Just bought a 4gb memory card for my cannon eosi rebel - camera says it cannot read the card - does it need to be formatted?

Actually a 4GB SDHC card should be compatible with an S205, as that camera is new enough to work with SDHC. One thing to try before going through the below linked troubleshooting tips is if you have another card, try it in the camera. If the camera recognizes it, then it's likely that the card you purchased was defective, thus you should return it.

For others reading with similar problems, there are several possible causes for "memory card locked", "memory card error", or "no memory card". The most common is trying to use a 4GB or higher SDHC card with an older camera made before SDHC format came out. Other causes include problems with the tiny slide switch on the side of the card, or the electrical contact switch internal to the camera. The problem may also arise from simple formatting problems if the card has never been formatted in the camera (note that this will also erase the card). Troubleshooting tips for this problem may be found at this link.

You haven't told us what kind of camera it is, but I can guess at the problem. There are two possibilities.

1. Your camera will only read SD cards, not SDHC cards. You've just bought a new memory card, not noticing that it was SDHC. The new cards don't work in your camera, not because they or the camera are broken, but because they're not compatible.

Cards up to 2Gb are generally SD. Cards over 8Gb have to be SDHC. 4Gb cards can be either SD or SDHC, but are almost always SDHC because they're cheaper. (I would avoid the rare, expensive, and problematic 4Gb SD cards.)

Your solution is to go find a 2Gb card, and be extra sure that it doesn't say "SDHC" on it. (If it does, it probably means that they made a 4Gb card, but there were some error locations and so they disabled half of it and packaged it as a cheap-brand 2Gb.)

2. You formatted the card NTFS, whereas the camera needs FAT32. You can format the card using Windows, but there is a complication: Windows defaults to "NTFS" when formatting, but memory cards normally use FAT32. Before you attempted this, you should have connect the card, and checked the 'properties' on the drive that appears. It probably said "FAT32". In this case, you could have gone ahead and formatted the card, but be sure that you chose "FAT32" from the drop-down list. If you format it NTFS, your camera won't be able to read it!

In this case your solution would be to format the card again, but using the FAT32 format.

You might find it useful to check your camera on dpreview (dot) com, and see if the memory card type is shown as just SD or SD/SDHC.

What you require is to format the Compact Flash Card. The CF card should be formatted when new and after every download. Format the card in the camera it is going to be used it. Constantly deleting pictures on the memory card will cause major corruptions and total failure. Formatting cleans the memory and allows the camera to communicate properly with the CF Card.
I going to give you several diagrams on where to go in your camera to format. these diagrams are screen shots right from your manual.

if your camera does not contain a format feature in the firmware, you must use a PC with a card reader and use it to format the SD card. You can do this by going to my computer and right clicking on the removable media then the format option.

Have your new memory card inserted into your PC to test for any virus. Format the memory car.
Please check if your cannon is adaptive to the 4GB (check the instruction manual) if the card shows the same fault now after inserting.
Use another card into the camera to confirm if the card slot is faulty.

Hi sir
#1 Insert your memory card into your computer's reader if you have one. If not, you can purchase a multi-format USB Memory Card reader from Amazon.com or Buy.com
# 2 Open up 'My Computer'. You should see it under the list of available drives.
# 3 Check its contents first to make sure that you have the right drive.
# 4 In 'My Computer', right-click on the drive and choose 'Format'.
# 5 Leave all the options as they are and click on 'Start'. This is a non-reversible process so make sure this is what you truly wanted to do in the first place.
# 6 Once the process is completed, take the memory card out and insert it into your Digital Camera or any other device. Try to browse to it to make sure it works fine now.

1. Try to format your memory card using a PC/Laptop.

2. Now, insert it in camera and check whether its working!

please rate this advice if it helps....tc! :)

I'm guessing you bought a new 4GB SDHC card. Although it looks exactly the same as a standard SD card, the format the card uses is very different. If your camera is more than a few couple years old, it's likely it was designed before the SDHC format came out. Sorry, but a SDHC card will not work with older cameras.
For older cameras, you'll need to use standard SD cards (usually those 2GB or less). But if you really want to use a 4GB card, do a Google search for 4GB SD "non HC", with the non HC in quotes. Believe Transcend makes one.

The card needs to be formated by the camera itself. It should be an option in the menu somewhere. Wish I could be more specific but I dont have a rebel. Remember though formatting erases pictures pictures so if you have anything on the card you will want to get that stuff saved before formatting.

the best way is contact cannon for a repair shoip or sevice center near you at www.cannon.com , choose your country and send them a email or call them

good luck