Formatting is the last thing you do to a card, and the only step you can’t undo.
Most lost footage isn’t lost to a bad card. It’s lost to a card that was formatted one step too early.
Format in the camera
A camera formats a card the way it expects to find it: the right file system and the folders it writes into. A card formatted on a computer can look fine and still confuse the camera, or leave it writing in a way it wasn’t built for. Format in the body you’re about to shoot with.
Only after verified copies
Not after the progress bar finishes, and not after one copy. Format once the footage is on two drives and each copy has been checked against the card. Until then, the card is the only original you have.
Format, don’t delete
Deleting clips one by one in camera leaves the card’s index patched together. Formatting starts it clean. If you need room mid-shoot, offload and format; don’t thin the card out.
Know when to retire a card
Write errors, a camera that warns about the card, clips that won’t play back, or a card that suddenly records slower than it should. A card that has failed once doesn’t get a second chance on a paying job.
Keep a system
Some crews tape a card face-down once it’s offloaded, or keep empty and full cards in separate pockets. Whatever it is, the point is that nobody has to remember. The card tells you.
Amaptik keeps track of that for you: it remembers every card it has copied and tells you when one is safe to erase.
Glossary: Card Format (In Camera) · Write protection
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