What is the difference between formatting a Cf card and just erasing the images?

Question

they both clear the flash card of images so why do cameras have both options?

Answer 1

The advantage of Delete All (or Erase All), is that this does NOT delete protected images!! Say you have 300 pictures on your card and you want to keep a dozen on there and delete the rest. Simply protect the dozen pictures that you want to keep with the key symbol and then select delete all.
On the other hand, formatting blasts the entire contents away, including any protected images. The advantage of formatting is it's faster than deleting and it's actually better for your card. Think of it as routine maintenance.
I personally don't think about recovery methods after a format or delete because recovering images is always major hassle. That, and there are no 100% guarantees either way. So whether you press delete or format, you'd better mean it.

Answer 2

There are two different types of format; low level and a regular format. Low Level not only prepares the camera to write files again, it permanently erases the data from the card. A regular format simply recreates the space needed to write the images. If you have formatted the card you can use digital image recovery software to retrieve the images, somewhat. This is assuming that the card isn't corrupted and the software can understand the way in which the files were written to the card to begin with; it doesn't always. But a low-level format cannot be recovered from because the data simply isn't there. In layman's terms; it's the difference between throwing something in the Recycle Bin and actually clearing that Recycle Bin out; the computer OS has allocated so much space for the Bin in the first place, and once that level is exceeded it will start throwing away files, or at times it does it periodically, or upon restart.

Answer 3

Flash memory is made up of millions of different individual pieces. Each of these pieces wears out after an approximate number of times it is changed. The memory card keeps track of about how many times each piece is used so that when it writes new files it will skip locations that are probably "wearing out". This, unfortunately, causes the memory card to slow down over time because each file might get split up and written to many different areas of the card.

Formatting not only deletes the files but also removes the information keeping track of the usage of the pieces... which increases the speed at which information is read and written to the card but will cause the card to go bad quicker.

With the way memory card prices drop all the time I always format because by the time it wears out I'll probably already have bought a bigger memory card for less money. But if you take a major amount of pictures this might not work for you, you may want to just delete instead of format.

Answer 4

If you delete something, you can potentially recover it. If your camera has the trash icon, you can see your pictures there. Also, deleting something lets you selectively delete the pictures that you want to get rid of.

If you format it, everything that you have on the card will be permanently erased, and you can't recover it.

Flash cards are the same, whether you buy one from Sony or from Sandisk. But different devices from different companies reads the flash differently, so you have to format the flash so that it can be used by that device.

Answer 5

Formatting allows the device to adjust and read the amount of space it can access on the card while erasing the images just deletes the file.

Answer 6

When you erase the pictures from the card, the information is still on the card, but you cannot see it. all the information is still there, and can be recovered, unless written over by new images/data. Formatting totally erases the card so that there is no information on it.

Answer 7

Because formatting the card can also fix a file corruption that freezes the card and makes it unusable.

That and if you have hundreds of images, it's easier to format the card than erase all of your images.

Answer 8

in case you save information on any type of confusing disk or card or such there is two issues kept... the definitely documents and the area of that documents interior the register (report allocation table/fat or regardless of different format is used...) in case you delete a report the definitely documents remains, notwithstanding the get entry to interior the fat is erased. next time you save documents it is going to (likely) write over the former documents... in case you format a disc you erase the entire fat notwithstanding the definitely documents nevertheless remains... in case you pick to really truly truly erase the suggestion you'd be desiring to format the disc and then write over all the suggestion it remains there... there is particular application that does that for you

Answer 9

Deleting files from CF card mean remove files from the card.

Formating CF card is both deleting files from the card AND make (rewrite) new tracks on the card. (cards or hard drives need to have tracks on it so they can hold files. Tracks on card or hard drives look like lines on blank paper. We need lines on bank paper so we can write words on that)