Anyone having problems with SD Cards falling apart.

[Mary Anne]

I bought two SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s SDHC cards last January a 16GB and 8GB with my Olympus E-M1 camera and I have notice recently that pieces of the plastic is breaking off them, first it was on the top of the little metal strips and now the back is starting to break off on the left side where the slant is..

Today when I went to put the 8GB card into the card slot in the camera I noticed the front plastic is starting to separate from the back casing and its also starting to split below the lowest metal strip so I decided not to use it in case something else breaks off and it gets stuck in the camera to create more problems, searching on line I find many people have this same problem with SD cards breaking and not just the SanDisk brand.

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

[Warb]

I use SanDisk cards and have never had a problem. I run Sandisk CF cards, SD cards and MicroSD cards in various machines, and can't remember having any issues with any of them.

With no disrespect intended, how do you store your cards? Plastic these days can be quite tough, but if the manufacturer didn't expect the card to be exposed to the light it may not have much UV protection and some glues can be heat sensitive. My experience is that the Australian summer can destroy, discolour or make brittle such plastics sometimes in only a few days. The cards are nicely protected when in the camera - and most people are careful not to leave their camera in the sun to cook - but once the cards are out it's a different matter. I know one person who keeps spare cards in the centre console of his car, and from personal experience that's not a good idea. A few years ago I cooked my iPhone (3!) when I left it in it's cradle in my ute. It was a very hot day, I was working on the farm and neglected to leave the ute windows open and shade/remove the phone. The result was a permanent discolouration on the screen.

There are also a lot of fake SanDisk cards on the market.

Having said all that, SanDisk Extreme cards all carry a lifetime warranty. If it's a genuine card, and you still have proof of purchase, email support@sandisk.com and see what happens!

[ameerat42]

Pretty much, too, M A. Can you claim warranty? (Kept the receipts - like I never do?)
(I wonder if they were really SanDisks!!??)

[ricktas]

I had a sandisk card many years (probably 4-5) ago that was fine one moment, I had used it in a card reader, taken it out and sat it on the desk, that when I went to pick it up, it came apart completely. Front and back separated. Stuck it back together with sticky tape and continued to use it for another few months, when I decided I really should buy a new one.

[Mary Anne]

I use SanDisk cards and have never had a problem. I run Sandisk CF cards, SD cards and MicroSD cards in various machines, and can't remember having any issues with any of them.


With no disrespect intended, how do you store your cards? Plastic these days can be quite tough, but if the manufacturer didn't expect the card to be exposed to the light it may not have much UV protection and some glues can be heat sensitive. My experience is that the Australian summer can destroy, discolour or make brittle such plastics sometimes in only a few days. The cards are nicely protected when in the camera - and most people are careful not to leave their camera in the sun to cook - but once the cards are out it's a different matter. I know one person who keeps spare cards in the centre console of his car, and from personal experience that's not a good idea. A few years ago I cooked my iPhone (3!) when I left it in it's cradle in my ute. It was a very hot day, I was working on the farm and neglected to leave the ute windows open and shade/remove the phone. The result was a permanent discolouration on the screen.

There are also a lot of fake SanDisk cards on the market.

Having said all that, SanDisk Extreme cards all carry a lifetime warranty. If it's a genuine card, and you still have proof of purchase, email support@sandisk.com and see what happens!


I guess you are one of the lucky ones then, I had a 16GB CF Card replaced by SandDisk a couple of years ago because the first time I used it it would not work after filling around 25% of the card.

I have CF cards in drawers here going back to my first P&S purchased in 2004, I still have the CF cards from my 20D, 40D, 5DMk11 and a newer one I use in my 7D MK11.
Considering the middle two Canons cameras have come very close to 150,000 clicks each, imagine how many times those CF cards have been in and out the camera and the two SandDisk card readers I have used over the years.
And not a thing wrong with them either..

One of my SD Cards is always in the camera except when I am downloading, the other card is in the house no Sun comes in this room as there is a Bullnose roof on the front of the house and block out drapes on both windows.
All the Media Cards sit in their plastic cases on a self in front of their cameras Battery charger and batteries every thing in its place here, though the other SD card used for the E-M1 is often in the Think Tank bag.
With three cameras in use all the time here one for Macro, one for Birds, and the E-M1 for anything else, they have to be where I can get at them easy.

Because of my age and health I dont go out very often and when I do the cards are zipped up in the Lowpro backpack or the Think Tank Bag.
I would not even think of leaving them loose in the car after all I live in Qld where the sun fades the colour of the clothes on your back, and your legs get sunburnt sitting in the front seat of the car.

I sincerely hope these are genuine SandDisk Cards seeing I bought them from a reputable Store here in Brisbane when I bought the camera to use them with.

I had already written to SanDisk on Friday received one reply instantly as we do, so still waiting for the next one.. Thank You for taking the time to look and reply.


Pretty much, too, M A. Can you claim warranty? (Kept the receipts - like I never do?)
(I wonder if they were really SanDisks!!??)

Yes and I have done it before. Always keep the receipts, always ask Photo Continental for a printed up receipt for the larger priced items as the ink on those other receipts fade.
Then when I get home I take either a photocopy or a photo of that receipt, which stay in a folder in one of my external hard drives.
Reckon they would be genuine Am as I bought them from the Store where I bought the camera.


I had a sandisk card many years (probably 4-5) ago that was fine one moment, I had used it in a card reader, taken it out and sat it on the desk, that when I went to pick it up, it came apart completely. Front and back separated. Stuck it back together with sticky tape and continued to use it for another few months, when I decided I really should buy a new one.

More or less the same thing happened with my card Rick, shame though for two cards that I dont use very often..
May get Tony to have a go at putting a drop of some kind of adhesive where its peeling apart then wrap with a paper tape if SanDisk dont replace then.
I have only used the SanDisk Brand. Do you use another brand now Rick or still the same one.

[livio]

Hi Mary-Anne I think what warbler says is right. WHen you buy sandisk they warrant them for life part of the reason you pay a premium for them. I use sandisk and lexar on the premium cameras anything else on the other as long it is class 10 tried kingston on the D4 and the firmware says nope I don't recognise this card yet it works perfectly well in the computer and other cameras.

Kind Regards
Livio

[ameerat42]

:D:D Livio, that's Warb, not warbler. They're different users.

[Mary Anne]

Hi Mary-Anne I think what warbler says is right. WHen you buy sandisk they warrant them for life part of the reason you pay a premium for them. I use sandisk and lexar on the premium cameras anything else on the other as long it is class 10 tried kingston on the D4 and the firmware says nope I don't recognise this card yet it works perfectly well in the computer and other cameras.

Kind Regards
Livio

Thanks Livio I have only bought SanDisk Cards though I do have a Canon CF card here 16MB would you believe :D a freebie that came with my first Canon Point and Shoot camera

Some life times are 30 years and some are 10 years as you will see on this link > http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandisk/warranty-and-user-guides/warranty-table/

[ricktas]

I still use Sandisk Mary Anne

[Mary Anne]

Thanks for that Rick as I dont really want to change brands.

[davsv1]

sandisk and lexar here Mary-Anne and never any trouble with cf or sd

[Mary Anne]

Good to know David and Thank You.

[griffljg]

I also use SanDisk and Lexar cards, both SD and CF, and have never had problems with either brand.

I used to use Olympus xD cards on my old Olympus P&S and in the xD slot of my old Olympus E-3. One of them failed on me. - A 1GB card.

[Mary Anne]

Interesting and Thanks for the Reply Larry.

[arthurking83]

I've had one SD card do similar self destruction years ago.
Back then(1Gb was a big deal), and the card was used for storage on a PDA(it had CF too).

Card still worked tho, but I never removed/installed it all that much .. maybe once or twice every few months.
Even that, it never fully fell apart. I think I still have it, but it's under so much junk. It was more of a non name brand(back then anyhow) and I used to use their writeable CD and DVDs.

Apart from formatting and hence use problems .. I've had problems mainly with Sandisk SD and microSD cards, and a couple of CF cards .. all gone to God now.
But I've had at least one issue with Samsung micro SD cards failing too.

I don't totally avoid Sandisk cards now, but I do prefer other brands as a priority(Lexar/Toshiba/Samsung/etc), if I'm in need of a card urgently and only Sandisk are available, then I'll still get them.

If there is a risk of any hassle in getting the card replaced, I'd just do the adhesive thing. (proper) Superglue will do the trick.
Remember it's not a high stress device, so the glue doesn't need to be super strong, but super strong glue will make sure it doesn't come apart again.

I've superglued my kids DSi alternative card devices. These devices come in various types, and basically allow fitment of a micro SD card in what is an adapter that fits the proprietary DSi game card slot. Of course the trick is not to overglue them, and only use small droplets.
If you've had kids, you'll know that that they can destroy the most resilient devices with the utmost ease.
These adapter cards never came apart again in the year or two of high usage, but now they lie totally dormant as new devices have replaced the old ones :rolleyes:

[Mary Anne]

Seems you have had a lot of problems with different cards Arthur interesting to know its not only me.
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.
Perhaps I should leave the card in the camera and transfer the images to the computer which I have never done before and using the second card every other week.
Wondering now if the 32GB SD card I use in my new Canon camera will go the same way as that camera is used daily shooting the Birds, at least I have a New CF card to fall back on.
OK Superglue it is if I dont get those two SD cards replaced and Thanks for all that.

[JJM]

Funny you bring this up, I just had a Kingston 16GB SD card fail on me, seems the read/write lock tab has broken in the read only position....

[Mary Anne]

Sorry to hear that, it's not good at all
I am surprised that it has not happened to my cards them being so flimsy, hopefully that does not come next.

[davidtran]

Edited to remove product endorsement by a member with under 50 posts and 30 days membership as per the site rules.

[bitsnpieces]

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

Eitherway, back on topic, I'm with what Warb was saying, plastic these days are pretty tough. It's the glue that sometimes just doesn't hold it together, and maybe there was an assembling mishap or something.

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)

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.

So I've generally just gotten over it all and just buy any cheap card now. I probably know I should be chastised for this because you never know when a cheap card could die in a middle of a shoot or what not, but I usually bring a backup I guess, and as briefly read in these thread, it just so happens to be a Sandisk that is breaking apart. So... :)

I think it's just the luck of the draw. :)

[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. :D

[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 :confused013

[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.

:lol:

Thanks for that, I needed a laugh today. :th3:

[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.:th3:

[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. :australia1:
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 :confused013

[photohounds]

Hope your EM-1 MK11 does not go the same way.. Perhaps it's just the luck of the draw :confused013

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 :tog: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.