my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

[amie22]

I have never bought a card with this much GB.  But the camera wont format it.  Too much GB or bad card and I'm making a trip back to the store.  Please help

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

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@TCampbell wrote:

That's an SDXC card.  Your Rebel XS camera will accept SD or SDHC cards only.

SD cards are up to 16GB and use the FAT12 filesystem.

SDHC cards are up to 32GB and use the FAT32 filesystem.

SDXC cards are 32GB to 2TB and use the exFAT filesystem.

You have an older camera which was manufactured before the SDXC standard existed and, as such, your camera does not know how to deal with those cards.

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Most people here will urge you not to use a card that large anyway, because it can be a temptation to engage in risky behavior. Like putting an entire important photo shoot on a single card or leaving files on a card too long before copying them to a computer.

[TCampbell]

That's an SDXC card.  Your Rebel XS camera will accept SD or SDHC cards only.

SD cards are up to 16GB and use the FAT12 filesystem.

SDHC cards are up to 32GB and use the FAT32 filesystem.

SDXC cards are 32GB to 2TB and use the exFAT filesystem.

You have an older camera which was manufactured before the SDXC standard existed and, as such, your camera does not know how to deal with those cards.

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

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@TCampbell wrote:

That's an SDXC card.  Your Rebel XS camera will accept SD or SDHC cards only.

SD cards are up to 16GB and use the FAT12 filesystem.

SDHC cards are up to 32GB and use the FAT32 filesystem.

SDXC cards are 32GB to 2TB and use the exFAT filesystem.

You have an older camera which was manufactured before the SDXC standard existed and, as such, your camera does not know how to deal with those cards.

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Most people here will urge you not to use a card that large anyway, because it can be a temptation to engage in risky behavior. Like putting an entire important photo shoot on a single card or leaving files on a card too long before copying them to a computer.

[amie22]

Thanks so much for your help bob!  I have begun to look into updating my camera.... So I'm looking at upgrading to the canon rebel SLi

i do a lot of evening action pictures.  And by my  research and pocketbook this could be a nice upgrade from my XS

[amie22]

So Bob

whats your take on my choice of upgrade?

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

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@amie22 wrote:

So Bob

whats your take on my choice of upgrade?

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To be honest, I know next to nothing about the SL1 - only what I read on the Canon site. But I have to confess to a strong bias against Rebels, because they don't have autofocus microadjustment, which I consider almost a necessity with non-L lenses. If you don't share that bias, the SL1 does appear to get good reviews from its purchasers. Its selling point is its small size and light weight. If that's important to you, it could be a deciding factor.

[dorkstradamus]

If you're seeing the "Card not formatted, format card with this camera" and then after the instructions you get "Cannot format, change card" it is because the camera is not directly SDXC compatible. I found a solution for my 64 GB SDXC card -

I used a program http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm (or search "Ridgecrop FAT32 GUI") and click on the giant image to download it (weird, but they're British). I scanned it and it was clean & safe, but I won't guarantee anything about it. Windows' built in programs will not let you format as FAT32 - but this will. I believe Mac OS will format as FAT32 just fine but I can't confirm.

It opens right away and then you just tell it to format your SDXC card (make sure it is the correct one! formatting deletes everything on the device). It will format the SDXC card as FAT32. Popping it into the Rebel XS camera just worked and I was able to take pictures and they were saved without fanfare.

The SDHC format requires FAT32, and reformatting the SDXC card from exFAT to FAT32 with the program above allowed for my camera to think it just had a haunkin FAT32 card.

Note: I have not filled the camera past 32 GB so I do not know if the camera will throw a hissy fit (and not save pics) if you go over the 32 GB limit SDHC cards have.

[RobertTheFat]

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@dorkstradamus wrote:

If you're seeing the "Card not formatted, format card with this camera" and then after the instructions you get "Cannot format, change card" it is because the camera is not directly SDXC compatible. I found a solution for my 64 GB SDXC card -

I used a program http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm (or search "Ridgecrop FAT32 GUI") and click on the giant image to download it (weird, but they're British). I scanned it and it was clean & safe, but I won't guarantee anything about it. Windows' built in programs will not let you format as FAT32 - but this will. I believe Mac OS will format as FAT32 just fine but I can't confirm.

It opens right away and then you just tell it to format your SDXC card (make sure it is the correct one! formatting deletes everything on the device). It will format the SDXC card as FAT32. Popping it into the Rebel XS camera just worked and I was able to take pictures and they were saved without fanfare.

The SDHC format requires FAT32, and reformatting the SDXC card from exFAT to FAT32 with the program above allowed for my camera to think it just had a haunkin FAT32 card.

Note: I have not filled the camera past 32 GB so I do not know if the camera will throw a hissy fit (and not save pics) if you go over the 32 GB limit SDHC cards have.

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If the image doesn't get recorded on the card, it doesn't matter what else you do or what else the camera does. Why, then, would anyone in his right mind risk that outcome by trying to impose an unsupported format on a card? For God's sake, just go buy a card that the camera is designed to use!

[waxace]

This worked like a charm... Now able to use a 64g card...Thanks!

[sdleasia]

Thanks! I have a bunch of 64gb cards laying around. That linked worked great. Now I have a 64gb card installed, took a test picture, works on the PC. Will use it cautiously though. Can't format it with the camera, but I'm good with that.