Formating the SD card

[Multihandle]

I always format any kind of card in the exact piece of equipment it's going to be used in!

Seems like a good idea (in my mind) to format a card every time it will be used, so its like starting fresh. A fresh format, a quick test recording, and on with the show. I just never see any insruction manuals recommending it, so it may or may not make any difference.

[Michael Carter]

OK, this may not have massive bearing on the subject, but... my only SDHC cams are my Canon DSLR (only use it for video) and my Nikon D90 (only stills).

I tend to do a lot of testing, and when I'm shooting "artsy" videos, I frequently get a cool idea while I'm working in my studio space and set up, shoot, and injest/edit/tweak. Sometimes really crazy stuff. When I'm in my studio, I just grab whatever card is handy.

When I stick a D90 card in my Canon - or vice versa - without any formatting - I just end up with a new folder - a Nikon folder on a Canon formatted card or a Canon folder on a Nikon formatted card (can't recall the specifics - sometimes there's a "misc" folder, etc, but I imagine it's constant & not random).

Not sure how that would go with a non-still camera format, but it is kinda interesting - the DSLRs just start writing, instantly adding the folder structure they need to whatever I stick in there.

If I have a commercial shoot, I format the proper cards and tape the cases shut with blue painter's tape (handy in a rushed shoot - if the tape is off, the card has been used that day and I don't reuse 'em) - that is to say, I'm fully prepared data-wise and don't deal with the dual directory structure thing. But experimenting on my own time, that's what happens consistently - camera happily accepts the card and shoots no-issues video (or stills). Just an FYI.

[Phil1076]

Let's face it..most people are not IT savvy....they develop techniques and processes which work for them and provide them with a false sense of security...."if it works, don't break it", right?

All cameras format the cards using the FAT file system. Whether it's FAT16 or FAT32 depends on the age of the camera and the size of the SD cards...most of them will use FAT32. This means that a camera formatted in camera XXX from manufacturer YYY will work in camera ZZZ by manufacturer WWW. There may be some exceptions (for example, the camera may search the card for a specific directory structure and not find it. Even then, it will usually just create the directory structure.)

[Denwa]

Panasonic does soemthing funky to the filesystem. A lot of camera's do. My mother had problems with a $200 fujifilm still camera that did not like cards that were not formatted in camera.