SD Cards

[MrB]

Two questions regarding long-term SD Card reliability -

1. Is there any general consensus amongst experienced (and/or professional) digital photographers on which manufacturer makes the most reliable SDHC cards ?

2. Is it best practice to transfer photo data from the camera to the computer by using the USB lead, or by tranferring the card into a card reader, or does it make no difference?

Philip

[The Blue Boy]

Hi Philip,

1, I think it fair to say that the majority of people use either Sandisk or Lexar. There are other makes such as Fujifilm and I think Panasonic make their own. Personally I've always used SanDisk since coming over to digial.

2, I use a card reader. I don't think it makes any difference other than the fact you have to have your camera "powered up".

Hope this helps mate.

[ktuli]

2. Is it best practice to transfer photo data from the camera to the computer by using the USB lead, or by tranferring the card into a card reader, or does it make no difference?

Philip,

Mark's answer for #1 is the same I would give. Others may provide more info.

#2 - I personally recommend never connecting the camera via the USB lead - if for whatever reason (ie: power surge) the voltage on that USB line spikes, your camera could be damaged. Must safer (and cheaper) to just lose a memory card instead of your camera too!

- Bill

[rpcrowe]

I cannot speak for SD Cards but, my last two Kingston (8GB and 16GB) CF cards which I purchased from Frys Electronics (an electronics chain in the USA) have been faulty and, although I have several earlier CF cards from Kingston which work O.K.; I will no longer purchase Kingston memory products.

[MrB]

I personally recommend never connecting the camera via the USB lead - if for whatever reason (ie: power surge) the voltage on that USB line spikes, your camera could be damaged. Must safer (and cheaper) to just lose a memory card instead of your camera too!

- Bill

Thank you Bill; however, as many would say - sometimes the photographs are the irreplaceable items. Hence I am trying to assess opinion about the reliability of different cards and the safest way to use them to best preserve their data.

Cheers,
Philip

[Jim B.]

I use both CF and SD cards.Another vote for SanDisk.They can be pricey,but in my opinion it's worth it.I also use a card reader.

[tameigh]

Well, I inadvertently disconnected the USB while downloading my daughter's prom pictures. I am pretty sure that they are lost The laptop won't recognize the camera. If I put the card into a reader, it has an error, but I can still look at the nice pictures on the camera display, so I know what I am losing, I guess. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to save these pictures?

[ktuli]

Well, I inadvertently disconnected the USB while downloading my daughter's prom pictures. I am pretty sure that they are lost The laptop won't recognize the camera. If I put the card into a reader, it has an error, but I can still look at the nice pictures on the camera display, so I know what I am losing, I guess. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to save these pictures?

Tim,

Give this a try... http://www.pandorarecovery.com/ - I've used it in the past and it is great. Free, no adware, just works. Definitely worth giving them a donation!

- Bill

[dje]

I use Sandisk and my experience with them has been all good. I use the faster Ultra or Extreme versions because i shoot some HD video with my still camera.

I prefer to use a card reader as it is faster for me.

Cheers dave

[tameigh]

Thanks Bill,
I bought a card reader and paid for a recovery program and unloaded it no problem. I could have saved $40 with your suggestion, but I was at Office Depot for the card reader anyway and didn't want to take any chances.
- Tim

[The Blue Boy]

Just as an aside, some SanDisk cards come with a free recovery program. I don't know if it works or not as I've never had to use it!

[ButchP]

Must put in my two cents for Sandisk. I have used these cards in various forms in both cameras and industrial devices with no problems. Studies on storage disks (SD, compact, etc.) have always given Sandisk the highest approval due to the "rock solid" functioning of their product. Just got a new 16GB Extreme Pro yesterday and it is about twice as fast (updating between shots) as my old Extreme card!
As for readers VS. usb cable/camera, readers are somewhat better but they do have their own set of problems from time to time. Best thing to do is get your photos off your card as soon as possible, back them up on a hard drive in a different file and if they are important make another copy on a DVD or CD.

Good luck and happy shooting.

Butch

[tameigh]

BTW, looking at the card to fix it, I noticed that there was 2 GB of a movie file on there, probably put there by bit torrent, or something. My daughter is a college student and was using it, and I am thinking a trojan or virus put it there. So now I have a lot more room to shoot.

[ktuli]

Tim,

Something you should be doing with your cards a regular basis if reformatting them. That would have solved the problem you just listed with that 2GB movie file, and may have helped to prevent the corruption you recently had. Because file systems never really delete files (they just delete the pointers to them, which is why recovery programs like Pandora work), and only reuse the space once the card becomes full and they need to overwrite something, they become prone to corruption like that. When you reformat the card, it resets all of those file pointers and starts writing the card back at the beginning.

As long as you know there is nothing you need on the card, reformatting it helps to keep things clean and stable. I personally reformat my cards (by using the in-camera format option) almost every time I return it to the camera after copying photos off.

- Bill

[Colin Southern]

When you reformat the card, it resets all of those file pointers and starts writing the card back at the beginning.

"Sorta". Because flash memory wears out, the controller chips physically map the data to areas different to the logical areas assigned in the file system so that all areas are utilised more evenly. Formatting resets the logical file structure back to a known point, but doesn't "start the card writing back at the beginning per sec". I should add that I agree with the advice about formatting though - that's the only way I ever clear my cards.

[Colin Southern]

Hi Philip,

There's a lot that goes on "under the bonnet" with SD cards - many "manufacturers" will use memory and controller chips from 3rd party manufacturers, and there's a lot of ambiguity in performance standards. So whereas two cards might be Class 6, one may be many times faster than the others.

Many here have recommended Sandisk - and I'll add my name to that list. Lexar also have a good reputation, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

If in doubt, run with Sandisk, and you won't be disappointed. Just a word to the wise though, there are a LOT of fake Sandisk cards out there - so don't buy from eBay - buy from the likes of B&H / Adorama etc.

[The Blue Boy]

Philip,

Just an addition to Colins advice on fake stuff on ebay etc, I noticed that you're based here in the UK. One of the best places to purchase photographic stuff here is Warehouse Express.

[Black Pearl]

I too use Sandisk cards exclusively and I've never had a duff one yet. I see every brand going through work and while I understand why customers buy the cheap ones to save a few quid they often drive me insane. Some are pathetically slow to download onto our printers, regardless of what speed is written in the label. The fail rate of some brands is alarming and even the build quality of some is rubbish.

The advantages of the Extreme range is that they are waterproof, shock proof and crush proof so if you are thinking long term and reliability then these are the boys to spend your cash on.

I'll add my weight to the DON'T BUY THEM FROM EBAY comments. A huge proportion are fake, faulty not as fast as advertised or even have anything in them.....according to a Sandisk rep I was talking to they had a batch of complaints about cards and USB drives that turned out to be completely empty - oddly the customers were wondering why they didn't work.

[MrB]

Thank you very much to all contributors to this thread. I am most grateful for all the excellent advice and recommendations. I am also very pleased to have found and joined CiC!

Philip