Steve'sDigicams

jc_bromley · Oct 17, 2009, 7:23 AM

Hi all, I recently purchased an E-620. I have also bought a 16Gb CF I card from Mymemory.com. The camera reports the card as either full or faulty, I can read the card on my PC ok. The camera reads a 4 GB card ok, my question is- is the card faulty in anyway or is there a limit on what size card the camera can read?

TCav · Oct 17, 2009, 7:50 AM

According to Olympus: "The E-620 accepts CompactFlash cards up to 16 GB capacity ..."

Can you format the card in the camera?

And if not, can you return the card?

jc_bromley · Oct 17, 2009, 8:06 AM

Not able to format it at all, just says faulty card. So back it goes!

Many thanks for your speedy help.

JC

JimC · Oct 17, 2009, 8:11 AM

I'd try formatting it with your PC in a reader. If you "right click" on the icon for the card under "My Computer", you'll see a menu choice for formatting it. Make sure to select FAT32 as the file system type.

What brand of card is it? A quick search on a few forums did pull up mixed results with larger cards. For example, I found some posters indicating problems with Kingston CF cards (with some others claiming theirs worked). But, it probably depends on the revision of the card you get whether or not you'll have compatibility issues.

If formatting it as FAT32 in your card reader doesn't fix it, I'd replace it with a different card brand.

dancingpotato · Oct 17, 2009, 9:33 AM

JimC there is a great FREE little program called H2testw 1.4 which many people use to check a new flash item. It writes to ... and then reads and writes back ... all the sectors ... and gives a health report on the card or drive in question. I use it every time I get a new card, mp3 player or usb key. It will also find hacked or fake cards. Price is right too !

http://translate.google.ca/translate...%3Den%26sa%3DG

TCav · Oct 17, 2009, 10:27 AM

Flash memory devices can only be written to a finite number of times, after which they become useless. The process you describe that H2testw uses would require quite a lot of writing. While performing that process once probably won't hurt anything, doing it multiple times during the life of the product will absolutely shorten its expected lifetime. So you should be judicious about how often you use that program on a single device.

dancingpotato · Oct 18, 2009, 5:49 PM

Sorry I don't understand your objection to testing a flash based item with the H2testw program ... flash items can be read and written to for thousands of cycles ... 10,000 times its seems though I can not verify the exact number... and that program only writes and reads once ... of course u can do the same thing by filling the card up completely with huge files I suppose and reading the whole thing back... so maybe u can explain what u are saying to me.

Anyway I only use it when I get a new card ... to make sure it is legit and working correctly ... there are so many hacked cards out there ... and the alternative is to find out after using it on an important shoot for example ... and the card does not read back yikesss ... but still i am curious about what u posted ...

here is more information about the program :

Will write 1 GB files up to the reported size – requiring no work on your part except patience if it is a large drive and a slow computer
Will read all the files it wrote and verify them
Will produce a report. a) short if all is well b) detailed if there issues found.
The program is offered free

http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/20...erfeit-drives/

Thank You

TCav · Oct 18, 2009, 7:41 PM

I'm sorry. You said ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancingpotato

... It writes to ... and then reads and writes back ... all the sectors ...

I interpreted that to mean that it writes to the entire storage capacity twice.

I was cautioning that using it too often could unduly hasten the failure of the device. Certainly running it just once, especially if it only writes once, isn't a problem, but even so, overuse, all by itself, could create a problem.

dancingpotato · Oct 19, 2009, 10:58 AM

I got a more complete answer to that question here:

http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/20.../#comment-4363

"Final word, H2testw does not damage a flash memory chip, or shorten it’s life span anymore then normal usage would. If you have a fake, well, it has already been harmed, has it not? If it is a good chip, you will sleep well and can use the device with confidence.
H2testw’s job is to tell you whether you can safely use the item or not. You can use it as often as you like on the item. A lot of people store videos on flash memory chips and they access them over and over again. We have not had anyone complain that their devices expired. Not for true capacity memory chips, anyway. The rule of thumb for good flash chips is 10,000 read/write cycles. It pretty much falls in line with what you can expect from a hard disk."

Oct 17, 2009, 7:23 AM	#1
jc_bromley Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5	Olympus E-620 CF Card Question Hi all, I recently purchased an E-620. I have also bought a 16Gb CF I card from Mymemory.com. The camera reports the card as either full or faulty, I can read the card on my PC ok. The camera reads a 4 GB card ok, my question is- is the card faulty in anyway or is there a limit on what size card the camera can read?

Oct 17, 2009, 7:50 AM	#2
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 6,696	According to Olympus: "The E-620 accepts CompactFlash cards up to 16 GB capacity ..." Can you format the card in the camera? And if not, can you return the card? __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'.

Oct 17, 2009, 10:27 AM	#6
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 6,696	Flash memory devices can only be written to a finite number of times, after which they become useless. The process you describe that H2testw uses would require quite a lot of writing. While performing that process *once* probably won't hurt anything, doing it multiple times during the life of the product will absolutely shorten its expected lifetime. So you should be judicious about how often you use that program on a single device. __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'.

Oct 18, 2009, 5:49 PM	#7
dancingpotato Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 42	Sorry I don't understand your objection to testing a flash based item with the H2testw program ... flash items can be read and written to for thousands of cycles ... 10,000 times its seems though I can not verify the exact number... and that program only writes and reads once ... of course u can do the same thing by filling the card up completely with huge files I suppose and reading the whole thing back... so maybe u can explain what u are saying to me. Anyway I only use it when I get a new card ... to make sure it is legit and working correctly ... there are so many hacked cards out there ... and the alternative is to find out after using it on an important shoot for example ... and the card does not read back yikesss ... but still i am curious about what u posted ... here is more information about the program : Will write 1 GB files up to the reported size – requiring no work on your part except patience if it is a large drive and a slow computer Will read all the files it wrote and verify them Will produce a report. a) short if all is well b) detailed if there issues found. The program is offered free http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/20...erfeit-drives/ Thank You Last edited by dancingpotato; Oct 18, 2009 at 6:24 PM.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Steve'sDigicams

Recent Camera Reviews

Most Active Forums

Most Popular Deals

Latest Feature Articles

Oct 17, 2009, 8:06 AM	#3
jc_bromley Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5	Not able to format it at all, just says faulty card. So back it goes! Many thanks for your speedy help. JC

Oct 17, 2009, 8:11 AM	#4
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 16,567	I'd try formatting it with your PC in a reader. If you "right click" on the icon for the card under "My Computer", you'll see a menu choice for formatting it. Make sure to select FAT32 as the file system type. What brand of card is it? A quick search on a few forums did pull up mixed results with larger cards. For example, I found some posters indicating problems with Kingston CF cards (with some others claiming theirs worked). But, it probably depends on the revision of the card you get whether or not you'll have compatibility issues. If formatting it as FAT32 in your card reader doesn't fix it, I'd replace it with a different card brand.

Oct 17, 2009, 9:33 AM	#5
dancingpotato Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 42	JimC there is a great FREE little program called H2testw 1.4 which many people use to check a new flash item. It writes to ... and then reads and writes back ... all the sectors ... and gives a health report on the card or drive in question. I use it every time I get a new card, mp3 player or usb key. It will also find hacked or fake cards. Price is right too ! http://translate.google.ca/translate...%3Den%26sa%3DG

Oct 19, 2009, 10:58 AM	#9
dancingpotato Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 42	I got a more complete answer to that question here: http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/20.../#comment-4363 "Final word, H2testw does not damage a flash memory chip, or shorten it’s life span anymore then normal usage would. If you have a fake, well, it has already been harmed, has it not? If it is a good chip, you will sleep well and can use the device with confidence. H2testw’s job is to tell you whether you can safely use the item or not. You can use it as often as you like on the item. A lot of people store videos on flash memory chips and they access them over and over again. We have not had anyone complain that their devices expired. Not for true capacity memory chips, anyway. The rule of thumb for good flash chips is 10,000 read/write cycles. It pretty much falls in line with what you can expect from a hard disk."