Memory Cards

[travlnblueberries]

I only buy Sandisk, but I saw a deal on PNY brand,

has anyone tried these???

[awboater]

I only buy SanDisk myself. But no harm in trying another brand to see if they work. I do have a couple of other brands that were given as gifts; Father's Day - stuff like that, and they have all worked.

 

I remember back in the film days, when you add processing the film and 4x6 print costs, each photo would be about $0.50

 

In the worst case scenario (RAW_JPG Fine), I can get about 350 photos on an 8Gb card, if I paid less than $175 for it I have broken even in just the card's first use.

 

While the card will not last forever, I would easily expect to save well over $1,000 during it's lifetime vs. the cost of film. For that reason, I don't mess around with anything cheap that might or might not work. While I do have a budget to stay on, If I pay a few dollars more I am not that concerned.

 

Anyway, that is how I justify buying cards. Given that, most of my cards are Class 2 or Class 4. I have a few Class 10 cards for when I want to shoot continuous or video as the slower cards won't keep up. But that is not often, so the mix of cards I have seem to work well for me.

[pierces]

PNY is a reputable brand and if your deal is from a reputable retailer, you should have no issues.

 

That said, I have always had good luck with SanDisk and have never found a reason to jump brands.

 

Dave

[chipmaster]

The most important thing where did you see this deal? If not at fleabay or some other less than reputable online site evne Sandisk can be a fake.

 

FWIW there are only a handful of flash manufactures. Even Sandisk doesn't actually directly make their flash cards but are a joint venture with a manufacture. Most dime a dozne flashcards no name come from similar factories with the difference in test and speed and quality checkout by the final guy who stamps their name on it.

 

You have to ask how good a deal do you want to risk your pictures with. That being said I have for years been using some costco complimentary that have come with each of my cameras with no issues. For those that know its really hard for a good card to go bad and vice versa, but once it does don't use it again, unless its a format / corruption issue.

 

I only buy Sandisk, but I saw a deal on PNY brand,

has anyone tried these???

[pierces]

Even Sandisk doesn't actually directly make their flash cards but are a joint venture with a manufacture.

 

Just an FYI.

 

There are only a few actual manufacturers of flash memory, but SanDisk has been doing it since 1988 and is the worlds largest. (They actually invented the Compact Flash format in the '90s.) They share some cooperative ventures like the fab plant they built with Toshiba, but they design, patent, manufacture and market their own products. They also have an active OEM program and supply not only cards to other brands but many embedded flash memory products to industries like telephone handset manufacturers.

 

I like their products because they work but I also appreciate that they control the process from the drawing board to the end product.

 

Dave

[travlnblueberries]

Thanks all for replying. I think I'll stay with the Sandisk.

[chipmaster]

I'm skeptical that the technology they using today is their's or Toshiba, but I've been out of that field for a decade or so. You are correct they jointly have invested in the factory and its output, but that is like some other company partnership where one brings the cash/marketing and the other the manufacturing and technology expertise. etc.

 

I agree they are at the best end of test/quality and as such you do pay for it too, well worth it.

 

Just an FYI.

 

There are only a few actual manufacturers of flash memory, but SanDisk has been doing it since 1988 and is the worlds largest. (They actually invented the Compact Flash format in the '90s.) They share some cooperative ventures like the fab plant they built with Toshiba, but they design, patent, manufacture and market their own products. They also have an active OEM program and supply not only cards to other brands but many embedded flash memory products to industries like telephone handset manufacturers.

 

I like their products because they work but I also appreciate that they control the process from the drawing board to the end product.

 

Dave

[pierces]

I'm skeptical that the technology they using today is their's or Toshiba, but I've been out of that field for a decade or so. You are correct they jointly have invested in the factory and its output...

 

Another note on the partnership for general forum FYI (revisited the ridiculous amount of research I did when I first started buying memory :o): Toshiba originally developed the precursor to current flash memory back in the '80s. Sandisk came along in the late '80s and broke into the market with their own designs and were to be funded by Kodak but Kodak wanted exclusivity for the "Digital Film". The CEO of SanDisk turned them down. Gutsy move, but apparently a smart one if you consider the relative value of the two companies today. The next big move was to partner up with Toshiba. In the original announcement back in 2000 it was stated that the plants would blend their patented technologies and take advantage of Toshiba's vast production capacity. Toshiba introduced SD memory cards in 2000 and today's wide range of memory cards are the result of a long, successful collaboration.

 

.. but that is like some other company partnership where one brings the cash/marketing and the other the manufacturing and technology expertise. etc...

 

Yes, but it is usually better when there are contributions from both sides. Look how well Nikon has done using Sony sensors that were probably made using Nikon IC stepping and inspection equipment!

 

Dave

[themnms]

I only buy Sandisk, but I saw a deal on PNY brand,

has anyone tried these???

 

never had a problem with Sandisk, had one bad card with PNY

[Jade13]

I have the following SanDisk memory cards.

 

1- Sandisk Ultra II (8 GB) - came with the camera

8 - Sandisk Extreme III (4 GB)

4 - Sandisk Extreme (8 GB, 30MB's, Class 10)

 

The reason that I used to only purchace 4 MB memory cards is that they are easy to download to one file, and I could back up one memory card to a DVD.

 

I have a couple of questions. I have three cameras, Nikon D60 (no video), Nikon p7000, Fujifilm XP 20 (waterproof).

 

While on vacation should I designate the 4 SanDisk Extreme 8 GB, 30MB's (download speed), class 10 to the Nikon p7000 since it has Video and I have a feeling that I will use it the most and around the ship. I know the Extreme III is fine with the D60, and will it be OK for the Fujifilm XP20?

 

Ok, what is the best way to download the 8 GB cards? I tried downloading and backing up my memory cards that still had data on them and it looks like not all of the photos are downloading. I assume this is because the file is too large? I am using a card reader and downloading using Picasa software. I need specific directions. I am than backing up to two external WD hard drives. I am afraid to delete the cards because the pictures are not all showing as downloaded to the computer.

 

I am off to Canada, Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and Amsterdam this weekend.

 

Thanks.

[pierces]

I have the following SanDisk memory cards.

 

1- Sandisk Ultra II (8 GB) - came with the camera

8 - Sandisk Extreme III (4 GB)

4 - Sandisk Extreme (8 GB, 30MB's, Class 10)

 

The reason that I used to only purchace 4 MB memory cards is that they are easy to download to one file, and I could back up one memory card to a DVD.

 

I have a couple of questions. I have three cameras, Nikon D60 (no video), Nikon p7000, Fujifilm XP 20 (waterproof).

 

While on vacation should I designate the 4 SanDisk Extreme 8 GB, 30MB's (download speed), class 10 to the Nikon p7000 since it has Video and I have a feeling that I will use it the most and around the ship. I know the Extreme III is fine with the D60, and will it be OK for the Fujifilm XP20?

 

Ok, what is the best way to download the 8 GB cards? I tried downloading and backing up my memory cards that still had data on them and it looks like not all of the photos are downloading. I assume this is because the file is too large? I am using a card reader and downloading using Picasa software. I need specific directions. I am than backing up to two external WD hard drives. I am afraid to delete the cards because the pictures are not all showing as downloaded to the computer.

 

I am off to Canada, Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and Amsterdam this weekend.

 

Thanks.

 

The cards will work interchangeably. I f you feel the need to shoot video, put the fastest card in the camera you will use to do that. Otherwise, mixing and matching doesn't hurt.

 

Get a card reader if you are using a laptop or something that doesn't have one built in to offload images. The camera to computer interface is not always the best and fastest way to connect.

 

Picasa remembers the files you have already downloaded and will not import them twice. If your camera saves video in an odd format, Picasa may not recognize it and you may have to transfer them manually. I usually download into a staging folder (usually with Picasa), sort and rename as needed, then when I'm satisfied that the images are safely stored (I run a backup) I format the cards in the camera to clear them. (This is the home version.)

 

While on a cruise, I download the images into the netbook daily and if the card fills up, I just leave the images on it and put it away until I get home. When I get home, I transfer the images from the netbook to the main system and after verifying that all is well, I do backup and format the cards as above.

 

Dave

[Jade13]

Get a card reader if you are using a laptop or something that doesn't have one built in to offload images. The camera to computer interface is not always the best and fastest way to connect.

 

While on a cruise, I download the images into the netbook daily and if the card fills up, I just leave the images on it and put it away until I get home. When I get home, I transfer the images from the netbook to the main system and after verifying that all is well, I do backup and format the cards as above.

 

Dave

 

I have a number of SanDisk card readers and they work great.

 

I do the same on a cruise. l back up to the netbook daily, and save the cards until I get home.

 

I am not sure what the problem is with my backing up my three remaining 8 gig memory cards that I need to clear by tonight so that I can take them. I was hoping to get this done by this evening so I can bring one of the WD back-ups to my office. When I look at the downloaded pics the entire card is not downloaded. While the computer is old (circa 2005), I did have a tech add memory last year so I do not think it is the computer. I have both Picasa and a light version of Photoshop on the computer, but have always used Picasa for downloading.

 

I do see where the jpegs already downloaded have an "x" but the computer does not appear to show all jpegs as downloaded. I assumed since it was an 8 gig card all the pics can not fit in one file?

 

I need detailed directions step by step on how to get all of the pictures off of the card (Btw, the number of downloads on the computer looks right but maybe it is just the read from the card as about half of the jpegs are missing. This is from my Nikon D60, so no video is involved. Thanks in advance for any help.

[awboater]

What I do is to use the old cut-and-paste technique if I am copying files from the card to the PC. That is the time that I delete any dud photos.

 

I also dump my SD cards into a Synology NAS (Network Attached Storage) unit.

 

The NAS has a cool front panel function that consists of a USB port and a copy button. You have to configure the function in the NAS but it's not hard. When you put any kind of memory card into an appropriate adapter and plug it into the front-panel USB port, you wait for a green light to go on that indicates the card is mounted, then depress the copy button. After a few minutes, the green light goes out indicating the contents have been copied and the card is auto dismounted, so all you have to do is unplug it from the USB port.

 

When the NAS copys each card, it creates a new folder of the current day's date and a serial number so if you are copying more than one card a day, you will have a subfolder for each.

 

Since the files are on the NAS, I can view them on my home WiFi network from multiple devices; with my iMac, PC, Netbook, WDLive TV device on my 40" flatscreen, and there is even an iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad app that allows you to view the files via the WiFi network. You can do the same with video files too.

 

All in all, it's a really nice way to store your photos. The NAS also does RAID, and depending on which unit you buy (and how many drives it has), you can do RAID 1, 5, 10, and so on.

 

And they are not particularly expensive. I bought mine in Aug 2010 for about $300, which included a 2 drive unit and 2ea 1Tb drives, configured for Raid 1. About one month after the unit was in operation, I lost a drive - it happens - and the Raid saved me from losing any data. After I got the drive replaced under warranty, the NAS repopulated the new and re-established the Raid volume very easily.

 

While this does take some know how, it is a lot easier than when I used to do server admin at work - some of those were a bear to maintain - especially in the early days. While the Synology Raid is not quite at the point where a novice can maintain it, they do have good tech support, and they can walk you through it.

 

The NAS also can optionally send an email to my PC indicating if the copy was successful or not.

 

Pretty cool way to do an on-the-spot archive of your memory cards.

 

Even then, I periodically backup the photos on 3 different portable USB drives, and put them in storage - so I have at least 4 copies of the photos; and if I put them on my PC or MAC, even more copies.

 

This can result in version control issues I suppose, but I always go to the NAS version for the master. That way I can minimize any version difficulties.

 

This is getting a bit off the beaten path of this thread, but it's something some of you might be interested in. If so, here is the link to Synology and their NAS units.

 

http://www.synology.com/us/

 

My unit is a DS209j, which is no longer produced. It's equivalent replacement is the DS211j, which is very similar to mine. The street price is $199 for 2 bays without drives. Add about $100~$150 for a pair of 1~2Tb drives and you have an inexpensive addition to your home network.

 

The NAS can use either 3.5" or 2.5" drives. They have a recommended and tested drive chart on their website to help in selecting the drive. And if you don't want to bother with installing drives, you can buy a NAS already populated and configured.

 

I did a lot of research before I picked the Synology NAS. Many of the low cost NAS units are pretty slow, and don't work all that well. But the Synology NAS is pretty high performance, and I was able to get max speed out of the 100Mb network during batch file transfers the Synology NAS will do 1Gb ethernet, but my WiFi router only does 100Mb - guess I need to replace the router some day.

 

Of course, if you were using Picasa, Lightroom, or any other photo management software, you would have to import the photos into the app from the NAS, or wherever you place the working copy of the files. That is what I have to do with Lightroom. In this regard, importing would not include file copying.

[pierces]

I have a number of SanDisk card readers and they work great.

 

I do the same on a cruise. l back up to the netbook daily, and save the cards until I get home.

 

I am not sure what the problem is with my backing up my three remaining 8 gig memory cards that I need to clear by tonight so that I can take them. I was hoping to get this done by this evening so I can bring one of the WD back-ups to my office. When I look at the downloaded pics the entire card is not downloaded. While the computer is old (circa 2005), I did have a tech add memory last year so I do not think it is the computer. I have both Picasa and a light version of Photoshop on the computer, but have always used Picasa for downloading.

 

I do see where the jpegs already downloaded have an "x" but the computer does not appear to show all jpegs as downloaded. I assumed since it was an 8 gig card all the pics can not fit in one file?

 

I need detailed directions step by step on how to get all of the pictures off of the card (Btw, the number of downloads on the computer looks right but maybe it is just the read from the card as about half of the jpegs are missing. This is from my Nikon D60, so no video is involved. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

I often exceed 8gb in a folder. Just open the card in Explorer and drag the contents of the card to your "My Pictures" folder. Sort it out later! You have a cruise to go to!

 

BTW, Picasa will register all of the images you dropped into the temporary folder and you can see them there to verify.

 

 

Dave

[chipmaster]

We should talk "chips" I don't research read it, I'm nearly the head cook in that kitchen so to speak :D

 

3 years doing NOR 0.8um, 0.6um and 0.35um. Developed, ramped and transfered this process to a few factories. Responsbility from test chip, inital product running in fab and than transfer out to other factories. Glad we never did NAND, memory is a messy and cyclic business.

 

15 years doing 180nm, 130nm, 90nm, 65nm, 45nm, 32nm, same role as I had in memory but making something with a little more margin. Every generation of iA x86 from one small company that announced its results a few short hours ago ;) Hopefully we got a few more generations in there but they are getting might tiny them transistors!

 

Another note on the partnership for general forum FYI (revisited the ridiculous amount of research I did when I first started buying memory :o): Toshiba originally developed the precursor to current flash memory back in the '80s. Sandisk came along in the late '80s and broke into the market with their own designs and were to be funded by Kodak but Kodak wanted exclusivity for the "Digital Film". The CEO of SanDisk turned them down. Gutsy move, but apparently a smart one if you consider the relative value of the two companies today. The next big move was to partner up with Toshiba. In the original announcement back in 2000 it was stated that the plants would blend their patented technologies and take advantage of Toshiba's vast production capacity. Toshiba introduced SD memory cards in 2000 and today's wide range of memory cards are the result of a long, successful collaboration.

 

 

 

Yes, but it is usually better when there are contributions from both sides. Look how well Nikon has done using Sony sensors that were probably made using Nikon IC stepping and inspection equipment!

 

Dave

[pierces]

We should talk "chips" I don't research read it, I'm nearly the head cook in that kitchen so to speak :D

 

3 years doing NOR 0.8um, 0.6um and 0.35um. Developed, ramped and transfered this process to a few factories. Responsbility from test chip, inital product running in fab and than transfer out to other factories. Glad we never did NAND, memory is a messy and cyclic business.

 

15 years doing 180nm, 130nm, 90nm, 65nm, 45nm, 32nm, same role as I had in memory but making something with a little more margin. Every generation of iA x86 from one small company that announced its results a few short hours ago ;) Hopefully we got a few more generations in there but they are getting might tiny them transistors!

 

So, you aren't the chipmaster from Frito-Lay fame...? ;)

 

If you had anything to do with the i7 wonder-chip in my PC, then hats off and thanks! :D

 

Since you are who you are, what do you think of IBMs announcement of their phase-change flash memory? 100x the speed of current designs, good for millions of R/W cycles and cheap...pretty cool potential!

 

Dave

 

 

Dave

[chipmaster]

PIII to i7 and still going for a few more :D

 

PCM holly grail for a few generation. I recalled 5 years ago it was suppose to replace flash memory right about now, won't hold my breath for it ;)

 

So, you aren't the chipmaster from Frito-Lay fame...? ;)

 

If you had anything to do with the i7 wonder-chip in my PC, then hats off and thanks! :D

 

Since you are who you are, what do you think of IBMs announcement of their phase-change flash memory? 100x the speed of current designs, good for millions of R/W cycles and cheap...pretty cool potential!

 

Dave

 

 

Dave

[Jade13]

I often exceed 8gb in a folder. Just open the card in Explorer and drag the contents of the card to your "My Pictures" folder. Sort it out later! You have a cruise to go to!

 

BTW, Picasa will register all of the images you dropped into the temporary folder and you can see them there to verify.

 

 

Dave

 

Internet Explorer?

 

I went to my pictures and "Scanner and Camera wizard" and it is really slow (for 30MB) and still only 860 pictures are showing and there are more when I put the card in my camera.

 

I need to download all of the photos or I can not bring these two 8GIG cards with me.

 

I need specific directions on how to get all of the pictures off of the card (They are in a SanDisk Card reader).

 

It was much easier with the 4GIG cards and I wish I had stuck with them. Everything downloaded (My photos are taken on Fine Jpeg).

[pierces]

Internet Explorer?

 

I went to my pictures and "Scanner and Camera wizard" and it is really slow (for 30MB) and still only 860 pictures are showing and there are more when I put the card in my camera.

 

I need to download all of the photos or I can not bring these two 8GIG cards with me.

 

I need specific directions on how to get all of the pictures off of the card (They are in a SanDisk Card reader).

 

It was much easier with the 4GIG cards and I wish I had stuck with them. Everything downloaded (My photos are taken on Fine Jpeg).

 

 

Windows Explorer:

 

Open Windows Explorer and find your card's drive letter in the left pane.

Expand the drive letter so you can see the contents.

There should be a folder named DCIM.

Right-click on DCIM and choose Copy.

In the left pane, find My Pictures

Left-click on My Pictures

In the right pane, Right-click on any blank area and choose Paste.

 

This will copy all the images in yur card to your My Pictures folder.

 

Hope that helped.

 

Dave

 

Afterthought... if your disk is formatted with FAT32, there is a limit of 65536 files folders and sub-folders in a FAT32 volume. If you are using NTFS, the limit is large enough not to worry about. If you right click on you C: drive in Explorer and choose Properties, the General tab will show what file system you are using towards the top of the page.

[Jade13]

Windows Explorer:

 

Open Windows Explorer and find your card's drive letter in the left pane.

Expand the drive letter so you can see the contents.

There should be a folder named DCIM.

Right-click on DCIM and choose Copy.

In the left pane, find My Pictures

Left-click on My Pictures

In the right pane, Right-click on any blank area and choose Paste.

 

This will copy all the images in yur card to your My Pictures folder.

 

Hope that helped.

 

Dave

 

Afterthought... if your disk is formatted with FAT32, there is a limit of 65536 files folders and sub-folders in a FAT32 volume. If you are using NTFS, the limit is large enough not to worry about. If you right click on you C: drive in Explorer and choose Properties, the General tab will show what file system you are using towards the top of the page.

 

Thank you for trying to help me. It is a FAT32 file on the DELL computer where I am trying to back up. I already knew the file is too large, which is why I am having trouble backing up and looking for directions. I hate to take the full memory cards with me to Europe, but I have no choice if I can't find direction in the next few hours. Perhaps a tech on the ship can help me out.

 

I believe the tech who helped me last year changed the WD drives to NTFS.

[Jade13]

Windows Explorer:

 

Open Windows Explorer and find your card's drive letter in the left pane.

Expand the drive letter so you can see the contents.

There should be a folder named DCIM.

Right-click on DCIM and choose Copy.

In the left pane, find My Pictures

Left-click on My Pictures

In the right pane, Right-click on any blank area and choose Paste.

 

This will copy all the images in yur card to your My Pictures folder.

 

Hope that helped.

 

Dave

 

Afterthought... if your disk is formatted with FAT32, there is a limit of 65536 files folders and sub-folders in a FAT32 volume. If you are using NTFS, the limit is large enough not to worry about. If you right click on you C: drive in Explorer and choose Properties, the General tab will show what file system you are using towards the top of the page.

 

Dave,

 

Thank you for your help. Most are backed up, but I think the same pics that I did before. I will get help from the Microsoft tech on the ship.