How to avoid losing a recording

Most broken files come from the same few causes. These habits prevent almost all of them.

• Charge before every session, and use external power for long takes: interviews, podcasts, events.
• Never remove the card while the recording light is on, and wait a few seconds after stopping before switching off.
• Use the card class your camera recommends (V30, V60 or V90) and replace cards that start giving errors.
• Format cards in the camera, not on a computer, before each shoot.
• Record to two cards at once if your camera has two slots, or run a backup recorder for audio.
• Stop long recordings every so often on older cameras with clip-length limits.
• If something goes wrong, stop: don't record over the card and don't format it until the file is safe.