- Feb 7, 2010
- 3,964
- 2
- 0
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
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