Lexar Memory? at DVinfo.net

Craig Hollenback · February 4th, 2008, 06:33 PM

I spoke with a Sony tech today who told me that putting this card into the camera wouldn't hurt it, (camera or card) however, while it may work, it was not "Sony Certified". Not sure what exactly that meant.
http://www.nextag.com/Lexar-Media-16...63/prices-html

So, my question is, has anyone tried? Do these inexpensive cards work?
I am very tempted to try one, but thought I'd ask first. Thoughts?
Best, Craig

Paul Joy · February 4th, 2008, 06:39 PM

If you do try it let us know how it goes, that's certainly a very attractive price for 16Gb.

Andreas Johansson · February 4th, 2008, 06:40 PM

We have a 4Gb card from lexmar. It doesn't work, the camera says wrong media format. And the SxS USB Reader doesn't even blink its leds trying to read it.

I would say that the 8 and 16gb don't work either.

We wanted to use it to save our camera settings on since we have 14 Cameras and needed a cheap card to copy settings from.

/Andy

Craig Hollenback · February 4th, 2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andreas Johansson

We have a 4Gb card from lexmar. It doesn't work, the camera says wrong media format. And the SxS USB Reader doesn't even blink its leds trying to read it.

I would say that the 8 and 16gb don't work either.

We wanted to use it to save our camera settings on since we have 14 Cameras and needed a cheap card to copy settings from.

/Andy

I really appreciate that feedback...wow, that would have been a costly mistake for me. Thanks again.
Best, Craig

Andreas Johansson · February 4th, 2008, 06:51 PM

We are going to talk to Sony about this since we don't want to us a expensive 8gb SxS card only for storing settings. But I guess the answer will be that there are no plans for other cards for now.

One way of saving settings would be to save it on a SxS card and then move it to a computer, if I remember correct there will be a special folder on the card for saved settings.

But I guess you wanted to use it for recording.

Paul Joy · February 4th, 2008, 06:57 PM

I read that all non Sony cards had been locked out by firmware for now. Maybe they will work if this lock gets removed with a firmware update. My dealer is now listing the Sandisk cards for the EX1, so something must be happening.

Andreas Johansson · February 4th, 2008, 07:04 PM

Yeah but those Sandisk card wont be cheap either.

Paul Joy · February 4th, 2008, 07:29 PM

They are around 20% cheaper than the Sony's.

Steve Shovlar · February 5th, 2008, 02:19 AM

Who's your dealer Paul?

Paul Joy · February 5th, 2008, 08:29 AM

Hi Steve, I don't think I can mention them due to forum rules and them not being a sponsor, but lets just say I'll leave it as a 'puzzle' for you so solve :)

Paul Newman · February 5th, 2008, 01:31 PM

I've tested 8 Gb Transcend (cost £40) and it does not work of course. I find this a bit of a cheat as far as Sony are concerned. They advertised the EX1 as using a cheap, non proprietry "off the shelf" flash card "available in the high street" I'm going to check this documentation carefully, as misrepresentation may well be at work here - it may be time for something legal ??

Paul

George Kroonder · February 6th, 2008, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Newman

I've tested 8 Gb Transcend (cost £40) and it does not work of course. I find this a bit of a cheat as far as Sony are concerned. They advertised the EX1 as using a cheap, non proprietry "off the shelf" flash card "available in the high street"

I agree, but from what I've read the firmware "lock" was put on because of problems with generic cards.

I understand it to be a technical issue, even though the ExpressCard standard has a specific (fast) interface, some (cheaper?) manufacturers use slower memory in the cards. Data transfer rates may then be insufficient to capture the data.

George.

Joel Klein · February 6th, 2008, 08:51 PM

its like a color printer. the toner is the biggest income for the manufacture

Paul Dhadialla · February 7th, 2008, 01:31 AM

"I understand it to be a technical issue, even though the ExpressCard standard has a specific (fast) interface, some (cheaper?) manufacturers use slower memory in the cards. Data transfer rates may then be insufficient to capture the data."

No doubt George. Agree. Actually from what i've studied about flash media, there is quite a difference in both speed, consistency, manufacturing quality between various media.

Speed is obviously very big. Consider how expensive cache memory is in a computer vs. regular memory - typically about 5X faster though

You can buy 2 GB of RAM for $50 bucks or spend $500 and typically you pay large amounts of money for small increments of reliability and speed

16 GB @ $850 - means $50/GB - twice the price of the cheapest RAM.
Still not bad. You have to account for any onboard electronics, cache and manufacturing QA costs.

The camera and media are aimed at different markets. That kind of money for media is nothing for people who shoot medium to high budget productions. Actually even small budget isn't bad. Just consider the few thousand you're spending on cards - the equivalent of spending some $'s on a new deck

Except this time you won't have to buy any tapes - ever.

Paul

Jamie Baughman · February 7th, 2008, 02:03 AM

Not totally related, but thought I'd throw out there that I purchased an 8gb card from B&H for a nice savings and it was delivered in perfect condition with the original packaging. As though it were new. I'm not sure if there's any used media on B&H now, but I can vouch for it in terms of quality and it saved me 30-40% of the cost of the new one.

February 4th, 2008, 06:33 PM	#1
Craig Hollenback Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Key West Posts: 247	Lexar Memory? I spoke with a Sony tech today who told me that putting this card into the camera wouldn't hurt it, (camera or card) however, while it may work, it was not "Sony Certified". Not sure what exactly that meant. http://www.nextag.com/Lexar-Media-16...63/prices-html So, my question is, has anyone tried? Do these inexpensive cards work? I am very tempted to try one, but thought I'd ask first. Thoughts? Best, Craig

February 4th, 2008, 06:39 PM	#2
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	If you do try it let us know how it goes, that's certainly a very attractive price for 16Gb. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

February 4th, 2008, 06:57 PM	#6
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	I read that all non Sony cards had been locked out by firmware for now. Maybe they will work if this lock gets removed with a firmware update. My dealer is now listing the Sandisk cards for the EX1, so something must be happening. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

February 4th, 2008, 07:29 PM	#8
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	They are around 20% cheaper than the Sony's. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

February 5th, 2008, 08:29 AM	#10
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	Hi Steve, I don't think I can mention them due to forum rules and them not being a sponsor, but lets just say I'll leave it as a 'puzzle' for you so solve :) __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

February 4th, 2008, 06:40 PM	#3
Andreas Johansson Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Stockholm Posts: 93	We have a 4Gb card from lexmar. It doesn't work, the camera says wrong media format. And the SxS USB Reader doesn't even blink its leds trying to read it. I would say that the 8 and 16gb don't work either. We wanted to use it to save our camera settings on since we have 14 Cameras and needed a cheap card to copy settings from. /Andy

February 4th, 2008, 06:51 PM	#5
Andreas Johansson Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Stockholm Posts: 93	We are going to talk to Sony about this since we don't want to us a expensive 8gb SxS card only for storing settings. But I guess the answer will be that there are no plans for other cards for now. One way of saving settings would be to save it on a SxS card and then move it to a computer, if I remember correct there will be a special folder on the card for saved settings. But I guess you wanted to use it for recording.

February 4th, 2008, 07:04 PM	#7
Andreas Johansson Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Stockholm Posts: 93	Yeah but those Sandisk card wont be cheap either.

February 5th, 2008, 02:19 AM	#9
Steve Shovlar Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Dorset UK Posts: 697	Who's your dealer Paul?

February 5th, 2008, 01:31 PM	#11
Paul Newman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Agua Blanca Ibiza Posts: 305	I've tested 8 Gb Transcend (cost £40) and it does not work of course. I find this a bit of a cheat as far as Sony are concerned. They advertised the EX1 as using a cheap, non proprietry "off the shelf" flash card "available in the high street" I'm going to check this documentation carefully, as misrepresentation may well be at work here - it may be time for something legal ?? Paul __________________ Another Sunny Day in Ibiza

February 6th, 2008, 08:51 PM	#13
Joel Klein Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 51	its like a color printer. the toner is the biggest income for the manufacture __________________ Go for 16 gig Ram its worth!

February 7th, 2008, 01:31 AM	#14
Paul Dhadialla Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 143	"I understand it to be a technical issue, even though the ExpressCard standard has a specific (fast) interface, some (cheaper?) manufacturers use slower memory in the cards. Data transfer rates may then be insufficient to capture the data." No doubt George. Agree. Actually from what i've studied about flash media, there is quite a difference in both speed, consistency, manufacturing quality between various media. Speed is obviously very big. Consider how expensive cache memory is in a computer vs. regular memory - typically about 5X faster though You can buy 2 GB of RAM for $50 bucks or spend $500 and typically you pay large amounts of money for small increments of reliability and speed 16 GB @ $850 - means $50/GB - twice the price of the cheapest RAM. Still not bad. You have to account for any onboard electronics, cache and manufacturing QA costs. The camera and media are aimed at different markets. That kind of money for media is nothing for people who shoot medium to high budget productions. Actually even small budget isn't bad. Just consider the few thousand you're spending on cards - the equivalent of spending some $'s on a new deck Except this time you won't have to buy any tapes - ever. Paul

February 7th, 2008, 02:03 AM	#15
Jamie Baughman Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 180	Not totally related, but thought I'd throw out there that I purchased an 8gb card from B&H for a nice savings and it was delivered in perfect condition with the original packaging. As though it were new. I'm not sure if there's any used media on B&H now, but I can vouch for it in terms of quality and it saved me 30-40% of the cost of the new one. __________________ Jamie Baughman