A300 16GB CF card problem

[Alias]

I recently bought a 16GB Fujifilm CF card to add to the 4GB cards I regularly use.

The card formats OK in camera giving 1032 shots. Photos all look fine on the camera screen. When I try to download to any of my laptops/netbooks either by direct link to the camera or by card reader, I get a message to format the card.

I have reformatted in the camera and achieved the same number of shots and the same message when trying to download. I have reformatted in both laptop and netbook and each time the card formats to 7.8gb with 530 shots.

I've changed the card back to 16GB via Windows 7 and, for one download only, the card was correctly read on one netbook and the shots were downloaded OK. Trying the card in a laptop brought the format card message again. Going back to the netbook then brought the format card message!!

I've not lost anything as I always test cards before shooting on to them for real. Have I got a duff card - if so why does it work in the camera, why did I get the random download OK on the netbook and why does it work OK at 7.8GB in both the camera and in downloading?
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PhilB

 

[39 Steps]

Try a different USB port and/or a different USB cable.

 

[Alias]

Try a different USB port and/or a different USB cable.

I'd have thought it obvious from my original post that I'd not only tried different ports but different laptops/netbooks. As for the USB cable - I've tried 3.

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PhilB

 

[39 Steps]

Try a different USB port and/or a different USB cable.

I'd have thought it obvious from my original post that I'd not only tried different ports but different laptops/netbooks. As for the USB cable - I've tried 3.

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PhilB

Yes, it was obvious, but I was trying to second guess your issue within the time frame of the release of the A300 based upon my experiences with other types of devices. Is it possible that your A300 formats that particular CF card in two 8GB partitions? I see that my new A57 formats a 32GB Class 10 SDHC card into two 16GB folders or partitions as default. One is for still shots; the other is for video.

i also note from plugging the A57 into a USB port that this device has options for a newer type of mass storage partitioning that is apparently only supported in MS Win 7 at this point in time. Learn something new every now and then. Good luck with your formatting issues.

 

[Alias]

It formats into one partition of a nominal 16GB (15.8GB to be precise). When formatted by laptop or notebook (and I've tried in Vista and Windows 7) it comes down to 7.8GB with an unformatted 470MB - which seems rather odd.

As there is no video output on the A300 that isn't an issue.

The 4GB cards correctly format to a nominal 4GB (3.69GB) both in the camera and on laptops/netbooks.

The issue evidently isn't with the camera but with either the card or the various computers, all of which happily read .ARW files.
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PhilB

 

[39 Steps]

After my first post in this thread, it occurred to me that I have no CF cards larger than 4GB, and that works in a KM 5D. I have been using various SD cards up to 32GB for a while, and received a 32GB SDHC Class 10 card with my A57 kit.

But I did 'flash' back to thoughts of smaller CF cards and older cameras and do wonder if you have tried a full format of your 16GB CF card in Fat 32 on a computer? Or are you just formatting in "Fat", which is short for Fat 16?

 

[Alias]

Interestingly the PTP setting on the USB menu happily recognises and handles the 16GB output but as i want to store the pics on a hard drive, rather than print, that isn't too helpful!
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PhilB

 

[Alias]

The only format options offered when formatting the card in either Vista or Windows 7 are FAT32, FAT EX or NTFS. NTFS doesn't work in the camera. The other two do but, along with NTFS will only format to half size.

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PhilB

 

[39 Steps]

The only format options offered when formatting the card in either Vista or Windows 7 are FAT32, FAT EX or NTFS. NTFS doesn't work in the camera. The other two do but, along with NTFS will only format to half size.

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PhilB

Interesting! I had never noticed that Fat 16 formatting is not an option above 4GB with SDHC cards, and presumably with CF cards in Win7 or Vista. I do note that Fat 16 formatting is available with both SDHC and CF 4GB cards.

Now to try to get the 4GB CF card poked back into the KM 5D, as the eject feature has been jammed since I bought the camera as a new refurb at half price in 2006 while KM was going out of the consumer camera business. The rest of the camera worked so well that I refrained from risking sending it in for repairs during the transition to Sony period.

 

[39 Steps]

According to page 30 of the Sony A300 User Manual, the camera was designed to support only 8GB memory on either CF card or Memory Stick Duo (with adapter).

It is not clear on Page 30 of the Sony A300 manual whether both types of memory can be filled to the 8GB capacity simultaneously (16GB total). Good luck with the 16GB CF card, and thanks for the additional info you supplied on Win7 Fat 16/32 formatting.

 

[Alias]

True the book does say that but there is plenty of evidence on various forums of people successfully using 16GB cards with the A300. The camera certainly records photos to the card. As an experiment I've just shot off 120 RAW shots, far more than any buffer in the camera could hold, and they can be accessed in the camera and have initially downloaded OK directly from the camera where previous shots have failed.

Amazingly they have also downloaded OK from the card reader - both to a laptop. The properties show that 1.18GB have been used and the full size is a nominal 16GB.

I'm now off to try to load onto a netbook I travel with. Then I'll format the card in the camera again to clear the shots, shoot some more and see what happens.

Back either later tonight or early Tuesday UK time.

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PhilB

 

[Alias]

Well the downloads to the netbook from both the camera and card reader also worked.

I then reformatted the card in the camera and ran off more shots. Downloaded fine to both laptop and netbook using the card and the camera link.

There are, however, still two problems:

1. To download to the computer I can't either copy or move, I have to import and it's deadly slow.

2. There is the matter of trust. If I go out and shoot, say, 600 shots or more at an airshow (the main reason for buying the card) will the card always download? I've years of experience with computers, cameras and other gadgets and experience has taught me that when something won't work one day, then works the next, it isn't likely to be reliable.

Anyone any solutions to problem #1 or any other views on what may be going on?

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PhilB

 

[39 Steps]

Good morning Alias-

It appears that your A300 camera is working exactly as designed by Sony Marketing at the time of release to manufacturing. A review of the timelines of the release of the A300 and A350 cameras vs. the release of 16GB Sony memorystick duo, plus some personal remembrances of the dramatic drop of 16GB SDHC card prices at the same time was revealing.

Suggestion: Buy a couple of 8GB Compact Flash cards and enjoy the air shows.

 

[Alias]

Having spent £55 on a 16GB card on which the camera obviously can record and retain pics, I'm not of a mind to spend more than that for two 4GB cards.

The fact that the camera was released prior to 16GB cards becoming available doesn't preclude the capability of the camera to handle cards of a capacity greater than listed in the manual - and there is plenty of documentary evidence on the net that others successfully and regularly use 16GB cards in A300s, though this goes back some years given the age of the camera.

As there hasn't been a firmware update for the camera I have to take it that people haven't individually made successful tweaks to their cameras to allow 16GB usage and my problem remains as one of download rather than the camera failing to record and retain pictures.

The fact that five days ago I couldn't download pics that could be viewed in the camera at all and now I can, though painfully slowly and by an indirect method with the card either in or out of the camera seems to point to a card problem.

Is there anyone on here who still has an A300, who uses 16GB and can pass on their experience?
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PhilB

 

[39 Steps]

As there hasn't been a firmware update for the camera I have to take it that people haven't individually made successful tweaks to their cameras to allow 16GB usage and my problem remains as one of download rather than the camera failing to record and retain pictures.

The fact that five days ago I couldn't download pics that could be viewed in the camera at all and now I can, though painfully slowly and by an indirect method with the card either in or out of the camera seems to point to a card problem.

Is there anyone on here who still has an A300, who uses 16GB and can pass on their experience?
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PhilB

Phil-

Sorry to have become such a pest with no direct experience on the A300, but I did become intrigued by this topic and did scour the internet for user experiences. I found no posts on successful recording of raw files - or jpeg files - on 16GB CF cards by users.

There were a few early threads begging for firmware upgrades for unrelated feature enhancements. Sony.com Support completely ignores the use of Compact Flash cards, but states that at least one version of the Sony 16GB memory stick duo product can be used on the A300.

Sandisk states that one of their slower 16GB CF cards is compatible with the Sony A300.

Sandisk also states that several several 16GB CF cards, as well as a few 32GB and larger cards are compatible with the Sony A350.

The Sandisk compatibility tables may just reflect the timeline of their original testing of available memory cards with various devices. There may or may not be compatibility issues with faster, larger CF cards on A300 firmware.

I would note that my Canon HF100 camcorder, which was released at about the same time as the Sony A300 is compatible with 16GB Class 6 SDHC cards, but that Canon never upgraded the firmware to make th HF100 compatible with Class 10 or higher SDHC cards or any cards of greater capacity than 16GB.

Good luck in the search for other Sony A300 users.