Thats a load of tosh George. Nothing wrong with using card readers, if anything, there safer. Carry on the way you have been.
George
I’ve had several clients (pro shooters) come in with Compact flash card problems. Formating on a computer would not solve their problem, however a camera format did. It seems to become a problem over time. I erase images all of the time using the computer if I’m only going to shoot photos for "giggles". If I’m about to head out on a paid shoot, I will format in the camera.
Others may have different experiences, but I have found that for whatever reason repeated clearing of cards on the computer will eventually cause problems.
George,
The instruction book for my camera specifically states NOT to format Micro-Drives, CF, or Smart Media via the computer. (Yes, it will use all three.)
If you check your card with a reader, you will probably see some directory layout which the computer will not replace if you use it to format the storage device. The camera will rebuild the required set of folders when you format with it. The computer just cleans everything out INCLUDING the needed directories/folders.
As for deleting/eraseing files via computer… All I can say is that I delete them only after I have copied them to a hard drive, have finished the project, and saved a backup to a pair of CD/DVD-Rs. At that time, it is just as easy to put the card/cards back in the camera and delete them there. That is what I have been doing that without problems. After every third of fourth use and in-camera delete, I in camera re-format the card. I have had no problems.
Bill
I have never had any problems formatting (not just deleting files from) removable solid-state media in my PCs’ card readers. I have used Fuji, Olympus, Nikon, and Canon digital cameras, representing three different card media formats. All of these cameras have been "smart" enough to recreate the necessary folder structures where they do not exist.
Still, if one has any doubts, format in-camera. I don’t think any one person here can claim to have done exhaustive tests with all media types, brands, and capacities, and all types and brands of card readers.
=-= Harron =-=
It is too easy to format the card as FAT32 (or maybe even NTFS?) with computer. In which case most (all?) cameras can’t read it.
But deleting (or copying) files from card via computer should be pefectly safe.
M
Mac,
Most new cameras and PDAs support FAT32 to accommodate the higher capacity solid-state and microdrive media. They will natively format to FAT32.
If you accidentally format a card to FAT32 and the camera/device in question is FAT16-based, it will typically either automatically reformat the card or flag it as an unformatted card, giving you the option to format. (Never tried NTFS.)
Again, I cannot speak for all devices in all circumstances.
Reference: Hitachi white paper, available here <
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/BB4945CE AAE4DAD986256D890016E8F4>.
=-= Harron =-=
Thanks for info…I haven’t kept up with camera features, obviously.
M
Thanks, all.
If I may summarize, then, it’s almost always OK to delete files via computer and probably OK to reformat that way if using a late model camera, but always OK to reformat in-camera and, since that’s simple to do, it’s safer to go the in-camera route.
George
Right. And as long as we’re covering the bases, another way to effectively erase a memory card is by dropping it in a vat of boiling oil. However, since this method works by virtue of making the card unusable in your device, it is the least recommended of the techniques discussed.
=-= Harron =-=
Am I missing something? I plug my camera into the USB port; the card in the camera is detected as a new drive; I select the image files on it; right click and "Send to" a folder called "From camera" that I have created for the purpose. If I hold "Shift" the files are moved rather than copied and the card is emptied. Is this dangerous?
Cheers John
John,
This discussion has been about removing the card from the camera and performing file deletion or medium formatting via a PC-connected card reader/writer. Under those circumstances, neither camera firmware nor driver software are called into play during the file deletion operations.
Assuming your camera manufacturer’s software engineers knew what they were doing, what you’re doing should not be "dangerous."
=-= Harron =-=
