Tip #067: Which Files Should Be Copied From a Camera Card?
… for Codecs & Media
Tip #067: Which Files Should Be Copied From a Camera Card?
Larry Jordan – https://LarryJordan.com
“Pick-and-Choose” is the wrong option for best results.

All of them.
Select the entire contents of the card, even the folders and files that you don’t recognize, and copy the entire contents of the camera card into its own folder on your hard disk.
One folder per camera card. Always.
Why? Because, depending upon the codec, different parts of your media are stored in different folders on the card; especially metadata. Copying everything from the card into its own folder on your local storage means that whichever NLE you use for editing is able to assemble all the pieces and assemble all your media and related metadata without any problems.
BONUS
Copying each card into its own folder allows you to create meaningful folder names for tracking and importing media.
Larry…
Do you recommend an application like DaVinci Resolve that checks and clones a card using Checksum?
Thanks.
Scott:
While, most of the time, the Finder will do a fine job, for large projects or those who’s insurance requires checksum copying I recommend ShotPut Pro – https://www.imagineproducts.com/product/shotput-pro.
Larry