D5200 & SanDisk SDHC 16GB problem reading

Parke1953

@Ironheart do you recommend using this formatter on all SD cards no matter the camera we use. I always format in camera (D800) and the card only shows (16gb sandisk)14.8gb. If formatted using this formatter process and then format in camera do you get increased size on the card.

tcole1983

Props to ironheart for still trying to help. Usually when someone is like Peter I give up trying to provide any help or feedback. Unsure why he is asking if he knows everything and is an experienced user. Or just using the forum to rant about Nikon.

Ironheart

I recommend using this formatter, especially if you are having any flakiness, on a regular basis, once every few months, or more depending on how many times you fill/erase your cards. Better to have your card crap out under the pressure of a low level format, than out in the field. I then go ahead and re-format in the camera, which really just does a quick format by marking the allocation tables as empty.

Depending on how/where your card was initially formatted, a change in the cluster size could have a small effect on the overall available space, either up or down. However properly aligning the cluster allocation to the cards capabilities could result in slightly better performance.

haroldp

Card rescue software that is included with high end cards from Sandisk and Lexar also includes formatting and secure erase.

Even a low level format only writes each block header. A secure erase writes every byte and is better test.

If a card even hiccups in the Secure erase, I will never use it in a camera. I usually throw them out, or use them for easily replicated data transfers. ( like very flat usb drive).

I can't imagine why someone would use and continue using a card of apparently unknown provenance which was physically broken, for mission critical work.

One more reason to like cameras with 2 card slots, which I always set for backup.


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