How often should you format micro SD card

[Thomas B]

I used to follow the same steps…but on the DRONE FILM GUIDE channel I learned it was equally okay to just format it each time.

There are at least two other methods listed in the thread above... whatever works!

 

[RicGPDX]

For what it's worth,
I never use a computer to erase individual files from a card that's used in a different kind of device, but I do use one to reformat after I've transferred my files. In my case, it's using a Mac's Disk Utility to format my Mavic Air 2's SDHC to ExFAT. I reformat after each shoot.

My reasons for this are to keep the disk directory as clean as possible and for general convenience. Reformatting gives you a nice, clean copy of your disk directory. Erasing individual files just adds more information to it (a flag that says those chunks of space are now available for use). Secondly, at least in the old days, there could be subtle differences in how different operating systems mark files for deletion.

I discovered that my Mavic will immediately recreate the folder structure it needs when I load up an ExFAT-formatted card. It's easier for me to do that as part of the file-transfer process (after checking them, of course), than firing up the drone and controller or trying to remember to format before my next flight. Some DJI drones can use Apple's HFS+ file system. In that case, deleted files are put in a hidden .Trash folder.

As a side note, watch out for errors on any solid-state storage device. They have a finite lifespan. They also need lots of free space to keep their speed up.

Ric

 

[sirocco40]

As the title says......how often should you format the sd card? After every flight and upload to PC? When it gets full??? Thanks!

I only formatted once when I initially purchased the cards. I move the videos and captures from my MA2 move everything to my Mac and place the empty MSD back in the UAV. No need to format after use.

 

[Rambling sheep]

Here is a link to an article by the one time Director of Marketing of Lexar. He is also a well renowned photographer and lecturer. He explains what he says should be done and why. He should know what he is talking about.

Why you should not delete images on your memory card using your camera

Why you should not delete images on your memory card using your camera

www.diyphotography.net

At the end of the day it's whatever you choose.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Here is a link to an article by the one time Director of Marketing of Lexar. He is also a well renowned photographer and lecturer. He explains what he says should be done and why. He should know what he is talking about.

Why you should not delete images on your memory card using your camera

Why you should not delete images on your memory card using your camera

www.diyphotography.net

At the end of the day it's whatever you choose.

Maybe if he was the lead design engineer, I'd take his word for it, but director of marketing, no thanks.

 

[Meta4]

Maybe if he was the lead design engineer, I'd take his word for it, but director of marketing, no thanks.

What's the fear of formatting the SD card?
There's ample evidence in this thread from flyers and authoritative sources to show that it's a perfectly useful way of clearing your card without any problems.

Do whatever you feel like, but there's no reason for the suspicion or distrust.

 

[Droning on and on...]

What's the fear of formatting the SD card?
There's ample evidence in this thread from flyers and authoritative sources to show that it's a perfectly useful way of clearing your card without any problems.

Do whatever you feel like, but there's no reason for the suspicion or distrust.

I don't fear it, see my post #5. I do it when I want to quickly get rid of everything on the card. My point is that it's not necessary.

The original post asked how often they should do it. The answer is that you should do it when you feel like it, but there is no inherent need to reformat a card once it's been formatted.

What prompted me to reply to the above post was that it suggested that we follow the advice of a marketing person when that doesn't tell us anything about their technical knowledge. It's just another blog post by a photographer that says because he does it every time, everyone should.

 

[Dougcjohn]

Here is a link to an article by the one time Director of Marketing of Lexar. He is also a well renowned photographer and lecturer. He explains what he says should be done and why. He should know what he is talking about.

Why you should not delete images on your memory card using your camera

Why you should not delete images on your memory card using your camera

www.diyphotography.net

At the end of the day it's whatever you choose.

I tend to agree and follow the practice of formating to wipe the FAT Indexes, formating card in whatever craft (camera) inserted, and copy images over to other media without need of deleting card images... the high level format performed later clearing the FAT Indexes is enough. I'd agree a high level index clearing format is less overall circuitry bit flipping compared to deleting each file... which is just updating & rewriting the Indexes multiple times vs a single index format wipe (format).

The other points on video should be common sense... don't pull card during transfers, etc.

Still comes down to just adopting a practice that works for you, and make that a comfortable natural routine. None will have a significant impact on the card's MTBF or failure... other than pulling card during transfers or file activity.

 

[rehkram]

This must rank as one of the most boring threads ever on here. Those that think they know what they're talking about should just go ahead with what they're already doing. That would be me, for example.

Everyone else should google search to understand the difference between a quick format and a full format.

I gotta say that, IMO, anyone relying on storing massive amounts of data on an SD card, i.e. more than a day's worth, and routinely launching it several 100 feet up and several 1000 ft horizontally, have gotta be outta their minds if they haven't been routinely backing it up to somewhere on the ground.

That is all I've got to say. And have a nice day!

 

[Dougcjohn]

This must rank as one of the most boring threads ever on here. Those that think they know what they're talking about should just go ahead with what they're already doing. That would be me, for example.

Agreed, although it's read and commented... including yourself. We need a hobby! ?

 

[Tig]

In terms of performance, for the application of video footage and stills, you probably never need to. This past method of looking at things tends to help when multiple read/write operations are being carried out on operating systems that have multiple applications running, rather than a real-time operating system.

The choice is yours entirely, you most likely won't see fragmentation of file allocation tables or files, which is a large performance killer. That said, there are some things you should be aware of.

Parts of the exFAT specification allow for OEM fields to be stored, which means using the target device to format, rather than your host operating system that you copy media to, is always a better choice.

In terms of performance, these cards are so quickly that moves vs copy and format probably shouldn't be noticeable, but there is something to be aware of.

Changes (so write, delete) to the file system write to multiple areas

• Check is the filesystem is marked as 'dirty' (needs repair) and set to dirty if not
• Make the change
• Update the folder structure (if required)
• Update the cluster allocation bitmap (if required)
  • This is the way a file system knows, rather quickly, where new data can be written
• Clear the 'dirty' filesystem flag if it wasn't previously set

This is for every block of a write, or for each file delete, or each property change to a file. That whole process happens. For those who don't know, a move is just a copy the file, then delete it. Now, if you've got an operating system that changes an atime (or access time) with each read, it gets messy, really quickly.

So given the finite number of times you can write to the card before parts of it physically fail, would you rather copy files off and quick format, or keep using a 'move' command?

 

[cjonesmn]

I don't fear it, see my post #5. I do it when I want to quickly get rid of everything on the card. My point is that it's not necessary.

The original post asked how often they should do it. The answer is that you should do it when you feel like it, but there is no inherent need to reformat a card once it's been formatted.

What prompted me to reply to the above post was that it suggested that we follow the advice of a marketing person when that doesn't tell us anything about their technical knowledge. It's just another blog post by a photographer that says because he does it every time, everyone should.

For me, reformatting has been necessary. If I don't reformat my SD card at least every other time of use, I run into a "disk unreadable" situation when I connect my drone to my PC via USB. As long as I format my card, I don't get this error.

 

[Peek_my_pics]

Q: When I try to upload the SD card into my PC to download Videos/Photos PC ask me to format card and does not show any photos. When I look in the DJI software photos are store on the Aircraft (SD Card) and on DJI File. Why is that. The only way is to transfer photo via phone but i can only download the JPEG and no RAW files. Suggestions?

 

[Dave Maine]

If reformatting is required that frequently, you have a serious hardware problem which will probably get worse. Either the card is bad, a cable in the camera assembly is bad, or the camera board itself has a fault.

 

[tlswift58]

I'm saying the downside is it takes extra time to format. And if formatting doesn't make a noticeable difference, I'd prefer not to spend time doing it.

Also, I'm saying you should do whatever you want to do

A whole 5 seconds if that - WOW - I've lost a lifetime.

Unless you delete / erase ALL those other folders / files that DJI throws on the card - you are using up A LOT of space over time leaving them there. Formatting is far easier a process to remove ALL files on the card.

 

[tlswift58]

Q: When I try to upload the SD card into my PC to download Videos/Photos PC ask me to format card and does not show any photos. When I look in the DJI software photos are store on the Aircraft (SD Card) and on DJI File. Why is that. The only way is to transfer photo via phone but i can only download the JPEG and no RAW files. Suggestions?

Are you taking the card physically out of the drone and using a card reader on your PC or connecting a cable from drone to PC? Makes a big difference. I have a SD Card reader I bought to read directly from card to PC via USB and don't use a cable from drone.

I also use Windows Explorer to simply cut and paste folders / files from SD Card to a folder on my PC. Never have an issue going that route and do occasionally format the card when I think about it to remove ALL THOSE DJI FILES (not pics / videos) that add up over time. Every flight adds more and more log files that you don't need if you successfully landed the drone - unless you want to keep them for some odd reason.

 

[DBT_Drone]

Are you taking the card physically out of the drone and using a card reader on your PC or connecting a cable from drone to PC? Makes a big difference. I have a SD Card reader I bought to read directly from card to PC via USB and don't use a cable from drone.

I also use Windows Explorer to simply cut and paste folders / files from SD Card to a folder on my PC. Never have an issue going that route and do occasionally format the card when I think about it to remove ALL THOSE DJI FILES (not pics / videos) that add up over time. Every flight adds more and more log files that you don't need if you successfully landed the drone - unless you want to keep them for some odd reason.

Your procedure is exactly the same as mine.

 

[danny_2020]

I just discovered that I need to format my SD card every time I use it. If I don't, the photos and videos wont show up on the SD card when I connect it to my computer.... I unfortunately learnt this the hard way, as yesterday I took lots of photos and videos of the stunning Western Australian sunset, and when I got home, the SD card was empty. I was extremely disappointed, and frustrated as it appeared that everything was fine when I was taking the photos, but, well, at least I've learnt something.

 

[Peek_my_pics]

I just discovered that I need to format my SD card every time I use it. If I don't, the photos and videos wont show up on the SD card when I connect it to my computer.... I unfortunately learnt this the hard way, as yesterday I took lots of photos and videos of the stunning Western Australian sunset, and when I got home, the SD card was empty. I was extremely disappointed, and frustrated as it appeared that everything was fine when I was taking the photos, but, well, at least I've learnt something.

Did you check on the album via the DJI software. Because same thing happen to me PC tells me SD card is empty and I need to format. So I connect phone to controller and I download the photo and video via Lightroom.

 

[Peek_my_pics]

Are you taking the card physically out of the drone and using a card reader on your PC or connecting a cable from drone to PC? Makes a big difference. I have a SD Card reader I bought to read directly from card to PC via USB and don't use a cable from drone.

I also use Windows Explorer to simply cut and paste folders / files from SD Card to a folder on my PC. Never have an issue going that route and do occasionally format the card when I think about it to remove ALL THOSE DJI FILES (not pics / videos) that add up over time. Every flight adds more and more log files that you don't need if you successfully landed the drone - unless you want to keep them for some odd reason.

Yes I take SD card out of drone use a card reader USB connect to PC and I get the message card need to be formatted. Then i insert SD card into my camera Canon and tells me Card need to be formatted. But if i go into the DJI software from the phone and go to Album SD storage all the photo are there. So the only option is to export them to Lightroom the only problem are only JPEG file no Raw files.