How to buy, format, use Memory Cards

August 14, 2017

cover photo taken from Have Camera Will Travel

Memory cards are among the essential equipment for any photographer or videographer. They store images or videos and transfer this precious information to our computers/ main storage. Some use memory cards as a backup. It needless to say how important memory cards are for any photographer and how severe its damage or loss might be. For some it might cost precious memories, for others – working with big commercial brands – it might cause financial liability.

Here are some tips on how to choose, use and store memory cards to get the best of it.

THE BUYING

Don’t go cheap.

Going cheap and buying no-brand memory cards will dramatically increase the chance of it failing during the crucial moment of shooting. Most likely the information on that broken card will cost far more than dollars saved on card’s quality. Plus the second disappointment will be introduced – buying AGAIN the card, now more expensive one. (Lesson learned).

Go with established brands.

Tend to choose from SanDisk, Lexar, Samsung, Sony, Transcend, Kingston and PNY. These brands have already established a great deal of trust with many notorious photographers and currently dominate the market.

Buy from authorized sellers.

Nowadays you cannot trust the label placed on a physical card. The art of counterfeit perfected the deception and to validate authenticity you have to know who you are buying AND who you are buying from. Most reliable retail websites are B&H Photo Video , Amazon and Adorama.

Please note that usually the prices do not vary extremely. It is the manufacturer who sets the price guidelines for the retail. So if the price is cut in half on some of the items, chances are it is fake.

No Refurbished Memory Cards.

The quality and a life span of any card depends on the frequency of use. The more it’s used the less it has to last. Unfortunately with refurbished or preowned cards there is no way to verify how often it was used thus undermining the goal of good investment.

Avoid large capacity memory cards.

Unless the card is used as a backup, large capacity memory might allure the photographer/videographer with the convenience of not having to change the cards often while the shoot. However the larger the file the larger the fail when the card gets damaged.

It is true that some cameras have 2 slots for cards in the body where the second one is used as a backup. In this instance it might make sense to get a larger capacity unit. So what are the sufficient sizes of the card needed? For a regular photographer shooting RAW 32 gb should be enough to get things done. A videographer might have 64 or 128gb. It is important to note that some photography fields require a great amount of shots to be taken which might depends large capacities and this tip might be irrelevant. And it is always a good habit to shoot&backup each time, all the time.

Get a fast and reliable memory card Reader.

Again the lesson of greedy paying twice. SanDisk and other known brands offer reliable, fast and affordable choices as always.

THE FORMATTING

Some cameras like Sony create the database within each card and accumulate files for each new photo and video. In case the photo or video was moved from the card, its database file will alarm the system and initiate the search. All of it results in nothing but your headache.

Formatting is easy. It can be done right from your camera and takes a few minutes. When doing it from the computer choose “fast formatting” – it is healthier for the card and faster for you.

THE USING

Keep Camera Batteries Charged!

Can happen to anybody. Happened to me once. I was shooting the 360 video of one of the stages for the entire day to capture the change in the lighting condition. That meant leaving the camera for 12+ hours without attendance. Upon finishing up I noticed that one of the camera butteries died but did not think much of it. Alas, upon popping the card to the computer I got the ERROR message on that one loooong video I was shooting. Beyond repair. So always keep your batteries charged.

Safe Eject.

Another killer of the card is the interruption of a writing operation that your camera or computer performs. While reading operations are lenient to the card, writing – like shooting long exposure, copying to or modifying – will cost severe damage. In some cases due to incompatibility of the card with the camera it takes way longer to write the file on the card. Some photographers become impatient and pop it out before the operation is complete. To their disadvantage.

No From Direct Sun and Moisture

Most cards are made with plastic body which easily melts under the intense sun light or heat. The inner components’ electrical paths are also prone to break under the high temperatures. Other enemy of the card – moisture – if contaminated by minerals – can cause an electrical short. If the card was exposed to water, dry it up from the outside and inside before using.

Replace triennially.

Nothing lasts forever. While each card’s lifespan varies depending on its workload, a good period to refresh with current standards of quality would be 3-4 years.

by Wrong Ron

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How to buy, format, use Memory Cards

THE BUYING

THE FORMATTING

THE USING

Find a Photo Studio near you

L.A. Studios

N.Y.C Studios

Chicago Studios

Rent Studio

Clients Review

Events

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