Do you save SD cards when filled?

jddwoods · 07-16-2016, 12:44 PM

I seem to be in the minority here, but I do not reuse my SD cards when they are full. I save them as digital negatives since they are not only inexpensive but some of my older cards are just slower than I would like compared to the newer ones. Also, if I want to print a large batch from an event, I can take the card to my nearby Costco and print whatever I want there. I also do back up my pictures (and everything else) on my Mac to a backup drive so I am covered in case some sort of digital disaster strikes.

Bengan · 07-16-2016, 01:12 PM

There are better ways of saving photos than keeping them on SD cards. I copy all Raw files to a WD My Passport Wireless drive, then import the keepers into Lightroom and saving them on a NAS with RAID drives. When that is done I delete all subdirectories on the SD card and reuse it.

aleonx3 · 07-16-2016, 01:33 PM

While I agree that older, slower and smaller size SD cards can be used as backups, but there are better and more efficient ways to keep photo backups (bigger volumes and faster speeds). These SD cards though convenient but can also get lost easily as they are small; another disadvantage is also in putting labels on it if you intend to use as backups.

I don't erase the content after each download to my computer, but rather I wait until it is almost full before I erase or re-format the card.

**ramseybuckeye** · 07-16-2016, 03:20 PM - **1 Like**

I transfer the files to the computer and then reformat the card, like Pepperberry Farm I seldom remove a card from the camera, unless I'm somewhere where I can't access my pc I seldom fill up a card in a day.

eddaytona · 07-16-2016, 03:45 PM

There's really no apparent reason for saving them but I'm a little paranoid so I do. Also, new cards are really cheap now so I buy a few new ones each year. I also use different card sizes for my two go-to cameras so I know which card was used with which camera.
Additionally, I like to change out cards often since I lost a camera with five days of photos on it while on an adventure off the grid and away from home. I didn't much mourn loosing the camera (did suck) but loosing all those shots was awful.

photolady95 · 07-16-2016, 05:06 PM

I move files from the card to my computer. Process what I want, then move them to an external 1TB drive and another external 1TB drive, then I put the card back in the camera and format it.....once a week.

mee · 07-16-2016, 05:20 PM

I only know one person who never clears their SD cards.. and they're retirement age and not really computer literate. I've explained you can download the photos on the card to your computer's hard drive and clear the card for reuse. They don't understand that.. say they have a whole drawer full of SD cards used once.

photolady95 · 07-16-2016, 05:29 PM

Originally posted by mee

say they have a whole drawer full of SD cards used once.

Perhaps you should explain to them that SD cards can go bad and they'll have lost all those photos if that happens......and it will eventually.

I can't imagine that happening, storing SD cards is a dangerous habit. I'm retirement age, but I'm not computer illiterate.

**jpzk** · 07-16-2016, 06:12 PM

Originally posted by fstop18

I know that most of us transfer our pics to other devices, ext hard drives, etc: but do you constantly erase the old images, or save certain cards that may have epic shots? thanks

Why save them (epic) pictures on that same card?

Quick download to the SSD/HDD; quick backup to another device; wipe out/format the card: reuse!
Done!

**AstroDave** · 07-16-2016, 06:52 PM

Originally posted by jpzk

Why save them (epic) pictures on that same card?

Quick download to the SSD/HDD; quick backup to another device; wipe out/format the card: reuse!
Done!

I copy my pictures to a hard drive almost immediately, then at relative leisure, copy them to 3 or 4 more hard drive, some external, and one goes in a fire-proof safe in the garage. Only then, do I use a file comparison program on the 3rd or 4th copy to compare to the SD card and delete the SD files that match (which they all should, and generally do!). This way I know that the camera files are safe.

**jpzk** · 07-16-2016, 07:50 PM

Originally posted by AstroDave

I copy my pictures to a hard drive almost immediately, then at relative leisure, copy them to 3 or 4 more hard drive, some external, and one goes in a fire-proof safe in the garage. Only then, do I use a file comparison program on the 3rd or 4th copy to compare to the SD card and delete the SD files that match (which they all should, and generally do!). This way I know that the camera files are safe.

I'd say it's a bit overdone, but we can never be too careful .

**Kerrowdown** · 07-17-2016, 12:32 AM

Originally posted by fstop18

Do you save SD cards when filled?

I buy what IMHO consider to be the best cards in the first place (SanDisk), so I transfer images, then format them in camera and go fill 'em up again.

I treat my cards as consumables, like film was in the old days. I still consider cards to be relatively cheap in the overall scheme of things.

My images are in important to me, so I constantly rotate my cards... after a few months, I bin them and buy new ones, first in, first out.

With this regime, which maybe some folk would consider as "overkill", to date I've never had an "expensive" failure.

elvinhaak · 07-17-2016, 12:53 AM

Originally posted by Kerrowdown

I buy what IMHO consider to be the best cards in the first place (SanDisk), so I transfer images, then format them in camera and go fill 'em up again.

I treat my cards as consumables, like film was in the old days. I still consider cards to be relatively cheap in the overall scheme of things.

My images are in important to me, so I constantly rotate my cards... after a few months, I bin them and buy new ones, first in, first out.

With this regime, which maybe some folk would consider as "overkill", to date I've never had an "expensive" failure.

I use a combination...
In most cases:
* take the card out, copy the contents to the HDD of computer where it is backed up
* safe the contents on the card untill all files are processed.
This way I have an 'original backup' on the SD-card untill the processing is finished.
After that I delete the contents (subdirs) on the card and re-use it.
Sometimes when I'm short of cards and have subdirs on them that are not really processed yet, I need to switch cards halfway. I do have multiple though.

But a big problem with my camera's - als a K-30 - is that not all cards work well in the camera. I bought several that work well in my small canon but not in the K-30 and others that work well in the K-30 but not well in the Canon...
Last time a new Sandisk 64GB card for the K-30 seemed to be working but when zooming in the photo's were all only course pictures and only preview. (with multiple K-30's, reformat,different versions of firmware and so on), though from the same brand and type the 32 and 128 GB cards were working. So the 64GB card ended up for the little canon and the 32 GB from the canon (which is plenty in that camera) ended up in the K-30 (which is not much if you also make movies).
With movies and pictures combined, I sometimes do not have enough space on a 128GB SD-card in a project of 1 or 2 days...

Nicolas06 · 07-17-2016, 01:19 PM

All storage devices fail. SD card too. They may store data for a few years but there no warranty. You must understand that if there any issue and the data is corrupted, you may get a new SD card for free in some case, but your data will be lost anyway. And the few years rating is if it a fully working, within specs SD card. it may fail after 3 days.

Your hardrive is no more secure. Indeed an SSD, once powered off must store keep data for 1 year... And this is for a product within specifications.

You need several backup and to check them on a regular basis so you can recreate a new backup when one failed. And you want the backups to be preferably on a different storage locations so you'll not loose everything if the house burn or there water damage.

It look stupid... Until a friend of my father got his computer and the backup stolen from him and lost everything. It do not only happen to others.

Murfy · 07-17-2016, 06:31 PM

Originally posted by photolady95

Perhaps you should explain to them that SD cards can go bad and they'll have lost all those photos if that happens......and it will eventually.

I can't imagine that happening, storing SD cards is a dangerous habit. I'm retirement age, but I'm not computer illiterate.

Or they get outdated. I had some old syquest and zip drives laying around with files on them because I stored them away and forgot about them.

07-16-2016, 03:45 PM	#20
eddaytona Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Black Rock City, NV Photos: Albums Posts: 175	There's really no apparent reason for saving them but I'm a little paranoid so I do. Also, new cards are really cheap now so I buy a few new ones each year. I also use different card sizes for my two go-to cameras so I know which card was used with which camera. Additionally, I like to change out cards often since I lost a camera with five days of photos on it while on an adventure off the grid and away from home. I didn't much mourn loosing the camera (did suck) but loosing all those shots was awful. Last edited by eddaytona; 07-16-2016 at 05:37 PM.

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07-16-2016, 12:44 PM	#16
jddwoods Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,035	I seem to be in the minority here, but I do not reuse my SD cards when they are full. I save them as digital negatives since they are not only inexpensive but some of my older cards are just slower than I would like compared to the newer ones. Also, if I want to print a large batch from an event, I can take the card to my nearby Costco and print whatever I want there. I also do back up my pictures (and everything else) on my Mac to a backup drive so I am covered in case some sort of digital disaster strikes.

07-16-2016, 01:12 PM	#17
Bengan Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Stockholm Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,767	There are better ways of saving photos than keeping them on SD cards. I copy all Raw files to a WD My Passport Wireless drive, then import the keepers into Lightroom and saving them on a NAS with RAID drives. When that is done I delete all subdirectories on the SD card and reuse it.

07-16-2016, 01:33 PM	#18
aleonx3 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Brampton, Ontario Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,996	While I agree that older, slower and smaller size SD cards can be used as backups, but there are better and more efficient ways to keep photo backups (bigger volumes and faster speeds). These SD cards though convenient but can also get lost easily as they are small; another disadvantage is also in putting labels on it if you intend to use as backups. I don't erase the content after each download to my computer, but rather I wait until it is almost full before I erase or re-format the card.

07-16-2016, 03:20 PM - 1 Like	#19
ramseybuckeye Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Hampstead, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 17,295	I transfer the files to the computer and then reformat the card, like Pepperberry Farm I seldom remove a card from the camera, unless I'm somewhere where I can't access my pc I seldom fill up a card in a day.

07-16-2016, 05:06 PM	#21
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712	I move files from the card to my computer. Process what I want, then move them to an external 1TB drive and another external 1TB drive, then I put the card back in the camera and format it.....once a week.

07-16-2016, 05:20 PM	#22
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	I only know one person who never clears their SD cards.. and they're retirement age and not really computer literate. I've explained you can download the photos on the card to your computer's hard drive and clear the card for reuse. They don't understand that.. say they have a whole drawer full of SD cards used once.

07-16-2016, 05:29 PM	#23
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712	Originally posted by mee say they have a whole drawer full of SD cards used once. Perhaps you should explain to them that SD cards can go bad and they'll have lost all those photos if that happens......and it will eventually. I can't imagine that happening, storing SD cards is a dangerous habit. I'm retirement age, but I'm not computer illiterate.

07-16-2016, 06:12 PM	#24
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Originally posted by fstop18 I know that most of us transfer our pics to other devices, ext hard drives, etc: but do you constantly erase the old images, or save certain cards that may have epic shots? thanks Why save them (epic) pictures on that same card? Quick download to the SSD/HDD; quick backup to another device; wipe out/format the card: reuse! Done!

07-16-2016, 06:52 PM	#25
AstroDave Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Location: Flagstaff, Arizona Posts: 1,648	Originally posted by jpzk Why save them (epic) pictures on that same card? Quick download to the SSD/HDD; quick backup to another device; wipe out/format the card: reuse! Done! I copy my pictures to a hard drive almost immediately, then at relative leisure, copy them to 3 or 4 more hard drive, some external, and one goes in a fire-proof safe in the garage. Only then, do I use a file comparison program on the 3rd or 4th copy to compare to the SD card and delete the SD files that match (which they all should, and generally do!). This way I know that the camera files are safe.

07-16-2016, 07:50 PM	#26
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Originally posted by AstroDave I copy my pictures to a hard drive almost immediately, then at relative leisure, copy them to 3 or 4 more hard drive, some external, and one goes in a fire-proof safe in the garage. Only then, do I use a file comparison program on the 3rd or 4th copy to compare to the SD card and delete the SD files that match (which they all should, and generally do!). This way I know that the camera files are safe. I'd say it's a bit overdone, but we can never be too careful .

07-17-2016, 12:32 AM	#27
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,863	Originally posted by fstop18 Do you save SD cards when filled? I buy what IMHO consider to be the best cards in the first place (SanDisk), so I transfer images, then format them in camera and go fill 'em up again. I treat my cards as consumables, like film was in the old days. I still consider cards to be relatively cheap in the overall scheme of things. My images are in important to me, so I constantly rotate my cards... after a few months, I bin them and buy new ones, first in, first out. With this regime, which maybe some folk would consider as "overkill", to date I've never had an "expensive" failure.

07-17-2016, 12:53 AM	#28
elvinhaak Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 33	Originally posted by Kerrowdown I buy what IMHO consider to be the best cards in the first place (SanDisk), so I transfer images, then format them in camera and go fill 'em up again. I treat my cards as consumables, like film was in the old days. I still consider cards to be relatively cheap in the overall scheme of things. My images are in important to me, so I constantly rotate my cards... after a few months, I bin them and buy new ones, first in, first out. With this regime, which maybe some folk would consider as "overkill", to date I've never had an "expensive" failure. I use a combination... In most cases: * take the card out, copy the contents to the HDD of computer where it is backed up * safe the contents on the card untill all files are processed. This way I have an 'original backup' on the SD-card untill the processing is finished. After that I delete the contents (subdirs) on the card and re-use it. Sometimes when I'm short of cards and have subdirs on them that are not really processed yet, I need to switch cards halfway. I do have multiple though. But a big problem with my camera's - als a K-30 - is that not all cards work well in the camera. I bought several that work well in my small canon but not in the K-30 and others that work well in the K-30 but not well in the Canon... Last time a new Sandisk 64GB card for the K-30 seemed to be working but when zooming in the photo's were all only course pictures and only preview. (with multiple K-30's, reformat,different versions of firmware and so on), though from the same brand and type the 32 and 128 GB cards were working. So the 64GB card ended up for the little canon and the 32 GB from the canon (which is plenty in that camera) ended up in the K-30 (which is not much if you also make movies). With movies and pictures combined, I sometimes do not have enough space on a 128GB SD-card in a project of 1 or 2 days...

07-17-2016, 01:19 PM	#29
Nicolas06 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 4,854	All storage devices fail. SD card too. They may store data for a few years but there no warranty. You must understand that if there any issue and the data is corrupted, you may get a new SD card for free in some case, but your data will be lost anyway. And the few years rating is if it a fully working, within specs SD card. it may fail after 3 days. Your hardrive is no more secure. Indeed an SSD, once powered off must store keep data for 1 year... And this is for a product within specifications. You need several backup and to check them on a regular basis so you can recreate a new backup when one failed. And you want the backups to be preferably on a different storage locations so you'll not loose everything if the house burn or there water damage. It look stupid... Until a friend of my father got his computer and the backup stolen from him and lost everything. It do not only happen to others.

07-17-2016, 06:31 PM	#30
Murfy Veteran Member Join Date: May 2014 Photos: Gallery Posts: 803	Originally posted by photolady95 Perhaps you should explain to them that SD cards can go bad and they'll have lost all those photos if that happens......and it will eventually. I can't imagine that happening, storing SD cards is a dangerous habit. I'm retirement age, but I'm not computer illiterate. Or they get outdated. I had some old syquest and zip drives laying around with files on them because I stored them away and forgot about them.