Large CF Card Phobia

[scrapbookersdis]

I have a hard time using anything larger than a 4 GB card (if I'm shooting JPEG rather than RAW) because I'm afraid I'll lose too much if there is a card error. I've never actually had a CF card go bad, so I don't know why this fear persistently lurks. Is this an irrational phobia? Or is it sensible to stick to smaller cards, despite the minor inconvenience of having to carrying a boatload of them to WDW?

Some of my cards are getting kind of old (they're not the only ones). Does anyone retire CF cards after a certain number of years of use?

 

[wbeem]

I use 16GB Hoodman RAW CF cards (and SD cards, come to think of it). They aren't cheap. However, they make a claim that no other vendor makes. There isn't one reported incident of a failure on their cards.

I know a lot of pros who use Lexar cards and then I see them complain somewhere online (usually Twitter) when those cards fail or give them an error, etc. Failure happens on pretty much every kind of card. However, Hoodman's reputation is still intact. I even know a guy who forget to take one out of his jeans and put it through the washing machine - still worked.

Sometimes people cause their own problems, though. For instance, deleting pictures off your camera can cause some errors on the file system. That isn't a card error, but it can still cause you to lose an image or two. Best to just shoot on the card, mistakes and all, and then delete the mistakes from your computer.

There's no way I'd go back to 4GB cards.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

With my 10 mp cameras, I use 8gb cards. That gives me 360+ images (RAW + JPEG) per card. I find that sufficient for what I shoot. Now that I upgraded a body to 16 mp's, I only get 160+ images. For that camera I will be moving to 16gb cards. I have had two cards physically break (the case split and the lock switch fell out), but I never lost any data. I primarily use Sandisk and Kingston, although I do find the Hoodman interesting.

 

[photo_chick]

Every card will fail. They can be written to a finite number of times, so eventually they will all go bad.

I have 4, 8, and 16 GB cards in my bag. I tend to grab the 8's the most often, but that's because they're just about the right size for what I need. I've had as many small cards fail as larger ones. But with that in mind, I've had a very small percentage of my cards fail. And most of those were due to external factors like static electricity and moisture and one broke in my card reader once.

I do understand the reasoning for using small cards so that you don't loose as much data if one fails. If you're not comfortable with larger cards then stay small. Really, it's all about what works for you.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

I use twin 16 gig cards in my D7000. You can have it back up to one. Or you can have it put raw on one card and jpeg on the other. Either way makes a great backup.

 

[wbeem]

Every card will fail. They can be written to a finite number of times, so eventually they will all go bad.

The individual cells in a flash card have a finite number times you can write to them. Of course, that number is thousands upon thousands of times. Even if an individual cell fails, the card controller software will map out those cells, giving the card a lifespan of usage far beyond an individual cell. So, the card itself doesn't have a finite number of writes, but it's usefulness is dependent upon having enough cells remaining in working order.

Reputable brands (Lexar, Hoodman, etc) offer a lifetime warranty on their CF cards. If you do have a failure, you should be able to get the card replaced.

According to Hoodman, the reason they have better reliability is due to reduced production rates. The companies cranking out mass quantities of cards accept a 3-5% failure rate. Hoodman doesn't. As a result, it costs more because of production requirements and lower economy of scale.

 

[photo_chick]

According to Hoodman, the reason they have better reliability is due to reduced production rates. The companies cranking out mass quantities of cards accept a 3-5% failure rate. Hoodman doesn't. As a result, it costs more because of production requirements and lower economy of scale.

Hoodman cards are also marketed at people who know how to maintain their cards well and we all know that makes a difference in the lifespan of a card as well. You pay more for a card and you're going to take better care of it.

 

[mom2rtk]

I go for the larger cards. My philosophy is that every time I get a card out and make a switch, I increase my odds that I'll drop one or misplace it. Disney is really about the only place I ude multiple cards, and I'm often shooting in the dark. But it could just be that I'm neurotic.

I buy Sandisk and (knock wood) haven't had any issues.

 

[LordAthens]

I go for larger cards as well. It's less to keep track of and I haven't had any quality cards fail on me. 16gig cards seem huge compared to the 1gig cards I used to shoot, but then again, the 21meg RAW's that my D7000 is outputting compared to the ~5meg RAW's that my D100 made are also huge. I will likely step up to 32gig cards, but probably not 64gig or larger. I simply have no need for that size as I clear my cards basically daily. I won't get into 64's or the like until I get into a 20+mp body (also, which I have really no desire for, 16 is plenty).

Regarding the zero failure Hoodman cards; while Hoodman makes a good quality (and IMO, very overpriced), as Danielle mentioned, the type of person buying those are likely to take a bit more care of them. Also, while I have no hard data to support this, I'm quite sure there are MANY more Lexar and SanDisk cards out there than Hoodman cards. Sandisk and Lexar have both been around ages longer than Hoodman and quite simply, less cards to get damaged, less chances of a failure. For what it's worth, their claim may not be so true. There is at least one review on B&H that said their card failed and another failure mentioned on the dvinfo boards. I'm not knocking Hoodman, as I said above they make fine quality gear, made in the USA too, but their claim is a hard pill to swallow. "We've only been around for 4 years and annually only product 1\1000 of what SanDisk or Lexar, that have been around for well over a decade, produces in a year, but we're going to claim zero failures to get that "seed planted" in our customers heads". Also as I said above, I've had zero failures with my Lexar cards, many of which are nearly a decade old.

My 2c.

 

[scrapbookersdis]

Thank you very much for the helpful replies. I've been more concerned about the issue since a Sandisk SD card failed on me. I purchased photorescue which was able to read the card -- but I'm not sure I recovered everything. I use CF cards with my better cameras and would feel worse to lose those shots.

Losing a card is a scary thought, too. (Though I have my phone number sharpied on all my cards -- along with the word "REWARD" ) I usually find that 4 GB can get me through a whole day (unless I'm shooting RAW -- which I generally do at WDW only on dark rides or in restaurants). So I can switch cards in the resort at the end of the day.

I'd never heard that deleting photos off the camera could lead to a card error. I usually only do that if I'm running out of space, but I think I'll stop doing that entirely, just in case!

 

[wbeem]

I'd never heard that deleting photos off the camera could lead to a card error. I usually only do that if I'm running out of space, but I think I'll stop doing that entirely, just in case!

It doesn't lead to a card error, in that it damages the card. What it leads to is the potential for a directory error, which could cause the loss of data (pictures). Essentially, that means your photo was written, but in different areas that the directory doesn't understand and therefore doesn't download to your computer.

Doesn't happen all the time. I'll delete photos from the end (last photo taken) without concern for error. However, deleting a photo somewhere in the middle is something I've seen cause errors. The next photo taken gets written to that spot and...well, sometimes it just gets squirrelly.

 

[alicesmith]

Corruption of Memory card generally leads to "Card Error". I was using a lexar 32 GB of memory card and corruption of card resulted in the same error message. I used the Lexar Photo recovery tool to recover the lost photos in it.

 

[YesDear]

What all newer and more experienced picture takers sometimes do not realize is that photography is like life. Your choices in most cases are many. The decisions you make tend to be based on your nature as a person, your training as a photographer, and your individual pocketbook. If you have had several cards die on you, you probably will change brands and maybe buy a better quality card.

I have been blessed to not ever have a card failure. I usually use lexar CF cards but do have a few Sandisk cards that were given to me. I shoot in compression less RAW and the images on my D300 are around 24-26mb large. The largest cards I have been willing to buy price wise as of this time have been 8gb 300's. I have been given some lower end cards and just have not used them. They are probably fine, I just know that Lexar and Sandisk are known for their quality. I have no opinion about the Hoodman cards, but I am sure they are great cards.

I do not fear a card failure. I have had two card errors. One came from deleting an image in the middle of the shots and the other came from forgetting to turn the camera off before removing the card. Both times I was able to get all images back through lexar rescure software except maybe one image.

We all learn from errors and now I have several very specific practices I practice. Never delete in camera. Format in camera. always turn off camera when changing card. They have worked very well for me. I can get 298 images with an 8gb card at compression less RAW. I always carry two cards with me. I think I have only ever taken more than that in a day once and that was on a trip to China.

I will also share that I was also taught by a very good pro friend of mine to follow a very specific process at the end of a shooting day. Clean card, fresh battery, and reset the camera to my standard settings like aperture priority, ISO at 200, color balance auto, make sure bracketing, etc turned off. This way the camera is always ready the next time I shoot and I can pick up and go and not miss a shot.

I posted here several years ago that we had stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge to do the sunrise safari. I had taken tripod and bracketed pictures of the lobby. On safari the next day I got so involved with the safari that I did not realize I had left the bracketing settings on! I was able to fix them in post for the most part, but it was work I did not need to do!

I have been taking pictures with what I considered serious quality cameras since 1974. I cannot remember how many mistakes I have made with film camera's, and accessories and now digital ones. I hope I am learning with each mistake not to make that one again. So what I do is based on a lot mistakes but my mistakes.