jfaier Posted November 8, 2006 Share #1 Posted November 8, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am wondering if anyone is having problems using some SD cards in their M8s. Today I tried the San Disk Ultra 4 GB SD HC card, and the camera tells me the card is full - when I try to format in camera the red LED just blinks for many minutes - and the camera locks up. I can try and reformat in the computer but this doesn't help. Does anyone have one of these cards working successfully? Many thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 8, 2006 Posted November 8, 2006 Hi jfaier, Take a look here Compatible SD cards for M8. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
shk331 Posted November 8, 2006 Share #2 Posted November 8, 2006 Here is the list of compatible cards: http://www.leica-camera.us/assets/file/download.php?filename=file_1302.pdf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
glent Posted November 8, 2006 Share #3 Posted November 8, 2006 I had the exact same issue using the SDHC Ultra II 4GB Card from San Disk as you describe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJL Posted November 8, 2006 Share #4 Posted November 8, 2006 Had been worrying about this weeks ago when I got a couple 4GB Ridata Pro 150x SD cards. Popped each into the M8 this evening, formatted them in camera, and they are both working quite nicely. Fast read times from camera, and very fast write times to computer with a good USB2 card reader (Transcend) going into a Mac dual G5. These are NOT SD HC cards but higher speed standard SD cards. At about $75 for 4GB, they are well worth it. (I use all SanDisk Extreme III 4GB CF cards in my Canon 1-series cameras, but recently added a couple 4GB Ridata Pro 150X CF cards also....almost cannot tell them apart except for the silver label.) LJL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaier Posted November 8, 2006 Author Share #5 Posted November 8, 2006 thanks for confirmation. my Leica dealer told me the SD HC would work - but evidently they do not. I tried the cards in my Canon 1ds MK II and they didn't work in that device either. I had read somewhere that the M8 supported the new SD HC stanards, but possibly it doesn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted November 8, 2006 Share #6 Posted November 8, 2006 John-- Thanks for passing on your experience. I was of the understanding that the only SD cards larger than 2GB had to be SDHC. Someone had pointed out in an earlier thread that the M8 instructions never use the term SDHC, and I think the general assumption was that it was an oversight. I'm glad you've got the camera, by the way! I'm still waiting. Looks as if we've got more to learn about this baby... --HC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
egpj Posted November 8, 2006 Share #7 Posted November 8, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Verbally Leica has said to dealers that the M8 would use SDHC but there has been nothing in writing that this was the case. I started a thread about this on the RFF a while back trying to get some info about it. For this to even be an issue though we have to look at how fast the camera can write data off to the card. To avoid any bottle-necks we want a card that can accept data faster then the camera can hand it off. Will have to take an evening to study this info if it is available out on the web. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlenz Posted December 2, 2006 Share #8 Posted December 2, 2006 Verbally Leica has said to dealers that the M8 would use SDHC but there has been nothing in writing that this was the case. I started a thread about this on the RFF a while back trying to get some info about it. For this to even be an issue though we have to look at how fast the camera can write data off to the card. To avoid any bottle-necks we want a card that can accept data faster then the camera can hand it off. Will have to take an evening to study this info if it is available out on the web. Has anyone been able to successfully use an SDHC card in their M8?????? TIA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff Posted December 2, 2006 Share #9 Posted December 2, 2006 Has anyone been able to successfully use an SDHC card in their M8??????TIA I will be obtaining a ATP 4GB ProMax SDHC Class 6 memory card in about a week. This is the only Class 6 SDHC card on the market. This should be the best test of SDHC compatibility as ATP is very strict in their adherence to industry standards and use of top quality components. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gepetto Posted December 2, 2006 Share #10 Posted December 2, 2006 Geoff I had noticed Transcend also has a 4GB SDHC Class 6 card. I was not sure what the class 6 means. If I am understanding correctly the class 6 means it is a faster card than class 2. As the Sandisk SDHC class 2 cards are their Utlra II models which are really only around 60x speed. The Transcend SDHC cards are available. NewEgg has the class 2 8GB SDHC Transcend card on line for $130 and the 4GB for $63. Adorama in NYC has the Transcend 4GB Class 6 SDHC card for $96. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff Posted December 2, 2006 Share #11 Posted December 2, 2006 Geoff I had noticed Transcend also has a 4GB SDHC Class 6 card. I was not sure what the class 6 means. If I am understanding correctly the class 6 means it is a faster card than class 2. As the Sandisk SDHC class 2 cards are their Utlra II models which are really only around 60x speed. The Transcend SDHC cards are available. NewEgg has the class 2 8GB SDHC Transcend card on line for $130 and the 4GB for $63. Adorama in NYC has the Transcend 4GB Class 6 SDHC card for $96. Thanks Gepetto. I was unaware that the Transcend Class 6 card had shipped. I have used numerous cards from varying manufacturers including four Transcend cards, two of which have split open at the seams. Therefore, I now have standardized on another brand with much higher construction tolerances. The "Class" label is a new and more accurate speed rating system imposed and regulated by the SD Card Association (SDA) than the loosely used "X" rating assigned by manufacturers themselves to their own SD Spec v.1.1 cards. Supposedly, SDHC cards labeled with a ‘Class’ rating must pass certification from the SDA first. The ‘Class’ rating signifies the minimum write performance that a card can delivery rather than the maximum read throughput which had been more theoretical and arbitrarily applied by manufacturers themselves. Currently, there are three classes, 2, 4, and 6 representing a minimum write throughput of 2MB, 4MB, and 6MB respectively. The SDHC standard was developed not only to provide an industry standard specification for FAT32 support but an opportunity to strengthen regulations and hold card manufacturers to higher standards. Unfortunately, many manufacturers and repackagers, including some very well known brands, have not adhered to SDA industry standards for previous SD Spec v.1.0 and 1.1 and current Spec v.2.0 products. This has been the main source of consumer confusion, doubt, and incompatibilities. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between compliant and non-compliant SDHC memory cards. There are a number of cards that manufacturers are masquerading as SDHC cards. All true SDHC cards are marked with the SDHC logo and mandatory Speed Class logo. More information can be found on the SD Card Association’s "About SDHC Memory Card" web page. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gepetto Posted December 3, 2006 Share #12 Posted December 3, 2006 Thanks Geoff. The last year it has been a real crapshoot purchasing SD cards. I have also had one fall apart(ADATA). Another with file corruption(Dane Elec) which was replaced. Panasonics Pro High Speed card prices have come down. They are fast and seem reliable for the time being. ATP has a very clear page explaining SDHC. User reviews from NewEgg customers have several different Pana models succesfully using different SDHC cards in FX50 FX07. This is good news for D-LUX 3 owners. I hope the M8 users have the SDHC support ironed out before to long. The biggest problem with SDHC looks to be the lack of a supporting card reader for sale besides the Sandisk bundled reader which can be purchased seperately now. One forum member could not get the Sandisk SDHC card and reader bundle to work in either their M8 or their Mac. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted December 5, 2006 Share #13 Posted December 5, 2006 Is it possible the use of SD-HC cards with the new firmware and hardware "fixes"? Actually, SD-HC cards does not work in the M8. Was it a firmware question? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff Posted December 5, 2006 Share #14 Posted December 5, 2006 Is it possible the use of SD-HC cards with the new firmware and hardware "fixes"? Actually, SD-HC cards does not work in the M8. Was it a firmware question? Yes, SDHC support is being provided by several manufacturers through firmware updates. So it might be possible that Leica could do this for the M8 if support is not already there. However, I briefly conversed with Christian Erhardt and a couple other Leica employees, the other month, who firmly stated that the M8 supported SDHC. I hope to have a fully certified industry standard SDHC card to confirm this within a couple of days. None-the-less, one needs to read between the lines of my previous post in regards to current reported SDHC memory card problems with the M8. Basically, not all Secure Digital and claimed SDHC memory cards have been manufactured to SDA industry standards. All true SDA industry certified SDHC cards are marked with both the SDHC logo and mandatory Speed Class logo. Any reported issues with supposed SDHC memory cards that do not display both the SDHC and Speed Class logos should not be viewed as reliable indications pointing to lack of SDHC support in the M8. Further information about Secure Digital and SDHC can be found on the Wikipedia Secure Digital card web page. BTW, it’s SDHC not SD-HC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted December 5, 2006 Share #15 Posted December 5, 2006 I tried with a SanDisk Extreme III SD-HC 4GB card, and it didn't work. The M8 did recognize the card. Dear Geoff, I would like to know why Leica has not decided to replace the faulty cameras by new ones, opting instead by a complex and irritating (for the customers) process of repair ("upgrade"). This is the key question for me, and no one provides a satisfactory answer. At some point Leica managers said "no". Why? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted December 5, 2006 Share #16 Posted December 5, 2006 I would like to know why Leica has not decided to replace the faulty cameras by new ones, opting instead by a complex and irritating (for the customers) process of repair ("upgrade"). This is the key question for me, and no one provides a satisfactory answer. At some point Leica managers said "no". Why? Cash flow. It is probably also cheaper to do it this way. Only a proportion of M8 owners will end up bothering to send their cameras in (Leica and their dealers do not seem to be proactively contacting early buyers to tell them about the problem) and Leica haven't got to divert new stock (and new sales) to people who have already stumped up their cash for the faulty versions. It's a cynical decision that Leica have made but looking at their recent financial results I don't really blame them (they need every Euro cent they can get). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff Posted December 5, 2006 Share #17 Posted December 5, 2006 I tried with a SanDisk Extreme III SD-HC 4GB card, and it didn't work. The M8 did recognize the card. Dear Geoff, I would like to know why Leica has not decided to replace the faulty cameras by new ones, opting instead by a complex and irritating (for the customers) process of repair ("upgrade"). This is the key question for me, and no one provides a satisfactory answer. At some point Leica managers said "no". Why? You're asking the wrong person. I don't work or speak for Leica. I think this topic has been raised on other threads. Why spread it to this one? Also, I am not aware of a SanDisk Extreme III SDHC card, only a SanDisk Standard and Ultra II SDHC card. Neither of which display the mandatory Speed Class logo which raises questions about SDA certification. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gepetto Posted December 5, 2006 Share #18 Posted December 5, 2006 Geoff lets hope Sandisk can get SDHC right. They are one of the companies on the Executive Board of the SDA. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff Posted December 5, 2006 Share #19 Posted December 5, 2006 Geoff lets hope Sandisk can get SDHC right. They are one of the companies on the Executive Board of the SDA. Yes, SanDisk along with Matsushita (Panasonic) and Toshiba are the three founding members of the SDA. However, SanDisk has exhibited a pattern of releasing products outside of SDA industry standard specifications. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglouis Posted May 16, 2007 Share #20 Posted May 16, 2007 Apologies for reviving this thread but I'm intrigued to know whether the M8 does in fact support SD-HC. With the passage of time since the last post to this thread, has anyone succeeded in using a SD-HC card or have Leica qualified their specifications. I looked through the Leica supported SD cards list and none appear to be SD-HC although the 4GB standard SD cards do appear for some manufacturers. Just interested is all LouisB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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