Placed an order today with B&H for the NX5U camcorder along with two Lexar 32GB Professional 133x class 10 SDHC Memory Cards. When I recieved my order confirmation they had mistakenly specified 16GB cards instead of the 32GB cards I wanted.

When I called back to correct the error I was told to stay with the 16GB cards because people where have alot of trouble with the 32GB cards, not working....lost footage etc.

The dual 32GB cards where one of my main reasons for purchasing the camera. I have had the order put on hold untill I get some answers....I hope you guys can help.

32Gb cards are all I use. No problems here.

Alec Moreno
Wedding Art Films - Southern California - Los Angeles - Orange County - Video (http://www.WeddingArtFilms.com)

I've been using Transend 32GB class 10 with no problems.

I have been using Patriot 32GB Class 10 cards with no problems.

Ron Evans

I've been using Transcend's 32GB class 10 cards on my AX2000 with not problems at all.

It sounds like I talked to somebody that didn't really know what he's talking about. Went ahead and ordered the NX5U and looking forward to getting it soon and then I'll probably be back with more questions.
Thanks again

I've been using Transend 32GB class 10 with no problems.

Same here. Started using them 6 months ago, and never had a problem. In their owner manual Sony says clearly to format the cards, any card, in-camera. Maybe some users skipped this part and encountered problems...

I got my NX5U 2 weeks ago along with 2 32GB Transcend Cards, Class 10. I've recorded quite a few clips and haven't even come close to using 1 up. I've had no problems. The longest thing I've recorded is part of my daughter's basketball game and that was 22 minutes non-stop.

I have a Kingston 32 GB, SD HC, Class 4.
I have recorded lot of MasterClasses on SD 576p, about 15 of one hour and a half. Card recorded at full, then format in the cam, and working again. I have fulled the card 4 or 5 times.
In HD, lot of little recordings in 1080p and one hour of a concert at 1080i, with SD material stored of MasterClasses.
NO PROBLEM. Fine, fine.

In Linux, it records at 8 MB/second, and reads 15 MB/seconds (sometimes 20 MB), more or less.
Most USB card readers are limited at 20 MB/second (I don't know why and I don't know if there is faster card readers).
Reading/recording from the AX2000 is quite slow, half speed.

With my 32GB Transcend Cards (Class 10) it takes about 20 minutes to transfer a 60 minute 1920x1080 FX video via USB from my NX5U. When I use the built in card reader in my Sony VAIO (i7), it takes about 7 minutes. The longest shot I've taken is about 70 minutes so I've nerver experienced the automatic card swap for a full card. I would like to use the FMU128 but can't justify the cost. Has anyone measured the transfer time from the FMU?

The transfer from the FMU is a lot faster than cards from the NX5U. The FMU plugs directly into the PC and appears as an external USB drive. The Sony transfer utility transfered 2 clips totally 2 hours 15 mins in 12 mins.

Ron Evans

My FMU transfers are similar to Ron's.

Back to Ed's opening post: I've had no problems with 32 gb SanDisk and Transcend cards. I know nothing about Lexar cards.

The comment about "problems" makes me wonder if the salesperson isn't recycling info from a year ago, back when the NX5 was first released and some early adopters were experiencing the "buffer overflow" problem while recording simultaneously to the FMU and SD cards. Back then, the theory was that the smaller capacity of a 16 gb (or even 8 gb) card meant that you would lose less info if you got a crash and corrupted files. The crashing problems were quickly fixed with a firmware update.

Did you ask the salesperson if the problems with 32gb cards not working was specific to Lexar 32gb cards or perhaps a particular batch of the Lexar cards?

My FMU transfers are similar to Ron's.

Back to Ed's opening post: I've had no problems with 32 gb SanDisk and Transcend cards. I know nothing about Lexar cards.

The comment about "problems" makes me wonder if the salesperson isn't recycling info from a year ago, back when the NX5 was first released and some early adopters were experiencing the "buffer overflow" problem while recording simultaneously to the FMU and SD cards. Back then, the theory was that the smaller capacity of a 16 gb (or even 8 gb) card meant that you would lose less info if you got a crash and corrupted files. The crashing problems were quickly fixed with a firmware update.

Did you ask the salesperson if the problems with 32gb cards not working was specific to Lexar 32gb cards or perhaps a particular batch of the Lexar cards?

Not specific to the Lexar cards Jay. In fact the Lexar cards where his number four recomendation. Two of the people where very down on the 32GB Transcend Cards though. Seems like most folks here have had very good luck with them though. Maybe just trying to up-sell me to the $239 panasonic or $110 Sandisk 16GB extreme cards. Third guy I talked to said they had problems but "worked it out" ??

Formating in the camera sounds like it might have been their "problem" but who knows.

Thanks again guys

You should always delete and format in the camera not the PC.

Ron Evans

As others here have mentioned, 32 GB cards should work just fine...in fact, the operators manual states on page 2:

*Up to 32 GB of memory cards are confirmed to be used with your camcorder.

So there you have it, straight from the horses mouth.

I suspect like others have said...the problem could stem from other issues such as bad or counterfeit media, formatting the card in the computer instead of in-camera, or a sales rep who just isn't sure.

Regards,

Mike

Hi Mike,
Format in camera?? Just got my NX5 and setting it up but a question. Formating the card in the camera? Can't find anything in the menu to do that?? Can you tell me where to go?

Page 65 in the manual. Press MODE, Touch screen ( Manage media)-Media Format, touch the media you want to format. Touch yes-yes-OK. Your done. If you have just got the camera its worth the time to read the manual all the way through. A few times. The LCD is the same touch screen as on the consumer cams but only performs these few actions which is a pity as I am used to the touch screen doing a lot more on the XR500 and SR11 that I have.

Ron Evans

"I suspect like others have said...the problem could stem from other issues such as bad or counterfeit media, formatting the card in the computer instead of in-camera,"

An answer I sent to a member's question by email:

In my manual it's on page 104, near the bottom in the right column:

"Do not format the recording media using a computer.The camcorder may
not operate correctly".

Mention also in the troubleshooting section that problems may arise
with card formatted in-computer instead of in-camera - Page 92 ("The
camcorder does not operate..." etc...

Problems with cards, as mentioned somewhere else, may
also arise when deleting frequently in-camera. Seems it may mess up
(not a Sony term...) the registry because of fragmentation of the file(s).

"I suspect like others have said...the problem could stem from other issues such as bad or counterfeit media, formatting the card in the computer instead of in-camera,"

I hope I didn't cause any confusion with the way I worded that. It was intended to read that the card should be formatted in-camera and NOT in the PC.

Mike