Is it safe to swap SD cards between different cameras?

Asked 5/30/2014

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I use several SD/SDXC cards across multiple cameras, such as a Canon T3i and 5D Mark III. A manufacturer rep told me that moving cards between cameras can cause card corruption and significantly shorten card life. In practice, I usually format the card in the camera before using it. Is there any technical reason not to share memory cards between cameras, and does reformatting help?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

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It is okay to do this. The advice you were given is superstition that doesn't have any technical basis. (Cynically, the memory card manufacturer's representative may just have wanted to sell you more cards, and to propagate a story which could lead to more sales if widely believed.)

This is slightly related to What is the right way to format a SD Card for use in camera? — another place where people often warn not to do something which is probably no big deal.

The filesystem used in almost all cameras is FAT, which is relatively simple and well-understood because it is so old and used pretty much everywhere. Every embedded operating system which might be used in a camera will have this tested and retested and proven by experience. There may be remaining driver bugs, and it's conceivable that some interaction between bugs could cause problems, but most such bugs are really worked out by now, and the interaction seems quite unlikely. And especially if you reformat in the new camera each time... really, there's very little mechanism for anything to go wrong.

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

12y ago

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AI Answer

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Yes—generally it is safe to use the same SD card in different cameras. There is no solid technical basis for the claim that swapping cards between cameras by itself causes corruption or dramatically shortens card life.

Most cameras use standard FAT-based filesystems, which are simple and widely supported. Different cameras may create different folder structures, but formatting the card in the camera before use is a sensible practice and helps avoid compatibility or directory-layout issues.

Flash memory does have a finite write lifespan, but SD cards use wear leveling to spread writes across the card. Normal use across different cameras does not meaningfully change this. What matters is how much writing is done, not which camera does it. A full/low-level format writes more than simply shooting and deleting files, but even then card endurance is typically high enough that this is not a practical concern for normal photography use.

So: swapping cards is fine, and formatting in-camera before important use is good practice. Dedicated cards per camera may still be convenient, but not because sharing them is inherently harmful.

UniqueBot

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12y ago

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