SD card compatibility issue

wintergreen · 10-17-2012, 05:25 AM

Hi all - I just recently got a 64GB class 10 SDXC card (SD/SDHC/SDXC Flash Cards | Kingston) and it seemed like a good choice for use in my K-30 - however, when I use it it just comes up with a 'Memory Card Error' - I'm not able to format the card from the menus or indeed use the camera at all.

All the specs stated for the K-30 I've seen say that it is compatible with SDXC (Pentax K-30 - Digital SLR - PENTAX Photo) - so, just wondering has anyone else encountered this? And if so - is there a way to get it working?

Thanks all!

Docrwm · 10-17-2012, 06:30 AM

Sounds like a bad card. Did you try seeing if the computer can access the card?

metalmania · 10-17-2012, 06:40 AM

From my experience, Kingston is a very good brand for desktop and laptop memories. However coming to flash memories, I would try to avoid this brand. My Sandisk 64GB SD card has no problem in K-30.

wintergreen · 10-17-2012, 07:35 AM

Hi - thanks for the reply. Yes - I tried in a PC - no problem. I checked the pentax site and they clearly state support for the 64GB SDXC:

Compatibility with the K-30 has been tested with memory cards from the following manufacturers.
Panasonic / Toshiba / SanDisk
SD Memory Card: 1GB, 2 GB
SDHC Memory Cards: 4 GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32 GB
SDXC Memory Cards: 64GB

So - I'm left with the conclusion that it could be a brand thing? A SanDisk would work where a Kingston doesn't? And yet these cards should all use the same standards - probably the NAND is coming out of the same factory somewhere! So that just seems to make no sense.. and I hardly want to buy another card just to check!

metalmania · 10-17-2012, 08:08 AM

Originally posted by wintergreen

Hi - thanks for the reply. Yes - I tried in a PC - no problem. I checked the pentax site and they clearly state support for the 64GB SDXC:

Compatibility with the K-30 has been tested with memory cards from the following manufacturers.
Panasonic / Toshiba / SanDisk
SD Memory Card: 1GB, 2 GB
SDHC Memory Cards: 4 GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32 GB
SDXC Memory Cards: 64GB

So - I'm left with the conclusion that it could be a brand thing? A SanDisk would work where a Kingston doesn't? And yet these cards should all use the same standards - probably the NAND is coming out of the same factory somewhere! So that just seems to make no sense.. and I hardly want to buy another card just to check!

Kingston flash memories have compatibility issues...no scientific survey though. But NAND is definitely not coming out of the same production line.

Singinman · 10-17-2012, 08:16 AM

The 8GB card that came with the Costo package was incompatible with the K-30. Kingston and the K-30 have issues.

lister6520 · 10-17-2012, 11:19 AM

I don't know if this is relevant but I have two Kingston SDHC Class 10 16GB which I was using in my K-r as well as a Casio compact camera. They had initially worked fine but after a few weeks I got 'card error' on the one in the K-r.

I slotted it into the PC and found the photos were all corrupted. When I tried to format it the PC then also rejected it, telling me that there is not even a card inserted in the slot. It didn't work in the K-r or any of the other devices I have that use SD cards, all of them reacting as if there was no card in the slot.

I then took the other one from the Casio, put it in the K-r and got card error as well. When I put it in the PC it did not even detect it, telling me there is no card in the slot. I had shot some photos with the Casio on that card and transferred to PC a few days earlier.

I do not know if the second card failed when I put it in the K-r or whether it was already faulty in the other camera but I do have the feeling that the K-r somehow killed both the cards. Otherwise the only possible explanation is that they both had a manufacturing defect and failed at about the same time.

I have since been using Transcend, Toshiba and Sandisk SD cards in the K-r as well as my new K-30 and haven't had any other problems to date. Currently I am using Sandisk 32GB UHC-I cards in both Pentaxes.

metalmania · 10-17-2012, 11:35 AM

The rule of thumb is to use Sandisk SD card if possible. If not, Lexar, then Transcend, even Patriot is more reliable than Kingston. Nothing else.

Docrwm · 10-17-2012, 12:59 PM

Originally posted by wintergreen

Hi - thanks for the reply. Yes - I tried in a PC - no problem. I checked the pentax site and they clearly state support for the 64GB SDXC:

Compatibility with the K-30 has been tested with memory cards from the following manufacturers.
Panasonic / Toshiba / SanDisk
SD Memory Card: 1GB, 2 GB
SDHC Memory Cards: 4 GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32 GB
SDXC Memory Cards: 64GB

So - I'm left with the conclusion that it could be a brand thing? A SanDisk would work where a Kingston doesn't? And yet these cards should all use the same standards - probably the NAND is coming out of the same factory somewhere! So that just seems to make no sense.. and I hardly want to buy another card just to check!

SanDisk has their own factory(ies). I've had hit or miss with Kingston in the past. I have had no problems with SanDisk ExtremeIII Class 10 cards, nor with Transcend. I always format the card in camera after using it in the PC, and only in the camera in which it is to be used. Good luck.

rawr · 10-17-2012, 02:13 PM

Maybe the Kingston card failing is a blessing in disguise. Why would you use a 64GB card anyhow? (except perhaps for video shooting).

Enjoy losing possibly whole days (or more) worth of important shooting if the card dies, or gets lost. Safer to go with smaller card sizes, IMHO.

Spot · 10-17-2012, 03:15 PM

I've been using a Kingston 16gb Ultimate X 100x sdhc class 10 card for about a month now in my K30 with no problems at all. That being said it was cheap $17 so I don't expect too much and I always copy the days shooting onto my computer. When looking for what was a good card it was difficult to get very good info about what was alright so I went for cheap over expensive and maybe not compatable. I didn't come across any info on Kingston not being Pentax friendly.

Docrwm · 10-17-2012, 05:41 PM

Originally posted by Spot

I've been using a Kingston 16gb Ultimate X 100x sdhc class 10 card for about a month now in my K30 with no problems at all. That being said it was cheap $17 so I don't expect too much and I always copy the days shooting onto my computer. When looking for what was a good card it was difficult to get very good info about what was alright so I went for cheap over expensive and maybe not compatable. I didn't come across any info on Kingston not being Pentax friendly.

I expect a LOT out of my cards. The SanDisk Extreme 16 GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 Flash Memory Card 45MB/s SDSDX-016G-X46 is running <$18 from Amazon.Com and is very fast and from SanDisk. At this point, for 16gb Class 10 cards the prices are irrelevant. Go for the known quality of SanDisk and relax.

**Fastback67** · 10-17-2012, 06:05 PM

I've been using a Delkin 32GB SDHC 600X UHS-1 in my K30. No problems to report...

kulminaator · 10-23-2012, 03:43 AM

My kingston card in my K-30 has a whole different problem.

Recording a movie in a completely silent room, holding the camera steady, all sorts of assists turned off ... and i get a thump into the hd video audio channel, about every 2 seconds, with a very precise interval. At first i was suspecting that it's the stabilization, but it isn't, it's exactly in sync with writes to the sd card. On every write to the card (video buffer flushing i guess), some electronic noise is being generated in synchronization with the light emitted from writing to the card (in the lower right part of the camera's back), and that electronic noise makes it to the microphone and gets recorded in the movie. Doesn't really annoy you in noisy videos, but is pretty awkward in silent background shots.

Anyone on kingston class 10 card owners, can you confirm that ? (you need a pretty quiet environment to reproduce). And anybody who has moved to Sandisk - can you confirm that you get the same result or are your videos really completely silent ?

The card i'm using is 16GB Kingston ultimate 100x (class 10) like on this link SD/SDHC/SDXC Flash Cards | Kingston (the blue watery one) ...

kulminaator · 11-25-2012, 08:52 AM

I went around shopping for the SanDisk 16GB 45MB/s Extreme SDHC Card, definitely lower electronic sound noise in silent videos (and faster reading/writing too) ... bye bye kingston, you'll be in a box from now on for some other silly hobby.

10-17-2012, 05:25 AM	#1
wintergreen New Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 2	SD card compatibility issue Hi all - I just recently got a 64GB class 10 SDXC card (SD/SDHC/SDXC Flash Cards \| Kingston) and it seemed like a good choice for use in my K-30 - however, when I use it it just comes up with a 'Memory Card Error' - I'm not able to format the card from the menus or indeed use the camera at all. All the specs stated for the K-30 I've seen say that it is compatible with SDXC (Pentax K-30 - Digital SLR - PENTAX Photo) - so, just wondering has anyone else encountered this? And if so - is there a way to get it working? Thanks all!

10-17-2012, 08:16 AM	#6
Singinman Inactive Account Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 66	Kingston The 8GB card that came with the Costo package was incompatible with the K-30. Kingston and the K-30 have issues.

10-17-2012, 03:15 PM	#11
Spot New Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Regina, Canada Posts: 11	Kingston card I've been using a Kingston 16gb Ultimate X 100x sdhc class 10 card for about a month now in my K30 with no problems at all. That being said it was cheap $17 so I don't expect too much and I always copy the days shooting onto my computer. When looking for what was a good card it was difficult to get very good info about what was alright so I went for cheap over expensive and maybe not compatable. I didn't come across any info on Kingston not being Pentax friendly.

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10-17-2012, 06:30 AM	#2
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Sounds like a bad card. Did you try seeing if the computer can access the card?

10-17-2012, 06:40 AM	#3
metalmania Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 253	From my experience, Kingston is a very good brand for desktop and laptop memories. However coming to flash memories, I would try to avoid this brand. My Sandisk 64GB SD card has no problem in K-30.

10-17-2012, 07:35 AM	#4
wintergreen New Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 2 Original Poster	Hi - thanks for the reply. Yes - I tried in a PC - no problem. I checked the pentax site and they clearly state support for the 64GB SDXC: Compatibility with the K-30 has been tested with memory cards from the following manufacturers. Panasonic / Toshiba / SanDisk SD Memory Card: 1GB, 2 GB SDHC Memory Cards: 4 GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32 GB SDXC Memory Cards: 64GB So - I'm left with the conclusion that it could be a brand thing? A SanDisk would work where a Kingston doesn't? And yet these cards should all use the same standards - probably the NAND is coming out of the same factory somewhere! So that just seems to make no sense.. and I hardly want to buy another card just to check!

10-17-2012, 08:08 AM	#5
metalmania Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 253	Originally posted by wintergreen Hi - thanks for the reply. Yes - I tried in a PC - no problem. I checked the pentax site and they clearly state support for the 64GB SDXC: Compatibility with the K-30 has been tested with memory cards from the following manufacturers. Panasonic / Toshiba / SanDisk SD Memory Card: 1GB, 2 GB SDHC Memory Cards: 4 GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32 GB SDXC Memory Cards: 64GB So - I'm left with the conclusion that it could be a brand thing? A SanDisk would work where a Kingston doesn't? And yet these cards should all use the same standards - probably the NAND is coming out of the same factory somewhere! So that just seems to make no sense.. and I hardly want to buy another card just to check! Kingston flash memories have compatibility issues...no scientific survey though. But NAND is definitely not coming out of the same production line.

10-17-2012, 11:19 AM	#7
lister6520 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 733	I don't know if this is relevant but I have two Kingston SDHC Class 10 16GB which I was using in my K-r as well as a Casio compact camera. They had initially worked fine but after a few weeks I got 'card error' on the one in the K-r. I slotted it into the PC and found the photos were all corrupted. When I tried to format it the PC then also rejected it, telling me that there is not even a card inserted in the slot. It didn't work in the K-r or any of the other devices I have that use SD cards, all of them reacting as if there was no card in the slot. I then took the other one from the Casio, put it in the K-r and got card error as well. When I put it in the PC it did not even detect it, telling me there is no card in the slot. I had shot some photos with the Casio on that card and transferred to PC a few days earlier. I do not know if the second card failed when I put it in the K-r or whether it was already faulty in the other camera but I do have the feeling that the K-r somehow killed both the cards. Otherwise the only possible explanation is that they both had a manufacturing defect and failed at about the same time. I have since been using Transcend, Toshiba and Sandisk SD cards in the K-r as well as my new K-30 and haven't had any other problems to date. Currently I am using Sandisk 32GB UHC-I cards in both Pentaxes.

10-17-2012, 11:35 AM	#8
metalmania Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 253	The rule of thumb is to use Sandisk SD card if possible. If not, Lexar, then Transcend, even Patriot is more reliable than Kingston. Nothing else.

10-17-2012, 12:59 PM	#9
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by wintergreen Hi - thanks for the reply. Yes - I tried in a PC - no problem. I checked the pentax site and they clearly state support for the 64GB SDXC: Compatibility with the K-30 has been tested with memory cards from the following manufacturers. Panasonic / Toshiba / SanDisk SD Memory Card: 1GB, 2 GB SDHC Memory Cards: 4 GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32 GB SDXC Memory Cards: 64GB So - I'm left with the conclusion that it could be a brand thing? A SanDisk would work where a Kingston doesn't? And yet these cards should all use the same standards - probably the NAND is coming out of the same factory somewhere! So that just seems to make no sense.. and I hardly want to buy another card just to check! SanDisk has their own factory(ies). I've had hit or miss with Kingston in the past. I have had no problems with SanDisk ExtremeIII Class 10 cards, nor with Transcend. I always format the card in camera after using it in the PC, and only in the camera in which it is to be used. Good luck.

10-17-2012, 02:13 PM	#10
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Maybe the Kingston card failing is a blessing in disguise. Why would you use a 64GB card anyhow? (except perhaps for video shooting). Enjoy losing possibly whole days (or more) worth of important shooting if the card dies, or gets lost. Safer to go with smaller card sizes, IMHO.

10-17-2012, 05:41 PM	#12
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by Spot I've been using a Kingston 16gb Ultimate X 100x sdhc class 10 card for about a month now in my K30 with no problems at all. That being said it was cheap $17 so I don't expect too much and I always copy the days shooting onto my computer. When looking for what was a good card it was difficult to get very good info about what was alright so I went for cheap over expensive and maybe not compatable. I didn't come across any info on Kingston not being Pentax friendly. I expect a LOT out of my cards. The SanDisk Extreme 16 GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 Flash Memory Card 45MB/s SDSDX-016G-X46 is running <$18 from Amazon.Com and is very fast and from SanDisk. At this point, for 16gb Class 10 cards the prices are irrelevant. Go for the known quality of SanDisk and relax.

10-17-2012, 06:05 PM	#13
Fastback67 Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: New Hampshire, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 348	I've been using a Delkin 32GB SDHC 600X UHS-1 in my K30. No problems to report...

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10-23-2012, 03:43 AM	#14
kulminaator New Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Photos: Gallery Posts: 6	My kingston card in my K-30 has a whole different problem. Recording a movie in a completely silent room, holding the camera steady, all sorts of assists turned off ... and i get a thump into the hd video audio channel, about every 2 seconds, with a very precise interval. At first i was suspecting that it's the stabilization, but it isn't, it's exactly in sync with writes to the sd card. On every write to the card (video buffer flushing i guess), some electronic noise is being generated in synchronization with the light emitted from writing to the card (in the lower right part of the camera's back), and that electronic noise makes it to the microphone and gets recorded in the movie. Doesn't really annoy you in noisy videos, but is pretty awkward in silent background shots. Anyone on kingston class 10 card owners, can you confirm that ? (you need a pretty quiet environment to reproduce). And anybody who has moved to Sandisk - can you confirm that you get the same result or are your videos really completely silent ? The card i'm using is 16GB Kingston ultimate 100x (class 10) like on this link SD/SDHC/SDXC Flash Cards \| Kingston (the blue watery one) ...

11-25-2012, 08:52 AM	#15
kulminaator New Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Photos: Gallery Posts: 6	I went around shopping for the SanDisk 16GB 45MB/s Extreme SDHC Card, definitely lower electronic sound noise in silent videos (and faster reading/writing too) ... bye bye kingston, you'll be in a box from now on for some other silly hobby.