When SD cards turn bad

by philg

Here’s a conundrum… A Canon 5D Mark III says “card 2 cannot be read” regarding a Lexar Professional 128 GB 400x SD card. Yet I can put the card into an HP notebook computer and read it or format it (exFAT). I put it into a Sony A6000 and the camera was unhappy about it (“please reinsert card”). Can the card truly be bad if the Windows machine is able to read/format it? I haven’t had a bad SD card before.

Separately, if I do have to replace this card, what’s the best price/performance for a 128 GB SD card that is occasionally used for HD video capture?

7 thoughts on “When SD cards turn bad”

  1. Check the case of the SD card. The case plastic that is between the contacts may have shifted and/or there is a bit of the case stuck in the SD slot.

  2. Rick: I think you have hit the nail on the head. There are little plastic ridges to insulate between the pins at the edge of the SD card. Some of these seem to have broken off. The identical Lexar card that I use in a Sony A6000 has only one of these ridges compromised.

    Putting the chip into a new case doesn’t seem like a reasonable strategy. So that gets back to my other question of what brand to replace this with?

  4. If money is no object, you could switch to microSD cards (which come in capacities up to 200 GB, IIRC). Then the microSD to SD card adapter can be switched out whenever you need a new “case”. While I’m sure you can do better with the right full-size card, I believe performance shouldn’t be an issue for you in practice (these cards are expected to do HD (and even 4k) video capture when used in a smartphone). In terms of recommendations, you should do fine with the highest-performance Samsung or SanDisk card in the capacity you want.

  5. I would suggest replacing with a microSD in an SD adapter – that way when the SD adapter wears out you can just transfer the microSD to a new adapter. Also you can use the microSD in other applications – phones, etc.

  6. Lexar advertises a lifetime warranty on these cards, and my impression is that their service is decent. Perhaps the best price would be a free replacement under warranty.

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