FORMAT FUNCTION WARNING

[adwb]

Warning

As I have discovered to my cost when using the format function from the memory options , it does exactly that, it completely erases the card and if you have made a mistake you cannot recover

images with a recovery program;  the sony A7RII does a full format.

 

Well what did you expect I hear you saying,  i expected to be able to reverse that's what, if I format a card with my Olympus body or any of my Pentax bodies I can still recover images and I was used to that fail safe if I messed up.

 

Don't fall into the same trap, if your Sony say format then it b****y well means it!!

[Emptymind]

Formatting is the same with all drives and disks - just like a computer harddrive - it erases all data and rebuilds the card file structure. This has always been this way - not sure how or why Olympus have a recovery feature but it's very unusual.

 

But you can recover 99% of your files as long as you have not used the card again - there are a number of data recovery programs for this and one that is specific to images and video.

[fermin]

I recommend using the recovery tool from the card manufacturer. Most of my (CF) cards to date have been from SANDisk, and I had to use the tool once or twice. See here for a link to their tool.

 

Not sure I should still use FORMAT with the Sony. I was told you didn't need to format, just delete the pictures. It's even supposed to be better for the card this way, i.e. longer life. Comments on that?

[Guest all8]

Deleting _all_ pictures/video is sufficient, and has the same effect as formatting - its almost the same mechanism. The important difference is that some custom settings which are stored on the SD Card are not deleted, however they are deleted by the format.

 

I think a lot of people started using Format as a "short cut" for the cumbersome process of deleting all files, which is a sad reflection on the state of Camera Interface Design. Which one you use does not really matter.

[fermin]

I usually transfer all pictures to my PC at the end of a shoot/day. So for me it's easy - I select a picture and then in the menu "delete all with same date", which in most cases empties the card in one go.

[joema]

Deleting _all_ pictures/video is sufficient, and has the same effect as formatting - its almost the same mechanism. The important difference is that some custom settings which are stored on the SD Card are not deleted, however they are deleted by the format.

 

I think a lot of people started using Format as a "short cut" for the cumbersome process of deleting all files, which is a sad reflection on the state of Camera Interface Design. Which one you use does not really matter.

 

There is internally a big difference between formatting the SD card vs deleting files from it. As discussed in The Complete Guide to Sony's A7RII by Gary Friedman, "formatting and deleting work completely different internally, and do different things."

 

At a photographic seminar, Michael Schwarz (nominated for three Pulitzer Prizes for photojournalism) strongly emphasized reformatting memory cards vs just deleting files. The reasoning was just deleting files makes the card slightly more susceptible to internal filesystem fragmentation plus reformatting remaps bad blocks.  

 

This is why Nikon DSLRs have a two-button sequence dedicated to format, so it can be accessed quickly yet never accidentally. Canon DSLRs can place the format command on a Quick Menu. Alas, Sony A7-series cameras require walking through the menus. This might seem a small thing, but fast access to the format command is useful to professionals who shoot a lot.

[Guest all8]

There is internally a big difference between formatting the SD card vs deleting files from it. As discussed in The Complete Guide to Sony's A7RII by Gary Friedman, "formatting and deleting work completely different internally, and do different things."

 

At a photographic seminar, Michael Schwarz (nominated for three Pulitzer Prizes for photojournalism) strongly emphasized reformatting memory cards vs just deleting files. The reasoning was just deleting files makes the card slightly more susceptible to internal filesystem fragmentation plus reformatting remaps bad blocks.  

 

This is why Nikon DSLRs have a two-button sequence dedicated to format, so it can be accessed quickly yet never accidentally. Canon DSLRs can place the format command on a Quick Menu. Alas, Sony A7-series cameras require walking through the menus. This might seem a small thing, but fast access to the format command is useful to professionals who shoot a lot.

 

Yes, these are the reasons typically given ... but generally wrong and only provide justification to do things which we all do but don't have a good reason to do.

 

My quote:

 

 

 

I think a lot of people started using Format as a "short cut" for the cumbersome process of deleting all files, which is a sad reflection on the state of Camera Interface Design.

 

and your quote:

 

 

 

why Nikon DSLRs have a two-button sequence dedicated to format, so it can be accessed quickly yet never accidentally

 

more or less proves my point.

 

 

I use delete all on my A7, because once you know how you realize its easier than formatting the card. And on my GR I use format because its easier than deleting all the images. The end effect is the same, the FAT file system is very simple .... the idea that there is some vast and meaningful difference is nice, if you like that. But either way it makes no difference.

[Guest all8]

I use delete all on my A7, because once you know how you realize its easier than formatting the card. And on my GR I use format because its easier than deleting all the images. The end effect is the same, the FAT file system is very simple .... the idea that there is some vast and meaningful difference is nice, if you like that. But either way it makes no difference.

 

 

Ah, also worth noting is that Sony cameras, customs memory positions M1..M4 are saved on the SD Card ....

[Westerwill]

I just mistakenly reformatted my Lexar 64 GB card on my A7R2. Had images on it I hadn't downloaded. I immediately recognized my mistake and haven't done anything to the card except try to recover the files. That's happened to me before and data recovery software has found my images before. Not this time. I've tried 4 separate softwares and they find absolutely nothing. I've been using this card since August and filled it often, so I know there should be images, but no addresses IF it reacts like all the other volumes I've come to understand. I've re-formatted my cards for 15 years and never had a card problem. I'm inclined to think there's definitely something different with the Sony reformatting process. It doesn't take long enough to write zeroes but seems to have had the same effect. I am not pleased.

[Guest all8]

SD Cards support a Erase command on their interface, it seems that the Sony cameras uses this, and the internal SD card controller is likely smart enough to only erase blocks which hold data - part of the reason that the operation is so fast. And there are other reasons why its fast.

 

The reason that Sony do this is likely to improve Write speeds. Before a block of memory can be written, it first must be erased, so, by erasing the SD card during format, the Write speed is intrinsically improved.

[Guest]

A lot of cameras are doing a 'Quick Format', like the Olympus. This will not erase the files, but only erase the file allocation table.

Your files are still there until they are been overwritten by a new image. It's a faster way of formatting.

 

Sony is using a complete format which really will erase all information, that's why a format in the a7rii takes so much time compared to my Olympus EM1.

 

Most likely one can not recover image with the use of conventional recover software