Camera cards best use

[delboy]

I can never make up my mind which is the best way to use the camera flash cards, and what is the best quality to set your camera to.

My Canon has 9 different settings from Large Raw to small course JPEG. As these can be used separately or in any combination it gives a total of about 27 to 30 different settings, a little bit of overkill I think.

At the moment I use only Large Raw format. I have heard the argument that this takes up a lot of memory, but I work on the premise that you can always come down in size without degrading the quality of the photo, but you can’t go up in size with a small raw format. After using film camera’s for quite a few years I find the amount of memory used is a non issue as you get more exposures and it is certainly a lot cheaper than say 36 exp roll of Velvia film.

I also only use small flash cards (4GB max) just in case something goes wrong with the card. This way I feel you minimise the risk of losing everything.

To keep the cards in good health so to speak. I do not delete any exposures off the card in the camera. I down load all shots I want, save to two separate drives and when the card is full I then re format it for further use.

Perhaps others can give me their idea’s

Delboy.

[eyerkish]

I can never make up my mind which is the best way to use the camera flash cards, and what is the best quality to set your camera to.

My Canon has 9 different settings from Large Raw to small course JPEG. As these can be used separately or in any combination it gives a total of about 27 to 30 different settings, a little bit of overkill I think.

At the moment I use only Large Raw format. I have heard the argument that this takes up a lot of memory, but I work on the premise that you can always come down in size without degrading the quality of the photo, but you can’t go up in size with a small raw format. After using film camera’s for quite a few years I find the amount of memory used is a non issue as you get more exposures and it is certainly a lot cheaper than say 36 exp roll of Velvia film.

I also only use small flash cards (4GB max) just in case something goes wrong with the card. This way I feel you minimise the risk of losing everything.

To keep the cards in good health so to speak. I do not delete any exposures off the card in the camera. I down load all shots I want, save to two separate drives and when the card is full I then re format it for further use.

Perhaps others can give me their idea’s

Delboy.
Hey Delboy,

I am in agreement with you that one can always come down on the size, but they can't enlarge a smaller size and maintain the quality. I use 8 GB cards myself and if I have a specific shoot, then I clear the card once the files are safely on my computer and backed up. I try to clear the card as often as possible after any type of shoot so it doesn't build up to be a large task once the card is full.

Do you re-format your card each time vs simply deleting the files?

[delboy]

Hi Eddie,

We re-format the cards in the camera when they are full. I have read it somewhere that if you just delete a shot it only tells the camera it has a block of space available and it can lead to problems. As this forum has lots of people who know what they are doing better than I that's the reason why I asked the question.

Regards

Delboy.


Delboy.

[eyerkish]

Hi Eddie,

We re-format the cards in the camera when they are full. I have read it somewhere that if you just delete a shot it only tells the camera it has a block of space available and it can lead to problems. As this forum has lots of people who know what they are doing better than I that's the reason why I asked the question.

Regards

Delboy.


Delboy.
Hey Delboy,

I had not heard that before, that was why I was inquiring. I did some research, but only found opinions and personal preferences. I suppose it would be better for the card, though.

[shirlm2]

Hi Delboy, from someone who started clueless and is still learning, I shoot in a combination RAW & top quality JPEG. My Canon offers this combination. This saves me having to convert all my RAW files which I find tedious. I sometimes find I'm lucky enough to have a capture that needs little editing :D so already have the JPEG. Also if it's not a great shot but I still want to keep it for whatever reason, I don't have to waste time in conversion.

I also use a 4GB card. I did use a 16GB once and something went wrong with the download and I lost a number of shots. I delete photos once downloaded, from the camera menu and then periodically format the card. I suspect that was the problem with the 16Gb card, (it needed formating) so am not taking the chance again. As I have a number of cards I seldom have a space issue.

[delboy]

Hi Shirley

Thanks for that, my wife takes a combination of Raw & JEPG for the same reasons. I suppose us males should listen to our betters.

Delboy.

[sandrac]

enjot rhis string of post never thought about reformatting card sometimes. I will start doing that
rt now I have 2
would like to get a couple of more one day

[monkey]

shoot largest files available.

memory is cheap
memories are priceless

[Fusion07]

shoot largest files available.

memory is cheap
memories are priceless

Well said ! I shoot RAW with a medium JPEG on 8 or 16GB cards without any problems so far. :)

[Greg]

I do as Shirley does and have been for years. RAW + Highest quality JPEG for all the reasons she stated.

There was a short time when I tried to change settings for the situation, but I ended up forgetting to change things and got stuck without the format I wish I had.

As Monkey says, the cards are inexpensive, relatively speaking.

Only problem with this method is for folks like me who don't do a good job of sorting/deleting, storage can become an issue. But that's my own fault.

[mshields]

I actually prefer to have a couple of cards with relatively smaller capacity than having one with a big capacity. It is good to have a big one so you do not have to switch cards when it gets full but if you are able to manage it properly then there would be no problem. It is also better to have the ability to label your cards so you do not have to to go through them when you have to sort the properly.