[Recovered Thread: 63433]

[BruceMcL]

Stevekin wrote:

Not knocking them at all, I don't know them ... but I, nor anyone else should recommend something they haven't heard of.

Don't forget Bruce, that many products, including different models of camera from the same manufacturer, are often only available either in the USA or Europe.

Stevekin.

Understood and no offence taken. I'm surprised they aren't available there. I wonder if an email to ATP would be helpful? In the mobile phone world it's the US that seems to miss out on all the cool new equipment...

-Bruce.

[Stevekin]

Admittedly Bruce, I only searched out a couple of sites here in the UK. As I said, ATP seems to be readily available in the smaller format SD for Mobile phones, but they may well be available here.......somewhere :?.

I'm sure if Untitled wishes to consider them, he/she could do as you suggest and email them. Got to be the best place to find out .

Thanks for bringing ATP to our attention.

Stevekin.

[untitled]

cheers fellas for the advice....

In an ideal world, I would have gone for the Sandisk Ultra II or III, but I don't think I can afford them right now, after paying £268 for the camera (Casio EX-S500)

Just did a look up of ATP, and they seem to offer the same (specs) as the Sandisk Ultra II SD card, but for far less, which is a good thing for me...

ATP 1Gb SD - 60X Speed

Sandisk 1GB 66X Speed

I just hope that the saying isn't true, that if you buy cheap, you get cheap.....

The recommendation has filled me with confidence, so I might just go for it...

before I do I have a few more questions though.... (sorry)

Q. How can I stop/avoid data corrution on my memory card?

Q. If I suspect corruption onmy SDcard what should I do?

Q. Is there anything wrong in buying a used SD memory card?

Q. Should I buy a spare SD card, as back up for whatever reason?

Q. If I have two seperate memory card,s with movies on each, can I merge them together, as one? How?

[Stevekin]

untitled wrote:

Q. How can I stop/avoid data corrution on my memory card?

Follow the basic advice from manufacturers amongst others. That is, never remove the card from your camera while it is being written to, and the other obvious thing is to not take your card out while the camera is switched on. Always format the card in your camera. Don't lend your card to someone else and try to keep the card for use only in the camera you start with. This shouldn't cause a problem as they can be used in other cameras, but you may lose any data you have on the card and it's best to be cautious.

Q. If I suspect corruption onmy SDcard what should I do?

Do not continue to use it, even if you could.You could overwrite any images you have on the card. If this occurs you should search for an 'image recovery' program. There are many available, some free, that work very well at recovering data, corrupt or otherwise. Worry about that if/when it happens.

Q. Is there anything wrong in buying a used SD memory card?

Personally, I would not buy a second hand card unless I knew the source very well. Meaning that they were a friend etc. Simply because I would have doubts about the age of the card, I would wonder if it had had any problems before. If it were 'old', there may not be any warranty left etc.

Q. Should I buy a spare SD card, as back up for whatever reason?

Without a doubt !!

It is always better to have a back up card than not. You may fill your only card and not be in an immediate position to empty it. You may encounter a problem and not be able to continue using the card or your camera, until it was sorted out. If cost is an issue, (isn't it with everyone :roll, then perhaps consider a cheaper, slower second card. Maybe the second hand one if you were comfortable with the source.

Q. If I have two seperate memory card,s with movies on each, can I merge them together, as one? How?

Yes. You can do pretty much anything you want, as long as you have the necessary editing software. A good start for free, if you use Windows, is Windows Movie Maker. You already have it installed in XP. You have to upload your movie file to your computer, then they can be cut, merged, transitions added etc, etc, etc. The software used would determine speed and mannerof conversions and all the little add ons, but as I said, try the Microsoft one first. You may receive movie editing software with your camera. It might be a little more basic than the paid for software, but should, like Microsoft's, fulfill your initial needs.

Of course, ask again for further help on these or any other issue, here in the forums. There will always be someone that can help.

Hope this helps

[untitled]

cheers 'Stevekin', that was very informative... and all my questions have been answered

thanks again

[BruceMcL]

I will second one of Stevekin's commments. I think the simplest, most important thing you can do to avoid data corruption is to format your SD card in the camera as soon as you get it. I routinely do this with all sorts of memory cards and even external hard disks. Attach it to the device I will be using it with and do a format. Let the device prepare the media exactly the way it wants. I believe this solves a lot of potential problems before they start.

Good luck with your purchase! -B.

[Stevekin]

BruceMcL wrote:

I think the simplest, most important thing you can do to avoid data corruption is to format your SD card in the camera as soon as you get it.

I neglected to advise this Bruce .

Thanks for pointing it out .

Stevekin.

[sgspirit]

I have an ATP SD512 card, plus a Sandisk SD512, and can't tell any operational difference between them. The ATP cost 60% of what the Sandisk cost. Both vastly exceed the throughput speed of my hybrid digital still/video camera (1.8Mbps vs 9Mbps). Which means I could buy slower cards and save money. For those needing memory cards for MP3 music, even the slowest cards will work fine.

Although I'm also in the habit of switching SD cards only when the camera is powered off, I believe the SD Card specification is that they are hot-swappable. Obviously you will corrupt the file if you pull it out during a write, but otherwise it should cause no harm.

They are extremely durable. Memory cards recovered from wrecked digital cameras (sand and salt water thrashing in the Indonesian tsunami) have worked fine. Consider that a used memory card is "known-good", whereas a new one always has a risk of being doa.

A used memory card may well hang a different camera when inserted. This will prevent you from formatting it in the new camera, and often is due, not to the formatting, but incompatible files on the card. "Been there, done that." You could first delete all files from it in the old camera, and/or format it first in the old camera, but that may not solve the problem.

If you don't have the previous camera, or the preceeding doesn't make it usable, accessing the card from your computer (using a card reader) and doing a dos format is the final solution.

[[email protected]]

Forget all the hype about media cards.

I would buy the cheapest card I could find, like a Kingston.

You won't find the speed of the media card will make much difference in your camera.

Given you have a 5mp camera, you might find a 512mb card a better deal (like about $30 on sale).

You don't need a reader as your camera probably has a USB port and cable. Just plug the cable into your camera and a free USB port on your computer and copy the pictures off your camera.

Then reformat your card using your camera menu selections.

Better to leave your media card in your camera and don't remove it.

- Terry