Warning - Kingston 2GB elite pro SD Card

[slob1]

Guys,

just had a SD card failure and will like to share my experience with you.

I have a 4 month old Kingston 2GB elite pro SD Card. use it on my FZ7.
before the failure I have use it to take about 40 shots and used my computer which is equipped with a SD card reader to download the pictures.
After that, i have left it alone untouched for about 2 months due to busy schedule and business travel. when I use it again a few days back, it failed on the second shot.
I try to read it using my computer but failed as well.

Contacted Kingston for assistance and warranty.

please note the following two warnings, they are from the tech guy in Singapore that does the warranty for Kingston:

1. there is a known issue on the 2GB SD card when use on both camera and computer (supposedly same thing for all other brand names as well). apparently the computer write something into the SD cards and caused the card to be not readable by the camera and might cause the card to malfunction. it is recommended that you use the camera and the USB cable to download the picture rather than directly from the SD slot in your computer.

2. some Kingston cards are parallel imported by some seller in Singapore. the company appointed by Kingston to do the warranty on Kingston's behalf will not honor the warranty if your Kingston card is not bought directly from their reseller. you'll be stuck with no warranty at all.

please do check where you have purchased your Kingston card and check if you are one of those who is not currently covered. contact Kingston Taiwan directly and make a case to ensure that your rights as a customer is covered. Kingston's number is 800 886 1042 (just dial like normal local call).

photographing on

[armadillo]

Currently I have 3 pcs 2G SD card, and I always take out the card and use card reader for the past 1 year, so far seem so good.

I think it's important to format the card using your camera before use it.

[ExplorerZ]

I got no problem with my previous fz5... same 2gb elite pro sd, even mix-match with my d50 and also PC card reader seems flawless... even put in some other audio files into it and fz5 got no problem reading/writing without any format.

[compro_1975]

i guess i would hav to jump to HC-SD straight

[zaxh81]

Originally Posted by compro_1975 i guess i would hav to jump to HC-SD straight

what make you think so? it have a much slower write/read speed.

[VSonic06]

Originally Posted by zaxh81 what make you think so? it have a much slower write/read speed.

Prices have come down for SDHC cards and fast cards are starting to show up.

Bought a Sandisk Ultra2 4Gb SDHC card for $80 (Vector Mag warranty) from Sim Lim and that includes a small SDHC USB adapter in the box.

Sanyo 4Gb SDHC (rated Class 6) is available for $56.

[microcosm]

There are a few things to note about current solid state memory cards.

FAKES.

I am still wondering why the press has not picked this up yet in Singapore, but over in photography crazy cities like Taiwan and Hong Kong, there has been reports of FAKE cards being sold as genuine products at shops, usually at 10-20% cheaper than recommended selling prices.

So please be careful with this.

Personally, I have seen fakes of the following brands :

- Kingston
- Sandisk
- Lexar

Genuinely, Ridata had a batch of lemons which I found out the hard way. Lost quite a lot of images from my shoot. Thankfully the people whom I was shooting for was kind enough to accept that, and organised a re-shoot and I only had to bear half the set up cost, but nevertheless, it was a painful experience.

Go to shops with good reputation, like Cathay Photo, Ruby Photo, John 3:16 when buying your products. Digital photography is now a huge market, and therefore it will attract a different group of interested "merchants", and they usually appear as "Same Good, Cheaper Price". So shop wisely.

But of course, if you get a lemon like me... accept it... it happens... good day everyone.

[VSonic06]

This has been posted here before. For Kingston cards you can verify if your card or memory product is genuine at

http://www.kingston.com/asia/verify/

[compro_1975]

Originally Posted by VSonic06 Prices have come down for SDHC cards and fast cards are starting to show up. Bought a Sandisk Ultra2 4Gb SDHC card for $80 (Vector Mag warranty) from Sim Lim and that includes a small SDHC USB adapter in the box. Sanyo 4Gb SDHC (rated Class 6) is available for $56.

ooppss guess i tong ba leh the sequence of the card's name....
but ya, the price is dropping and the speed is increasing, the space also, 16GB in a card can befound in korea and japan just that it is in the 2** figure(the very good type i mean)....