

Old cameras may still use the FAT32 file system thus, they can’t take full advantage of the increased size of today’s cards. You should check on your camera manual what is the type and maximum size of the memory cards it can handle. Nowadays, all memory cards larger than 32GB are formatted to use the exFAT file system. Here you can find a comparison between the two file systems.


The ExFAT is a newer version of the FAT32 file system that surpasses the limits of the old format.

This is why every “swappable” memory, like SD cards and thumb drives, are pre-formatted by the manufacturer in one of these two formats. While, in principle, you can format an SD card to use any file system you like, it is not a wise choice to use a file system that can only be read by one operative system if you want the widest compatibility.Ī file system every type of computer can natively read is the FAT32 file system and the newer exFAT. Those file systems are all different and it may not be possible to read data from NTFS drives with a Mac without buying third-party software. Windows computers use the NTFS file system, Mac computers use the APFS file system, and Linux machines use the EXT3/EXT4 file systems. There are several file systems available for computers, depending on the OS (Operating System) that is installed. SD cards are non-volatile read/write memories that fit on your thumb. SD cards are like the solid-state hard drives in your computer and as such, they use a File System to organize, read and write data. 12) Conclusion What Format Do SD Cards Use?
