’s probably not a show stopple for most people . After all , do you really store all of your digital photos in the same mammoth folder , where duplicate Indian file names would be a problem ? Probably not . Most of us keep each photo seance in its own alone folder . So even if you have a dozen photos on your data processor called DSC00001.JPG , they ’re all safely segregated from one another . I ’ve exploit this room for years and never had a problem .
10 years—really?
At least one reader was in question that anyone would still utilise a memory card after 8 or 10 years , given the pace of introduction .
That ’s a fair objection , but I still think my suggestion is worthwhile . For example , I have a 4 GB card that I ’ve been using for 5 year now . The 4 GB card was a bit pricey when I grease one’s palms it 5 years ago , but it ’s still take a typical size today , and in fact credibly will be for years to come .
So , perfectly : I opine that it ’s perfectly reasonable to anticipate to get 8 class out of a store card . Moreover , I do n’t really expect all of us to be using terabyte - sized memory cards in 3 or 4 years . We ’ve arrive at a spot at which most of us have no practical need for buirdly memory cards than what you’re able to bribe today , and that ’s unbelievable to switch any time shortly .
Using several small cards
A couple of readers asked me what I recollect about the scheme of using several small board instead of one large one , specially on a vacation or some other significant photo tripper . The theory : It ’s crummy insurance , since one corrupt scorecard wo n’t take down all of your pictures , only some of them .
I ’ve make love some people apply that scheme , but I ’m not a lover . It might be crummy insurance , but it ’s not hard-nosed , at least for me . After all , consider the pro and cons . You have to juggle several cards instead of one . You have to keep track of them . You must swap them out as they get full , which is a pain and can cost you a bang-up photograph if you flow out of quad on a batting order at just the awry moment .
Now , consider the unlikely situation that one of the identity card does fail : You ’ve lost all the photo on that particular card . certainly , you have the rest of your photos , but the more cards you have , ironically , the more probable it is that one of them will fail . That ’s just basic applied science reliability – the larger your sample distribution size , the more likely you ’ll encounter a bankruptcy .
That ’s a heap of hassle to go through to forestall a catastrophic unsuccessful person that , move over the reliability of advanced computer memory cards , is incredibly unlikely to fall out to start with . So sure , if it does happen , it ’s going to be a really , really bad day . But in person , I ’m willing to take that risk .
Practically indestructible memory cards
How long will bill last ? Reader Adam Samuels broadcast me astory about a couple who lose their digital camera overboardwhile on an ocean cruise . The camera was found in the net of a sportfishing boat about a year by and by . The ship ’s captain reviewed the photograph on the posting and posted them online to track down the owners , and finally return the camera to the couple who lost it . Bottom line : If a memory card can survive a least sandpiper on the bottom of the Atlantic , it can probably handle anything you’re able to drop at it .
