[wedge]

I've got a slew of SD cards that I use between a Kx and K-r and have had a few that failed outright, but lately (as in, in the last 3 days), it seems that most of them are now resulting in a "memory card error" when inserted into one or both of the cameras.

Here's what I had:

Two 32 GB Class 10 Sony cards that give that error when inserted in either body
An old, store-brand (MicroCenter, which, I think were made by PNY?) 2 GB card that is recognized in the K-r, but not the Kx
An less old 8 GB Team Group Class 10 card that was recognized in the K-r, but not the Kx
Two 16 GB Class 10 Samsung cards (the "waterproof" ones in brushed metal), which were the only cards that reliably worked in both bodies
Two 8 GB Class 4 Samsung MicroSD cards (in Kingston-branded adapters) which were dead to both bodies


So, I tried low-level/overwrite formatting (using OS X's Disk Utility and the SDFormatter app) all of the cards that were generating the "memory card error" messages, after which the 8 GB Team Group card can be used in either camera, but the rest are in the same predicament. All of the cards are recognized perfectly by any computer to which I connect them, and the two 32 GB cards worked as recently as 4 weeks ago. They're only about a year old, too.

I haven't upgraded firmware on either body, and I almost always reformat the card (in-camera) after transferring photos to a computer. I'm not aware of any EMPs in the area of my home, but we are about 1/2 mile from a highly controversial military drone control center, so who knows what hinky stuff they (or the hacktivists) might have been up to.

All I know is those brushed metal Samsung cards seem to be the most reliable. I think I paid $8 each for them on one of the deal-a-day sites, and they've come up once or twice since. Next time around, I'll have to grab a few more as backups/replacements.

Any ideas why this mass-memory-card issue might have occurred? Should I bother trying firmware updates to the bodies (I think I last updated both of them in the Fall, so there may not even be anything newer).

[FrankC]

I'm wondering if it has something to do with the way you're transferring files from the card to your computer. I've read that you should copy (CTRL-C) and paste (CTRL-V) from card to computer and that you should never cut from the card (CTRL-X) and paste to your computer. I've always used the FORMAT utility built into my camera to clear the card as opposed to deleting the files using my computer.
You may be experiencing problems due to poor workflow habits? I have never read anything about the quality or reliability of the cards you are using, but maybe you're using unreliable cards. Or, maybe they're just old? SD cards do have a life span with the newer cards lasting longer than the older cards (I'm unaware of how much longer new cards last over old or how old is old). Here's an article that may shed some light on your problem: Memory Cards - How to Extend Their Life and Keep Them Healthy - Digital Photography School
I've used Hoodman RAW Steel cards for three years without any failures. The only time I've had problems with transferring files is when I had turned off the camera while the file was being written to the card. In those instances, all the files transferred except for the one where I had turned the camera off during the write process.

[jatrax]

Firmware updates can help older cameras with compatibility with newer cards but in your case I doubt that is the problem since they did work for a while. Have you tried formatting the cards in the camera not the computer? That is the recommended procedure.

I format all cards in the camera as soon as they are inserted, each time. I also don't buy anything but Sandisk Extreme and Extreme Pro cards, they cost a little more it's worth the peace of mind to me.

[Na Horuk]

I read quite a few complaints about Sony cards, but I am surprised it would happen suddenly. Were the cards exposed to magnets?

Oh and btw, Sandisk seems to be the most trusted card brand here.

[Adam]

For starters, upgrade your firmware as this will most likely improve sd compatibility, plus you'll get SDXC support. Have you tried formatting the cards in camera at all?

[stevebrot]

Two 32 GB Class 10 Sony cards that give that error when inserted in either body

The failure of these cards may be due to having the wrong filesystem applied at some point. Even with an update to the camera firmware, an in-camera (shallow) format will leave the bad filesystem intact and the cards will still fail. Reformat the 32 GB cards using the utility from the SD Association to do a full format with erase. That will create a SDXC compliant card formatted with the exFAT filesystem.

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/

In-camera format should be adequate thereafter, assuming that the firmware supports SDXC.


Steve

[wedge]

Firmware updates can help older cameras with compatibility with newer cards but in your case I doubt that is the problem since they did work for a while. Have you tried formatting the cards in the camera not the computer? That is the recommended procedure.

I format all cards in the camera as soon as they are inserted, each time. I also don't buy anything but Sandisk Extreme and Extreme Pro cards, they cost a little more it's worth the peace of mind to me.

Trying to format in-camera returns the same "memory card error" message, unfortunately. Actually, I just remembered that something like this happened years ago (with my old Minolta Z5) and I was able to get a few cards working again by formatting in my camcorder. I might give that a try tonight.

---------- Post added 06-24-2014 at 03:22 PM ----------

I read quite a few complaints about Sony cards, but I am surprised it would happen suddenly. Were the cards exposed to magnets?

Oh and btw, Sandisk seems to be the most trusted card brand here.

Maybe that's why OWC was selling them so cheap ($13.99 each, I think)? No magnets were involved, and as far as I know, flash-based storage isn't susceptible to magnets as mechanical hard drives are. I could be wrong, though.

---------- Post added 06-24-2014 at 03:26 PM ----------

The failure of these cards may be due to having the wrong filesystem applied at some point. Even with an update to the camera firmware, an in-camera (shallow) format will leave the bad filesystem intact and the cards will still fail. Reformat the 32 GB cards using the utility from the SD Association to do a full format with erase. That will create a SDXC compliant card formatted with the exFAT filesystem.

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/

In-camera format should be adequate thereafter, assuming that the firmware supports SDXC.


Steve

That's what I used - the Mac version. The two options it gives are "Quick Format" and "Overwrite Format"; tried both with no improvement. There's also an "Option" button that enables "Logical Address Adjustment" with a note that "This option is for interoperability with specific devices." I did not try that option, but may as well at this point. I don't think it's going to do any more harm.

[Al_Kahollick]

Dirty or loose camera contacts?????? Perhaps the brushed steel cards are a hair thicker than the rest, just a wild guess.

[Kerrowdown]

Sandisk seems to be the most trusted card brand here

Another vote here for the SanDisk cards, always been good for me, never any dramas.