Memory card "safety" and rotation...

PhotoLasVegas · May 9, 2010

Tonight, our butts were saved by our very strict policy on use of memory cards... it reminds me to remind everyone else to institute a memory card "safety" policy...

I'll post ours - but before I do, I'd like to see how everyone else handles memory cards during longer events - how often do you swap them out, how do you distinguish "safe" from "used" discs, etc.?

Snowgirl · May 9, 2010

PhotoLasVegas wrote: »

Tonight, our butts were saved by our very strict policy on use of memory cards... it reminds me to remind everyone else to institute a memory card "safety" policy...

I'll post ours - but before I do, I'd like to see how everyone else handles memory cards during longer events - how often do you swap them out, how do you distinguish "safe" from "used" discs, etc.?

My policy is to use smaller cards (won't lose as much in the event of a failure) and swap them out when they're about 3/4 full.

When time permits (during an event) I download to my laptop for client viewing and back-up to an external hard drive. I do NOT erase the cards on-site.

Back in the office, I download the originals to my iMAC for sorting, editing and posting on-line and those are also backed up (by Aperture) to another external hard drive.

THEN I erase and re-format the cards.

Thanks - reminds me I need to buy some new cards.

I also replace cards AT LEAST every year or so. I mark them with the year of purchase so I know which is which.

And, while at events, all used cards go into a specific pocket in my camera bag while fresh cards are kept in a different pocket. I have a good memory, but it's short, so I need consistency in things like this.

And you?

PhotoLasVegas · May 10, 2010

thanks for the reply

I wonder if anyone else even has a policy, or if they will make one after they lose a ton of pics one day...

Ours is probably WAY overboard, but we've been saved twice so it's worth it:

Note we usually shoot with 2 cameras. We also shoot only with smaller cards (4gb), mainly because we never fill them up because of our swap-out policy...

1. we swap out cards every hour, and always swap out right after the wedding ceremony, and again right after the "formal" photoshoot.
2. If we haven't taken at least 100 photos in an hour (which happens), we dont' swap out until we reach that amount OR we get to the end of that events "segment" (pre-wedding, ceremony, formals, reception)
3. "Safe" cards are kept in one zipppered area inside our ThinkTank bag; that zippered area has SAFE written in RED ink on the outside.
4. "Used" cards are kept in a separate zippered area AND inside that pocket, they are inside of a CF card carrying case (clamshell type case). Both the zippered pocket AND the carrying case are marked with RED ink "NO"

We transfer all the cards immediately after returning from the event. We have one of the Delkin 4-card readers so it goes really fast.
Then immediately after transferring, we make the LR Catalog. Then the entire thing is copied onto TWO external HD's (the externals are kept separate and rotated).
After transferring, we put the cards each back into the camera, and spot-check the photos (1st photo, middle photo, last photo) to make sure they are in the LR catalog.
The card is then immediately formatted inside the camera.

This takes a lot of time, but we've never mistakenly erased an event, and like I mentioned before, we have been "saved" twice. The first time we lost about 40 photos but were able to recover the rest. The 40 photos were from the reception, and although we did inform the client (and give her a $150 refund), she said, "I never would have noticed".

On Saturday, it was a brand new card in our new 7d that somehow got corrupted. There was about 120 photos on it. We were able to re-build the directory structure with our data recovery program and all the photos were saved.

zoomer · May 10, 2010

I use 16gig cards so I never have to change them out during a shoot.
My main camera has two card slots I use the second slot as backup.

I feel there is much more risk using lots of cards (losing one or card failure) that there is in using a single card that never leaves the camera during the event.(card failure).

In my wild estimation I have taken around 250,000 digital photos and never had a card fail. I only use the highest quality Sandisk Extreme cards.

I fill them all the way full and I also delete and add more photos, all the no no's, still no card failures.

I cull the photos in camera as far as possible. Then copy ito the computer for processing.
I don't reformat the cards until the photos from the event are fully processed and copied back onto the customers disc.

PhotoLasVegas · May 10, 2010

zoomer wrote: »

I use 16gig cards so I never have to change them out during a shoot.
My main camera has two card slots I use the second slot as backup.

I feel there is much more risk using lots of cards (losing one or card failure) that there is in using a single card that never leaves the camera during the event.(card failure).

In my wild estimation I have taken around 250,000 digital photos and never had a card fail. I only use the highest quality Sandisk Extreme cards.

I fill them all the way full and I also delete and add more photos, all the no no's, still no card failures.

I cull the photos in camera as far as possible. Then copy ito the computer for processing.
I don't reformat the cards until the photos from the event are fully processed and copied back onto the customers disc.

I really truly hope that works for you... but just remember, WHEN you have a card fail, you'll lose an entire event (to that point in time).

"Losing" a card is almost impossible when you are diligent.

Snowgirl · May 10, 2010

I tend to stick with the 4g cards too - for the same reason. I don't want to lose too much if anything goes wrong.

Not too long ago I had a 2gb SanDisk ExtremeIII pooch out on me but luckily there wasn't a lot on it. It's one that I forgot to date so god knows how old it was.

starlight · May 14, 2010

Currently using 4Gb and 8Gb cards, all high-end/name-brand. Looking to upgrade with several 16Gb cards and leaving the older ones in the backup cameras. I don't have *old* and *new* piles because I tend to buy new cards about every 18 months and so far I've been giving the old ones away to hobby shooters I've shot with because their cameras are less demanding (smaller file size/older cameras that don't recognise larger cards/etc). When I get the 16BGb cards, it'll be a simple separation based on size - 16Gb = new, everything else = old.

Cards are numbered and used in sequence. If I'm using the WFT, the cards are shot until near full, then returned to the case inverted and replaced with fresh ones throughout the day. If I'm not using the WFT, the cards are rotated either hourly or at convenient breaks in the shoot and downloaded during breaks.

Cards are not erased (I Format every time instead of just erasing) until there are at least two copies of the image (usually the laptop HD and the portable external HD it's constantly backing up to all shoot with Time Machine). At the end of the day the HD is backed up to *another* external HD using Super Duper (one of the programs suggested by Apple for redundancy for Time Machine) for a total of three copies of everything using two separate backup systems.

A little on the paranoid side, but I haven't lost anything to technical failure yet... *fingers crossed*

This was drilled into me early on through the misfortunes of a photographer I shot several weddings with as his second. He called me up about a week after one shoot and asked if i still had the additional images from a particular wedding shoot (he originally only wanted the top third or so). I did indeed have them (and in fact, still do three years later...), which was fortunate because he had suffered a complete HD failure after deleting his CF cards, but before performing any backups...leaving him with only the images he had uploaded to his site for viewing by the wedding party.

Thus my paranoia...

So yes, I have a system and so far it's worked.

Shayebryd · May 15, 2010

I also only use 4GB cards for same reason. Always buy SanDisk brand. Upload images as soon as I get home to EHD and save the cards until all images have been uploaded to my SmugMug site.

Thanks for the great thread......always a good reminder!

Memory card "safety" and rotation...

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