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SD cards
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Dec 10, 2017 10:08:09   #
baileygiz1
 
I have a question for all the professionals out there, after some time should you replace SD cards?
Do they go bad after a period of time?

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Dec 10, 2017 10:19:54   #
mas24 Loc: Southern CA
 
baileygiz1 wrote:
I have a question for all the professionals out there, after some time should you replace SD cards?
Do they go bad after a period of time?


This has been discussed previously on this forum. SD cards, if stored properly will last many years. I own one Lexar 4gb SD card I bought in 2009. Occasionally, you may get one to go bad. And you have to take measures to retrieve your lost photos. I have not experienced a bad SD card yet. I buy only SanDisk and Lexar, for quality assurance. Mostly 16gb and 32 gb.

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Dec 10, 2017 10:22:24   #
baileygiz1
 
Thank you

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Dec 10, 2017 10:23:19   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
Eventually they may fail, but a LONG time. (unless you purchase "cheapies". All of mine are Sandisk or Sony.)
I'll continue to use mine until I have a problem, which I'm not anticipating.
I do not plan on any "preemptive" replacements.

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Dec 10, 2017 10:59:14   #
brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky
 
baileygiz1 wrote:
I have a question for all the professionals out there, after some time should you replace SD cards?
Do they go bad after a period of time?


They are just like a light bulb. I doubt very many would replace a working light bulb. But, cards do fail, and usually at the most inopportune moment.

After importing all images from a card, I put the card back in the camera, with images still on it. The next time I go on a shoot, the first thing I do (after getting the camera out of the bag) is format the cards in the camera. Doing so serves two purposes; it gives me a fresh card for the imminent shoot and it tells me that card is working. If it gives me an error during format, I put in another card and format it. Then, I start the shoot. It’s a simple regimen, but it has worked well for me.

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Dec 10, 2017 11:49:00   #
baileygiz1
 
Thank You

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Dec 10, 2017 12:26:40   #
Bugfan Loc: Toronto, Canada
 
baileygiz1 wrote:
I have a question for all the professionals out there, after some time should you replace SD cards?
Do they go bad after a period of time?


Flash memory, which is what is in a SD card, does not last forever. The last time I looked into this it was good for about 10,000 read/write cycles before it starts to die. At the point where it does start to die, it doesn't suddenly quit, it can still take a year or two before the memory elements finally give up the ghost.

To be safe pay attention to your performance. If you start to get the odd write or read error or it is taking longer to write the images to the card, replace the card. It might still be good for a few years or it could fail tomorrow so why take a chance? If you have images on a card write them to your computer disk as soon as possible and then also burn them to a DVD after to have a permanent backup.

Longevity is also determined by care. Avoid magnetic fields when you are carrying a card. Those are a killer. Try not to get it wet though surprisingly many newer ones can be immersed in water without any damage. You can drop them, they`re light enough and robust enough, but don`t step on it when you have dropped it, that could be a killer too.

Finally, there is an argument about using a 64 gig card versus an 8 gig one. It`s convenient to have your entire vacation on a single card I will admit. But it`s also not so nice to lose your entire vacation if the card suddenly fails. For your own protection I`d buy a card wallet and fill it with smaller cards. I usually put each day or two on on card. That way that`s all I lose if something goes wrong. I often also copy my day's card to a backup card. That way I have a backup.

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Dec 10, 2017 13:31:11   #
baileygiz1
 
Thank you, the reason I asked this question cause I was uploading some pics that I had uploaded to my iPhone from my canon camera via WiFi to my Shutterfly album and some of them uploaded fine and some said upload error on pics.

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Dec 10, 2017 13:37:54   #
brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky
 
baileygiz1 wrote:
Thank you, the reason I asked this question cause I was uploading some pics that I had uploaded to my iPhone from my canon camera via WiFi to my Shutterfly album and some of them uploaded fine and some said upload error on pics.


This was likely a network (internet) issue that generated the error.

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Dec 10, 2017 13:52:35   #
baileygiz1
 
Thank you for the info.

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Dec 10, 2017 22:00:24   #
TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC
 
Bugfan wrote:
...Avoid magnetic fields when you are carrying a card. Those are a killer..


Short of the magnetic field of an MRI, I don’t believe NAND flash memory, which includes SD cards, is degraded by magnetic fields, but if you have different information, please post the reference.

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Dec 11, 2017 05:50:54   #
whitewolfowner
 
baileygiz1 wrote:
I have a question for all the professionals out there, after some time should you replace SD cards?
Do they go bad after a period of time?



I ahve san disk cards that I have shot thousands of photos on them and some are 10+ years old; never a problem. A lot depends on the cards you have.

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Dec 11, 2017 06:40:49   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
baileygiz1 wrote:
I have a question for all the professionals out there, after some time should you replace SD cards?
Do they go bad after a period of time?


I have never had one fail. My D750 takes two SD cards, so I get two copies of each shot. Years ago, I replaced them because larger capacities became available. Remember when size was measured in MB?

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Dec 11, 2017 07:15:31   #
James Slick Loc: Pittsburgh,PA
 
TriX wrote:
Short of the magnetic field of an MRI, I don’t believe NAND flash memory, which includes SD cards, is degraded by magnetic fields, but if you have different information, please post the reference.



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Dec 11, 2017 08:48:42   #
dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl
 
baileygiz1 wrote:
I have a question for all the professionals out there, after some time should you replace SD cards?
Do they go bad after a period of time?


I've had my SD cards for a number of years and taken thousands of photos with my cards. All are still functional BUT, I have since retired some of my smaller ones and have mostly 32gb and 64gb cards. I have used my 4gb cards to store camera backup settings on as a backup for resets. I have my major settings for each camera (Nikon D7100, Nikon D610, and Nikon D7000) on separate cards, labeled and set in a safe place.

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