The SD card is full mid-shoot: getting photos onto the Mac and the card clear
Copy a camera card to your Mac without filling the Mac, check the copy, then clear the card the right way. Includes where the photos should go.
A 128 GB card of RAW photos or 4K video will not fit on a Mac with 50 GB free, and the camera will not shoot until the card has room. The order matters here: copy, check, then clear, and never clear first.
1. Decide where the files go
| Destination | When |
|---|---|
| Photos app | Phone style photos you want in your main library |
| A folder on an external drive | RAW files, video, anything large |
| A folder on the Mac | Only if you have at least twice the card's size free |
A Mac under 10 percent free space slows down, so importing a full card to a nearly full Mac just moves the problem. How much free space a Mac should have has the numbers.
2. Copy, do not move
Open Image Capture, choose the card, set Import To to your folder, and click Download All. Leave Delete after import off until you have checked the copy. Or drag the DCIM folder in Finder to your destination.
3. Check the copy
Compare the size and the number of files on the card and the copy:
du -sh /Volumes/*/DCIM ~/path/to/your/copy
find /Volumes/*/DCIM -type f | wc -l
find ~/path/to/your/copy -type f | wc -lIf the counts match and a few files open, the copy is good.
4. Clear the card in the camera
Format the card in the camera, not on the Mac. The camera writes the folder layout and format it expects, and it is the most reliable way to avoid card errors later. Deleting photos in Finder leaves them in a hidden .Trashes folder on the card until you empty the Trash with the card inserted.
Stop it happening again
- Shoot RAW only, or JPEG only, rather than both, if you do not use both. See RAW plus JPEG.
- Import after every shoot rather than when the card is full.
- Keep the originals on an external drive. Mac storage for photographers has a full setup.
Common questions
How do I clear a full SD card after importing to a Mac?
Check the copy on the Mac first, then format the card in the camera. That is more reliable than deleting files on the Mac, which can leave them in a hidden Trash folder on the card.
Should I format an SD card on a Mac or in the camera?
In the camera. It creates the exact format and folders the camera expects. Format on a Mac only when there is no camera to hand.
Why is my SD card still full after deleting photos on my Mac?
Deleted files go to a hidden .Trashes folder on the card. Empty the Trash while the card is still inserted to free the space.