Just wondering what the "file index mode" means in the Pilot app on the P3? You have two options, either reset or continuous.
What is "File index mode" in pilot app?
- Thread starter UKFlyer
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It refers to the photo/video numbering system, in reset mode it resets to 001 after each power up, in continuous it starts at 001 and just goes up without a reset.
I imagine it is the choice between having saved files which always start at DJI001 for every flight, or automatically increasing the exposure/video no. by one for each flight. [As the p2v+ does]. Then you don't accidently overwrite files on your pc which have the same file number.
It probably resets when formatting and not for each flight. I haven't tested this though. But if it only did it per flight you would still have previous files on the SD card ending with 0001
Use a utility like the "Import Pictures and Videos" one built into Windows. It puts the files into individually named folders. Other import utilities, like Lightroom, rename each file according to your specifications (such as based on the time and date the photo was taken).
Put the files from each flight in a different folder and you will have no problem with file names clashing.
For instance have one Main forlder named Phantom Flights and within that put folders with each flight named with the date of the flight and/or with the place where the flight was.
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Meta4
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Check that you have the latest version of the app.
If you got yours from Google Play, it's the old version 1.0.10.
You have to get the version from the DJI website 1.1.0.
You will find the setting to adjust your file numbering in the new app - and a whole lot of other improvements.
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It's not each power up. Files will be in sequence across power ups but once deleted off the SD card (or a fresh SD card inserted) it will then reset the counter to 0001.
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You should not really do a format very often as you will electronically wear out the memory, its best wait until it almost gets full to do a format.
Meta4
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I'm quite dubious about this suggestion.
I've never heard it before but I've read the opposite from dozens of credible sources.
Here are just a couple for example:
http://au.lexar.com/content/lexar-memory-card-tips
http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/1988/how-often-should-memory-cards-be-formatted
http://digital-photography-school.com/8-tips-for-maintaining-your-memory-card/
http://forum.nikonrumors.com/discussion/1302/format-memory-cards-or-delete-images/p1
http://petapixel.com/2012/03/07/keeping-your-memory-cards-healthy/
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The sd cards are flash memory and have a finite life of x amount of write cycles.
Some vendors use wear levelling, some do not.
Without looking at the specification of the exact card by the manufacturer its hard to tell.
If a card does not use it erasing the card over and over again will cause the flash cells to fail.
See the thread on the nikon link above, and a lot of people only erase when full.
also see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SD_card#Risks_of_reformatting
"Reformatting an SD card with a different file system, or even with the same one, may make the card slower, or shorten its lifespan. Some cards use wear leveling, in which frequently modified blocks are mapped to different portions of memory at different times, and some wear-leveling algorithms are designed for the access patterns typical of the file allocation table on a FAT12, FAT16 or FAT32 device.[70] In addition, the preformatted file system may use a cluster size that matches the erase region of the physical memory on the card; reformatting may change the cluster size and make writes less efficient.
Meta4
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But ... Almost all modern memory cards can withstand at least 100,000 Program/Erase Cycles, and some cards can withstand as many as 10 times more cycles than standard cards.
If a card has an expected life of 100K cycles, you would have to fill it and reformat twice a day for 130 years to use that many cycles.
But in real usage, you'll probably be using something bigger and better in 5 year's time anyway.
Thanks, good to know, my Lumix creates a new folder each day and starts over from 0000, or just sequences up across folders.
