Problems with 32Gb SD cards
 

Can anyone please you help me with this problem?
I have 4 x MxR and 6 x eLCR card readers. I also have 4 x Transcend 32Gb SD HC Class 4 Cards and 10 x Sandisk 32Gb SD HC Class 4 Cards. These are
genuine cards bought from a local supplier. They are 32Gb capacity.
What I am finding is at about 50% of the time that I use them while filming a concert or event with a EX1 or a EX3 or a EX30 deck that they stop recording at
the 57 minute (16Gb) point. There is obviously still about 57 minutes of recording left on the card. I do a continuous recording that usually lasts 2
-4 hours so I need the capacity of 32Gb cards.
The recording stops and I get “Media Error, Restore Media” message. I cannot switch slots. I need to first eject the card and then I can continue to
record on the other card. I can do a restore media after the the event is finished (I cannot restore and record at the same time) and continue to use the card. It is happening on both brands and both readers at most of the events I film. This is causing some very major problems as you can imagine.

I have been told that a 32Gb card is just two 16GB cards layered together and maybe, as it changes from one layer to another, there is a delay and the recording stops.
Has anyone heard of this problem?
It looks like I will have to go back to using 16Gb cards and change them while recording. This is difficult as I am operating two cameras, audio mixer and a deck by myself.
Alternatively I could use a HDD recorder.
Many thanks for any help,
Ian

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...sxs-cards.html
I have always thought that a class 6 or higher was required to use in the EX series of cameras.
The newer class 10 cards record at 30mb/s.
I believe these class 4 cards are only 15mb/s.

I should have mentioned that I have Sandisk 16Gb SDHC Class 4 also. The Class 4 16 Gb works fine in the EX1/3/30 for me and many others that I know.
Ian

I thought that Transcend makes class 2 and class 6, but not 4.

Hi Ales, Yes you are right.
The Transcend are Class 6. I had a label over them hidding the class. The point is that both brands sometimes stop recording at around the 16 Gb point.
What have others found?

Always test the cards by recording straight through before putting them in service. I put in two 32GB cards and record straight through until both are filled.

Craig, I did test them before using and there were no apparent problems.
I makes it very hard in these circumstances.
Ian

Hi Ian,
Like you I also do long form work and I have found problems with SD cards and the MxR and eLCR card readerscards. My solution by a NonoFlash it uses Compact Flash cards and if you buy the cards which are qualified by the Convergent Designs you not have a problem and they are very stable. The downside you need to send more money. I have just ordered some 64GB Compact Flash cards and they sell for $299 US. the other option is SxS cards and they are very costly.
Good Luck

Firstly I believe some of the older card readers aren't guarenteed to work with 32gb cards. If you are going to use 32gb you might want to buy one of the new lockable MxR cards that have been tested with 32gb cards.

Secondly I wouldn't trust any Transcend card as far as I could throw it. I've had these cards from "reputable" suppliers in the UK and they still turned out as being no good for the EX1.

At sometime in the future I'm intending to buy one of the new lockable MxR's and also get a 32gb ATP Pro card in for testing. If your need is urgent and you have some spare cash I suggest you give that solution a try and let us know.

I've got the lockable MxM card and the 16gb ATP Pro card. This really looks the part and I think its worth paying that wee bit extra.
I've got a wedding tomorrow and test this combo but I'll use my SxS cards first.

Seems very strange, or unlucky, Marcus. As many, worldwide, have found Transcend class 6 to be very reliable cards. What exactly was the problem with yours ?

If I remember correctly a firmware update was needed to be able to use the 32GB cards. I can't remember which version now. Will have a look and post back here if I find it.

Well a quick search and found that the EX-1 needs firmware v1.11 or newer and the EX-3 should be fine.

I've been using 32GB Sandisk Ultra 2 Class 2 (Yes, CLASS TWO) since January 2009 and never had a media restore. I shoot many "yakaty yak" events (panel discussions, presentations with dignitary after dignitary going on for hours) so I'm often running 3-4 or more straight.

I've heard the Sandisk Ultra 2 Class 4 have been problematic and Transcend recently became problematic too. If the cards tested reliable on 4 straight hour records and are now stopping at 57 minutes, it's time to test them again. I'd reformat them first before testing though in case you haven't reformatted for a while.

Cards that take up to 10 seconds to clear the red light. Inconsistent write times on other cards.

Then I had the failures. One card always required the second clip on the card to be restored. Another corrupted midway through a presentation with no warning on the camera at all. Lucky I had a Z1 covering from another angle.

I've been into far more detail elsewhere on the forum and all standard protocols have been observed. All the serials check out.

What we have noted on this forum is there appears to have been a certain date where perhaps something changed. Or perhaps there is a batch of cards out there that have different characteristics to what has gone before. All the cards are still Class 6 spec, but for whatever reason not all the cards are quite up to the job for the EX1.

If you have Transcends that originate from before July/August this year then you'll be fine. Countless tales of these cards not missing a beat. But after that date something appears to have happened that meant that you couldn't be guaranteed a good card.

I've now been shooting on the ATP cards exclusively for a few months. More expensive but they seem to work fine.

Of course I still have Transcends that check out OK but I just don't want to use them. But any card that takes more than 5/6 seconds to clear the red light and any card that has inconsistent times across the card to clear the light gets put to one side.

I have the 32GB SanDisk Ultra 2 CLASS 2 also do problems so for, I wish they were still available for purchase. I also have 2 Transcend 32gb cards class 6 one both cards were working good and now one of the cards gets a restore after 20min of recording tested the card with three different adapters. I also had problem with a 16GB ScanDisk Ultra 2 the one with the see through case went to LA for an event put the card in was DOA an I did test the card before my trip, I had 6 cards with me for back up. The lesson here is to preceed with extreme caution on a paying job when using the SDHC cards unless you have more than one camera angle. I usually shoot with two or three cams so it’s no worries for me.

Marcus, The eLCR, which I have as noted above, is a new lockable version of the MxR and is modified to take Sandisk 32Gb Cards. The MxR also has been approved for the Transcend 32Gb cards. So I have done everthing right according to the e-Films website. I did check all this out before I bought the cards and the reader. However, I am using the new Sandisk 32Gb Ultra ( Not the old Ultra II) Class 4. It is a repackaging of the old Ultra II according to Sandisk's website. The model no. is SDSDRH-032G-P36.
Ian

I think you need to speak to e-Films to see if the card is compatible. Just because Sandisk say it is the same, doesn't mean it is. As I seem to have found with the Transcend cards, there can be a subtle change in the cards that others users won't notice but which seems to throw our kit.

Even swapping manufacturing plants could affect the cards, we just don't know.

But the important thing is to test the cards 2 or 3 times before you use them for "real".

Meanwhile I'll stick with 16gb ATP cards until we know what the Sony firmware upgrade will bring. Not to say I won't get a 32gb card in, but I'd need to be pretty confident in it before using it for real.

Marcus,
Yes, there can be subtle changes to the cards that make them un-useable or unsuitable for us.
I recall some early 16Gb Sandisk cards class 2 I think, were OK but the later verions were not.
I sent an email to e-films regarding this problem before I posted this message, but I am not hopeful to recieve a reply as my previous email was not answered.
Ian

I was on the MxM website earlier today and noticed that they specify the Transcend cards have become unreliable of late and also that only very recommend very specific Sandisk cards as the others have become erratic.

They are also selling their adaptors and the ATP cards as bundles. I believe these are the same adaptor cards as the Hoodmans.

Have ordered a couple of cards up. Will be interesting to get them on the bench and see if there is any real world difference between them and the MxR.

A clarification/correction to my original posting. Upon checking I have now found that the 32 Gb cards are stopping recording at ANY time. I first thought that they were failing at about the 55-57 minute point which is the supposed 16 gb layer size change over point. This was because one failed at about this time. I have filmed 4 events this week and have had cards fail at 3 events! One at 14 minutes, another at 75 minutes another at 83 minutes so that clearly disproves the layer-change theory.
I am at a loss to find a solution to this. Surely there must be other who have 32Gb cards and they failing too? Has anyone found a solution yet? Share your experience.
Ian

The 32GB cards/adapters issues I'd read about scared me so I went and bought the 16GB e-lcr adapaters instead. Not sure what SD cards are inside.

Did you check the version of your camera's firmware? as the older one's couldn't handle the 32GB cards.

I think for those without the 'old' Transcend cards the most reliable answer has to be ATP. If you are relying on 32gb cards for so many jobs perhaps the new 'cheap' Sony SxS cards are what you need for peace of mind.

Theorectically the new (cheap) 5 year life SxS cards will bring the price of used SxS cards down too? Maybe. I'd certainly buy the 5 year lifespan ones as 5 years of daily use will be plenty.

I need to buy a new SD card and am hesitant to go the 32GB route since there seems to be issues around.

But going for a 16GB I found that my e-LCR cards have Sandisk 16GB Ultra II cards in them but looking at the specs the Ultra II are only class 4 - i.e. # SanDisk part number: SDSDRH-016G-P36 High Performance: 15MB/second (100X) read speed, 15MB/second (100X) write speed.

Is this fast enough? I mean my other cards are working fine. Or do I need to go for Class 6 with: Extreme Performance: 30MB/second (200X) read speed, 30MB/second (200X) write speed.

It's triple the cost!