Picture count problems

Not sure how to explain this but I'll try;

I've had my D5100 'File Number Sequence' set to on, and it was saving images to the 100D5100 folder (default) with sequential numbers.
Recently took mem card out to copy pics to PC and on inserting card again, it started saving pics to 101D5100 and at DSC_0001

Deleted the folder (after copying the new pics and renaming them), but it went back to recreating the same folder and starting from 0001.

So I deleted the new folder again, and switched the file number sequence off, and this time it started at the last number it had used (0015 or something).
Annoying!!!

After some playing around of taking pics and deleting them and so on eventually managed to get it back to saving in the first 100D5100 folder, but the last pics I took in there were DSC_0535 and now the new ones start at 0545 (so has lost about 10 pic names in the process).
I can't rename eg. DSC_0545 to DSC_0536 as the next pic I take ends up being 0546!!!

My question is now, if I change the mem card - what the 'eck is my numbering going to start from!!
I don't want and can't have it revert to 0001 (and with file number sequence on it shouldnt), but also if it does what do I do??

Any help appreciated

Interesting. I do know that the D7000 used to experience this before the firmware update (v1.03). Normally, i think it is if you go over a thousand shots, a new folder is created. Not sure what is going on with your camera, but i doubt it is anything serious. perhaps try resetting your camera? I am not sure. There could be something else in the settings that is doing this. Anyone else have suggestions?

Thanks - tempted to do that, and see what it does though just dubious about it going right back to 0000.

Although I did check the manual and it should allow 10k pics before creating a new folder.
Also, I wander if switching between file nunber sequence on and off and back on again without taking any new pics 'messes' with the D5100s brain (so to speak!!!).

I've heard of this happening before. My first question: what brand of memory card, and is it a class 4, 6 or 10? Next question: PLEASE tell me you turn OFF your camera before removing or inserting your card. Leaving the camera on during this operation tends to (pardon the expression) bugger up the card. Last question: do you reformat your card after you've uploaded pictures to your computer? If not, I strongly suggest you do so, and reformat IN the camera.

Other than what I've mentioned, it may be a firmware problem OR you may have a warranty problem on your hands. Please keep us informed as to the eventual outcome.

SS381 said:

Thanks - tempted to do that, and see what it does though just dubious about it going right back to 0000.

Although I did check the manual and it should allow 10k pics before creating a new folder.
Also, I wander if switching between file nunber sequence on and off and back on again without taking any new pics 'messes' with the D5100s brain (so to speak!!!).

Click to expand...

Mmmm, yeah, that could have messed it up a bit. You confused your camera!!!!!!!!!! lol Yes, i would imagine it would go all the way back to 0000 if you were to reset it. Also - and please don't get insulted by this - turn your camera off when taking the memory card out/putting it back in. Perhaps see what happens next time you take the memory card out and put it back in. Only reset as a last resort.

No offence taken - but never taken a memory card out without turning camera off first

Card is a Kingston Ultimate X 16GB Class 10 card.

I don't reformat the card after uploading pics - it was more a case of 'backing up' the current pics and leaving pics on the card in case I needed them (more likely to have my camera nearby then access to my turned off PC!)

Never had this issue the last time I backed up the card, so hoping its just something I twiddled with!!!
Annoying none the less - I shall have to go play with the settings when I finish work.

Thanks for the hekp thus far

If you use Nikon Transfer for downloading from camera to computer (and can think of absolutely no reason not to!), you can set or not set any supplementary folder structure you like (D80 & D7000). It just goes on rattling up to 9999, then starts round again. You can add hyphen, underscore or space as suffix 2nd & 3rd time round and of course download to intelligable folders on the computer, I use blocks of 500. Transfer now comes as part of Nikon View NX2.3 which is auto-opened when download is complete. Oh, but don't do as I have been doing for 5 years and set Transfer to delete after download, as once every 5 years, it ****** up the lot. In practice if you leave the images on, succeeding downloads only download the new images, so you don't get duplicates. Then just format the card from the camera menu every 2 or 3 downloads.

You get the real shutter activation count by using 'Exif Tool'. It is part of GraphicConverter on mac which has many other catalogue and browsing uses, but just search for a PC version. Neither can you remove the true shutter count.

Thanks Chris.

Not bothered about true shutter count (at the moment), just wanted to make sure all my pics were correctly named in succession

The reason I remove my card to get pics onto PC is, because it's a lot faster to do then connecting straight to the camera, but I suppose if I do it more often I won't need to do 'big dumps' of pics

Gonna go play with it now see what comes up, I think I've fixed the problem (hopefully) but need to check.

fotojack said:

Last question: do you reformat your card after you've uploaded pictures to your computer? If not, I strongly suggest you do so, and reformat IN the camera.

Click to expand...

I found this statement very interesting. What are the benefits from this? I have only reformatted my card when I first bought it. I have yet to do it since and let's just say it's been a few months. I have a habit of trying to save my best picture of every time I shoot just in case my computer crashes AGAIN. I have since learned my lesson and back up all my stuff in various ways. What are the benefits of reformatting your card after every upload?

Reformatting will help keep your card "fresh". After a bit of use it can get a bit fragmented, and file corruption risks can increase.

Not sure the file corruption statement is true (or not!), but certainly fragmentation is a real life scenario.

The advantage with having a good high speed card is though, that as your card becomes more and more fragmented, the better the write speed, the less impact you see on access to the card when taking pics (the system can write faster to the fragmented areas (once found)).
Formatting resolves the fragmentation issue.

A reason to format within the system you intend to use the card, is that any minor (and I mean absolute minor) discrepancies that the system introduces in the formatting is kept at the system level and in a worse case scenario, the system will still be able to read from this 'malformatted' card and allow you to copy pics off etc.
If for some reason a card formatted in say your PC and then introduced to your camera, decides that the format method is bad, then there's a potential that 100s, 1000s of pics you take could potentially be corrupted (even though they apppear Ok as you take the pics), and on transfer, you encounter the corrupt pics, and well, the rest is easy to work out.

SS381 said:

Not sure how to explain this but I'll try;

I've had my D5100 'File Number Sequence' set to on, and it was saving images to the 100D5100 folder (default) with sequential numbers.
Recently took mem card out to copy pics to PC and on inserting card again, it started saving pics to 101D5100 and at DSC_0001

Deleted the folder (after copying the new pics and renaming them), but it went back to recreating the same folder and starting from 0001.

So I deleted the new folder again, and switched the file number sequence off, and this time it started at the last number it had used (0015 or something).
Annoying!!!

After some playing around of taking pics and deleting them and so on eventually managed to get it back to saving in the first 100D5100 folder, but the last pics I took in there were DSC_0535 and now the new ones start at 0545 (so has lost about 10 pic names in the process).
I can't rename eg. DSC_0545 to DSC_0536 as the next pic I take ends up being 0546!!!

My question is now, if I change the mem card - what the 'eck is my numbering going to start from!!
I don't want and can't have it revert to 0001 (and with file number sequence on it shouldnt), but also if it does what do I do??

Any help appreciated

Click to expand...

I have the same problem.
It has nothing to do with camera on/off state during card removal (it can only cause problem during write operation, when the green led is blinking), neither it is card corruption. Flash memories also can't get fragmented, so (quick) formatting is only a way of quickly erasing all the files.
The problem seems to be with the D5100 software. If you set d3 option on, the camera stores a sequence number independent of the sd card inserted. When a card has a file in 100D5100 (eg DSC_0004.JPG) and the internal seq number is lower (eg 0002), a new folder will be created (101D5100), and there it will continue from the stored seq number 101D5100/DSC_0003.JPG. If the d3 option is off, your next picture will continue in the same folder incrementing form the file name. It will be 100D5100/DSC_0005.JPG, but the internal seq number won't increment. You are (I'm currently) in trouble if you turn d3 on, then off (by accident eg by resetting all settings), then take some pictures, and then turn d3 on again. Then you will have duplicate file names.
I have found no way to set the internal seq number to a specific value, only to 0000 by reset. So once your internal seq number is not in sync with your last file, you can and must forget setting d3 on.
There is a workaround, but a bit inconvenient. After transferring the files, leave the last one on the card. Leave d3 off. Then it will continue.
So my only question remains: is there any trick or procedure to set the internal seq number to an explicit value? My D70 could do this, but I can't do it with the D5100.