Tet68survivor Loc: Pomfret Center CT

The only issue I have ever had was not formatting in the camera! The camera did not like the computer format on the card! Been using the same SD cards for a couple of years with over 17,000 photos run through them! Bad card? I don't know, but before you go spend money, check the formatting, look carefully at the card for bad or dirty contacts, if all your other cards work in the camera, that would seem to eliminate a camera problem!

HarryM Loc: NYC (now in Florida)

SD cards must be formatted, especially when used in different camera.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I worked on a project for my employer about 20 years ago in which we were going to be using flash memory for data storage. That was when flash was pretty new. The biggest problem we had to deal with was that the manufacturer would not guarantee more than 100 write cycles before bits started failing. The process has come a long way, with expected cycles now closer to 500,000 or more for most chips from reputable manufacturers. But flash is still unfortunately born looking to die. This is, of course, in addition to the risks around connector contamination or failure, problems with the fine wires used for interconnections inside the plastic package, or other impacts. The overall risk is really pretty low, but it's not zero.

So my approach is to use moderately large cards, copy the files to my PC fairly often, but not delete files and start writing from scratch until the card is nearly full. This minimizes the number of times that each location on the card gets written, hopefully extending its life. So far, it has worked as intended, with no failures. Also...in my dual card bodies, I always use the SD card as primary and the Compact Disc card either as backup or as overflow. This drastically reduces the number of times that the CD card has to be removed and plugged into the card reader, minimizing the risk of physical damage to pins and sockets.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

I do similar on my 7D2 except that I use a CF card as primary (it’s faster and I shoot a lot of sports and birds in flight). Then, after a shoot I copy all the pictures to the 256GB SD card as backup.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

About 6-8 years ago, I had two cards go bad on two different shoots. Each one cost me many images. While neither shoot was commercial, they each involved my paying a model and paying for the use of a location. Those were both PNY cards. I stopped using cameras with only one card, but never had another problem after that. (Also now only buy Sandisk and Lexar.) For three years now, I have been shooting Sony with only one card and I still wonder when the other shoe will drop. Sandisk claims their cards are much better

cbw60

I washed two sd cards in the washing machine. They were in my pants pocket. Twice now, and yes they did go thru the dryer also. Sometimes I do not check my pants before washing them. And they continue two well. Also I do not take chances. I always backup to two different devices. The day I stop backing is the day the sc cards will stop working. All that to say always backup your work. Not tomorrow but today you will find it is time well spent.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

There are a couple of considerations that no one has mentioned. First, is the card too big? There may be a seemingly arbitrary limit set by the camera manufacturer. For example, the mfr. may have set a limit of 32G. If you are using a 64G card, only 32G of it will be used. Second, have you tried to isolate the problem? I would download all of the images from the card and then, without reformatting or erasing any data, try to write ordinary files using my computer. If that fails, the problem is the card. If it succeeds, it may be the camera that is at fault. One more test to try would be to take a newly formatted card, copy the files downloaded to your computer and try to take additional pictures using that card. If that fails, it would make the camera an even stronger suspect. If it succeeds, then your old card may still be good but in need of a reformatting. Whether to do so and trust it or replace it is your choice. I would err on the conservative side and do the latter.

RickL Loc: Vail, Az

I use a C.F. Card as primary and an SD card as secondary in my D810. The CF card is faster. Having said that,I always carry an extra set.

Labtrainer

There is a lot of data on bad SD cards being sold on certain sites for big discounts. Please read the data found at this site.
https://fightflashfraud.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/h2testw-gold-standard-in-detecting-fake-capacity-flash/
I run all my cards on the h2testw program just to be sure. If you have a suspect SD card then the program will determine if there are problems on the card. If so throw away.
Also you will be surprized at the substained read/write speeds of cards from various suppliers. Not all are the same.

fotoman150

I would be leary of using that card again.

Tet68survivor Loc: Pomfret Center CT

I agree with you, cameras do not like cards that do not meet the specs they want to see!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Sledgehammer time...

Nothing is scarier than a card failing on an important trip. My next camera will have dual card slots.

C6Joe Loc: NorthWestern Nevada

Correct. Almost all memory cards have a lifetime guarantee. If one fails, copy the data and send it back to the manufacturer. A new card will be forthcoming!

MidnightManiac

A card that fails sucks. I lost a couple SD cards over the years. Have a Canon 5D that only takes CF cards and a 7DII with dual card slots. I prefer the CF cards as they are faster. Have never had issue with Laxar CF cards and some are older. They just keep buzzin along. I find changing SD cards among different cameras makes issues. CF cards not so.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

First question does the card meet the camera specs for speed, etc? If not buy one that does.

If it does meet specs, cards are cheap. At the first sign of trouble from a card, make sure its the card, not the camera, if it is the card toss it in the trash and buy a new card.

If you really have a hard time throwing things away, then cleaning the contacts on the card is advised. If trouble persists, try in another camera. Trouble again? Toss it.