The Do's & Don'ts of Memory Cards

[fractal]

The Do's and Don'ts of Memory Cards: Tips for Photographers


snipit:

"And now for the tips, which I am going to write in the order of importance:

#1. Do NOT erase images from your memory card in your camera!
Clarification: What I mean by this is: Do not go through your photos and delete them one by one using your camera.

I see people (including professional photographers) doing this all the time and it is a really bad idea. Your camera is awesome at taking photos, but it is not very smart at managing the data on your memory card. Deleting individual images from the card using your camera is a great way to scramble the FAT Table. Don’t do it!

And heck, memory cards have gotten so inexpensive and large, that you should not have to delete images to save space. Just pop in a new card and keep shooting. Once you have downloaded to your computer and backed up the images, then format your card to use it again."

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'd have to agree with this one. Kind of goes hand in hand with don't charge your battery while it's in the camera.

 

[Ad Dieleman]

I used to format my cards in the camera but I stopped doing that: the A7R2 stores memory settings (M1...M4) on the card and these are lost on format. I now put the card back in the camera after offloading my pictures to the PC and delete all photos at once (Delete -> All in this folder). I can imagine that deleting single images may not be a good idea, with a large enough capacity there's no need.

 

[WoodWorks]

I used to format my cards in the camera but I stopped doing that: the A7R2 stores memory settings (M1...M4) on the card and these are lost on format.

Seriously?!!! I did not know that. The truth is, I've only occasionally experimented with memory settings, and have never used them in real shooting situations. But that seems absurd. What could they possibly be thinking?

 

[bdbits]

I do not have an Ax body but as I understand it, you have memory banks 1 and 2 which are on camera, and M1-M4 which are stored on the card. The only way I would see that as being useful is if you had certain cards you used for certain shooting situations and wanted specific settings for it. But who does that?

As far as deleting single images, I occasionally do that and as far as I can recall have never ever had a problem with the Sony or Canon bodies I have used. Maybe it is only Lexar cards that have an issue, lol (I normally buy Sandisk). I use USB to move images/video from card to computer, which works fine but playback gets a bit weird if you forget to then format the cards (on the camera of course). This is due to an image database the camera maintains on the card and is not a FAT corruption thing. I also often charge over USB, which is the only way out-of-the-box with the A6000, but I do have an external charger as well.

 

[NickCyprus]

I delete single pics in camera all the time and never had an issue but its good to know...

Informative thread nevertheless

 

[Nexnut]

I delete files in-cam as well and never ran into any problems. I usually delete some more files on the PC, copy the rest onto my main SSD and once the cards are full I keep them as second or third backups, just in case.

 

[chalkdust]

...if you were better photographers, you would not need to delete images....just sayin'.....

 

[rdfisch]

... don't charge your battery while it's in the camera.

Straying off topic, but what is the issue with charging in camera ? (searched but couldn't find).

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I've read where the batteries have swelled up and are hard to remove when charged in camera.
If a battery is going to have a problem during charging, I'd rather it be out of my camera, not inside it.
YMMV.

 

[WoodWorks]

I had a Wasabi battery swell up while charging it in camera. I managed to pry it out, but that experience soured me on the practice. Fortunately Wasabi sent me two free batteries after I reported the problem to them. And the new ones have not only been trouble-free, but hold a charge better than my Sony batteries.

 

[Jeep Captain]

I've read where the batteries have swelled up and are hard to remove when charged in camera.
If a battery is going to have a problem during charging, I'd rather it be out of my camera, not inside it.
YMMV.

I know this thread is a year old but I'm new here. I own two cameras that the batteries can be only be charged in the body. They didn't come with a charger just a USB cord.

 

[NickCyprus]

I know this thread is a year old but I'm new here. I own two cameras that the batteries can be only be charged in the body. They didn't come with a charger just a USB cord.

The batteries CAN be charged outside of the body IF you buy an external charger

 

[WNG]

I know this thread is a year old but I'm new here. I own two cameras that the batteries can be only be charged in the body. They didn't come with a charger just a USB cord.

You can find aftermarket external chargers like the Vivitar branded one, for about $10 online. Comes with a travel adapter and 12V cigarette lighter plug. The same charger without branding is about $5 on ebay. But given the need of multiple W batteries for a day's shooting, a dual external charger has proven invaluable. I picked up an Andoer USB fast dual charger off ebay, and IIRC, it was under $10. It needs 2.1A 5V source. Most new aftermarket USB adapters now come with 2.1-2.4A output for Apple. What's nice is how much quicker it charges up 2 batteries, can be used in a car, or even with a portable power bank.