Formatting the card
- Thread starter bazza
- Start date
Superfresa66
Well-known member
Like Hidef1080 said, if you format the card on the computer you would have to re-format it on the camera to create the necessary files on the card. I really don't see a benefit from formatting the cards on the computer. I know many photographers and they NEVER format on the computer, they do it on the camera... Maybe in the days of Microdrives that was a benefit (you could check the integrity of the drive and flag bad sectors) but i dont think thats necessary now days!
Allen Ellis
Well-known member
Just FWIW, I've put totally empty cards right into the camera in the past (before I knew to format in-camera) and it creates all the right folder structures as soon as you hit the "record" button. Formatting in-camera doesn't seem to be an absolute necessity, just good practice for some reason.
Hidef1080
Well-known member
I'm going to guess here:
You can format some flash devices in FAT, FAT32 and [I may be wrong here] NTFS.
The 150 uses FAT32 so any card formatted in FAT or maybe NTFS would need to be formatted by the camera or a computer if you select FAT32 as the format type.
I could be out to lunch here because I'm not a true IT guy but I believe this to be true:
To help “spread” the write/re-write over different sectors you should format it every once in a while or you'll keep writing to the same blocks and wear the card out faster.
You can format some flash devices in FAT, FAT32 and [I may be wrong here] NTFS.
The 150 uses FAT32 so any card formatted in FAT or maybe NTFS would need to be formatted by the camera or a computer if you select FAT32 as the format type.
I could be out to lunch here because I'm not a true IT guy but I believe this to be true:
To help “spread” the write/re-write over different sectors you should format it every once in a while or you'll keep writing to the same blocks and wear the card out faster.
Hidef1080
Well-known member
Opps....
I was out to lunch.
Check this out:
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/03/reformatting_memory_cards.html
I was out to lunch.
Check this out:
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/03/reformatting_memory_cards.html
Google "wear leveling". SDHC cards may not be as smart as P2 cards, but they are not as dumb as say SmartMedia cards of yore. Surprise, surprise: just like P2 cards, SDHC cards have a built-in controller.
mcsmooth
Well-known member
It might depend on the device and the terminology they use. On the 150, there is a delete all, and that simply deletes video clips and related files inside the PRIVATE folder (not other files like meta-data and scene files though). A format will format the card. If you are only using the card on that device, it should never have anything outside of the folder it uses.
So the only time you need to reformat is if you are away from a computer and you know the card has other crap on there you want to get rid of.
Formatting is not necessary for the camera to create the needed folders, it will always do this every time you insert a card or turn the camera on and they do not exist.
Here is a trick I use sometimes: If I have stuff on a card and have not transferred it off, but want to quickly record something in a new folder (back at 0), I'll just rename the PRIVATE folder. When you pop the card back in, the camera recreates the folder. If you need scene files/meta-data, might want to have them on another card.
So the only time you need to reformat is if you are away from a computer and you know the card has other crap on there you want to get rid of.
Formatting is not necessary for the camera to create the needed folders, it will always do this every time you insert a card or turn the camera on and they do not exist.
Here is a trick I use sometimes: If I have stuff on a card and have not transferred it off, but want to quickly record something in a new folder (back at 0), I'll just rename the PRIVATE folder. When you pop the card back in, the camera recreates the folder. If you need scene files/meta-data, might want to have them on another card.
Last edited:
Barry_Green
Moderator
Won't work at all. The cards must be FAT32 in order for the camera to work with it.
MadHMC150
DVXuser Sponsor
I'm skeptical that the camera actually does a format when you tell it to. It only takes a few seconds for the camera to format a 16gb card when it takes my computer about 20 minutes to format the same card... how does that make sense?
I'm pretty sure its a delete all contents type of command, since it takes about the same time for the delete all clips command...
Someone should stick a NTFS card in there and then have the camera format, then we would see a true format.
I formated both of my new Taiwan 16gb Transcends in the computer, then filled them up then deleted everything... that should be a good test.
I'm pretty sure its a delete all contents type of command, since it takes about the same time for the delete all clips command...
Someone should stick a NTFS card in there and then have the camera format, then we would see a true format.
I formated both of my new Taiwan 16gb Transcends in the computer, then filled them up then deleted everything... that should be a good test.
mcsmooth
Well-known member
Sounds like you probably are doing a full format on the computer and the camera is only doing a quick format. A quick format has about the same end result as deleting all files. It is quick because it is only removing the entries for each file, not physically wiping each byte where the files lived. This is why it can be possible to undelete files.
A full format shouldn't be needed unless you need to remove all traces of the files (eg. sensitive data) or if you are doing it to verify all of the disk is working properly - a good practice for any newly purchased storage.