Deframenting camera

Dominique · 09-24-2011, 02:36 PM

Just wondering if someone could refresh my memory on how to defrag my card on my camera. I have a Pentax K-x. Thanks

Adam · 09-24-2011, 02:41 PM

Just format it

mpmetro · 09-24-2011, 05:05 PM

full format... not quick format.

wcchamp18 · 09-24-2011, 11:41 PM

Format it via the camera options for best results prior to use. It is not recommended to format it on the computer and then use it.

jolepp · 09-25-2011, 12:05 AM

+1 : format card in camera

Philoslothical · 09-25-2011, 12:06 AM

Originally posted by mpmetro

full format... not quick format.

There is no advantage to this for an otherwise healthy card. All a "full" format does differently is force a scan for bad sectors, which is mainly geared towards normal hard drives.

Originally posted by wcchamp18

Format it via the camera options for best results prior to use. It is not recommended to format it on the computer and then use it.

There's no advantage to this either, assuming you're using Windows to format it. If one's only options are linux or mac, then perhaps the camera is a better choice - although as long as the correct filesystem and options are set, it shouldn't matter at all. That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the camera's format function to do it.

Ailuropoda · 09-25-2011, 12:36 AM

Why do you even want to defragment your memory card?
Defragmenting helps magnetic hard drives because they read data in continous strips along the drive, when it becomes discontinous, the drive needs to find the next section and move the head there over and over again. Solid state memory devices, such as SD cards, don't need to mechanically shift anything. There is no significant advantage to keeping the data continous with solid state memory. In fact, many SD cards intentionally distribute data across the card to keep the wear levels consistent across the whole card to prevent premature failure. Many of them will even automatically remap bad sectors rendering a full format meaningless.

RioRico · 09-25-2011, 02:58 AM

Originally posted by Ailuropoda

Why do you even want to defragment your memory card?

Quite right. It's totally unnecessary. I've used a variety of cards and formats over the last decade, in image and sound recorders. The number of times I've had to reformat a card can be counted on one hand, with a couple fingers left over for rude gestures. Defragging semiconductor memory makes zero sense, unless one gets their jollies watching the graphic display.

adr1an · 09-25-2011, 03:00 AM

Originally posted by RioRico

Quite right. It's totally unnecessary. I've used a variety of cards and formats over the last decade, in image and sound recorders. The number of times I've had to reformat a card can be counted on one hand, with a couple fingers left over for rude gestures. Defragging semiconductor memory makes zero sense, unless one gets their jollies watching the graphic display.

And one could argue it will shorten a cards life, as it will eat through the Maximum Write Cycles quicker....

jolepp · 09-25-2011, 03:23 AM

There is no complelling reason to defrag (*), but formatting in camera still makes sure that the firmware gets to work with a mint filesystem formatted according its own idea of a FAT implementation; FAT is not a formal standard, but a de-facto one that has been tweaked numerous times since its introduction.

(*) There might (or might not) be a theoretical benefit arising from flash page size vs. FAT cluster size though

.

09-24-2011, 02:36 PM	#1
Dominique Guest	Deframenting camera Just wondering if someone could refresh my memory on how to defrag my card on my camera. I have a Pentax K-x. Thanks

09-24-2011, 02:41 PM	#2
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,597	Just format it Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

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09-24-2011, 05:05 PM	#3
mpmetro Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 205	full format... not quick format.

09-24-2011, 11:41 PM	#4
wcchamp18 Closed Account Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 764	Format it via the camera options for best results prior to use. It is not recommended to format it on the computer and then use it.

09-25-2011, 12:05 AM	#5
jolepp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Finland Photos: Albums Posts: 3,196	+1 : format card in camera

09-25-2011, 12:06 AM	#6
Philoslothical Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 1,889	Originally posted by mpmetro full format... not quick format. There is no advantage to this for an otherwise healthy card. All a "full" format does differently is force a scan for bad sectors, which is mainly geared towards normal hard drives. Originally posted by wcchamp18 Format it via the camera options for best results prior to use. It is not recommended to format it on the computer and then use it. There's no advantage to this either, assuming you're using Windows to format it. If one's only options are linux or mac, then perhaps the camera is a better choice - although as long as the correct filesystem and options are set, it shouldn't matter at all. That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the camera's format function to do it.

09-25-2011, 12:36 AM	#7
Ailuropoda Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 71	Why do you even want to defragment your memory card? Defragmenting helps magnetic hard drives because they read data in continous strips along the drive, when it becomes discontinous, the drive needs to find the next section and move the head there over and over again. Solid state memory devices, such as SD cards, don't need to mechanically shift anything. There is no significant advantage to keeping the data continous with solid state memory. In fact, many SD cards intentionally distribute data across the card to keep the wear levels consistent across the whole card to prevent premature failure. Many of them will even automatically remap bad sectors rendering a full format meaningless.

09-25-2011, 02:58 AM	#8
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Originally posted by Ailuropoda Why do you even want to defragment your memory card? Quite right. It's totally unnecessary. I've used a variety of cards and formats over the last decade, in image and sound recorders. The number of times I've had to reformat a card can be counted on one hand, with a couple fingers left over for rude gestures. Defragging semiconductor memory makes zero sense, unless one gets their jollies watching the graphic display.

09-25-2011, 03:00 AM	#9
adr1an Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Canberra Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 739	Originally posted by RioRico Quite right. It's totally unnecessary. I've used a variety of cards and formats over the last decade, in image and sound recorders. The number of times I've had to reformat a card can be counted on one hand, with a couple fingers left over for rude gestures. Defragging semiconductor memory makes zero sense, unless one gets their jollies watching the graphic display. And one could argue it will shorten a cards life, as it will eat through the Maximum Write Cycles quicker....

09-25-2011, 03:23 AM	#10
jolepp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Finland Photos: Albums Posts: 3,196	There is no complelling reason to defrag (), but formatting in camera still makes sure that the firmware gets to work with a mint filesystem formatted according its own idea of a FAT implementation; FAT is not a formal standard, but a de-facto one that has been tweaked numerous times since its introduction. () There might (or might not) be a theoretical benefit arising from flash page size vs. FAT cluster size though .