Format or delete?

[kkraczek]

When removing all photos from the memory card, should I delete them, or format the card every time? Just checking.... thanks!

[Sean Dempsey]

Formatting is faster from the 10D, when the card is full.

I prefer formatting. I don't think it matters. Formatting will get rid of any errant data or corruption, usually.

[another view]

Three words - format, format, format.

I've never heard anything else. When you format, you re-install (correct term?) the directory of the card which can have a lot to do with avoiding lost images. I do it and have never had a problem, bottom line.

I also re-format only in the camera (not on computer), and only after I'm ready to shoot on that card again. Reason being, I save to the hard drive and then burn to a CD. If something happens during the transfer or I accidently save an edited image before I get a chance to burn a CD, then I have a backup still on the card for a couple days (or until I use it again).

[kkraczek]

Thanks guys, that's the help that I was looking for.

[ustein]

I always format in the camera.

Uwe

[Audrey S.]

I always format in the camera. There's more space that way. It's a big card that I use, shooting raw: if I only delete, I can get 97 new images but if I format, I get 103 images (because of the directory, which has already been discussed). And yes, I wait until I'm sure that the raw images are downloaded safely (we have a back-up drive that serves as a RAID drive, so images are automatically downloaded for safety to BOTH drives...)

Audrey

[Tushingham2]

When removing all photos from the memory card, should I delete them, or format the card every time? Just checking.... thanks!

Yes I sometimes delete the odd shot to make space on the card, at wedding you get a chance to check through the images, but if when I have finshed with the images I format and I also format the card, a new card I before I use it.

Tushingham2

[gryphonslair99]

Format in camera.

[JETA]

I use delete while I'm shooting. You know.... Accidentally shot 20 pics of the ground or inside my camera case. ;)

When I'm getting rid to clear the card I format in the camera.

[Chris350]

I delete shots while shooting that I know to be crap. After cross loading to three drives, I format in camera. Once a month or so I base level reformat in the card reader, then in camera to reset the directory structure that the camera wants to see on the card.

[Anbesol]

You don't just reinstall the directory, you put a file system structure on it. Typically FAT or FAT32. I don't know why anybody has different experiences formatting from camera or from a computer, they both should format to the same parameters if you select the same file system.

[Arina]

When I think particular photo is not up to the mark, I delete it. And once I've backed up or saved all my camera photos onto my system & an external hard drive, I format my SD card.

I hope it's the right way to do it.

[Franglais]

I think that formatting is better (in the camera).

The more writes you do to a memory card the more you degrade it. Little by little memory cells fail and you have less usable space. When you delete a file you are effectively rewriting the space it took and updating the directory hierarchy it's recorded in. Whereas when you format you just delete the directory hierarchy and create a new one empty. You don't actually wipe out the photo data, it just gets overwritten by new data. So overall you have less writes to the card.

I've met people who are adamant about deleting being better than formatting. But they've never been able to explain why.