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01-06-2020, 04:26 PM - 1 Like   #1
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When To Throw Out Old SD Cards?

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I just sold a Fuji X-T2 camera outfit. I hadn't used it for a while, so prior to posting it on Ebay I did a thorough inspection/test on it. I found that when trying to insert an SD card into slot #2, the card would not lock in the down position.

I searched YouTube and found
a few tutorials on how to repair/fix SD cards that are either stuck or won't stay down. In most cases, the problem was that a small piece of the SD card's plastic outer case had broken off and lodged inside the SD card channel (usually under the tiny pins on the bottom).

Over time, many plastics become brittle. I would imagine that older SD cards are more likely to break off inside the SD card compartment of a digital camera than new ones are.

I generally shoot my SD cards until they fail. Some are approaching 10 years old. I've never pre-emptively decommissioned them due to concerns that they might break off inside the SD card slots of my digital cameras. I'm now seriously considering tossing out my older SD cards as I sure don't want another failure like this. What do you think?

Or... To keep the plastic dashboard on my car from drying out due to age and the sun's UV rays, I regularly wipe it down with "Armor All". Does anyone here periodically wiping down their SD cards with a light coat of a plastic rejuvenator like Armor All?


Last edited by Fenwoodian; 01-06-2020 at 04:39 PM.
01-06-2020, 04:59 PM - 1 Like   #2
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I still have 2 SD cards purchased in 2010 with my K-7 that are still going strong. The only one I have tossed out is one that suffered mechanical damage. I don't know of any method of testing their reliability but if you have any doubts, toss them out. I would not recommend using any chemical at all to clean or otherwise treat them.
01-06-2020, 05:17 PM - 1 Like   #3
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The SD Association, established the in January, 2000 by Panasonic, SanDisk Corporation and Toshiba Corporation to be a new industry-wide organization in order to develop and promote memory card storage standards, gives the life span of a standard manufactured SD card at 10 years. However, I have read that more important than physical age was the number or writes and re-rights the SD card had in it. I'm still trying to find the article, but if I recall correctly, the lifespan of most solid state digital memory is close to or better than 100 million writes/ re-writes.
01-06-2020, 05:18 PM   #4
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If they work, keep using them. If they are intermittent, toss them. It's not like they have a defined shelf life like film had (maybe, but its probably decades if stored/cared for properly).

01-06-2020, 05:25 PM - 1 Like   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Bruce Clark Quote
I still have 2 SD cards purchased in 2010 with my K-7 that are still going strong. The only one I have tossed out is one that suffered mechanical damage. I don't know of any method of testing their reliability but if you have any doubts, toss them out. I would not recommend using any chemical at all to clean or otherwise treat them.
Hey Bruce,
If you have a PC computer you can use the File Manager feature to check the reliability of a memory card...
Right click on the disc drive and click on Properties... Then click on the "Tools" tab and select the "Check" button. That will scan every memory block for its ability to accept data and give a report of its condition... If there is a back block, it will be tagged in the micro controller's program and not be used again.
01-06-2020, 05:30 PM   #6
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Guys, I'm NOT at all talking about the RELIABILITY of the SD card's writing ability. I'm talking exclusively about the deterioration of the outer plastic body. With an older camera, a damaged SD card port on a single SD card type camera could be a constructive total loss of the camera.

Does anyone care to comment on that?
01-06-2020, 05:35 PM - 2 Likes   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Fenwoodian Quote
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Guys, I'm NOT at all talking about the RELIABILITY of the SD card's writing ability. I'm talking exclusively about the deterioration of the outer plastic body. With an older camera, a damaged SD card port on a single SD card type camera could be a constructive total loss of the camera.

Does anyone care to comment on that?
My first thought is that the plastic of an SD card wouldn't generally suffer from UV deterioration, which causes the plastic to become brittle.

01-06-2020, 05:37 PM - 1 Like   #8
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It really depends on the care the cards were given over time, the temperatures it has been subjected to, etc. Unless you test flex them which I would not want to do personally, how would you tell unless it starts looking raggedy?
01-06-2020, 06:05 PM - 1 Like   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by BigDave Quote
If they work, keep using them. If they are intermittent, toss them. It's not like they have a defined shelf life like film had (maybe, but its probably decades if stored/cared for properly).
I regularly shoot expired film with good results too, so shelf life for film is in my opinion not that meaningful either.

As for the SD card exterior getting brittle -> My SD-cards stay in the camera all the time (I load my images via an USB cable onto my PC) so exposure to UV light is not that high and even if they do get brittle I would have to move them somehow to break them

Last edited by othar; 01-06-2020 at 06:13 PM.
01-06-2020, 06:07 PM   #10
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Did you ever extricate the trash from the SD card slot? If so what did you use? Compressed air?
01-06-2020, 06:47 PM   #11
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Now that's a good question. It is possible the SD card was flawed from the start
01-06-2020, 07:46 PM - 2 Likes   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Fenwoodian Quote

Or... To keep the plastic dashboard on my car from drying out due to age and the sun's UV rays, I regularly wipe it down with "Armor All". Does anyone here periodically wiping down their SD cards with a light coat of a plastic rejuvenator like Armor All?
There's nine minutes of my life I'm not getting back. Why do Youtubers typically see if they can make a 9 minute video when 1 minute would do just fine?

But, on to your question: Armor All contains water, PDMS (a silicone compound), diethylene glycol, glycerin and some other chemicals. Do you really want those materials in your camera's card slot?
01-06-2020, 08:03 PM   #13
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Thanks much for all of the responses.
01-06-2020, 08:15 PM - 1 Like   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Larrymc Quote
Did you ever extricate the trash from the SD card slot? If so what did you use? Compressed air?
I would use an air vacuum.

Using compressed air might blow the detritus deeper into the bowels of the camera, making removal impossible without disassembly.
01-06-2020, 08:55 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Fenwoodian Quote
Does anyone care to comment on that?
How old was the card in your Fuji? That might be a good indication of a card too old. That being said, how plastics age is influenced by temperature, ozone, and user habits. The SD cards in my K-3 are a little less than five years old. I would be surprised if either started shedding broken parts before I replace that camera.


Steve

(...sold the K10D w/o card and repurposed the cards used with camera to other, non-camera, roles...)
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