Your camera card is IMPORTANT, care for it!!
I am often asked about how to look after a camera card so that it will last and not give any problems. Well a few simple ideas will help your card last as long, or longer than your camera.
Start right with your camera card!
1 – Very simple buy a good quality camera card to start with. Sandisk, Kingston, Lexar are three of the better card manufacturers out there. The only time that I have seen problems with new cards is when people have bought cheap no name cards.
Format your camera card OFTEN!
2- Format, format and format. When you buy a new card – format it before use. After taking the files off the card and saving to your computer, format the card. When using in different cameras format the card. This will save a lot of problems and help your card, and the file system, to stay clean and run great.
Treat your cards with respect!
3 – Use the card with your computers and only your computers. If you want to take images to a friends, or to some place to have the images printed. Use a USB stick. I hear a lot of horror stories about people taking their camera card in to get prints and the card gets corrupted or ruined. This is another reason why you should never keep pictures on your card. Once corrupted many times the images are gone forever.
No dogs or cats!
4 – Don’t let your dog chew on the card or drive over it in your truck. Enough said and yes this happens.
If you have problems.
Take a breath. Don’t panic or react. Places can do card recoveries. In Lethbridge I have several programs that I can run to recover lost or even damaged digital files. If you have card problems call me ASAP. Do not try a pile of cameras or computers as this can cause more problems.
With some care your card should last you a long time and take thousands of pictures without a problem.
