I've been shooting digital for a very long time, but continue to read references to "formatting your compact flash card." HUH? Did I miss something? Does my camera automatically do this for me because I've never done this.....I have many types of cards, cf cards, sd cards...what's the deal? oh! yay! i'm glad you've asked that - my photography teacher explained it to me! CF format is basically a giant purge of your memory card. When you take a picture you don't like and you delete it, it doesn't actually go away - the file appears to go away, but, if you put the memory card in your computer and dig deep into its memory database, the picture is still there - this is emergency backup - CF format completely deletes all the files off of your card If the camera is taking pics with the card then it's already formatted, most cards come formatted when you buy them, you can also format the card on the camera but you will lose any pictures already on there Formatting a cf card simply erases everyhing and creates a standard set of directories. Usually this is done in the camera from a menu function. | 