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Bad SD card

JNRBRONC

JNRBRONC

Well-Known Member
I picked up a PNY Optima 2GB SD card at WalMart first part of July. I wanted two SD cards for every trail cam so I could just swap cards in the field. I put the new card in my DLC Covert. I came back the next week and the almost new 8X lithium batteries were dead in the Covert. I put fresh batteries in and swapped the new SD card out. I looked at the card when I got home and the DLC had made a folder on the card and put one picture in it.

Yesterday, I went to pull the card from my SG550. I plugged the remote in and the batteries were dead and there was one picture on the card. I thought this was odd as the 8X lithium batteries weren't that old. I put new batteries in the camera and decided to leave the card in the cam since it only had one pic on it.

I decided to move a ladder stand. As I was dragging it to the new spot, I started wondering if the SD card in the SG550 was the same one that had been in the DLC Covert when the batteries prematurely died. Since I had a SD card in my pocket, I decided to go back and pull the card. I get the "new" SD card to the computer and the one picture on it was from the DLC when it had died. For some reason, this SD card seems to be bad, at least for use in those trail cams. I have it in the new Nikon Coolpix S220 that I won as a door prize and it is working fine in that camera.

I have never formatted a SD card for use in the SG550 or the DLC Covert before, maybe that is it? That cheap SD card sure got expensive eating all those lithium batteries!:mad:
 
One thing I found out is that you need that certain camera to format the card. Otherwise if you formatted it at home with your computer sometimes it won't recognize the card in the camera. However that is my experience and it might not work for you.
 
I use cuddebacks and 1 leaf river. They all use the CF cards, but they require FAT formatting, and I cant go back and forth between brands of cams with out the cam reformatting them on its own. If I do stuff a incorrectly formatted card into my cuddebacks they continously try to read the card until the cam goes dead? Maybe that "new" SD card needs some formatting?
 
I've had that problem with those exact two cameras as well. Sometimes reformatting will fix the problem and sometimes the card is fried. Even had one of my SG550's not work after such an episode. I never could get it back up and running. Hopefully your camera is still good.
 
WTF!? I'm glad the guys from Covert and Scoutgard told us about this. Or maybe its because I just didn't read the directions? I'm hoping mine don't do that same thing that happened to you Bronc, i've got so many cards and I just switch them around from cam to cam whenever I check them.

Had a Covert for two weeks now and the remote has already quit working......Kinda torques me off!
 
I read the manuals (when I got the cams) and they say to format the SD cards. I always used SD cards that came with the cams. Maybe the guys you buy the cams from format the SD cards before sending them out with the trail cam?????

So I should have formatted the card but got lazy.... and it cost me.
 
sureshot1 said:
Had a Covert for two weeks now and the remote has already quit working......Kinda torques me off!
Click to expand...

When the SD card brought my Covert to it's knees, I plugged in the remote and got nothing. I figured it had to be the remote as the lithiums weren't two weeks old. Put in a new set of batteries and the remote sprung to life. New remotes are $35, batteries are cheaper.
 
as far as formatting the cards before you use them, im not sure about that. I dont think you should have to do that.....

AND, some advice I recieved was to keep the SD cards specific with the cameras. for example, if you have two cards keep them with the same camera and never mix cards and cameras. it is kinda like a finger print thing. each camera is different and they do better reading the SAME two cards only.

just a thought!
 
THA4 said:
as far as formatting the cards before you use them, im not sure about that. I dont think you should have to do that.....

AND, some advice I recieved was to keep the SD cards specific with the cameras. for example, if you have two cards keep them with the same camera and never mix cards and cameras. it is kinda like a finger print thing. each camera is different and they do better reading the SAME two cards only.

just a thought!
Click to expand...

I agree. I don't think you should have to do this, but I've found out this is the best option. I run a couple Cuddeback Captures, and for some reason, they won't read Kodak memory cards. They also have a tough time with most 2GB cards.... some work, some don't. It's kind of ridiculous. The most plain jane 1GB cards I can find seem to work the best.

Seems to be too much of a hassle doesn't it! :confused:
 
Pretty sure that at one point Leaf River had a warning on their website not to use a specific brand of card. Seems some cards work with everything and others are quite a bit more touchy.
 
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