Do i need to reformat my SD card to use it on mac?

OSX can read/write ExFAT and can even read NTFS (not write, at least not without special software). For most camera-formatted operations I have seen, I only read. Any write operations usually require the device itself because of special indexing controls that only the device knows how to manipulate properly.

Check the card’s current format and the camera’s documentation before proceeding; in general, the card should be formatted as MS-DOS, FAT32, or exFAT.

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If for some reason you should need to attempt a reformat of a camera memory card

you may find best results from a reformat with card in the camera & use its software.

The computer or other device that can see the camera and its card (as a storage drive

if card is placed in standard card reader) should be able to work OK with that as - is.

I'd tried to erase and reformat a few different SD and CF memory cards, in part to

erase old files (do not secure overwrite an SSD or Flash memory with Disk Utility)

and found in one instance, the default format for an old Lumix camera was too old

for one of the Mac OS X options for PC (FAT16 was required, FAT32 too new) so

my first thought was to put the card into the camera; before I read about that cure.

Later, for the old camera, the only place locally to find spare old format SD cards to

work in the Lumix, was at (cough) walmart. Later ones were not backward compatible.

Some new memory cards may also need to be reformatted by a camera, for first use.

However those which cannot use an older format won't be able to re-format the card.

Also tried to reformat newer card for use in older camera. Not really a good idea.

{A fair way to create an additional backup is to not re-use the memory cards over again;

or keep the archive on the memory card as such, and create working copies from there.}

Some years ago I sought to transition to digital from film, bought a new computer to

find it failed, and had no support under AppleCare; nobody would help here because

I didn't buy from one of the few authorized resellers and Apple didn't want it sent back.

So I've a few cameras that are older now, but no real concern. + Tons of 35mm slides.

And a collection of film cameras, lenses, accessories, and some darkroom equipment.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

The thing i want to know is should i reformatt my camera memory card(it's a regular SD card that i use in my Canon camera) to be able to use it on mac?

No.

The card should only ever be reformatted in your camera, never by your Mac. Only the camera will create the correct folder format that the camera uses. Without that it just won't work in your camera.