Catastrophic failure of Lexar Pro 4GB 133X CF card . . .

1) Copy images to computer, 2) fully

GaySatyr said:

reformat the CF card IN the computer (the long version, not the
quick format option), 3) return the card for use by the camera and
format again IN camera before use.

Click to expand...

Skip step 2. 1 and 3 are just fine.

Hi all,

I am using 2 lexar and two sandisk cards (1 Gb each) right now. I was about to purchase another lexar (4GB 133X) until I read about this.

Is it my imagination or are there more horror stories involving lexar failures than sandisk failures? Is it also true that lexar has more incompatibility issues and more recalls in the past than sandisk? Is the sandisk extreme III more reliable?

At the current prices for 4Gb card (between $150 to $200), they are not exactly cheap so any guidance or input is really appreciated.
An

I only shoot on Lexars, but one of my peers has been shooting Sandisk for a few years now. He's had 2 failures todate, one was recoverable with imagerescue. The other was a deadbeat. I never had a problem with my Lexars - but I believe that it's only a function of mileage and statistics (I shoot around 8000 frames/month, he shoots more than twice that much). As I said before - no card is immune.

It may also have to do with improper care (not suggesting that the OP did anything wrong) but I would assume that cards exposed to high levels of humidity for a long time would develop problems sooner than cards that are properly stored. I may be wrong, but being the conservative that I am - my card wallet is stored a separate plastic box with some dehumidifer sackets while not in use. If it can't help, it can't hurt.

Shachar

anguyen62 said:

Hi all,
I am using 2 lexar and two sandisk cards (1 Gb each) right now. I
was about to purchase another lexar (4GB 133X) until I read about
this.
Is it my imagination or are there more horror stories involving
lexar failures than sandisk failures? Is it also true that lexar
has more incompatibility issues and more recalls in the past than
sandisk? Is the sandisk extreme III more reliable?
At the current prices for 4Gb card (between $150 to $200), they are
not exactly cheap so any guidance or input is really appreciated.
An

Click to expand...

--
Shachar

We're dealing with electronics and I suspect that it's a toss-up. Either brand could fail.

Both Sandisk and Lexar are top brands and I'm sure that both attempt to produce superior products. But there are going to be defects that slip through their QC processes and electronic components do fail spontaneously. I doubt that the failure rate is any different for the two companies.

I have had 3 different Lexar cards fail and also own several sandisk and IBM cards which have performed flawlessly. The Lexar are not the oldest cards in my stock. I am no longer a Lexar customer. Sorry I can't help further.

Regards,
W Fenn
http://www.fennfoto.com

...is a 4 gb card too big?

If you had used four 1 gb cards you'd
have most of your photos intact.

I use 4 gb cards myself but have resisted
buying ab 8 gb card for this exact reason.

maljo

You probably take more pictures than I do, but I stick to 2GB cards. I have noticed, and I am sure you have as well, that sales people will try and push the 4 and 8GB cards.

Also I never use the computer to delete or format my cards.

1 gig cards are all I ever use, losing 100 photos would be painful enough. 250 ye gads. Its called putting all your eggs in one basket
Not smart
--
Im having too much fun with my D 100 to worry about what camera comes next

GaySatyr said:

I may just go back to film. At least it worked.

Click to expand...

Sure you will.

--
http://www.screamandfly.com/home

I've had a microdrive fail on me and lose all images but be useable after a while. (humidity I suspect)

I've had a Lexar pro 1 gig card fail on me once to the extent that I had to send it in and get a new one, and the new one has subsequently corrupted numerous images since.

Finally I've had a Lexar "ghetto" (4x cheapo) card corrupt numerous images on me, though never really fail.

I'm now trying Kingston. I've heard only good things about them, and have had good experiences with both 2 gig and 4 gig cards.

All I can say is that we'll never be 100% safe. Back up your images as often as you can, in as many ways as you can afford to. When traveling I'm scared of having a dozen CF cards to keep track of, I'm scared of having one high-capacity CF card "basket" to put all my eggs in, and I'm scared of downloading images to a HD so I can format and re-use a card. SO, I do all three- I use small-capacity cards, I bring enough cards so that I never have to "recycle" a card, and I backup to a storage device.

Hopefully someday we'll be able to have affordable Wi-Fi cameras that automatically download images to a storage device in our backpack or on our hip. Now that would be cool!

--
Take care,



http://matthewsaville.smugmug.com

While I'm sorry about your loss, I don't see the need for a big rant.

CF cards die, just a simple fact. They die the same as anything else. Not a reason to go back to film, it dies too, mechanical failure in camera, open the door when it's not rewound, and so forth.

I wouldn't jump on board with the "don't use 4 gig cards" folks. They aren't much different then the "don't use Micro drive folks" . Like you state, you are dealing with big files, there is practicality to be had. Furthermore you could just as easily have your camera stolen and loose it all (probably more likely then a bad card).

We all just have to accept this will happen. There is nothing about CF or any memory storage that says it will never fail.

I would how ever wonder a great deal why you format in the computer. It is covered time and time again that you should never do this. Always format your cards after every download in the camera. Probably even says this in the camera manual.

I use my old Extreme (version 1) cards and have experienced approximately a 1 in 10,000 occurance of image corruption.

I use the very same cards in one of my audio recorders (a Tascam HD-P2) and have yet to have any problems. Although, I haven't had the unit very long, it has performed beyond all my expectations.

--
Cameron Ogilvie
Violist / Photographer / Digital Audio Production

another one of those subjects that has to be recovered periodically.:

formatting in the computer, from a maintenance perspective, is a required step.

formatting in the camera is a Quick format. primarily, this means it does not scan the media for bad sectors. all media can and do develop bad sectors which, if left unmarked, will affect the files stored.

performing a full format on the computer will mark bad sectors so the storage system does not attempt to use them. this is a good thing. do it.

the concern is that CF media, solid state in particular, have a defined number of write cycles. heavy users don't want to "waste" these cycles by repeated formatting if its unnecessary. my recommendation is to perform the full format every 10-15 duty cycles or once a month -- whichever is sooner. this limits wasted write cycles while maintaining a high level of confidence in the storage media.

...dav
--
don't wait for technology -- it won't wait for you

PhotoTraveler said:

I would how ever wonder a great deal why you format in the
computer.

Click to expand...

see my post above.

PhotoTraveler said:

It is covered time and time again that you should never
do this.

Click to expand...

if it is, its incorrect.

PhotoTraveler said:

Always format your cards after every download in the
camera.

Click to expand...

yes. the problem with formatting on the computer is the actual format (ie: FAT structure, etc.) may not be fully compatible with what your camera expects. the way to ensure compatibility is to format in-camera every time a card is inserted for new use.

this was primarily a problem with early models. 3-4 years ago the manufacturers seem to have it sorted out and i see few problems. but i still recommend it as a preventive maintenance step...dav

--
don't wait for technology -- it won't wait for you

..except for my sympathies.

Good luck with the retrieval..

RB
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile

works perfectly....its from pqi. Seriously though, I wouldn't go any larger than 2gb, seems like the manufacturing tolerances would be very small at that size making it more susceptible to quality problems. Plus its better not to put all your eggs in one basket.

GaySatyr said:

Several people have questioned my formatting methodology.

Click to expand...

My guess is that you opened the card door too quickly, or took out the card too quickly. This is about the only thing that can damage a card to the extent that you have experienced. With a card-reader this is easier to accomplish than with a camera, by the way, because of the camera's drive-light and the fact that a camera will stop writing as you open the door. (somebody tell Phil, he lists this as a negative with any camera he reviews) Taking out a card while something is writing data to it, can be catastrophic and it can permanently and completely destroy a CF card. (NB this doesn't have to happen when you do this, but it can.)

Lourens

I second that- I also use 2GB CF cards max for images when working on a project. (Nothing larger than 2 Gigs, period.) 4GB only for testing, experimenting, etc.

JZ

I, too, would have thought that the most likely option; however, I had turned the camera off the night before. The camera had been off for more than ten hours. All I did was pick it up, open the door, and remove the card. The light was NOT on (nor was the power switch).

well its a good thing you double emphasized can be as taking out a card during a write is a great way to cause data errors and often leads to use of recovery software being required (or simply reformatting) but the chances of catastrophic failure are extremely remote. one has to pull it out in such a way that the power pin shorts the card. given the shape of 100% of the consumer card devices, this is almost impossible...dav
--
don't wait for technology -- it won't wait for you