removing SD card: a bug or a feature ?

wolferl.m · 04-19-2012, 09:13 AM

hi all,

saw several complaints about 'SD card removal is difficult, hangs...'

If you push the SD card, it will come out half,
THEN, if you put your finger on the upper right corner,
press slightly down and pull at the same time - it will come out easy!

For me it's not a bug - it's a feature. Had this with other cameras,
SD card flipped out and fell to the ground. That's OK if you are
at home. But on the beach, in the green or even on a boat ?

Wonder what others think about this issue ?

wolferl.m

WightWalker · 04-19-2012, 10:48 AM

It's a tad awkward & much preferred the way the K10 worked with it's own locking 'lever' - never had a problem removing the SD Card or with it falling out during removal!

Either way, it's not a real issue.

forensicscientist · 04-19-2012, 04:01 PM

agreed...much easier with the old k20, or even my k-x...but I will say that the k-5 seems to have 'loosened-up' a tad bit....not nearly as difficult to get out as it was earlier.

Maybe I've been luckily in life...but never had a card, any card, eject forcefully enough to slip thru my fingers and hit the floor.....although I have washed / dryed a few...

bossa · 04-19-2012, 04:54 PM

Originally posted by wolferl.m

hi all,

saw several complaints about 'SD card removal is difficult, hangs...'

If you push the SD card, it will come out half,
THEN, if you put your finger on the upper right corner,
press slightly down and pull at the same time - it will come out easy!

For me it's not a bug - it's a feature. Had this with other cameras,
SD card flipped out and fell to the ground. That's OK if you are
at home. But on the beach, in the green or even on a boat ?

Wonder what others think about this issue ?

wolferl.m

Thanks for that.. I tried it and it worked a treat. I had been struggling with removing these cards up until now and decided to just leave them installed and format the card every now and then after computer back up.

mtansley · 04-19-2012, 05:12 PM

I just had to try this out and..... it works!

Well discovered.

I had to try to use a fingernail to catch that little groove to pull the card out. Not any more, I can now appear civilized.

**PPPPPP42** · 04-19-2012, 06:11 PM

So I have to ask, why do you people remove the card in the first place? A 16gb class 10 card costs pocket change and can hold enough raw+jpeg files to shoot all day and then some and its far easier to just plug the camera in than to fish the card out and put it in a second piece of hardware. I keep the USB cable in my camera bag so I can plug it in to any computer anywhere.
If I need to take them in for printing after editing I copy them from the computer to a super cheap 1gb usb stick that I can afford to break or lose.

**Canada_Rockies** · 04-19-2012, 07:48 PM

PPPPPP42, I have several cards. When on vacation, for example, I will alternate cards so that I do not lose everything in case of accident or card failure. When near the place where I work on photos, I slip the card into a reader and onto the computer - but I have a card in the camera at the same time. It might be suspenders and belt type thinking, but it's the way I go.

mtansley · 04-19-2012, 08:42 PM

I use my K-5 both for business and pleasure, therefore I keep different cards for each type of shooting.
I have several for each type since I prefer to rotate them around.
I also keep the images on the cards until I reuse them.
That also gives me an emergency backup should my RAID system fail, my external HD backup fail, my system clone HD fail and my DVDs kept in the house and the garage all fail.
Mind you, if that lot gets wiped out I'm probably not in any fit state to even worry about it.

I spent too many years in Information Technology to not keep multiple backups. When I have a failure I want it to be a 'Damn, guess I'll have to get that backup out of storage.' failure rather than a 'Ahhh, crap, I've lost EVERYTHING." failure.

ENicolas · 04-20-2012, 02:41 AM

Once you learn to "pinch" the card from the edges instead of the front/back it gets easier, but, yeah, they could have made the door open a bit further to get your fingers in there.

amoringello · 04-20-2012, 03:22 AM

Originally posted by PPPPPP42

So I have to ask, why do you people remove the card in the first place?

he, he, because some days I will through five or six 16GB cards in a single day. (some I know go through that any 32GB cards)
Sometimes with no electricity or time to dump to a PC... and certainly not going to waste camera battery power dumping via USB!!!!

At the best of times, I've got lines of people waiting to get their photos taken.
My assistant will grab the card form the last shoot to dump to the computer to show the customer, meanwhile I take a new shoot on a second card.

Any time spent dumping from the camera or from your only SD card is money lost.
Additionally, fumbling with a stuck SD card slots looks foolish. Thus I have tape on each card and pull it free quickly.

Even when not working... I'd be absolutely crazy to go on vacation without access to a computer and take a single card. Yikes!!!
One failure, and my wife would divorce me. :-)

AussieTrev · 04-20-2012, 04:06 AM

Stuffed if I can get this too work. Lucky I don't chew my nails. I'll have to stick to the little groove way.

amoringello · 04-20-2012, 04:12 AM

I just fold over a piece of plastic tape on the end of each card. Not enough to block the water seals, but enough to give me a good grip.
From what I hear form the Pentax repair shop, the card slot may be tight or loose. Pretty much a crap shoot. (yeah for Pentax QA) :-(
(yes, I tried requesting a new motherboard with a less-sticky card slot when the innards needed to be replaced on my last camera).
Different procedures may or may not work for any given camera...

sterretje · 04-20-2012, 05:49 AM

I don't have issues; bit more 'difficult' on the K5 than on the K10D, but not really anything to write about.

Originally posted by PPPPPP42

So I have to ask, why do you people remove the card in the first place? A 16gb class 10 card costs pocket change and can hold enough raw+jpeg files to shoot all day and then some and its far easier to just plug the camera in than to fish the card out and put it in a second piece of hardware. I keep the USB cable in my camera bag so I can plug it in to any computer anywhere.

From experience, one of my cards failed after three days shooting during a long holiday with a P&S (before I saw the light and bought a Pentax

) Without spare cards, the choice would have been: format and loose OR stop taking photos. I had two extra cards, one for overflow and one in case something went wrong, so I changed cards. Came home and could recover all 'lost' photos.

So to have at least 2 cards is a good habit. Like you, I also use the USB cable mostly and it, in general, goes wherever I go.

reeftool · 04-20-2012, 07:34 AM

The K5 has a tighter fit card slot, most likely a result of of the smaller body. After using the camera for a while and R&Ring the card a few times, it's no problem, even with my meat hook hands. When that body came out first on the K7, it was the smallest DSLR on the market and it still might be.

ENicolas · 04-20-2012, 11:01 AM

Originally posted by PPPPPP42

So I have to ask, why do you people remove the card in the first place? A 16gb class 10 card costs pocket change and can hold enough raw+jpeg files to shoot all day and then some and its far easier to just plug the camera in than to fish the card out and put it in a second piece of hardware. I keep the USB cable in my camera bag so I can plug it in to any computer anywhere.
If I need to take them in for printing after editing I copy them from the computer to a super cheap 1gb usb stick that I can afford to break or lose.

I use 4 and 8 GB cards because:

= if one goes bad (and it happens) I don't lose a lot of work
= the camera seems to write data a bit faster to small cards - but that could just be perception
= they're cheap
= when I pop one into the computer card slot and Lightroom comes up to import files there aren't a thousand of them to work with at a time

And I don't use the USB cable because it's a pain and it drains the camera battery, and data transfer is faster directly from the card.

I backup my RAW files to an external 750 GB USB hard drive, and I just buy new ones as they fill up. Once I got a camera that went past 10 megapixels I just gave up doing backups to DVD....

04-19-2012, 09:13 AM	#1
wolferl.m New Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 4	removing SD card: a bug or a feature ? hi all, saw several complaints about 'SD card removal is difficult, hangs...' If you push the SD card, it will come out half, THEN, if you put your finger on the upper right corner, press slightly down and pull at the same time - it will come out easy! For me it's not a bug - it's a feature. Had this with other cameras, SD card flipped out and fell to the ground. That's OK if you are at home. But on the beach, in the green or even on a boat ? Wonder what others think about this issue ? wolferl.m

04-19-2012, 10:48 AM	#2
WightWalker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: IW Posts: 113	Neither It's a tad awkward & much preferred the way the K10 worked with it's own locking 'lever' - never had a problem removing the SD Card or with it falling out during removal! Either way, it's not a real issue. Last edited by WightWalker; 04-20-2012 at 06:11 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Problems removing SD card from my K-5	peerSr	Pentax K-5 & K-5 II	70	02-02-2012 12:01 PM
After removing dirt, what is this?	Jimmymack	Pentax DSLR Discussion	12	08-23-2010 04:13 PM
AEB burst with delay. Bug or feature?	vladm11	Pentax DSLR Discussion	2	08-08-2010 12:42 PM
K7: difficulty removing SD card	Spock	Pentax DSLR Discussion	19	08-24-2009 12:17 AM

04-19-2012, 04:01 PM	#3
forensicscientist Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: DFW Texas and Michigan - I commute :) Posts: 1,012	agreed...much easier with the old k20, or even my k-x...but I will say that the k-5 seems to have 'loosened-up' a tad bit....not nearly as difficult to get out as it was earlier. Maybe I've been luckily in life...but never had a card, any card, eject forcefully enough to slip thru my fingers and hit the floor.....although I have washed / dryed a few...

04-19-2012, 04:54 PM	#4
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Originally posted by wolferl.m hi all, saw several complaints about 'SD card removal is difficult, hangs...' If you push the SD card, it will come out half, THEN, if you put your finger on the upper right corner, press slightly down and pull at the same time - it will come out easy! For me it's not a bug - it's a feature. Had this with other cameras, SD card flipped out and fell to the ground. That's OK if you are at home. But on the beach, in the green or even on a boat ? Wonder what others think about this issue ? wolferl.m Thanks for that.. I tried it and it worked a treat. I had been struggling with removing these cards up until now and decided to just leave them installed and format the card every now and then after computer back up.

04-19-2012, 05:12 PM	#5
mtansley Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ajax, Ontario, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,139	I just had to try this out and..... it works! Well discovered. I had to try to use a fingernail to catch that little groove to pull the card out. Not any more, I can now appear civilized.

04-19-2012, 06:11 PM	#6
PPPPPP42 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Wisconsin Photos: Albums Posts: 947	So I have to ask, why do you people remove the card in the first place? A 16gb class 10 card costs pocket change and can hold enough raw+jpeg files to shoot all day and then some and its far easier to just plug the camera in than to fish the card out and put it in a second piece of hardware. I keep the USB cable in my camera bag so I can plug it in to any computer anywhere. If I need to take them in for printing after editing I copy them from the computer to a super cheap 1gb usb stick that I can afford to break or lose.

04-19-2012, 07:48 PM	#7
Canada_Rockies Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sparwood, BC, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,385	PPPPPP42, I have several cards. When on vacation, for example, I will alternate cards so that I do not lose everything in case of accident or card failure. When near the place where I work on photos, I slip the card into a reader and onto the computer - but I have a card in the camera at the same time. It might be suspenders and belt type thinking, but it's the way I go.

04-19-2012, 08:42 PM	#8
mtansley Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ajax, Ontario, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,139	I use my K-5 both for business and pleasure, therefore I keep different cards for each type of shooting. I have several for each type since I prefer to rotate them around. I also keep the images on the cards until I reuse them. That also gives me an emergency backup should my RAID system fail, my external HD backup fail, my system clone HD fail and my DVDs kept in the house and the garage all fail. Mind you, if that lot gets wiped out I'm probably not in any fit state to even worry about it. I spent too many years in Information Technology to not keep multiple backups. When I have a failure I want it to be a 'Damn, guess I'll have to get that backup out of storage.' failure rather than a 'Ahhh, crap, I've lost EVERYTHING." failure.

04-20-2012, 02:41 AM	#9
ENicolas Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Northern California Posts: 137	Once you learn to "pinch" the card from the edges instead of the front/back it gets easier, but, yeah, they could have made the door open a bit further to get your fingers in there.

04-20-2012, 03:22 AM	#10
amoringello Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,562	Originally posted by PPPPPP42 So I have to ask, why do you people remove the card in the first place? he, he, because some days I will through five or six 16GB cards in a single day. (some I know go through that any 32GB cards) Sometimes with no electricity or time to dump to a PC... and certainly not going to waste camera battery power dumping via USB!!!! At the best of times, I've got lines of people waiting to get their photos taken. My assistant will grab the card form the last shoot to dump to the computer to show the customer, meanwhile I take a new shoot on a second card. Any time spent dumping from the camera or from your only SD card is money lost. Additionally, fumbling with a stuck SD card slots looks foolish. Thus I have tape on each card and pull it free quickly. Even when not working... I'd be absolutely crazy to go on vacation without access to a computer and take a single card. Yikes!!! One failure, and my wife would divorce me. :-)

04-20-2012, 04:06 AM	#11
AussieTrev Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,590	Stuffed if I can get this too work. Lucky I don't chew my nails. I'll have to stick to the little groove way.

04-20-2012, 04:12 AM	#12
amoringello Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,562	I just fold over a piece of plastic tape on the end of each card. Not enough to block the water seals, but enough to give me a good grip. From what I hear form the Pentax repair shop, the card slot may be tight or loose. Pretty much a crap shoot. (yeah for Pentax QA) :-( (yes, I tried requesting a new motherboard with a less-sticky card slot when the innards needed to be replaced on my last camera). Different procedures may or may not work for any given camera...

04-20-2012, 05:49 AM	#13
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	I don't have issues; bit more 'difficult' on the K5 than on the K10D, but not really anything to write about. Originally posted by PPPPPP42 So I have to ask, why do you people remove the card in the first place? A 16gb class 10 card costs pocket change and can hold enough raw+jpeg files to shoot all day and then some and its far easier to just plug the camera in than to fish the card out and put it in a second piece of hardware. I keep the USB cable in my camera bag so I can plug it in to any computer anywhere. From experience, one of my cards failed after three days shooting during a long holiday with a P&S (before I saw the light and bought a Pentax ) Without spare cards, the choice would have been: format and loose OR stop taking photos. I had two extra cards, one for overflow and one in case something went wrong, so I changed cards. Came home and could recover all 'lost' photos. So to have at least 2 cards is a good habit. Like you, I also use the USB cable mostly and it, in general, goes wherever I go.

04-20-2012, 07:34 AM	#14
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	The K5 has a tighter fit card slot, most likely a result of of the smaller body. After using the camera for a while and R&Ring the card a few times, it's no problem, even with my meat hook hands. When that body came out first on the K7, it was the smallest DSLR on the market and it still might be.

04-20-2012, 11:01 AM	#15
ENicolas Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Northern California Posts: 137	Originally posted by PPPPPP42 So I have to ask, why do you people remove the card in the first place? A 16gb class 10 card costs pocket change and can hold enough raw+jpeg files to shoot all day and then some and its far easier to just plug the camera in than to fish the card out and put it in a second piece of hardware. I keep the USB cable in my camera bag so I can plug it in to any computer anywhere. If I need to take them in for printing after editing I copy them from the computer to a super cheap 1gb usb stick that I can afford to break or lose. I use 4 and 8 GB cards because: = if one goes bad (and it happens) I don't lose a lot of work = the camera seems to write data a bit faster to small cards - but that could just be perception = they're cheap = when I pop one into the computer card slot and Lightroom comes up to import files there aren't a thousand of them to work with at a time And I don't use the USB cable because it's a pain and it drains the camera battery, and data transfer is faster directly from the card. I backup my RAW files to an external 750 GB USB hard drive, and I just buy new ones as they fill up. Once I got a camera that went past 10 megapixels I just gave up doing backups to DVD....