larrylgreenhill Posted December 15, 2006 Share #1 Posted December 15, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) I just received my Silver M8 camera with Firmware Version 1.06. The M8 manual (page 134) states under "Storage Medium," that the M8 can accommodate "SD cards up to 4GB, larger SD cards with firware update." The manual aslo praises SDHC memory cards on page 85, stating, "SD memory cards, particularly those with a high capacity, show significantly faster recording and replay of the data." That's why I prepared for receiving my M8 by obtaining 3 San Disk SDHC cards from eBAY. Inserting the first blank SanDisk 4.0 GB SDHC memory card and turning on the M8, I received a warning, "Attention, SD Card Full." The M8 Manual, on page 130, expalins this message by instructing the owner "to insert another memory card (see p. 85)or delete pictures you no longer need." Pressing play, I then got the message, "Attention, No Valid Image to Play." Again, the manual on page 130 instructs, "No pictures are saved on the inserted card. In order for playback to take place, pictures first of all need to be taken or another card with saved pictures inserted." However, I couldn't take a picture because the M8's top panel LCD showed "0" for the number of pictures remaining and the viewfinder showed the illuminated word, "FULL." I attempted to format one of the 4GB HCSD cards. The M8 camera's back panel LED for indicating picture taking mode / recording data on to the card went on and didnt go off for 10 minutes. I tried switching the camera off, but it wouldn't go off. I had to remove the battery before the LED would go out and I could remove the card. By the way, the card was not formatted, because the one picture I had taken in my Digilux 3 was still on the card when I placed it back into the Digilux 3. I've tried the other 2 blank SanDisk 4.0 GB SDHC cards with the same result. However, I was pleased to discover that my M8 was able to use SD cards with less storage, including 64MB, 516 MB, and 2MB. With these cards, the M8 camera functioned as described in the manual. All three of these 4GB SDHC cards work well in my Leica DMR, Digilux 3 and in my Leica DLUX 3. Has anyone been able to use the new 4GB SDHC cards in their M8 camera? Any advice, comments, or help would be greatly appreciated! Best, Larry Greenhill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 15, 2006 Posted December 15, 2006 Hi larrylgreenhill, Take a look here Can your M8 format 4GB SDHC memory cards?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
ustein Posted December 15, 2006 Share #2 Posted December 15, 2006 I tried a Kingston 4GB SCHC and it failed on the M8 (also on Nikon D80). Uwe Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaimaui Posted December 15, 2006 Share #3 Posted December 15, 2006 Thank you for the info on the 4gb cards. I was hoping to be able to use these but was holding off until leica published it on in their list of compadible cards. I would aprechiate it if you would do a new post when new firmware becomes available to see if it then works. from what I remember they only had one 4gb card on this list which is available in germany. I tried a Kingston 4GB SCHC and it failed on the M8 (also on Nikon D80). Uwe Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted December 15, 2006 Share #4 Posted December 15, 2006 Larry--Can't comment directly because I don't have an M8, but there have been several posts like yours. From what I recall: Sean Reid said Christian Erhardt of Leica USA has confirmed specifically that the M8 does work with SDHC cards. (I don't think anyone has been successful doing that yet.) Geoff Hall remarked that SanDisk's cards are not always fully compatible with the format's specification. In the case of their 4GB SDHC, he pointed out that although the card does have the SDHC logo, it does not show the transfer rate as is required by the specification. There was one poster who said he had no problem using a 4GB card which was *not* labeled as SDHC--despite the fact that supposedly the largest size card usable with non-SDHC cameras is 2GB, so theoretically a non-SDHC card of that size shouldn't exist. Leica has a list of approved cards on their web site, but last I heard, there were no generally-available 4GB cards among them. You're not alone, but the issues haven't settled. Sorry. --HC Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ustein Posted December 15, 2006 Share #5 Posted December 15, 2006 Much safer to stay with 2GB cards right now. That makes about 180 RAWs. Uwe Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted December 15, 2006 Share #6 Posted December 15, 2006 Uwe, given my great experience with the SanDisk Extreme III cards with my 5D, I bought a 2GB one for my M8. Around here I have heard some mixed opionions about this card. What do you use? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronaldh Posted December 21, 2006 Share #7 Posted December 21, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Has anyone been able to use the new 4GB SDHC cards in their M8 camera? Any advice, comments, or help would be greatly appreciated! Best, Larry Greenhill Larry - I have had the identical experience to yours trying Sandisk 4gb cards in the M8. As smaller capacity Sandisk cards are recommended, I hope a firmware update will solve this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlenz Posted December 21, 2006 Share #8 Posted December 21, 2006 Canon just upgraded their recent procameras' FW so that SDHC cards can be used. Hopefully Leica will be able to do it via FW upgarde as well. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlenz Posted December 21, 2006 Share #9 Posted December 21, 2006 "SD memory cards, particularly those with a high capacity, show significantly faster recording and replay of the data." This does not necessarily mean SDHC, which is a specific, newer card type. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff Posted December 22, 2006 Share #10 Posted December 22, 2006 This does not necessarily mean SDHC, which is a specific, newer card type.Tom Exactly. One main difference, that gets little mention, is the fact that SDHC cards use sector addressing as opposed to the traditional byte addressing of previous SD cards. Forget about higher capacity, this is what really sets SDHC apart from SD. There is tremendous consumer confusion over SDHC memory cards let alone the different variants and non-industry standard Secure Digital cards themselves. I think this is in part due to the lack of information and unintentional misinformation provided by reviewers and camera manufacturers themselves. To its credit, Leica has never provided any printed reference to SDHC support for the M8. Not in the manual, marketing materials, the ”Compatible SD Memory Cards for the Leica M8” list, nor the display of the SDHC logo. However, I was encouraged, prior to the release of the M8, by the insistence, in person, from three separate Leica officials, including Christian Erhardt, that the M8 would indeed support SDHC memory cards as well as traditional Secure Digital. My only reservation was that these remarks were being made by marketing personal and not technicians. The real proof was in actually attempting to use a real tried-and-true industry standard certified SDHC memory card in the M8 for myself. The test subjects included a ATP ProMax 4GB Class 6 SDHC memory card and two M8 cameras. One with firmware 1.06 and the other with the latest 1.09, as installed by Leica. Neither camera worked with the SDHC card. The card would not format. Reportedly, the M8 does recognize, at least some, non-industry standard 4GB Secure Digital memory cards. However, Leica should move to embrace and adhere to set industry standards for SDHC support. Recently, such support has been added, through firmware updates, to other cameras including the Canon EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II N and EOS-1Ds Mark II. Hopefully, Leica can and will do the same for the M8. For me, higher capacity is essential to performing my work where the interruption of changing cards is potentially detrimental. www.myspace.com/geoffotos Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJL Posted December 22, 2006 Share #11 Posted December 22, 2006 Do not know why this is causing so much grief for some. From what the Lecia manual and other marketing material published says, the M8 can use 4GB SD cards. I have not seen it refer specifically to 4GB SDHC cards, and folks are finding that they do not work. I have been using 4GB SD cards made by Ritek (Ridata). They are 150x Pro cards, and they work in my M8. The counter shows 380 images to the card and that is what it gets. The SDHC standard is specific. Leica, to my knowledge has not explicity said it can handle 4GB SDHC cards, but it can handle 4GB SD cards. By the way, not as any advertisement or anything of the sort, but I bought my Ritek 150x Pro 4GB SD cards from MyDigitalDiscount, and they were about $75 each....cheaper than any of the other SDHC cards and most SD cards. They work. LJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlenz Posted December 22, 2006 Share #12 Posted December 22, 2006 However, I was encouraged, prior to the release of the M8, by the insistence, in person, from three separate Leica officials, including Christian Erhardt, that the M8 would indeed support SDHC memory cards as well as traditional Secure Digital. My only reservation was that these remarks were being made by marketing personal and not technicians. www.myspace.com/geoffotos I wonder if he simply meant it was their intention to support SDHC, just not right away. Since Canon was able to implement SDHC support via new firmware it may also be do-able by Leica, i.e., not requiring new hardware. It would seem that there is now a long 'laundry list' of things to be implemented via FW update. This may not be as burning a priority as the other 'issues.' T Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyspedden Posted January 1, 2007 Share #13 Posted January 1, 2007 I just received my Silver M8 camera with Firmware Version 1.06. The M8 manual (page 134) states under "Storage Medium," that the M8 can accommodate "SD cards up to 4GB, larger SD cards with firware update." The manual aslo praises SDHC memory cards on page 85, stating, "SD memory cards, particularly those with a high capacity, show significantly faster recording and replay of the data." That's why I prepared for receiving my M8 by obtaining 3 San Disk SDHC cards from eBAY. Inserting the first blank SanDisk 4.0 GB SDHC memory card and turning on the M8, I received a warning, "Attention, SD Card Full." The M8 Manual, on page 130, expalins this message by instructing the owner "to insert another memory card (see p. 85)or delete pictures you no longer need." Pressing play, I then got the message, "Attention, No Valid Image to Play." Again, the manual on page 130 instructs, "No pictures are saved on the inserted card. In order for playback to take place, pictures first of all need to be taken or another card with saved pictures inserted." However, I couldn't take a picture because the M8's top panel LCD showed "0" for the number of pictures remaining and the viewfinder showed the illuminated word, "FULL." I attempted to format one of the 4GB HCSD cards. The M8 camera's back panel LED for indicating picture taking mode / recording data on to the card went on and didnt go off for 10 minutes. I tried switching the camera off, but it wouldn't go off. I had to remove the battery before the LED would go out and I could remove the card. By the way, the card was not formatted, because the one picture I had taken in my Digilux 3 was still on the card when I placed it back into the Digilux 3. I've tried the other 2 blank SanDisk 4.0 GB SDHC cards with the same result. However, I was pleased to discover that my M8 was able to use SD cards with less storage, including 64MB, 516 MB, and 2MB. With these cards, the M8 camera functioned as described in the manual. All three of these 4GB SDHC cards work well in my Leica DMR, Digilux 3 and in my Leica DLUX 3. Has anyone been able to use the new 4GB SDHC cards in their M8 camera? Any advice, comments, or help would be greatly appreciated! Best, Larry Greenhill Hey Larry Do you also do reviews for Stereophile and (perhaps other High End Audio publications)? Love to talk to you about both Photo and Audio issues. Woody Spedden Fort Collins, CO 80528 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrylgreenhill Posted January 1, 2007 Author Share #14 Posted January 1, 2007 Yes, I review high end audio products for Stereophile. I will be attending the International Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas next week, and will use the M8 to photograph exhibits and people. Formerly, I found the Digilux 2 to be an ideal camera to handle the complexeties of reporting on trade shjows. Although I also now have a Digilux 3, the M8 is much smaller and lighter. Best, Larry Greenhill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anupmc Posted January 1, 2007 Share #15 Posted January 1, 2007 Looking forward to it! I've been a Stereophile reader for years. Yes, I review high end audio products for Stereophile. I will be attending the International Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas next week, and will use the M8 to photograph exhibits and people. Formerly, I found the Digilux 2 to be an ideal camera to handle the complexeties of reporting on trade shjows. Although I also now have a Digilux 3, the M8 is much smaller and lighter. Best, Larry Greenhill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
4season Posted January 1, 2007 Share #16 Posted January 1, 2007 The M8 does not currently support SCHC, and there have been issues with counterfeit SD cards purchased on eBay: eBay Guides - FAKE SanDisk Extreme Compact Flash Cards Exposed 4-gigabyte non-HC cards exist, and some will work in the M8, but this is a grey area because they aren't actually covered in the Secure Digital specification, and there are no promises that they will be compatible with your SDHC card readers. See also: 4GB memory cards come with caveats - Digital Cameras Accessories Secure Digital card - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sievers Posted January 1, 2007 Share #17 Posted January 1, 2007 Just remember, the more images you fit on a card, the more images you will l ose if their is a fault with the card. I learned this the hard way and decided several smaller cards are better than one big card. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Campbell Posted January 1, 2007 Share #18 Posted January 1, 2007 The Ridata 4 g pro 150 works fine. It's the sliver one. It formats and works with both of my readers. It is not an SCHC card. I'm most vulnerable to mistakes when I change cards in the field, so a bigger card is betterr for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neelin Posted January 2, 2007 Share #19 Posted January 2, 2007 I just received my Silver M8 camera with Firmware Version 1.06. Has anyone been able to use the new 4GB SDHC cards in their M8 camera? Any advice, comments, or help would be greatly appreciated! Best, Larry Greenhill although not SDHC & not near as fast as my Sandisk Ultra II 1gb card these work in my Silver M8 and are readily available in North America http://www.leica-camera-user.com/digital-forum/7603-compatible-sd-memory-cards-leica-m8-2.html#post129424 Robert Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted January 17, 2007 Share #20 Posted January 17, 2007 After "hardware upgrade" and firmware 1.09 update... Does the M8 allow the use of SDHC cards? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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