Why should I format my new memory card??

[mcgrawfan]

Just wondering if I really need to format my new memory card and why?? I have a 1g sd card for my Canon S3.
TIA

 

[MICKEY88]

it is always best to format your cards in the camera, to avoid any problems. someone else can probably give the techinical reason, but I know that cards formated by pc or another camera, sometimes will not work in a camera...

 

[ukcatfan]

Just wondering if I really need to format my new memory card and why?? I have a 1g sd card for my Canon S3.
TIA

For me, it seems to finish quicker than the delete all function. It is also about the same number of button presses, so why not. It will certainly not damage the card any if that is your worry.

Kevin

 

[mcgrawfan]

The memory card is brand new. Never been used. What is the purpose of formatting?? I don't get it.

 

[MICKEY88]

The memory card is brand new. Never been used. What is the purpose of formatting?? I don't get it.

the possibility exists that the card is formatted fat16 or fat 32, and the camera is the opposite, all manufacturers recommend it, all photographers recommend it..

the choice is yours, you are less likely to have problems and lose pictures if you format in camera,, it's also good to format after emptying the card each time, otherwise you will get fewer and fewer pics on the card over time...

 

[ukcatfan]

The memory card is brand new. Never been used. What is the purpose of formatting?? I don't get it.

It is the same reason that you have to format a new hard drive in your pc. The manufacturer does not know what operating system you will be using and leaves that for you to decide. That is formatting. A camera is no different. It is taking that clean slate and setting it up to be ready for the operating system (i.e. camera's firmware). Some cards will not work if you do not format.

Kevin

 

[MICKEY88]

one other thought some manufacturers such as lexar, include image recovery software on their cards, make sure you check and copy that to your pc if it exists, before formatting the card...

 

[Groucho]

It is the same reason that you have to format a new hard drive in your pc. The manufacturer does not know what operating system you will be using and leaves that for you to decide. That is formatting. A camera is no different. It is taking that clean slate and setting it up to be ready for the operating system (i.e. camera's firmware). Some cards will not work if you do not format.

Well, that's not quite 100% true. The reason you format a hard drive is two-fold...

One, to partition it since some people prefer multiple partitions (or slices, if you're into unix), and two, for the file system, not the operating system. Ie, FAT, FAT32, NTFS, etc. A FAT32-formatted drive can run any number of operating systems.

Any 2gb-or-less memory card or USB drive should come preformatted in FAT format (aka FAT16), and should work in pretty much any camera or computer without formatting. FAT tops out at 2gb, at which point they're formatted in FAT32 format - for SD cards, these are SDHC (High Capacity) and many cameras can't use them as they don't know how to read FAT32. Some new-ish cameras have firmware upgrades available to help them deal with them.

But, an out-of-the-box memory card should work with no issues. If the camera's normal folder system doesn't exist, it'll be created when it first writes a picture to it, and the presence of addition software should not bother the camera at all.

There's no harm in formatting the card (and it is a good idea if you think the file system has gotten corrupted or you quickly want to clear off all your old pictures), but you're fine if you don't, too.