Feedback on PQI CF cards!

Adam Goi · 31st May 2003

Wah! We need more feedback on the PQI cards!

I don't wanna turn the thread @ Consumers Corner too OT.

Please contribute freely!

kelster · 31st May 2003

hi...me having some problems with the 512 mb card I bought last tues...seems like I've been having some memory errors after numerous writes to the card...camera only gave me a power down or format card option....which is really not much of an option to me....posted earlier in another thread also got some feedback that other users facing some problems with the PQI card leh....

roygoh · 1st June 2003

I bought a PQI 192MB from HK right after I bought my CP995 in Singapore in Jun 2001.

Some block of memory was corrupted on that card, so whenever a picture is stored over that corrupted block, the picture becomes unreadable and lost.

After I got back to the US, I called their sales office in California, and they were kind enough to replace the card even though I bought it in HK.

The replacement card was OK and I have been using it since then for almost 2 years already, taking over 6000 shots on my CP995.

cyrilng · 1st June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by roygoh
I bought a PQI 192MB from HK right after I bought my CP995 in Singapore in Jun 2001.

Some block of memory was corrupted on that card, so whenever a picture is stored over that corrupted block, the picture becomes unreadable and lost.

After I got back to the US, I called their sales office in California, and they were kind enough to replace the card even though I bought it in HK.

The replacement card was OK and I have been using it since then for almost 2 years already, taking over 6000 shots on my CP995.

Thanks for that info but I think we're more concerned with the current batch of PQI F1 40x range of CF that are on offer to CS members at AP.

hanoman · 1st June 2003

Hi people,

I bought the card 3 days ago. I went down to botanical and test it out. I shot about 50+ photos. And all the photos were succesfully download to my desktop PC wihtout any 'hickup'. I will update you guys if I found any problem. By e way. mine is 256MB PQI

Noir · 1st June 2003

Since buying, I've filled my 512MB F1 card full, 3 times already, transferring images out and formatting it in-camera before each reuse. I have not lost any pictures YET. However, I noticed a weird occurrence. There will be 1 or 2 photos in the card that, upon reviewing, will shrink in size with CCDRAW displayed underneath it, rather then being full-frame. And these particular photos can't be zoomed in.

When the "INFO" button is pressed, data like ISO, iris and shutter speed will be displayed like normal, but the histogram will be blank!

This does not happen to my 25x Transcend 256MB.

Note: I am using a Canon 10D and shooting in RAW. Pictures of my LCD are taken by a low quality web cam. The particular photo shown in the example above can still be linear converted as normal with no error.

roygoh · 2nd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by cyrilng
Thanks for that info but I think we're more concerned with the current batch of PQI F1 40x range of CF that are on offer to CS members at AP.

I was trying to point out that PQI may have a quality assurance issue, but if the card is working from the start, then it should continue to do so.

To test the card fully, make sure you fill it up completely and then check picture by picture to see if there are any corruption.

StreetShooter · 2nd June 2003

Hmmm. I guess you get what you pay for. Vedio (sic) recording supported, huh?

I was going to get one, but I think I'll just pay a little more for a branded one now.

Wai · 2nd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Noir

Note: I am using a Canon 10D and shooting in RAW. Pictures of my LCD are taken by a low quality web cam. The particular photo shown in the example above can still be linear converted as normal with no error.

hmm...interesting problem that you have got there...somemore is with 10D

is the error replicable?

or just only happened once??

Madcat II · 2nd June 2003

I am not sure what kind of response I will get by posting this, but this is the feedback I got from another dealer I spoke to in SLS, maybe he is just trying to sell me his product...

Q: why is the CF cards in AP cheaper that yours?

A: CF card may seems similar to you, but in actual fact, the memory chip used to build them makes a lot of difference.

Q: what's the diff?

A: memory chips comes with different grades, better grades one are more expensive and lower grade ones cheaper, which translate to performance. Higher grades ensures proper read-write whereas lower grades may have issues during read-write. So better to pay more and buy a branded one compared to those rather unknown brands.

Well, it all depends right? Anyway I didn't participate in the recent MO, cos' I think he makes some sense.

P.S. : I am not against AP or anything, just like to ask around before I buy anything, especially when it is cheaper, needs to know why.

Adam Goi · 2nd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Madcat II
I am not sure what kind of response I will get by posting this, but this is the feedback I got from another dealer I spoke to in SLS, maybe he is just trying to sell me his product...

Q: why is the CF cards in AP cheaper that yours?
A: CF card may seems similar to you, but in actual fact, the memory chip used to build them makes a lot of difference.

Q: what's the diff?
A: memory chips comes with different grades, better grades one are more expensive and lower grade ones cheaper, which translate to performance. Higher grades ensures proper read-write whereas lower grades may have issues during read-write. So better to pay more and buy a branded one compared to those rather unknown brands.

Well, it all depends right? Anyway I didn't participate in the recent MO, cos' I think he makes some sense.

P.S. : I am not against AP or anything, just like to ask around before I buy anything, especially when it is cheaper, needs to know why.

No worries! It's good to be prudent!

Keep the feedback coming!

Noir · 2nd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Wai
hmm...interesting problem that you have got there...somemore is with 10D

is the error replicable?

or just only happened once??

It happened twice already. Any clue as to what this CCDRAW thingy is?

But please note that ALL my pictures, including the one that displays CCDRAW, can be converted OK to TIFF.

cyrilng · 2nd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Noir
It happened twice already. Any clue as to what this CCDRAW thingy is?

Doesn't look good. Has anyone tried to write to PQI for tech support/RMA advice?

hanoman · 2nd June 2003

Hi Madcat,

What that person said is true. Electronic stuff especially IC come in different rank. Some customer only willing to buy the best rank but it cost more. And some customer willing to buy lower rank (more prone to failure). What I meant by customer here are PQI, Sandisk, and many many more.

Let say there is a fab producing IC chip for CF card. They produce 1000 chips. But only 800 chips are 1st class rank. Sandisk as a vendor who has a good reputation will take these chips eventhough with a higher price. And the remaining 200 chips with a lower grade will remain in the warehouse and wait for somebody to buy, in this case PQI bought the chips with a lower price than Sandisk. We get what we pay, for S$85 (256MB) is quite reasonable. Hopefully, if any problem arise PQI will immediately change it for you.

Anyway, just happy shooting...

cheers

cyrilng · 2nd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by hanoman
Hi Madcat,

What that person said is true. Electronic stuff especially IC come in different rank. Some customer only willing to buy the best rank but it cost more. And some customer willing to buy lower rank (more prone to failure). What I meant by customer here are PQI, Sandisk, and many many more.

Let say there is a fab producing IC chip for CF card. They produce 1000 chips. But only 800 chips are 1st class rank. Sandisk as a vendor who has a good reputation will take these chips eventhough with a higher price. And the remaining 200 chips with a lower grade will remain in the warehouse and wait for somebody to buy, in this case PQI bought the chips with a lower price than Sandisk. We get what we pay, for S$85 (256MB) is quite reasonable. Hopefully, if any problem arise PQI will immediately change it for you.

Anyway, just happy shooting...

cheers

I just found out interestingly that Sandisk first introduced the Compact Flash card in 1994 but their CF cards don't seem highly-rated. http://www.compactflash.org/info/cfinfo.htm

Wai · 2nd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Noir
It happened twice already. Any clue as to what this CCDRAW thingy is?

But please note that ALL my pictures, including the one that displays CCDRAW, can be converted OK to TIFF.

do u have other digicam to try?

HOPE this is not compatibility problem.....

Noir · 2nd June 2003

No, I don't have other cams to try the card on. Maybe I should get in touch with Canon to find out what it means. Can't seem to find anything on the web that indicates this problem either.

3rd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Madcat II
I am not sure what kind of response I will get by posting this, but this is the feedback I got from another dealer I spoke to in SLS, maybe he is just trying to sell me his product...

Q: why is the CF cards in AP cheaper that yours?
A: CF card may seems similar to you, but in actual fact, the memory chip used to build them makes a lot of difference.

Q: what's the diff?
A: memory chips comes with different grades, better grades one are more expensive and lower grade ones cheaper, which translate to performance. Higher grades ensures proper read-write whereas lower grades may have issues during read-write. So better to pay more and buy a branded one compared to those rather unknown brands.

Well, it all depends right? Anyway I didn't participate in the recent MO, cos' I think he makes some sense.

P.S. : I am not against AP or anything, just like to ask around before I buy anything, especially when it is cheaper, needs to know why.

which are the better brands and more reliable brands, may I know? (i'm still quite new to digital cams and compact flash) thanks!

Noir · 3rd June 2003

I would say I trust Transcend on my current camera, my previous D30, my Belkin CF card reader and my Nixvue DA . No problems at all in the department of compatibility. Can't speak for other devices as I can't possibly have used them all. I seem to have never heard of any issues from other Transcend users in this or other forums. Maybe other fellow forum goers and users might want to comment too? I could be grossly wrong.

cyrilng · 3rd June 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by dreamz2003
which are the better brands and more reliable brands, may I know? (i'm still quite new to digital cams and compact flash) thanks!

Lexar, Transcend, Ridata are some.

31st May 2003	#1
Adam Goi ClubSNAP Idol Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Jalan Suka Posts: 5,321	Feedback on PQI CF cards! Wah! We need more feedback on the PQI cards! I don't wanna turn the thread @ Consumers Corner too OT. Please contribute freely!

1st June 2003	#3
roygoh Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Northwest Posts: 5,042	I bought a PQI 192MB from HK right after I bought my CP995 in Singapore in Jun 2001. Some block of memory was corrupted on that card, so whenever a picture is stored over that corrupted block, the picture becomes unreadable and lost. After I got back to the US, I called their sales office in California, and they were kind enough to replace the card even though I bought it in HK. The replacement card was OK and I have been using it since then for almost 2 years already, taking over 6000 shots on my CP995. __________________ As complexity rises, precise statements lose meaning and meaningful statements lose precision.

1st June 2003	#6
Noir Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 321	Since buying, I've filled my 512MB F1 card full, 3 times already, transferring images out and formatting it in-camera before each reuse. I have not lost any pictures YET. However, I noticed a weird occurrence. There will be 1 or 2 photos in the card that, upon reviewing, will shrink in size with CCDRAW displayed underneath it, rather then being full-frame. And these particular photos can't be zoomed in. When the "INFO" button is pressed, data like ISO, iris and shutter speed will be displayed like normal, but the histogram will be blank! This does not happen to my 25x Transcend 256MB. Note: I am using a Canon 10D and shooting in RAW. Pictures of my LCD are taken by a low quality web cam. The particular photo shown in the example above can still be linear converted as normal with no error. Last edited by Noir; 1st June 2003 at 10:00 PM.

31st May 2003	#2
kelster Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Everywhere where e sun shines Posts: 1,078	hi...me having some problems with the 512 mb card I bought last tues...seems like I've been having some memory errors after numerous writes to the card...camera only gave me a power down or format card option....which is really not much of an option to me....posted earlier in another thread also got some feedback that other users facing some problems with the PQI card leh....

1st June 2003	#5
hanoman Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: a.little.red.dot Posts: 230	Hi people, I bought the card 3 days ago. I went down to botanical and test it out. I shot about 50+ photos. And all the photos were succesfully download to my desktop PC wihtout any 'hickup'. I will update you guys if I found any problem. By e way. mine is 256MB PQI

2nd June 2003	#8
StreetShooter Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Katong Posts: 4,702	Hmmm. I guess you get what you pay for. Vedio (sic) recording supported, huh? I was going to get one, but I think I'll just pay a little more for a branded one now.

2nd June 2003	#10
Madcat II Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: this world is not my home Posts: 826	I am not sure what kind of response I will get by posting this, but this is the feedback I got from another dealer I spoke to in SLS, maybe he is just trying to sell me his product... Q: why is the CF cards in AP cheaper that yours? A: CF card may seems similar to you, but in actual fact, the memory chip used to build them makes a lot of difference. Q: what's the diff? A: memory chips comes with different grades, better grades one are more expensive and lower grade ones cheaper, which translate to performance. Higher grades ensures proper read-write whereas lower grades may have issues during read-write. So better to pay more and buy a branded one compared to those rather unknown brands. Well, it all depends right? Anyway I didn't participate in the recent MO, cos' I think he makes some sense. P.S. : I am not against AP or anything, just like to ask around before I buy anything, especially when it is cheaper, needs to know why.

3rd June 2003	#19
Noir Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 321	I would say I trust Transcend on my current camera, my previous D30, my Belkin CF card reader and my Nixvue DA . No problems at all in the department of compatibility. Can't speak for other devices as I can't possibly have used them all. I seem to have never heard of any issues from other Transcend users in this or other forums. Maybe other fellow forum goers and users might want to comment too? I could be grossly wrong.