SD cards.........do you reuse yours?

[npmommie]

A friend mentioned she labels her sd cards when they are full and buts a new one each time. She doesnt save the photos to dvd, cd , she just saves the sd card.
I reuse mine, but replace every so often. I save to dvd and external hard drive too. Then i erase what is on the card and use again.
Just curious what others do, since i never heard of anyone else saving the cards.

 

[cmwade77]

I upload directly to SmugMug and/or YouTube. I would go broke buying new SD cards. DVDs wouldn't be practical, as I can fill 4 16GB cards in a single day without effort. Likewise, putting them on a hard drive wouldn't be practical. So, direct uploads to a site with unlimited storage and that allows me to download the full resolution photos is the only practical solution.

Additionally, SD cards only have a shelf life of about 5 years when not used. They can last longer with regular use.

 

[MolonLabe]

Just using an SD... eek! I can't imagine buying new ones like that.

One day at WDW can nearly fill a 32g card, for me anyway.

I need to purge some more pics but transferring to the laptop and then an external until I can sort thru and pick out the keepers.

Then transfer to DVD's in addition to having them on an external.

I need to set up a cloud type backup system at some point.

I wouldn't exclusively use one though, I'd want a copy on hand, I don't trust offsite hosting 100% or even close.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I download my SD cards onto my computer and then to a back up hard drive. I have also backed up to DVD ( and need to do so again). I eventually reformat and reuse my SD cards as needed.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I download images after every use to my external hard drives and reformat the cards (in the camera they are going to be used). I also upload my favorites to my Flickr account, So I have my best in three locations. I purchase cards that have a lifetime warranty so if one goes bad, I just send it in for replacement. I just did this with a Transcend 16gb class 10 card. Its a painless process.

 

[cmwade77]

Just using an SD... eek! I can't imagine buying new ones like that.

One day at WDW can nearly fill a 32g card, for me anyway.

I need to purge some more pics but transferring to the laptop and then an external until I can sort thru and pick out the keepers.

Then transfer to DVD's in addition to having them on an external.

I need to set up a cloud type backup system at some point.

I wouldn't exclusively use one though, I'd want a copy on hand, I don't trust offsite hosting 100% or even close.

I wouldn't trust free ones, too many have gone out of business. Smugmug has been around for many years and offers only paid levels. The fact that I can download entire galleries. They will also send DVDs if needed.

I have found that it is too expensive to keep copying to hard drives. I have been known take about 100GB per month, sometimes more. While hard drives have come down in price, they are not that cheap.

 

[2Tiggies]

I back up to my external hard drive and then again to a portable flash drive which I then label with a tag. I also upload to Flickr.

Although I do reuse my SD cards, if it is more or less full with pictures that I want to keep 'as shot' I just keep them on the card now and label that one. For example, the SD cards I used at WDW this year. Before our next trip I will sift through the contents and probably reformat the cards, but while I have others to use I am going to keep the images on there. I buy Sandisc Extreme 16/32G Class 10 cards. I couldn't afford to replace every single one of them as soon as they are full!

 

[photo_chick]

A friend mentioned she labels her sd cards when they are full and buts a new one each time. She doesnt save the photos to dvd, cd , she just saves the sd card.
I reuse mine, but replace every so often. I save to dvd and external hard drive too. Then i erase what is on the card and use again.
Just curious what others do, since i never heard of anyone else saving the cards.

I reuse mine. I download it to my hard drive, make a backup and then format the card. I can't imagine buying a new card every time. Not with the volume I shoot.

I upload directly to SmugMug and/or YouTube. I would go broke buying new SD cards. DVDs wouldn't be practical, as I can fill 4 16GB cards in a single day without effort. Likewise, putting them on a hard drive wouldn't be practical. So, direct uploads to a site with unlimited storage and that allows me to download the full resolution photos is the only practical solution.

Additionally, SD cards only have a shelf life of about 5 years when not used. They can last longer with regular use.

Original resolution is not the same thing as original file. Even smugmug has some optimization it does to the files, unless you use their vault. It's minor but it's there.

 

[cmwade77]

I reuse mine. I download it to my hard drive, make a backup and then format the card. I can't imagine buying a new card every time. Not with the volume I shoot.



Original resolution is not the same thing as original file. Even smugmug has some optimization it does to the files, unless you use their vault. It's minor but it's there.

I don't really care if they are the original files, my photos aren't that fancy. I care that I can view the files, download and print at a good quality when I so choose to do so. For me SmugMug works great for these purposes. I also like that I can upload to SmugMug and then share to Facebook without uploading a second time.

The problem with file storage services is that they are also cost prohibitive, for the unlimited services everything has to be stored on your local computer. For the others, well when you start talking 20-30TB, they get expensive. SmugMug allows unlimited. So, yes there are some trade offs, but for me it is worth it. For others it may not be. It definitely depends on how much data you have to store.

 

[clynngibson]

I download to my hard drive and format my SD card for further use. I organize my pics by year, then month, then event. I upload to Facebook and Shutterfly. Every so often, I will get them off my hard drive and save them to a disc or, more recently, a flash drive. I badly need to do this again!

 

[coloneldebugger]

Whatever makes their world go 'round right? I figure the whole point of SD or compactflash or even those great smartmedia cards from way back was so you could reuse them.

Then again, my dad the conflicted technophobe pretty much has a drawer full of cards he's filled up. But that's because he simply does not want to learn to use a computer. He has a printer to print out the shots he likes directly from the card.

 

[npmommie]

I dont think she takes as many photos as some of us do! I fill mine up fast too.

On another note related to sd cards..........i put mine in a different camera took some pics and wheni went into microsoft photo to upload them they were not there, but when i switched to windows i could see them and upload them. When i put the card back in the camera i couldnt view them there either. Is this a card malfunction?
I got a new card anyway, needed a bigger one.

 

[Duzzygirl]

I download to my hard drive and format my SD card for further use. I organize my pics by year, then month, then event.
...

Pretty much the same here ... I upload some to Facebook, smugmug, an external drive, DVDs. Just depends on the event. I make books on occasion as well, usually for my Mom.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I dont think she takes as many photos as some of us do! I fill mine up fast too.

On another note related to sd cards..........i put mine in a different camera took some pics and wheni went into microsoft photo to upload them they were not there, but when i switched to windows i could see them and upload them. When i put the card back in the camera i couldnt view them there either. Is this a card malfunction?
I got a new card anyway, needed a bigger one.

Did you format the card for the different camera. Since my cards are always in Pentax cameras I have never run into the issue of incompatibility, but I have been told it "could" occur. Still, I always format my card(s) for the camera they will be used in.

 

[jimim]

I have never heard this before. I shoot, download to 2 hard drives then reformat instantly. I only use Sandisk compact flash. Never used sd.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I have never heard this before. I shoot, download to 2 hard drives then reformat instantly. I only use Sandisk compact flash. Never used sd.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I'm not really sure it is true, but just in case, I always format the card in the camera.

 

[Kies99]

A friend mentioned she labels her sd cards when they are full and buts a new one each time. She doesnt save the photos to dvd, cd , she just saves the sd card.
I reuse mine, but replace every so often. I save to dvd and external hard drive too. Then i erase what is on the card and use again.
Just curious what others do, since i never heard of anyone else saving the cards.

Are you in Pittsburgh??? This is my MIL!

FYI...this is the most expensive way to store your pictures. She really should be backing them up on an external hard drive.

 

[jimim]

I'm not really sure it is true, but just in case, I always format the card in the camera.

On my bad. I was talking about the first post with not reusing sd drives. I always reformat too. Same reason as you. Just in case!

Sorry if I messed up with my last post.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[perdidochas]

A friend mentioned she labels her sd cards when they are full and buts a new one each time. She doesnt save the photos to dvd, cd , she just saves the sd card.
I reuse mine, but replace every so often. I save to dvd and external hard drive too. Then i erase what is on the card and use again.
Just curious what others do, since i never heard of anyone else saving the cards.

Some I keep--for example, we went to Europe summer of 2011. I saved those SD cards (as well as backing up to laptop and portable hard drive). Some I don't. If you remember film days, they are surprisingly cheap to keep as archive compared to the old price of film.

 

[perdidochas]

Are you in Pittsburgh??? This is my MIL!

FYI...this is the most expensive way to store your pictures. She really should be backing them up on an external hard drive.

Well, it's all a matter of perspective. Compared to the old price of buying film, it's pretty cheap. You can get a 2gb card for about $4 at walmart. 2gb holds many more than 36 pictures (which is roughly the price i last remember paying for 35mm film). That said, I do agree that an external hard drive is the best storage solution at this time.