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M8 and 4GB SD Cards

photolandscape

By photolandscape
in Leica M8 / Leica M8.2

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photolandscape

photolandscape

Posted
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I know this topic has surfaced from time to time, but I wondered whether the new firmware just released enables the M8 to reliably use 4GB SD cards?

 

Also wondered whether anyone has been using 4GB with much success even prior to the new firmware release this past week?

 

I am heading for Peru and Chile and would love not to have to stop and change cards every 138 exposures or so.

 

Thanks.

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jflachmann

jflachmann

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The camera does still not support SDHC-Cards. The new firmware is giving no improvement in this aspect. I'm using two 2 GB SD Card with the M8. Each is good for 187 to 188 pictures (DNG). I have never lost a card and I'm shooting digital since 2001, but if it happens I will be glad not to have all my photographs on 'that' one. Changing ones a day is ok for me.

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billh

billh

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Jens and Volker,

 

Which cards are you using successfully? Both of my 2GB cards have given me problems in the M8, and it has cause both of them to function as 1GB cards (it shows as a 1GB card, and will only hold 1GB). I remember one of the 2GB cards is a Sandisk Extreme III - the other is a Lexar, but I do not remember the model.

 

Bill

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Andrew Spackman

Andrew Spackman

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My secondhand M8 came with a Hama 4 Gb Highspeed SD card. This is listed by Leica as compatible. I have used it with firmware 1.102 and haven't had serious problems.

 

It shows up in my Mac as a read-only card, so I haven't been able to install the latest firmware yet. (A 1 Gb SD card from a Pentax also shows up as read-only in my Mac.) I thought I'd get round this by by writing the SD card with the firmware update in a PC, but the PC couldn't read the card at all and wanted to reformat it as as 1 Gb card. I have only ever formatted it in the M8.

 

Andrew

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geoff

geoff

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I am using 4 GB cards for more than 6 month now without a problem - after I found the right one. They are normal SD cards not SDHC and it took a lot of trial and error to find compatible ones.

 

 

FYI:

 

There is no such thing as a "normal" 4GB SD card. Any 4GB SD card that is not an SDHC card has been designed and manufactured outside the SD Card Association (SDA) specifications and may present compatibility problems.

 

As far as SD/SDHC memory cards are concerned, there are basically four variants to be aware of:

 

• SD Specification Version 1.0

• SD Specification Version 1.1

• SD Specification Version 2.0

• Non-compliant SD memory cards

SD Specification Version 1.0 provides for data transfer of 4bits at 25MHz.

 

SD Specification Version 1.1 allows for data transfer of 8bits at 50MHz. SD Spec v.1.1 Secure Digital memory cards are usually denoted by speed ratings of 100X and above.

 

SD Specification Version 2.0, aka SDHC, officially supports FAT32, which enables recognition of capacities beyond 2GB. To be more exact, FAT16 actually provides for 2.2GB. Of significant note is the fact that SDHC cards use sector addressing as opposed to the traditional byte addressing of previous SD cards. Additionally, speed ratings of SDHC memory cards are denoted by “Class” rather than an X factor.

 

With the introduction of SD Specification 2.0, the SDA tighten-up their regulation of the often free wheeling Secure Digital industry in which various manufacturers, including some very popular brand names, played fast and loose with designs and self-imposed speed ratings.

 

More information can be obtained from the the SD Card Association website.

 

Transcend 4GB 150x TS4GSD150 cards, which do work in the Leica M8, use to ship with "SD Card" labeling. Now they are denoted as "SD Compatible," which falls more in line with the SD Card Association's guidelines and labeling requirements for true SD and SDHC cards, of which the TS4GSD150 is neither.

 

 

Geoff

myspace.com/geoffotos

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jaapv

jaapv

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No problem with Sandisk Ultra III and Extreme III 2 GB cards - except I that I did have a card failure three times ( twice CF, once SD) over the years. Not more than 2 Gb cards for me. It is not as if they are a heavy burden to lug around.....

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volkerhopf

volkerhopf

Posted
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Jens and Volker,

 

Which cards are you using successfully? Both of my 2GB cards have given me problems in the M8, and it has cause both of them to function as 1GB cards (it shows as a 1GB card, and will only hold 1GB). I remember one of the 2GB cards is a Sandisk Extreme III - the other is a Lexar, but I do not remember the model.

 

Bill

Hi Bill,

My 4GB SD cards are local Australian brands very cheap. This is the link: Cheap sd card, Cheap sd cards, Cheap sd memory, Cheap 1gb Adata sd cards,Cheap 2gb sd cards, 256mb sd cards, 512mb sd cards, cheap sd cards, low cost sd cards, CheapMemory Australia, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

but they don't list the 4 GB card in SD and 150 speed any more only the 2GB. The SDHC cards do not work. I hope you find a good card soon.

Regards

Volker

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Guest guy_mancuso

Guest guy_mancuso

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Morning folks , I have been using the Transcends 150 x 4gb cards since the beginning without ever a issue.

 

Now the message I got from leica was very soon SDHC support is coming so may want to wait for that firmware update. They told me this right after 1.107 came out, so I would expect this pretty soon here . Maybe not invest hundreds in cards right now until this update comes, I need a couple more myself but just holding on until I get word. Since it is August many know usually leica closes for holiday but that is NOT the case this year , there simply to backlogged on lens building to do that . So i would expect something soon

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Shootist

Shootist

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Guy I know you and others have posted that Leica AG/Germany is not closing for the anual 1 month, or whatever time it is, holiday BUT I am under the impression it is GOVERNMENT mandated that ALL businesses close.

 

Maybe I'm thinking of Italy?

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wparsonsgisnet

wparsonsgisnet

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I have been using a pair of the 4gb Transcent 150x cards since Guy blessed them. They work fine. And, I am waiting for sdhc, as well, before buying more cards.

 

As it happens, the Transcent 4gb cards take twice as long to write to as my Ridata 2gb 150x cards.

 

So, the question for the monsters is: given the specs alluded to above, will the sdhc cards be faster than this? For example, it takes 40 seconds with a Ridata 2gb 150x card to recover from a full buffer (with the M8 set to hi-res jpeg + dng, my regular setting), and it takes 80 seconds to recover when using the Transcend card.

 

Even 40 seconds seems like an eternity when dancers are standing around waiting for me to do the next set of shots.

 

What's in our future, please?

 

I notice that 4gb sdhc cards cost about twice what the Transcend 4gb 150x cards cost.

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