How to spot a fake memory card

[Canis Vulpes]

I found this page on my 'travels', an interesting read for anyone who was found 'cheap' memory cards.

http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Fake_Memory_Cards

[miketoll]

Genuine cards are so cheap now that there really is no need to go looking for a 'special bargain'.

[Joe]

A very useful link Stephen, thanks.

It's amazing how many counterfeit units are out there.......we see lots of particularly Sony and JVC products come in, usually with requests from their owners for repairs!
It's a shame this page doesn't extend to USB flash drives...we've seen one or two really poor ones around that don't hold half as much information as the label says they should, or are corrupt from day one!

[sassan]

As long as the fake one works, apart for feeling payed more and possibly feeling lame, there is nothing more to hurt.
I can't forget my own experiment with a 5GB Seagate ORIGINAL microdrive that though is functional, wont work in camera and then have the pleasure of talking into rude customer service or should I call it disservice of Seagate...

Bottom line buy from a reputable seller, keep your receipt and be ready to test everything on the day of purchase and if not satisfied, take it back.

[Canis Vulpes]

I my view solid state memory cards should be extremely reliable. Solid state equipment should not generally fail. We all take time and effort to go to places of interest and enjoy photography, but if you were sold a dud card with reputable brand labels and if failed I would be very annoyed.

[Tannin]

Originally Posted by sassan

I can't forget my own experiment with a 5GB Seagate ORIGINAL microdrive ....

Err... hello? What other sort of Microdrive is there? Either it comes from a major, big-name hard drive maker, (Hitachi, Seagate, etc) it doesn't exist. You can't knock up a Microdrive in your back shed using a hairclip and some left-over jam tins.

[Zeb]

I recently bought about 3.5GB worth of memory cards from a company and the prices were incredibly low.

Three cards were bought in all from a company and the link is www.mymemory.co.uk if anyone wants to try them. I've had no problems with any of the memory so far and the site also allows you to check if the memory you're choosing is compatible with the device you intend on using it with.

(If direct links to other sites aren't permitted then apologies)

[sassan]

Originally Posted by Tannin

Err... hello? What other sort of Microdrive is there?

Tannin; This is real genue Seagate 5 GB microdrive. The thing is they purposely made it incompatible with cameras. It works fine otherwise in MP3 devices. The technical explanation is that this was IDE version only, not CF II compatible because of manufacturers hardware modifications. Initial versions of same card could be used in camera but because it was so slow in writing reading, (Damaging the reputation of Seagate...HAH) it seems Seagate decided to make it castrated for camera instead of taking it off the market completely and used it only in MP3s. On those days if you remember, the cards were quite expensive and this one (Extremely high capacity for the day) probably came of an MP3 device, or was designated and never got into MP3 device and was sold to me by Geek.com as camera microdrive. To make a long story short did cause me a lot of trouble, needless to say that was my last purchase form geeks.com who otherwise got several thousands of dollars form me on prior purchases. There is a good thread about this one in another photosite that if interested I will send you the link. BTW you still see some of these sold on ebay to innocent buyers....

Stephen; Micro drives don't follow your otherwise correct statement. You drop a microdrive from a short distance, most likely that would be end of it. Just thinking of moving particles at such high speed in such a small and compact device turns every hair on my head fully errected...

[Wheeler]

Zeb, a word of caution on MyMemory own brand SD cards, I put one in my 1D MkIIn and it felt like a tight fit going in. With that one insertion it wrecked the reader slot with just a matter of days to run on the warranty. The design on the slot/cards prevents you inserting the card badly so I have to chalk this up to poor manufacture. I've no idea whether it was a one-off but I'll be sticking to Sandisk in the future.

On the subject of counterfeit Sandisk cards there are some interesting images on this thread:

http://www.ukar.co.uk/cgi-bin/ukarbo...hl=counterfeit

The forgers are certainly giving people a difficult job spotting their contemptable products.

[Stewart J.]

I to bought so called Sandisk Extreme II SD cards on Ebay, turned out to be counterfeit and we lost a lot of what should have been precious holiday pictures. This was last year before the price crash and I should have known better they were too cheap!

Now using Transcend Hi Speed cards, brilliant and some good deals, no problems with this supplier competitive to boot and 24 hours delivery.

http://www.mobymemory.com/High_Speed...mory_Cards.asp

Stewart