SD cards lifespan

[Brian Stirling]

I have a Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC flash card in my Nikon D800E camera and have continued the protocol of formatting the card in the camera after downloading the images. I've done this for many years and long before I had this camera or card.

Now the question I have is: what lifespan does a card like this have and how does the flash controller manage the storage and FAT on the card? I've heard some stories that indicate flash chips are limited to about 5000 write cycles and other stories indicate as few as 1000 write cycles. So, if I reformat the card in camera after every download would I risk hosing the card after 1000 or 5000 formats?

On an SSD the controller manages the storage so that one area isn't used and reused while other areas are unused -- it spreads the use so that all areas get similar usage to prevent one area from being used and reused too many times and killing the SSD too soon. It's not clear to me that an SDXC card does this kind of management or if the FAT area is also managed to prevent overuse.

So, what I've decided to do at least for now is not format the card after every download and just keep the older image files on the card until the card is about half way filled up. Given my use profile I can expect at least 5 shooting days before the card is half filled so at that point I could reformat in camera. The end result is a reduction in the number of formats by a factor of 5 or more.

I use a program called "Downloader Pro" from Breeze system to automatically download images as it creates new folders based on the date and sends the images for that date to the folder automatically. If I run Downloader Pro and some of the images on the card have already been downloaded it skips them and only downloads the new files.

So, what is the true number of write cycles one can expect from a card like this and what effect does formatting after each use/download have on the lifespan of the card. Figure about 125 shooting days per year.


Brian

 

[corkyg]

Good question. I have used my SD's and CF cards for several years - never pay much attention to that. I just carry spares, and if one dies, it gets replaced. So far, that has not happened. What is worse is putting the SD cart in my laptop to transfer files, and then forgetting to put it back in the camera. On next day's shoot - no media! That's when I started carrying spares. <LOL>

 

[Brian Stirling]

Good question. I have used my SD's and CF cards for several years - never pay much attention to that. I just carry spares, and if one dies, it gets replaced. So far, that has not happened. What is worse is putting the SD cart in my laptop to transfer files, and then forgetting to put it back in the camera. On next day's shoot - no media! That's when I started carrying spares. <LOL>

I avoid that problem by immediately removing from my PC and putting back into the camera then reformatting the card in camera. Of course, if I switch to not formatting after every download that could be an issue. Fortunately I have two and soon to be three cameras so I would not be without. Still, probably a good idea to keep a spare in the bag...


Brian

 

[cfenton]

I've also wondered about this. From my experience SD cards will typically die from other causes long before they get worn out, but presumably they could die from too many writes if you kept them safe from other hazards for long enough. I have a few 8GB cards that are about five years old and get full write cycles about once a week. They are starting to get pretty beat up physically, but they still work fine.

My old Galaxy S3 used to eat microSD cards for lunch, I think I went through four of them in the two years I had that phone. I assume it was a heat issue as it seemed to happen when I was using the camera heavily.

 

[Cerb]

I've heard some stories that indicate flash chips are limited to about 5000 write cycles and other stories indicate as few as 1000 write cycles.

Some new ones might be more like 300-500.

Use them, back them up as much as possible, and carry spares.

Chances are that the flash wearing out, on a sizable card, is not going to be what scrambles it. SD cards are, generally, dirt cheap crap.

I can say I have had much better experiences, overall, since switching to only using Samsung and Sandisk cards, though.

 

[Brian Stirling]

Yeah, I have only used Sandisk for years. My current cards for my camera are 64GB Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC.

So, to limit the number of write cycles I plan to only reformat about every 5th day of shooting or when the amount of images occupies over 50%. Doing that will reduce the number of write cycles and provide an additional level of redundancy in case the laptop and/or external HD's die.


Brian

 

[AlienTech]

Even if you erase it every day you still get like 10 years of use from it. So I dont see the point of going all extra to save a few write cycles. It is not like a professional video shoot where you use the card like a dozen times a day.. In which case those pro cards are most likely SLC and not MLC and dont matter either with their 100K write cycles..

 

[Brian Stirling]

I guess it depends on how many write cycles the chips are able to handle before problems begin and how frequently you do a write cycle. At 5000+ cycles it's highly unlikely I'd have a problem in the 8 years or so I'd plan on keeping them -- two of them are now 3 years old.

Years ago when flash was expensive and capacities were small I'd replace just about every year or two but now that capacities are were they are and speeds are good I'm less inclined to replace as often.

If the endurance is more like 1000 write cycles or less then I could see having problems before the 8 years is up.

But, the other reason to reduce the frequency of reformatting is to maintain image files on the card to provide one more layer of redundancy in case your laptop or external HD's die. In the field I download the images to my laptop everyday and usually copy them to an external HD for additional backup. When I get home I make two more backups to external HD's. So, keeping the images on the SD card for a few extra days will add one more layer of redundancy while reducing the number of write cycles.


Brian

 

[Cerb]

Yeah, I have only used Sandisk for years. My current cards for my camera are 64GB Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC.

So, to limit the number of write cycles I plan to only reformat about every 5th day of shooting or when the amount of images occupies over 50%. Doing that will reduce the number of write cycles and provide an additional level of redundancy in case the laptop and/or external HD's die.


Brian

SDs may or may not optimize for zeroes being written, but they don't have anything like TRIM, and being made for the devices they are, tend to only have real-time wear-leveling, TMK. With pictures being pretty big, I doubt capacity used is going to make much difference, until much more full (enough so that fragmentation slows things down).

Even if you erase it every day you still get like 10 years of use from it. So I dont see the point of going all extra to save a few write cycles. It is not like a professional video shoot where you use the card like a dozen times a day.. In which case those pro cards are most likely SLC and not MLC and dont matter either with their 100K write cycles..

Industrial cards usually aren't even SLC, these days. More like they're MLC instead of TLC.

 

[CuriousMike]

Your D800E has dual memory card slots.
Just keep a fresh card in the 2nd slot as backup and don't worry about it.

 

[bigi]

One of the major factors I got my D800 is that it has USB3. I rarely remove cards from it as I connect the camera to my PC via USB 3 and quickly transfer files.

I also always format my CF/SD cards in camera.