Tips For Caring For And Using Your Memory Cards

Your Memory Cards - Keeping them Healthy
Extracted from an article by Darren Rowse.

1. If Disaster Strikes – Stop Shooting
All is not necessarily lost, you may be able to recover your images, don’t use the card or you will simply overwrite them.
2. Delete Images on your Computer not In Camera
The Rule is that the fewer times you add or remove datea on your card the better. Erasing all your images at once after uploading them to your computer means one erase cycle rather than lots of them if you delete them one at a time on your camera.
3. Remove Cards Safely When Connected To Your Computer
After uploading images to your computer from a card make sure you follow the proper procedure to eject the card.
4. Multiple Cars Can Be Better Thank One
Basically, don’t put all your images in one basket!
5. Avoid Filling Your Cards Completely
Regularily remove images off of your card, rather than when they get full.
6. Periodically Reformat Cards.
This will wipe any data, images, file names on the card and set it up fresh for your camera. Only do this AFTER you’ve downloaded any images on the card or you’ll lose them. Also, do the formatting in the camera you want to use the card in.
7. Keep Your Camera Up To Date.
Camera manufacturers will release firmware updates from time to time. These keep your camera up to date with any fixes for errors or problems that are identified with a camera. Some of these can relate to the camera’s interaction with the memory card.
8. Replace Batteries Before they run down
This will stop you losing that last image but also can stop card errors that can occur when an image is not fully written to a card.
9. Don’t switch off your Camera too quickly after shooting
When shooting in ‘burst’ or ‘continuous shooting’ mode (lots of images quickly), a camera needs a little time to wrie all of the data you’ve taken to the memory card. The camera will need time to buffer the images and if you switch it off during this process you’ll lose images and could even find yourself with a system error.
10. Maintenance
Keep your card dry and clean, don’t expose them to extreme temperatures, don’t drop, bend or puncture them, and don’t expose them to magnetic currents.