Anyone having problems with SD Cards falling apart.

[I @ M]

What the? Someone using my name and location right in Ho Chi Minh city (where I just came back from and will be going to again next week) - no way it's a coincidence. lol
I wonder if I can get a copy of the original post email, or IP sent - interested to see who tried to be me. lol

Sorry but no.

I have a Sandisk that separated and plastic bits where the pins are have all broken off, or so - so I just keep it there with the photos it had taken now (already backed up photos onto other devices just in case the card decides to go one day)

They are so cheap these days --- throw it away before it breaks permanently.

Had one where the lock wouldn't stay in the unlock position - it didn't click in. So when inserting the card into anything, the slightest bump would push it just enough for it to be locked (even though it hadn't clicked into the lock position), so I used tape to hold it up.

I have one the same with a easily knocked lock tab. It happens to be a Lexar Platinum 11 but having said that we have a mixture of Sandisk and Lexar cards ( both CF and SD ) ranging in age from 10 to 2 years old and have never had an issue with any of them until the lock tab one. *

*That will almost certainly guarantee a total failure of all cards we possess within the next week.

[Warbler]

I've had SD cards break. The little locking tab fell out of one of my 8GB Sandisk Ultras. Pity it was in lock mode when that happened. They are pretty fragile. My CF cards have been through the hot cycle in the washing machine and still work. I wouldn't try that with the SD cards. I'm buggered if I know why they are used in DSLR's anyway. Most are big enough to cope with a big old CF card slot.

[bitsnpieces]

Sorry but no.

Darn, really want to know who's trying to use my identity lol

Anyways, I think companies use SD cards more purely for size benefits - easier to carry more on you, and more space remaining in the DSLR for other things like 2nd slot, bigger battery, bigger processor, sensor, more space for cooling, etc

[Warb]

The lock tabs on SD cards are only a mechanical device (not electronic). The same as the old 3.5" disks (and even 5.25" disks, cassette tapes etc.), the reader has a switch that falls in to the hole that is left when the tab is moved to the "locked" position. So to "unlock" a card, you just need to block the hole. A small piece of tape over the hole is normally enough, as the switch doesn't push with much force. If you want to be really certain, put a sliver of plastic along the length of the slot where the tab fell out, and put tape over it. As long as the reader doesn't "feel" a gap, it will treat the card as read/write (unlocked). The only issue is ensuring the tape is wrapped around the card securely enough that it doesn't fall out!

Edit:
When I say "hole", on an SD card I'm talking about the tiny indentation in which the lock tab slides....

[Warbler]

Dodgy fixes are not worth the risk for me. The really clean CF cards only get used in an emergency anyway, like a reserve fuel tank.

[Warb]

In an ideal world everything is perfect. But in reality things break, go wrong, and the best laid plans sometimes fall apart.

Let's say you're in the field, with a card in the camera and a spare in your bag. You take more shots than you planned, so you take the card out of your camera and start to swap it with the spare.... and the lock tab falls out of the fresh card. Do you put your camera away for the day or, armed with the knowledge that if your camera can't "feel" an indent in the side of the card it will happily write data to it, apply a QUAD repair and keep shooting?

Whilst we'd all prefer not to have to repair things, and of course when you get home you replace anything that isn't 100%, there are times when a dodgy fix can make the difference between success and failure.

Another thing to consider is something that was said to me many years ago by the pit manager of a British Touring Car Championship team. He said that they would rather race in a car with known problems, than one that had not been fully tested. So is it better to use a card that has been repaired in the field but that is known to otherwise be in fully working condition, or to break out a brand new, untested card and hope that it works?

And yes, I'm playing devil's advocate. My assumption is that we all, in reality, carry a bunch of spare cards that we have already formatted and tested in every device in which we will use them!

[Hawthy]

The same card has been in my camera since I bought it and I have never taken it out. It could be broken without me knowing it. What a quandary! Do I chance a peek and find out the worst? I will have trouble sleeping tonight.

[I @ M]

I will have trouble sleeping tonight.

Thanks for that, I needed a laugh today.

[Mary Anne]

The same card has been in my camera since I bought it and I have never taken it out. It could be broken without me knowing it. What a quandary! Do I chance a peek and find out the worst? I will have trouble sleeping tonight.

Just have a few Beers or was it Wine you drink of choice that should help you sleep..

[Hawthy]

Beer? Wine? Hmm... I might try both. It is Wednesday after all. Thanks for the suggestion Mary Anne.

[Mary Anne]

SanDisk are going to replace the 8GB Extreme card with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 8GB Card no mention if they were going to replace the 16MB card with the original Extreme card
So I wrote back and asked them, as that 16MB card cost $49 when I bought it and that's not cheap for me on a limited income. So I may have to buy some Superglue after all.

[ricktas]

What the? Someone using my name and location right in Ho Chi Minh city (where I just came back from and will be going to again next week) - no way it's a coincidence. lol
I wonder if I can get a copy of the original post email, or IP sent - interested to see who tried to be me. lol

Sorry, but under the Privacy Act I cannot give personal information about a member (or ex member) to another member, without their permission or a court order.

[Mark L]

I am beginning to think that the reason my two SD Cards are falling apart is because I use them often so they are in and out the camera and Card Reader on a daily basis at times.

FWIW I do the same and have used the same Sandisk card for over three years now. No problems. I keep wondering when it will fall apart?
Therefore i can't speak highly enough of my Sandisk Extreme card. If something does go wrong now, reckon I've had great value for money and will buy Sandisk again.

[Mary Anne]

Got another email from SanDisk asking for info on the 16GB Card and I had already sent it with the 8GB info so I sent it again.
I cannot understand how they cant see the different between an 8 and a 16 with two different times for video recording and two different long code numbers ?

[Mary Anne]

Thank You Everyone for posting your preferred Card Brands, I will stay with the SanDisk Brand.
It may be better for me to transfer the photos from the camera to the computer rather than doing it via the Card Reader.

Just Received the Return Authorization for both SD Cards, the 16GB one will be replaced with the Extreme Plus and the 8GB will be replaced with the Extreme Pro.
Tomorrow I will get the Authorization forms printed up, send the cards back, pay for tracking and should received the replacements in 2 weeks
Lucky hubby has a old P&S Panasonic camera with two SD Cards that he never uses so I can use those two small GB cards in the meantime.

[Mary Anne]

Received the 16GB SD Card replacement.. No 8GB card in the parcel or paperwork so I emailed SanDisk.
They have looked into in asking for the tracking number and now inform me it will be posted today.

[photohounds]

What Brand of these cards do you use that don't give you any problems.[/QUOTE]

I have a Lexar 2000 mb/s 64Gb card that has also fallen apart.
So badly that the little write protect won't tang stay put.

Means the EM-1 Mark 2 can't write to it any more. Looking into a replacement now.

These UHS-2 needed for 60 FPS (etc) cards seem to have *MUCH* weaker construction than the older UHS-1 ones, too.

I never sort my cards in heat/cold/damp or excessive light FWIW. Bag, camera or in a card reader is where they spend their time.

[Mary Anne]

The cards I have been using for the past 2½ years are the Sandisk Extreme Plus 16GB and the Sandisk Extreme Pro 8GB that Sandisk replaced when I sent those broken ones back.
One is always in the EM-1 the other one is on the shelf in its little opaque plastic case and no problems with any of those two.

I have two Lexar Professional 600x 64 GB SDXC UHS-1 that I bought from B&H in New York 3 years ago and one is still in the packet.
I used that one and a Sandisk CF Gold card ? bought on ebay in my Canon 7D Mk11 for the past almost 3 years and those 2 cards are OK.

Makes me wonder that because we are at the bottom on the planet we get all the rubbish, including Cameras my EM-1 is falling apart.
The first one was replaced and this second one has had so many problems.. I don't think I will be buying anymore Olympus Gear.
Hope your EM-1 MK11 does not go the same way.. Perhaps it's just the luck of the draw

[photohounds]

Hope your EM-1 MK11 does not go the same way.. Perhaps it's just the luck of the draw

My EM-1 got flogged and never missed a beat. The gear's pretty robust IME - and I'm not easy on it.
Same went for my EM-5, son's still using that and really likes that it amazes the bricks 'n' bazookas crowd when results are compared.

The Mk 2 had a hard start in life, at 8 days the wind blew it over on a tripod, also breaking the attached 12-40mm broke a few other bits too ...

Watch the 2000x cards, they have a second row of "teeth" and the plastic dividers between contacts are about 2.5 times as long - VERY fragile.

Examine one closely and you'll never treat one roughly again!

Cheers!

[Mary Anne]

As I wrote up top luck of the draw. Though interesting to know that about the 2000x cards and Thanks for that.