Digital camera accessories

[marmaduke]

Hi all,  I just got a USB Flash Card Reader for SD memory.  The memory plugs into the back of the reader and its just like a micro drive.  I just ordered a 1 Gig memory for this. It will be great for downloading large files from the internet.  

What I was wondering, if I ever use this in my camera, will the card survive all the constant downloads and transfers? If I format the card in the camera, can I also format it in Windows XP ?  Does Fat32 or NTFS do anything to the card? Will the camera read it if I format it in the computer? Can the camera save it if I do format it in Windows XP?

Thanks for any help.

[Deb]

Hi there Marmaduke,
In a nutshell, in order for your digital camera to recognize and use a memory card, the card must be formatted in the camera (never on a computer). This ensures that the firmware necessary for recognition and use by the camera is present.

[ShutterbugGail]

What I was wondering, if I ever use this in my camera, will the card survive all the constant downloads and transfers? If I format the card in the camera, can I also format it in Windows XP ?  Does Fat32 or NTFS do anything to the card? Will the camera read it if I format it in the computer? Can the camera save it if I do format it in Windows XP?

With all the horror stories of memory card corruption that we've heard at the Q&A Board and elsewhere, I'd personally be very leary of mixing the two. If I wanted to use a SD card like a mini-hard drive to move files back and forth, I'd buy a separate card for that purpose and have a second one for use in just the camera.

[bdery]

I'll just add my two cents...

if you want to use your reader to transfer pics taken with the camera towards the computer without plugging  the camera directly to the PC, you shouldn,t have that much troubles if you reformat the card in the camera afterwards. Many people do this. However, if you want to use your card reader + SD card as a portable storage device, then use the card in the camera, you run the risk of corruption on the long run (as Gail said). In any case, always format your card in-camera before using it.

Corruption problems probably depend on the card and reader brands, rates of transfer, and other things (stars alignment maybe )

I have used for some time a Sandisk CF card (that was formatted with the computer) with a Nikon camera without problems. When I formatted it, I noticed an increase of speed (not that much) for writing to the card. same thing happened with my Sandisk SD card and Canon S2 camera.

As for heavy use, cards are supposed to live for many many years, so as long as you use it in ONe device (as much as possible) you should be OK.

[marmaduke]

Thanks all for the info.