> > On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 09:57:53PM -0700, Joseph McAllister scripsit: > > On Jul 17, 2009, at 20:56 , Graydon wrote: > >> Anyone want to explain why there's any need to format cards in the > >> first place? > [snip] > > But you should format your SD card before you use it. Every > time. Just > > to be safe! :-) > > 20,000 K20D images, 2,500 LX2 images, SDHC cards swapped back > and forth > to some degree, never formatted a card, no munging observed. > > I have the feeling this is a sort of fossil "the drivers for this are > awful" response that might not apply any longer. >
I suspect there are 2 reasons. First, to eliminate fragmentation on the disk. This makes sure you can use as much of the disk's capacity as possible. Second, because different software writers may interpret parts of the specification differently, or write different bugs, you run the risk that cards written to by different cameras may not be entirely consistent. I had a problem with this earlier this year. I had taken some photos in Paris with my M8, which were all fine and dandy so I deleted all the pictures from the card, without reformatting it. When I was back here I put the camera in for some cleaning and repair. They returned it having upgraded the firmware. I re-used the card and found that some of the supposedly deleted pictures had corrupted some of the newer ones - I posted an example at the time. Here it is again: http://www.web-options.com/fsahg.jpg In this instance it didn't matter because the newer pictures were unimportant. But it could have mattered. So I now make a point of formatting the card each time. Fortunately I don't need to share the cards between camera brands because my Olympoi use CF and XD whereas the Leicae use SD and SDHC. If I had to share them I'd try not to interchange without formatting. Your question "why there's any need to format cards in the first place?" is a good one, though. I don't see any benefit at all in having 2 functions that are effectively the same - Delete All, and Format. There is no benefit to having the Delete All function, so it should either be dropped or just treated as a synonym of Format. Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
