Digital cameras, memory cards

[Granitechops]

Do memory cards used in digital cameras "wear out"?

Or

Is it the card reader?

I have been using a card reader for my digi cameras for about 3-4 years
this morning it refused to be read by the computer, I do have several cards of different capacity

this one is 4GB

do the electronic contacts wear out,

or is it becase it had been out in the cold

anyone any ideas??

 

[ped]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I have had the same trouble with my memory card, It has only been trouble twice and on both occasions it was when i was using outside in the cold,after being back indoors in the warm for an hour or so it worked fine again, so i presume this could be the cause, hope this is of some help.

 

[dgt]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I've got a feeling that some cameras and older card readers don't get on with the bigger (4gb and up) cards.
I'm prepared to be shot down on this, but I have had problems myself in the past.

Dave

 

[simon@mgr]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

Best thing to do is to approach card reader with a large hammer, if this does not elicit correct operation, replace unserviceable reader

 

[Elmtree Line]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

Some older digital camera's aren't compatible with new larger capacity cards. Many could only take up to 1GB cards, where the norm nowadays is more 4GB and more.

Sometimes its just a software "glitch" when they don't work quite right, try rebooting things and then checking again, usually works, the cold shouldn't really affect this sort of media as there are no moving parts, but condensation when you bring it back into the warm pc/card reader may form a small barrier that stops the card being read.

 

[KeithT]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I have an older Fijifinepix which uses an SMC Smart Media Card. It does not like being changed whilst plugged into the PC. To get around it I place it back in the camera and reformat it.
On occasion it plays hard to get and I get a "Card Error" message but if I persevere and wipe the contacts it eventually works.

 

[Granitechops]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

The camera is brand new, last week ,

Since when I have taken over 350 pics & videos, with no problems before yesterday

I am wondering if its anything to do with the camera software as I noticed it has downloaded a file to the camera from the internet, something to do with the Kodak easy share direct to on line printing!

when I plugged the card reader into the usb slot, the light on the reader lit up & the computer did its normal ping noise but the icon did not appear on the My computer screen


There was one other oddity

When I unplugged the external hard drive from the next usb slot the hard drive icon did not dissapear off screen.

I will first I think take some indoor pics, as its 3 hours since I took the last pics ouitside,

ifit still persists, I will remove what was down loaded to the card,

and try again with more indoor pics

 

[pugwash]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

On Compact Flash cards the little contact pins sometimes break off.
SD cards have several different standards, and certainly not all cards work with all cameras or computers. I bought a 4 GB card for a vid. cam. and it wouldn't have it, tried to check the card on my 4 year old PC and nothing. Tried it in the 6 month old laptop and it worked, and it works fine in my 3 year old Nikon Coolpix. A card reader with SDHC capability for €8 and everything back to normal(ish).
However the problem here sounds soft- rather than hardware related. I would uninstall and then reinstall all the camera software for a kick off.

 

[Chris]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

If you are using XP then I don't think it works with 4GB cards, my laptop certainly won't read a 4GB card but my suns all singing Vista equipped PC will, and this is using the same USB card reader in both computers.

 

[Chris]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

Sometimes it helps if you re-format the card, you can do do this while the card is in the reader but you will also find that some cameras can also do it.

Always format the card using the camera that it will be used in, some cameras and PC use slightly different formating protocols which means some camera's won't read an externally formated card.

 

[Elmtree Line]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

One of my camera's won't open pictures from an SD card formatted in the other camera, but it knows the files are there, no an issue as i use my printers multicard reader which happily reads anything you throw at it (apart from the Daily Star )

 

[KleineDicke]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I believe there is a specification on at least some cards for maximum number of insertions, so yes the card can wear out - but it's not the memory itself that wears out rather than the contacts (not that it matters). There is also a specification for number of reads and writes, but realistically, this is far beyond what a normal user would use.
Quoting from SanDisks specification for SD cards:

"SanDisk SD Cards have an endurance specification for each sector of 100,000 writes typical (reading a logical

sector is unlimited). This far exceeds what is typically required in nearly all applications of SD Cards. For example,​

even very heavy use of the SD Card in cellular phones, personal communicators, pagers and voice recorders will​

use only a fraction of the total endurance over the typical device’s lifetime. For instance, it would take over 10 years​

to wear out an area on the SD Card on which a file of any size (from 512 bytes to maximum capacity) was rewritten​

3 times per hour, 8 hours a day, 365 days per year.​

With typical applications, the endurance limit is not of any practical concern to the vast majority of users."

Flash memory cards can also easily become corrupted by improper removal. Your reader might also be faulty - does it work with other cards?

XP can and will read 4GB cards. However, 4GB and larger SD cards are usually SDHC (HC meaning high capacity) which have a different format from the standard SD card. Some older card readers are not able to read the SDHC format.
See: http://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/45/kw/SD SDHC/r_id/101834
The solution is a new reader. BTW, some devices using SD memory (Cameras, phones, etc.) are also incapable of dealing with SDHC media.

 

[KeithT]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I have a Smart Media card used in a Fuji camera.
Occasionally it refuses to read the card espec' if i have inadvertantly deleted an image whilst the card is in the PC.
I find that if I repeatedly re-insert the card into the camera it will eventually accept it although I may have to reformat it before it will load another pic'.
Always worth persevering.

 

[corgi]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I never take my cards out of my camera's and have never experienced any problems.

I download to my pc using XP and if I require prints I load the chosen on to a disk and take to the print shop.

I always format the card in the camera.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I have to take the Scandisk out of my camera, because Dell computers won't read Technika cameras (Tesco special)

However, a little trick I found by mistake - my disk told me it was locked which I didn't understand, so I bought a new one..................


Only to find that they have a little locking tab down the side just like 3.5" floppies used to have

But you can get a 2GB disk from Amazon for £2 or £3 nowadays, so at least I have a spare

 

[vasim]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I always fill the card up with stuff I want to keep and erase the stuff I don't. Once the card is full, I buy a new card because I've heard that the pics will stay stable on the card whereas downloading onto a CD-R or DVD-R isn't as permanent as they would have you believe. Forget CD-RW and DVD-RW - you'll be lucky if they don't deteriorate in 12 months.
Download them onto CD or hard drive for convenience but keep the stuff you don't want to lose on the card - a bit like keeping the negatives I suppose, and they aren't that bulky to store or expensive to buy.

 

[Granitechops]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

Thanks for all the replies to this thread, a lot of useful info

Whatever it was, every thing is working ok since then

so maybe it was the cold!!

& I see you can now get 4gig cards SHDH for only £7

 

[corgi]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I always fill the card up with stuff I want to keep and erase the stuff I don't. Once the card is full, I buy a new card because I've heard that the pics will stay stable on the card whereas downloading onto a CD-R or DVD-R isn't as permanent as they would have you believe. Forget CD-RW and DVD-RW - you'll be lucky if they don't deteriorate in 12 months.
Download them onto CD or hard drive for convenience but keep the stuff you don't want to lose on the card - a bit like keeping the negatives I suppose, and they aren't that bulky to store or expensive to buy.

I wouldn't keep your only copies of photos on a memory card as they get be wiped, corrupted or damaged by a static electrical charge. This is not that common but does happen from either your body building up static from walking on nylon carpet or from a low level electrical storm, etc. If they are important you should keep multiple copies on a backup hard drive and CDs. CD roms can be damaged by certain chemicals and micro-organisms but if stored out of sunlight and away from excess heat or damp they are the most reliable way but can't store many large photos, DVD roms store much more but since the data is stored more densely can become more easily corrupted.

There is a lot to say for film camera's and negatives for archival.

Will we lose history with modern technology?

I have recently brought out my Pentax SLR and taken photo's of family events with film.
I have then been able to show the prints to all and sundry and they have been enjoyably received.. They have said they have lots of pics but they are all on there computers, nothing to show.

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

I 'went digital' basically to be able to do instant posting to this and other railfan groups. I still keep the film camera for 'permanent' shots. I took both on my jaunt to Uncle Sam last year.... both had advantages. The film I was getting processed at Walgreens as soon as it was finished, and had something to show. The digital I used for some of the awkward light situations (like hand held shots of trains and stations at 4 in the morning). Digital was also handy as it would record dates and times, good to show that I travelled on Cable Cars in both Wellington NZ, and San Francisco on the same day (and I've got the tickets to prove it). Must get around to printing some of the digital snaps. Prints are much easier on the eyes than a 'puter screen.

 

[Andy Worsfold]

Reigital cameras, memory cards

My daughter, Katy, is doing an A level in photography and learning the correct way to take photos and process her own Black and White photos. She does all her research shots in digital but the final product is always proper film.