User ID

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Joe Blow wrote, in another thread:

"NOTE: The major cause of SD card failure is removing them
from the camera and putting them in a computer or card reader.
That causes wear on the contacts and may result in failure. It is
safer to use a USB cable to d/l the files. The bonus is most
cameras won't allow an outside source to write to the card ..... "

Hope Joe B is reading this. He prompts this question, or idea:

Wouldn't this problem of wearing on the contacts indicate that
a Micro-SD in an adapter is a safer approach than using a full
size SD card ? Seems then the contact wear would be only on
the adapter. If those contacts go bad, you slip your Micro into
a fresh adapter and access your files, and junk the worn out
adapter ... wash, rinse, repeat.

Comments welcomed, requested, encouraged !


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CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you have something to say to Joe Blow, why did you not respond directly on his thread?

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

A REMOVABLE memory card, regardless of format, is designed to be inserted, removed and reinserted as part of its design parameters. The MTBF for removable memory is 100,000 read/write cycles which is the limit of the memory chips, not the physical case. Realistically, unless there is a 5 year life cycle on removable memory with HARD use, military or industrial operations. Not the relatively benign environment you find in a camera.

As for storage conditions, you shouldn't store them in mud, water, lava or other harmful conditions. You probably also shouldn't put them on railways and let trains drive over them. Close proximity to a neutron star may, and this hasn't been proved, warp the casing and cause misalignment of the pins needed to make contact in a card reader. Apart from that, not paying particular attention where I store my cards I haven't had any adverse effects so far. In practice I'd think whatever doesn't physically damage the card won't harm the data on it.

And, Mr User ID (original name), you have made an auspicious arrival here on UHH. You have nowhere to go but up with your posts.

tboro

rgenaderphoto’s response is absolutely correct!

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Completely untrue. I have 5 SD cards. None have failed. Three of them are SanDisk, two are Lexar. A camera was found on the bottom of a river. The camera was rusted inside. Photos were retrieved from the SD card. SD cards are quite resilient.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

If one is ham-fisted, no method is safe. Handled sensibly, there should be little danger of damaging a camera, card, reader, cord or computer. Personally, I ignore those who ignorantly pretend that any one method is best for everyone.

dyximan

I have several SD cards Sony, Sandisk, and Lexar. And have shot some 110 thousand photos, and have washed and dried in machines on accident more than one of them more than once , and only one has ever failed.

LarryFitz Loc: Beacon NY

I have a 64MB (yes MB) card that I used in with Kodak camera in the late 90's. I now use it for a couple of files that I do not want on my HD. I insert and remove this card several times a day. I do back it up, but I expect it to last longer then my computer.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

This is like the guy who shifts down to slow his car, rather than wearing out the brakes. I'd rather put the wear on brake pads than the engine and gearbox.

Using a cable means you're putting wear on the cable terminals inside the camera, but does that really matter? Unless you're very clumsy or do this operation dozens of times a day, I don't think the camera's cable terminals are going to wear out. The way to incur zero wear on parts is to use a Wi-Fi SD card, like the Eye-Fi. The camera's Wi-Fi can also send pictures somewhere, right? I've never used that feature.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I've neither read nor experienced that having shot over 200,000 images on digital cameras over the past 18 yrs. Contacts on SD cards don't seem to wear much, but pins bend or break on CF cards, and mini or micro USB jacks are pretty fragile. I have broken a couple of jacks over the years, and I had 2 SD cards physically break - the plastic part - but not the contacts. Sandisk replaced them free of charge under their lifetime warranty. Good card readers are reliable but the $10 ones aren't.

http://www.eprovided.com/data-recovery-blog/broken-sd-card-recovery/

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I agree. I've been using the same cards for eight years with no problems.
I believe there are higher chances of data on a card going south from static electricity or removing the card before all writes are completed and the file system has been properly closed. There is a reason for waiting for the "It is safe to remove..." statement from your computer.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I actually had 6 SD cards for the three cameras I own. I gave a new one to a friend, as a backup, 16gb, who went to his daughter's High School Graduation last month. You don't want a SD Card to fail at such an event? You have taken 110,000, and only one failed. You can't beat that record. I'm not even close to shooting that many photos. But, regardless of how many photos you take, an extra memory card and battery are a must for me, and my three cameras. Especially if I travel. I'll be replacing that SD card I gave away, soon. Keep on taking photos. Go for 150,000?

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

First of all, flash memory cards of any type, SD, mini-SD, CF, etc., are are more durable then the cable between your camera and computer and more robust than your camera's cable receptacle. If the camera's cable receptacle fails, you will have an expensive repair bill. That is why you should plug your SD card directly into your computer or use an external USB or similar adapter device on your computer when transferring your pictures to the computer. Remember to format your flash memories in your camera, not in your computer.

Mini-SD cards and any flash drive that requires an adaptor is mathematically provable to be less reliable then a card without an adaptor because an adaptor doubles the number of electrical contacts, which are the most unreliable point in any plug and socket system.

dyximan

Thank you I probably have a dozen cards mostly 32 gig some 64 and a couple of the new XQD cards 64 gigs and 4 batteries for my camera. You can never have too many batteries are cards. On a long day I’ve used three of the batteries up. And can shoot in excess of 4 to 5000 photos on a good weekend, So 150 is only a year or so away LOL.

User ID

Simple. It's not JB's thread. I would have been
hijacking the thread down a new rabbit hole. So
I just followed protocol.

And I did not have something to say to Joe Blow
in particular, as was made clear in the post that
linked you here. I was asking for crowd-sourced
replies and advice .... INSPIRED by JB's post. I
could have PM'd JB, and if he had further advice
on the matter, a PM would deprive everyone else
of that advice.

But anywho, thanks for visiting here and thanks
for making your contribution "in public".