doug_m Posted October 2, 2009 Share #1 Posted October 2, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Make sure you format (in the M9) any SD card put into your M9 for the first time. This includes all new cards and all used cards. I have been told by a very reliable source to do this to avoid problems with deleting images. Apparently this is the safe thing to do with any camera but it is especially true with the M9 and its current firmware. Trust me on this one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 Hi doug_m, Take a look here Important- M9 SD card use/formatting. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
danyves Posted October 2, 2009 Share #2 Posted October 2, 2009 Thanks, we are some to say this since a long time, but you will find people who say that this not necessary, that they never do that and are the same who complain because of problems which arise when they delete pictures on the camera. You have to say it again, because some will never listen, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overgaard Posted October 2, 2009 Share #3 Posted October 2, 2009 I'm curious to know the actual reason but would note that it's the same for harddrives. I always format new internal and external harddrives with writing 0's (or is it 1s) all over before I use them. Only had problems with factory-formatted drives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammam Posted October 2, 2009 Share #4 Posted October 2, 2009 I find it intriguing that people resist the idea of formatting their cards, as if it was some big, complicated deal, with unforeseen possible consequences, when in fact not doing it may be more risky. Why they woouldn't do it is beyond me. But... it takes all sorts... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted October 2, 2009 Share #5 Posted October 2, 2009 In general I agree with the idea of always formatting. However, I just absentmindedly popped a new 16 Mb Sandisk Ultra in and it runs perfectly without formatting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted October 2, 2009 Share #6 Posted October 2, 2009 Agree on formatting. I had huge problems when I inadvertently used the same SD card in an M8 and a DLux 3. Now the cards for each are kept separate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WigglePig Posted October 2, 2009 Share #7 Posted October 2, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) In general I agree with the idea of always formatting. However, I just absentmindedly popped a new 16 Mb Sandisk Ultra in and it runs perfectly without formatting. Of course, you'll only get one image on there so there shouldn't be too much need to worry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted October 2, 2009 Share #8 Posted October 2, 2009 Of course, you'll only get one image on there so there shouldn't be too much need to worry. and then only if he's shooting jpg . . .mind you, if he shoots low res jpg he might even get 5 on it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug_m Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share #9 Posted October 2, 2009 Jaapv, I think you should format that card ASAP. If it has not been formatted don't assume it will not give you problems in the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjh Posted October 2, 2009 Share #10 Posted October 2, 2009 Isn’t it odd that even in the world of technology, good ol’ superstition is as popular as ever? If a black cat crosses your path and nothing untoward happens, rest assured that eventually it will … Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamiji Posted October 2, 2009 Share #11 Posted October 2, 2009 Isn’t it odd that even in the world of technology, good ol’ superstition is as popular as ever? If a black cat crosses your path and nothing untoward happens, rest assured that eventually it will … This has little to do with superstition and cats... it has to do with cheap vendors, taking short cuts, in the implementation of an open and not regulated standard. I am not referring to just the Chip vendors but the Camera vendors (Leica is a culprit as well), and computer vendors... Try formating a SD on a Mac (or XP) and try it on a M8/9... Leica seems to rely on a fare amount of strictness in the SD/SDHC standard. When you format the chip in the camera, you place down what the camera expects. If I remember correctly there was a firmware upgrade in the M8 that required one to reformat all chips, formated before the update... In time all chips will fail... the only way to make sure your data is safe, is format in camera before each use (it will test the chip for problems)... and backup, backup and backup one more time... P.S. Also buy the best SD you can afford... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mc_k Posted October 5, 2009 Share #12 Posted October 5, 2009 I think this applies to the M8 equally. If I "delete all" instead of reformat I will sometimes get unreadable picture files when I go to use the card. Sometimes I wonder if reformatting is enough...is the M8 just a little flaky in this area? Sometimes it can't finish reformatting a card and the red light just blinks ad infinitum. The fix is to reinstall the battery. It has happened with too many cards to think it is a faulty card. Some cards that I have used in the M8 I cannot format in the R-d1. Is it OK to share cards with the two different cameras as long as you reformat every time? Does reformatting really erase everything on the card? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted October 6, 2009 Share #13 Posted October 6, 2009 Is it OK to share cards with the two different cameras as long as you reformat every time? Does reformatting really erase everything on the card? I reformat in camera after each time I download the files onto the computer. It should be OK to share cards between cameras once reformatted, however I don't do that, I keep dedicated cards for each camera, IMO it's the best way to avoid any problems at all. I may be subject to correction, but there is no guarantee that reformatting erases everything on the card, the data is still embedded and can still be retrieved with the right software. Overwriting the card however does erase everything permanently. I tried the "Overwrite" function on the M9 it takes over 20 minutes to do for an 8GB card. There's a linear LCD indicator that shows the overwriting progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug_m Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share #14 Posted October 6, 2009 When overwriting I suggest you make sure the battery is fully charged and that auto off is turned off- so that the camera does not try to turn off in the middle of the process. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 6, 2009 Share #15 Posted October 6, 2009 I hope the next firmware update will speed in camera formatting in the M9. I have read of half hour + waits to reformat - any comments? With my M8 and Ricoh GX200 it is a no brainer to reformat after each download as it only takes seconds. If however, it takes 30+ minutes to re-format the 16GB Ultra II cards I have bought in anticipation of my M9 arriving (eventually), I would be less keen to re-format each time. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted October 6, 2009 Share #16 Posted October 6, 2009 I hope the next firmware update will speed in camera formatting in the M9. I have read of half hour + waits to reformat - any comments? There are two options when formatting a card in the M9. The current M8 method that doesn't really format the card - I assume it delete the file allocation table instead - and a new method that does a 'real' format - i.e. initialises all the sectors on the card. The first method takes just as long (more or less, I didn't time it) as it did with an M8. It's the second, low level format, that takes much longer to run. Again I don't have times as when I had a play with an M9 I only formatted the card using the first method. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevelap Posted October 6, 2009 Share #17 Posted October 6, 2009 Oh the wonders of the internet........half-an-hour indeed:eek: I've just tried a standard format with an 8GB Sandisk Extreme (the latest 30mbs, class 10 card). It took 38 seconds, irrespective of whether there were images on the card, or not. I'll report back later with the overwrite time, once I have a fully charged battery (at just below 50% capacity the camera gave a 'too low battery' warning for an overwrite). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 6, 2009 Share #18 Posted October 6, 2009 Steve, I would guess that one should do a low level format when one first uses the card and maybe once or twice a year thereafter. A FAT rewrite should suffice most of the time thereafter. The only problem I have had with a card in the M8 was, when in the middle of a shoot, after a lock up, it started to number images from L1010000 (it was running in the L1021000 range at the time) but I think that was down to a conniption fit on the part of my M8, not the card. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 6, 2009 Share #19 Posted October 6, 2009 Oh the wonders of the internet........half-an-hour indeed:eek: I've just tried a standard format with an 8GB Sandisk Extreme (the latest 30mbs, class 10 card). It took 38 seconds, irrespective of whether there were images on the card, or not. I'll report back later with the overwrite time, once I have a fully charged battery (at just below 50% capacity the camera gave a 'too low battery' warning for an overwrite). Steve, I had mistakenly thought that the full low level format was the only option on the M9. Certainly someone on this forum reported that a low level format had taken over 30 minutes on whatever card they were using. I will be interested to hear how long a full format of your 8GB Ex III card takes, once you have put some Coulombs (amp-seconds) into the battery. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted October 6, 2009 Share #20 Posted October 6, 2009 Wilson, I have no idea whether there's an advantage to be gained in using the longer method - though it may identify and dodgy sectors. With the M8 I format every time I put a card in the camera as a means of deleting the old images. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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