SD cards

old4570 · 09-30-2014, 09:14 PM

Since taking up photography again , the greatest problem encountered has been the SD card ..

Way too many failures .. I post this after going outside and taking what I thought might be some very nice photos only to find the SD card completely corrupted ..

I know when I joined the forum I asked why no data base on SD cards , reviews , etc ...

I feel this is a critical area missing from this fine forum ...

I have to date thrown away 3 SD cards because of issues with Pentax Cameras , and looks like Im about to throw away a fourth ....

This is such a critical component , is it time to include it ?

**jatrax** · 09-30-2014, 09:24 PM

There are a lot of cheap (or sometimes not so cheap) off brand cards out there. I buy Sandisk Extreme Pro only. I pay more but when you consider the cost of all the camera gear is saving $10 on a memory card worth not having a picture when come back in?

There is no database as such in part because the brands and cards are rather fluid. There is a fairly complete description of the various cards here: Secure Digital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia But keeping a database of actual brand names may be difficult as even the 'good' brands have been subject to poor quality fakes flooding the market.

Buying Sandisk at a reputable dealer is your best bet.

Adam · 09-30-2014, 09:49 PM

Originally posted by old4570

Way too many failures .. I post this after going outside and taking what I thought might be some very nice photos only to find the SD card completely corrupted ..

As jatrax wrote above, avoiding weird brands is the best way to ensure reliable SD card performance. SanDisk and Lexar and the two biggest and more serious high-performance card manufacturers. You don't have to pay much to get your hands on a decent one of their cards, either

old4570 · 09-30-2014, 09:59 PM

Toshiba has worked flawlessly for me . so I just ordered another a few minutes ago ..

jimr-pdx · 09-30-2014, 10:00 PM

I have never experienced a Lexar failure, and just one sandisk extreme where the lock-switch popped out. I stop at 16GB cards and carry spares. Actually now I use more microSD as I can then see results on my 7" HD tablet. You've definitely had worse fortune than any other I've heard of.

percy · 10-01-2014, 12:16 AM

Just use good quality cards. Cheap cards are invariably cheap for a reason!
Also, do you format the cards just in the camera or on your computer as well. I have heard of people having problems after formatting their SD cards on a computer.

old4570 · 10-01-2014, 01:06 AM

I take the card out to read it and then do a quick format ...
I had issue with cards if I did not format them ..
The Toshiba cards have yet to give a problem , but I have had quite a few different cards ...
I know I have a problem when windows fails to do a quick format , Usually a slow more thorough format can fix a card , unfortunately not always ...
This is the first time I have lost data or had a card corrupt itself for some reason ..
When the new card gets here this one will go in the rubbish ...

Sorver · 10-01-2014, 01:26 AM

I only use SanDisk and since moving to the bridge and DSLR I only use extreme pro I am a shutter bug so need the speed

I only format in my camera and touch wood have never had an issue with an SD card since I started. I still have a 4GB plain that is years old and still works. I can not believe what bad luck you have had.

AquaDome · 10-01-2014, 08:13 AM

Delkin Devices comes with a guarantee. I have never had an issue with one. 95MB/S read & 80MB/S write speed doesn't suck either.

percy · 10-02-2014, 12:46 AM

Originally posted by old4570

I take the card out to read it and then do a quick format ...
I had issue with cards if I did not format them ..
The Toshiba cards have yet to give a problem , but I have had quite a few different cards ...
I know I have a problem when windows fails to do a quick format , Usually a slow more thorough format can fix a card , unfortunately not always ...
This is the first time I have lost data or had a card corrupt itself for some reason ..
When the new card gets here this one will go in the rubbish ...

Try just formatting your cards in the camera instead of within windows. The camera will set up the card/folder structure to work in the way it expects.
Windows quick format doesn't remove the old files from the card - it just removes the index that enables the files to be found and allows those files to be overwritten. This may be what is causing your problems.

Auzzie-Phoenix · 10-02-2014, 02:36 AM

I've never personally had a problem with Lexar, Sandisk, or PNY.

**rayallen** · 10-02-2014, 03:05 AM

Have only ever used Sandisk - from Blue standard up to Extreme PRO - and have never had a problem. Don't intend to change from Sandisk.

kp0c · 10-02-2014, 05:26 AM

Your card reader could also be part of the problem. I had a cheap ebay reader once and I'm pretty it corrupted one of my card.

magkelly · 10-02-2014, 06:52 AM - **1 Like**

Sandisk, Lexar, Transcend. Those are my main brands and I stick with them. I think I've had problems with one card over the years. Keeping to a good brand is essential. Amazon has tons of reviews too on media...

**Just1MoreDave** · 10-03-2014, 10:00 AM

I had one problem with Transcend but it may not have been their fault.

09-30-2014, 09:14 PM	#1
old4570 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 2,551	SD cards Since taking up photography again , the greatest problem encountered has been the SD card .. Way too many failures .. I post this after going outside and taking what I thought might be some very nice photos only to find the SD card completely corrupted .. I know when I joined the forum I asked why no data base on SD cards , reviews , etc ... I feel this is a critical area missing from this fine forum ... I have to date thrown away 3 SD cards because of issues with Pentax Cameras , and looks like Im about to throw away a fourth .... This is such a critical component , is it time to include it ?

09-30-2014, 09:49 PM	#3
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,594	Originally posted by old4570 Way too many failures .. I post this after going outside and taking what I thought might be some very nice photos only to find the SD card completely corrupted .. As jatrax wrote above, avoiding weird brands is the best way to ensure reliable SD card performance. SanDisk and Lexar and the two biggest and more serious high-performance card manufacturers. You don't have to pay much to get your hands on a decent one of their cards, either Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

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09-30-2014, 09:24 PM	#2
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	There are a lot of cheap (or sometimes not so cheap) off brand cards out there. I buy Sandisk Extreme Pro only. I pay more but when you consider the cost of all the camera gear is saving $10 on a memory card worth not having a picture when come back in? There is no database as such in part because the brands and cards are rather fluid. There is a fairly complete description of the various cards here: Secure Digital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia But keeping a database of actual brand names may be difficult as even the 'good' brands have been subject to poor quality fakes flooding the market. Buying Sandisk at a reputable dealer is your best bet.

09-30-2014, 09:59 PM	#4
old4570 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 2,551 Original Poster	Toshiba has worked flawlessly for me . so I just ordered another a few minutes ago ..

09-30-2014, 10:00 PM	#5
jimr-pdx Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: now 1 hour north of PDX Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,897	I have never experienced a Lexar failure, and just one sandisk extreme where the lock-switch popped out. I stop at 16GB cards and carry spares. Actually now I use more microSD as I can then see results on my 7" HD tablet. You've definitely had worse fortune than any other I've heard of.

10-01-2014, 12:16 AM	#6
percy Senior Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Herefordshire, UK Posts: 197	Just use good quality cards. Cheap cards are invariably cheap for a reason! Also, do you format the cards just in the camera or on your computer as well. I have heard of people having problems after formatting their SD cards on a computer.

10-01-2014, 01:06 AM	#7
old4570 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 2,551 Original Poster	I take the card out to read it and then do a quick format ... I had issue with cards if I did not format them .. The Toshiba cards have yet to give a problem , but I have had quite a few different cards ... I know I have a problem when windows fails to do a quick format , Usually a slow more thorough format can fix a card , unfortunately not always ... This is the first time I have lost data or had a card corrupt itself for some reason .. When the new card gets here this one will go in the rubbish ...

10-01-2014, 01:26 AM	#8
Sorver Veteran Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 440	I only use SanDisk and since moving to the bridge and DSLR I only use extreme pro I am a shutter bug so need the speed I only format in my camera and touch wood have never had an issue with an SD card since I started. I still have a 4GB plain that is years old and still works. I can not believe what bad luck you have had.

10-01-2014, 08:13 AM	#9
AquaDome Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: New Carlisle, IN Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,475	Delkin Devices comes with a guarantee. I have never had an issue with one. 95MB/S read & 80MB/S write speed doesn't suck either.

10-02-2014, 12:46 AM	#10
percy Senior Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Herefordshire, UK Posts: 197	Originally posted by old4570 I take the card out to read it and then do a quick format ... I had issue with cards if I did not format them .. The Toshiba cards have yet to give a problem , but I have had quite a few different cards ... I know I have a problem when windows fails to do a quick format , Usually a slow more thorough format can fix a card , unfortunately not always ... This is the first time I have lost data or had a card corrupt itself for some reason .. When the new card gets here this one will go in the rubbish ... Try just formatting your cards in the camera instead of within windows. The camera will set up the card/folder structure to work in the way it expects. Windows quick format doesn't remove the old files from the card - it just removes the index that enables the files to be found and allows those files to be overwritten. This may be what is causing your problems.

10-02-2014, 02:36 AM	#11
Auzzie-Phoenix Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,020	I've never personally had a problem with Lexar, Sandisk, or PNY.

10-02-2014, 03:05 AM	#12
rayallen Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Forresters Beach, NSW, Australia. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,014	Have only ever used Sandisk - from Blue standard up to Extreme PRO - and have never had a problem. Don't intend to change from Sandisk.

10-02-2014, 05:26 AM	#13
kp0c Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Montreal Photos: Gallery Posts: 761	Your card reader could also be part of the problem. I had a cheap ebay reader once and I'm pretty it corrupted one of my card.

10-02-2014, 06:52 AM - 1 Like	#14
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Sandisk, Lexar, Transcend. Those are my main brands and I stick with them. I think I've had problems with one card over the years. Keeping to a good brand is essential. Amazon has tons of reviews too on media...

10-03-2014, 10:00 AM	#15
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	I had one problem with Transcend but it may not have been their fault.