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Guide

How to offload camera cards safely on a Mac

A copy that looks complete can still hold a broken file. You only find out in the edit, after the card is formatted. Verification checks every file before you do.

Why a Finder copy isn't enough

Dragging a card to a drive copies the files, but doesn't read them back to check they match. A failing cable, card reader or drive can leave a file that opens as black frames or noise.

What checksum verification does

An offload app computes a checksum, a fingerprint of each file, on the card and on every copy, then compares them. If one bit differs, the checksum differs, and the app tells you which file.

A safe offload

  1. Copy the card to two drives, not one.
  2. Use an app that verifies every file against the card.
  3. Keep the card's folder structure as it is. Editing apps read clip data from it.
  4. Only when both copies are verified, format the card in the camera. Canon and RED recommend formatting in the camera.

The faster way: Caretaker

Caretaker offloads a card to one or two drives at once and checks every file against the card with SHA-256. When it says done, you can format. It also tests each drive's speed in the formats it can keep up with.

Caretaker's Studio: a project's size, what it uses, its backup, and the caches and renders it can clear.
Download free

Questions

Do I need to verify if I copy to two drives?

Yes. Two copies of a broken file are still broken. Verification is what tells you each copy matches the card.

Should I format the card on my Mac or in the camera?

In the camera. Canon and RED both recommend it.