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CFexpress card failure


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I just bought 4 CFexpress cards and was formatting them in my camera, but access is failing on one.

The error message says "Cannot access and format this memory card. Insert another card".

Anyone else experienced failures with CFexpress?

The cards are Sony "TOUGH" 128Gb, camera is Nikon D5

 

EDIT: I formatted the card on my PC and now formats, writes and reads OK in camera.

 

sony-cfexpress-failure.jpg

 

 

Edited by Robz
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If you're using a formatting program on the computer, it probably marks off bad sectors. If formatting in the computer fixed the problem, check to see if this card has as much memory as the other cards.  Maybe mark it and keep an eye on how it performs in the future.  Or return it if possible. 

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I've never owned a Sony card for my Sony cameras. But I've had three cards (1 Lexar and 2 San Disks) fail on me this past year. Nothing is perfect and nothing lasts forever. I carry an extra card and an extra battery with me. If I were on assignment, I would carry a few more. 

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6 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

I've never owned a Sony card for my Sony cameras. But I've had three cards (1 Lexar and 2 San Disks) fail on me this past year. Nothing is perfect and nothing lasts forever. I carry an extra card and an extra battery with me. If I were on assignment, I would carry a few more. 

Yeah of course, that's why I ordered 4 of them ;) I too have had a couple of Lexar and Sandisk CF cards fail over the years, but never right out of the box, and these are my first CFexpress cards. I haven't done any for a while, but when I used to be commissioned by designers at London or Paris Fashion Week, I would have a backup camera, backup lens, even a back up step LOL, oh and also do a deal with a photographer mate who was also in the pit in case something goes completely wrong (I've had someone fall off a ladder before and got pushed to the ground).

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On 01/03/2021 at 18:09, Ed Rooney said:

Rob, you is one careful fashion dude. 😀

 

 

Quite ;) even though they generally pay a pittance to the photographer, these brands were paying up to £100k to be at LFW, and it used to cost the BFC £4m to put up the "tent" at Somerset House (the catwalk venue). My professional indemnity insurance couldn't quite stretch to that ;) plus they were often trying to meet tight deadlines - I've had one brand PR tap me on the shoulder for images while my card buffer light was still on just as the show finished - I had to explain I needed at least 30mins to get the images onto a laptop and select the picks. They took themselves very seriously, one of the reasons I stopped doing it and prefer to supply Alamy now, but my "professional" approach remains.

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  • 8 months later...

Hi....I experienced sufficient difficulty with my CFExpress cards that I abandoned them and returned to my numerous XQD cards. 

I experienced difficulty perusing pictures multiple times, and had a TERRIBLE overheating issue brought about by a contrariness between one card and a peruser, and one more card that wouldn't peruse in another peruser. I'm finished with this sort of card.

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6 hours ago, Dave Richards said:

This is all a bit disconcerting because I was on the verge of buying a couple of CFExpress cards for my Nikon Z6ii.

Maybe re-think and get XQD's instead.

 

I've been using Sony G series XQD cards for nearly four years and never had a failure. I just checked Wex and they have come down quite a bit in price lately. A 120 GB Sony card is £179 - used to be about £220 from Data Stores in London when I got mine. At the time the only brand available was Sony as they invented XQD as far as I know,

 

Anyway Sony XQDs are more than fast enough for stills and video on the Z6 and definitely incredibly reliable in my experience.

 

Also it is not clear reading back through the thread which brand actually failed. But you won't go far wrong with Sony.

 

Edited by MDM
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I have been using the Sony QXD cards since upgrading to the Nikon D850 and while there are expensive, they are fast and reliable.  No buffering and quick to download, I have occasionally had to use an SD card in my D850 and it is comparatively very slow.  I have four 64 GB QXD cards, no failures yet.  Have not used a CF card since selling off my Nikon D700s.

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41 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

I have been using the Sony QXD cards since upgrading to the Nikon D850 and while there are expensive, they are fast and reliable.  No buffering and quick to download, I have occasionally had to use an SD card in my D850 and it is comparatively very slow.  I have four 64 GB QXD cards, no failures yet.  Have not used a CF card since selling off my Nikon D700s.

 

The CFExpress cards under discussion here are not the same as CF cards. They have the same form factor as XQD cards and can be used in the D850 with a firmware update. I've not used them myself as I'm more than happy with my XQD cards. I do normally use SD cards in the second slot as backup - always when shooting weddings. These are much cheaper - I got some Sandisk Extreme Pro 128GB 170MB/s cards recently on Amazon for £30 (probably the same or similar in $). These are pretty fast so don't slow things down in the buffer unless I am shooting a burst sequence (e.g. confetti) when I just go with the XQD card.

Edited by MDM
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I don't think I have had a card fail yet. At least I certainly can't remember one failing.

 

I must be lucky I guess.

 

Allan

 

Edit: WHOOPS.  That has done it now. Will let you know when and where soon.

 

ITMA

 

Edited by Allan Bell
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16 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I don't think I have had a card fail yet. At least I certainly can't remember one failing.

 

I must be lucky I guess.

 

Allan

 

Edit: WHOOPS.  That has done it now. Will let you know when and where soon.

 

ITMA

 

I had a 3-year-old Transcend SD go squiffy in Germany a few years ago- I didn't have a spare (I know, I know!) so my German improved a lot that day. The lifetime guarantee worked though, even from an EBay seller. I think I only lost half of one image- I still have it, looks like a Venetian blind.

MediaMarkt is the place to go BTW. Saturn is in the same chain. Hilfe, meine Speicherkarte ist kaputt. Das ist zu teuer.

Edited by spacecadet
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On 11/11/2021 at 09:48, Allan Bell said:

 

I don't think I have had a card fail yet. At least I certainly can't remember one failing.

 

I must be lucky I guess.

 

Allan

 

Edit: WHOOPS.  That has done it now. Will let you know when and where soon.

 

ITMA

 

 

I've never had a card fail either, and I use inexpensive Kingston SD ones, a couple of them almost ten years old. However, I still photograph like I did in film days, one shot at a time usually, so I don't put too much stress on them. I've been fooling around with making video clips, not sure whether or not that shortens the lifespan of SD cards. No problems yet, touch wood.

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CFexpress card failure is a concern as this is the recommended card for the Nikon Z9 which I am planning to buy in 2023 when it will actually be available in the UK.  I know it takes XQD cards, which I use all the time with no issue, but, apparently, they are  not fast enough or overheat when used for video or the full 120fps for low res jpegs.  Although I cannot see that I would be using 120fps... 

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3 hours ago, IanDavidson said:

CFexpress card failure is a concern as this is the recommended card for the Nikon Z9 which I am planning to buy in 2023 when it will actually be available in the UK.  I know it takes XQD cards, which I use all the time with no issue, but, apparently, they are  not fast enough or overheat when used for video or the full 120fps for low res jpegs.  Although I cannot see that I would be using 120fps... 

 

I have not had any problems whatsoever (speed or overheating) using Sony XQD G series cards for 4K video in various Nikon cameras. I think it would be useful to reference sources of information as well as brands that are reportedly failing in a discussion of this nature. Otherwise it is nothing more than a series of rumours. 

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6 hours ago, MDM said:

 

I have not had any problems whatsoever (speed or overheating) using Sony XQD G series cards for 4K video in various Nikon cameras. I think it would be useful to reference sources of information as well as brands that are reportedly failing in a discussion of this nature. Otherwise it is nothing more than a series of rumours. 

I note your comments.  My post was based on both Matt Granger and Ricci talks you tube videos on the subject of the Z9, memory cards and various tests..  Clearly these are pre production Z9 bodies.  Until we have production models in a real world environment all we have to go on are these tests.  My post was also written in the context of the original post about failing CFexpress cards.  
 

Also I would guess that when you say you have used XQD cards for video in various Nikon cameras you are not referring to the Z9?  Also, and I will admit that my statistics knowledge is a little rusty, but a sample of one, you, not using a Z9, carries little evidential weight.  
 

I fully accept that different brands have different characteristics, but is not the point of a discussion board to express views and opinions?   I was careful to use the word “apparently” in my post as there is an insufficient data set to draw a firm view.  What the discussion does is give people areas to explore further rather than a categorical statement of fact.  For me it simply means I will look in more detail at memory cards for the Z9 before I take the expensive plunge.  
 

My apologies for not referencing the sources of my opinion…..
 

 

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1 hour ago, IanDavidson said:

 

My apologies for not referencing the sources of my opinion…..
 

 

 Apologies accepted. I had a look at a Ricci Talks video and your previous post makes more sense now. Best of luck.

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On the B&H site for the Sony SDXC card it says:

"Use Sony's SD Scan Utility to monitor this card's health, and should the card's data become compromised, you also benefit from the option to download File Rescue software for free to help recover deleted content." 

 

Not sure what the SD Scan Utility is but I'd look it up to check out the card, if you can't return it -  It also says they have a 5 year warranty so you can contact Sony if you're past the return by date and the Scan Utility shows there are problems. 

 

I assume the Scan Utility works with the CF Express cards. EDIT: Media Scan utility has replaced SD Scan Utility for CF Express cards - find it  here

 

 

 

 

Edited by Marianne
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