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Help error message "No SD card"


Vincentvandenberg

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Jaapv,

 

The M9 should function with any SDHC card. Limiting the functionality to small, older cards is poor functionality. And telling people who complain about poor functionality to read the manual is apologist.

 

It does actually work fine with Sandisk Ultra II Class 4 and 6 and Extreme III class 6 in 16 GB, which are not old or small cards. I am guessing that the range of cards it will work with may be expanded with the firmware update, if it ever arrives. It is not just Leica that is fussy. My Garmin GPS refused to read a 4GB Apacer that I had lying around unused and my wife's photo frame refuses to read San Disk cards but reads the Apacer and a cheap Fuji just fine - SD/SDHC standards - Hah!

 

Wilson

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Jaapv,

 

The M9 should function with any SDHC card. Limiting the functionality to small, older cards is poor functionality. And telling people who complain about poor functionality to read the manual is apologist.

It may come as a surprise to you, but both Sandisk and Lexar do produce SDHC cards. Both of which brands function fine with the M9. So I think you misread something, assuming you read my post past the first two words.The problem, as Leica explains in the manual you don't want to read, is that not all manufacturers adhere strictly to the standard. And then it depends on how tolerant the firmware is.

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What I don't understand is that (so far) my Hama multicardreader has accepted all the cards I have put into it, regardless of whether it was from a Nikon, Leica, Palm etc. This thing costs about 10 euro or so Hama USB 2.0 Card Reader - 35 In 1: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

 

So if Hama can make a device that is insensitive to the SD/SDHC etc. card being used why can't Leica?

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I supppose they can - and will in future firmware. After all, the M8 does the same as your Hamareader. I think the writers of this particulare piece of software had a "standard is standard" outlook on the world.

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What I don't understand is that (so far) my Hama multicardreader has accepted all the cards I have put into it, regardless of whether it was from a Nikon, Leica, Palm etc. This thing costs about 10 euro or so Hama USB 2.0 Card Reader - 35 In 1: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

 

So if Hama can make a device that is insensitive to the SD/SDHC etc. card being used why can't Leica?

 

My guess is that Leica are trying to squeeze every last byte/second out of the standard, in a laudable effort to speed up RAW shooting and this may be causing the fussiness with cards.

 

Remember the M8 was quite fussy when it first came out. In early 2007, I left my little zipper of cards behind in a friend's house by mistake when I went up into the Blue Mountains in Australia. The choice of cards in the photoshop in Katoomba was limited, most of them being labelled with the big Japanese makers names - Fuji, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sanyo etc. The very helpful guy insisted I try out the 2GB card Toshiba card I bought and it did not say hello. I ended up with a Fuji after the Panasonic did not work either. I normally buy nothing but Sandisk and have never had a problem with any of them. My son had an old one split in half (I suspect due to mal-treatment) and SanDisk replaced it with no quibbles.

 

Wilson

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What I don't understand is that (so far) my Hama multicardreader has accepted all the cards I have put into it, regardless of whether it was from a Nikon, Leica, Palm etc. This thing costs about 10 euro or so .

 

So if Hama can make a device that is insensitive to the SD/SDHC etc. card being used why can't Leica?

 

The difference could lie with something as trivial as the voltage available within the device writing to the card. Your Hama thingy draws its power from the PC. According to the USB standard, you can draw a lot of current before the voltage starts to drop. Not so on a battery operated device which may tax the battery somewhat severely. The voltage reaching the card might be a bit lower or even variable, depending on what the camera is doing at the same time.

 

You can also ask your question the other way round. If Sandisk can do a card which works in a Leica, why can't brand X?

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I've tried Sandisk and Lexar premium SDHC cards (4 and 8G) in my M9 and get the same message most of the time. However, all of the standard size (non-SDHC cards) seem to work just fine. I contacted Leica and was told to wait for an upcoming firmware update that will resolve the issue. I think the best solution for now is to use hi-speed 1 or 2G cards which will work well. It seems to be the High Capacity (SDHC) cards, of any brand, that cause the problem. Now we have SDXC cards coming on the market (up to 64G!)

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I'd recommend Sandisk or Lexar. Maybe we should think of it as the difference between using Pro film (I think fondly of my Velvia and Provia days) rather than the "free film" you could get from the corner store lab... :D

 

I fully agree!

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I use only SanDisk 8GB Extreme III cards and I once got the same error after shooting several frames (and losing them too) with the battery at nearly full charge. Removing the battery and reinserting it solved the problem but didn't recover the lost frames. There IS a problem and I hope Leica fixes it in a future firmware update.

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I have had no issues with SanDisk Ultra II 167 gb cards, which are tops on the list of Leica's recommended SDHC cards for speed (despite the fact that there are extreme III cards that behave slower on the M9, per the Leica manual). I purchased 3 SanDisk Ultra II 16 gb cards off amazon, and have not had 1 issue with the OP's issue.

 

The Ultra II's represent a great price/performance/memory availability allotment on the M9, per my experience.

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