3 questions

[Avic7]

Hiya everyone,

Thanks for reading this post. It is my first official post. Since i am a newbie, pls forgive me if i step on any toes.

My first question is what is a raw? When i take a picture with my canon IXY 400 digital camera and transfer it into my computer, it is in jpeg format. I got confused reading some previous posts.


My second question is whether or not it is bad to constantly reformat the compactflash memory card instead of using the "delete all images" function. Does it ruin the memory or what?


My third question is related to my second question, earlier this weekend, i was bestman for my buddies wedding. I finished taking a picture, turned the camera off, went downstairs to get a drink, came back up and when i turned on the camera, it said, "memory card error" total image is ZERO.
What could have caused this memory card error? Is it to many reformats on the compactflash card? What is the best program i can use to recover those lost images? And will I be able to recover 100% of those lost images?


ok, sorry i know those are more than three questions. I look forward to hearing from you all.
Thank you
Avic7

[lucasdigital]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum as well.

There is a good and thorough explanation of what RAW format is here -
http://www.photo.net/learn/raw/

In theory a reformat shouldn't cause any gradual damage to your memory card, so long as your camera is doing the reformatting. I've been told never to use a PC to do the reformat, before using in my camera. Differences in firmware can lead to problems, though I would assume that you could always reform in the camera before storing any shots on it.

Sorry to read about your memory card misfortune. I had similar problems with my old Fuji Finepix. The camera just became incredibly flakey, allowing about 10 shots to be taken before complaining of memory errors. I'd lost about two days of work before consigning the camera to a dusty grave.

Its possible to recover files from damaged media, though not in every case. I'm no expert though. How much you recover will depend on what caused the problem. Good luck with the recovery!

[Avic7]

Thanks for answering my questions. That link u sent me cleared up my misconceptions.
THanks