Updating memory card collection.

[DesertBike]

Memory cards going into read only mode i think is a safety procedure in the controller, that feature are also still there on the even larger SD cards that do also have a little mechanical locking tab on the side.
It have been a while since i last experienced, or that is not long ago, but it was the first time in years.
I have had cards die regularly on me in cameras i test static in my living room window, that is often my smaller and oldest cards that i use there, and i have not bothered to look why the cards failed, just looked at the card some day and found the last recorded file was long ago, and then just throw it in my little plastic bottle, CUZ i am going to use the little memory cards for 100 M targets for my .177 air rifle this summer.

My PC ( fully updated windows 10 ) never coughed any warnings out for H2testW some have reported, could probably be a matter of the setting i use for Defender.

It baffles me that I've had 3 Samsung 128 GB cards fail in the same way (sudden read-only mode), in the last 4 or so years.

One died that in my Innovv K2 when I was running it on USB power. Never figured that one out. Switched to SanDisk High Endurance for all my dashcams.

The last two dead Samsung cards have been in game consoles, definitely not rough duty for an SD card.

At least the Samsungs seem to fail in read-only mode, so I can get my data copied off. Could be worse.

 

[kamkar]

Samsung are a new brand to me actually, the new white evo plus and blue pro plus are actually my first ventures with the brand.
So far not much luck with the white evo plus, but the blue pro plus seem to work in my viofo system, but in all fairness the blue card are new and in a camera for the first time, the white evo plus i have tried in 3 systems and so far it is just 1 for 3 as it do work in the Vantrue E2 system.

 

[DesertBike]

One of the Samsung 128 GB cards that write locked was the older green and white label Pro. Purchased in 2019 and died the next year in my Innovv K2 motorcycle dashcam.

The other two, the ones that died in the Switch consoles, were the newer blue or teal design Evo Select.

Not sure that illustrates a trend or anything.

I bought my first SanDisk card in probably 2020 or early 2021 and haven't had one failure yet. I still have the one that was in my motorcycle dashcam at the time of a serious crash. I replaced it with a newer one for road use, but the crash -proven one has sentimental value.

 

[DT MI]

Best price I've seen on high capacity memory cards. 1TB for $21 USD - what could possibly go wrong?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0BVKDTBGZ

I might buy one just to see how bad it really is.

 

[DesertBike]

Definitely not counterfeit! I'm sure the $21 1 TB card will pass h2testw.

 

[SrConfluente]

Any updates @kamkar ? Seems like your collection keeps on growing.

 

[kamkar]

No action as of lately, but i am planning on getting a new GFX card and mouse, at least i think the content at my piggy bank can handle that.
And you know, those you get the same place as memory cards, and i do have my eyes on a couple of contenders, still unsure if maybe i should get my first 512 GB card.
There is 12 different 256GB cards in my test suite.

 

[Agie]

Nice thread for us to share what we use, I am currently using a few SanDisk High Endurance cards along with Lexar 633x - both of which have been reliable and never failed on me. Have had some cheaper Samsung's fail which is strange.

I'm kind of in two minds about the recent SanDisk (who are owned by Western Digital now) fiasco with their failing SSD's. Not entirely sure that their microSD cards are made in the same fab or not, but still has me a tad worried about long-term reliability of SanDisk products going forward......

Can't be bothered investing in SanDisk Pro line even though I bought some years ago, the whole A1/A2 V30 thing is redundant anyway in terms of actual speed increases.....I think most microSD cards in retail brick & mortar stores these days perform well enough.


UPDATE 9th Sep 2023: managed to dig up some more microSD memory cards, and now am using a Samsung EVO Plus 256GB in my Vantrue Nexus 4 Pro, with the older Samsung EVO Plus 128GB now relegated to my Viofo A119 v3. Also have a 32GB Samsung Pro Endurance that's been shifted to an old Xiaomi 4k action camera.

 

[DesertBike]

Good news: MicroSD cards keep getting cheaper, unlike many other things.

256 GB SanDisk High Endurance is now going for around US$23 ea., about half (adjusting for inflation) what I paid for each of my last 2 such cards, most of 2 years ago (US$46).

512 GB size HE is today US$45, slightly less than twice the price for twice the capacity. Some dashcams can't use cards this large, including two of mine (Viofo A129 Duo tops out at 256 GB), but it's nice to see the prices creep downward.

Cards in all four of my dashcams (2 x Viofo A129 Duo, 2 x Innovv K2) are 256 GB SanDisk High Endurance. One of them is now over 3 years old. Probably should order some new cards soon, so I can retire the old ones to less-critical roles as phone, tablet, gaming console, etc. storage expansion.


I had reason to investigate the differences between SanDisk High Endurance (HE) and Max Endurance (ME). These may be summarized as:

--HE costs less. HE: US$23/256 GB. ME:US$45/256 GB.

--Dfiferent maximum size. HE goes up to 512 GB, while ME largest size is 256 GB.

--Up to 40000 hr expected continuous recording life (HE) vs. 120000 hrs for ME.

--2 year (HE) vs. 3 to 15 year (ME) warranty (varies with size. 15 years for the 256 GB).


To put the numbers in perspective: 40000 hours is about 5 years of uninterrupted use. 120000 hours is over 10 years (!).

Given the dashcams are in vehicles, which certainly are not in operation anything close to 24/7, either HE or ME should be more than adequate.

I might think differently, if I were using the cards in something that's on all the time, say a security camera system.

Interesting point that I didn't know about until today: Viofo doesn't like SanDisk HE cards. They insist that you use only the ME cards, if you use SanDisk:

What memory card is recommended for a VIOFO dashcam?

Micro SD Cards play an important role in dashcams, but not all cards are suitable to be used in dashcams. The footage recorded by dash cams is saved on a micro SD card, which is an essential component of the dash cam setup. Here are some parame...

support.viofo.com

I don't know why specifically they don't like the SanDisk HE cards.

The difference seems unlikely to matter, for most of us. I've had trouble-free service from all my SanDisk HE cards, over the last 4 years.

Could it be that VIofo had trouble with the 128 GB SanDisk High Endurance card, specifically?

 

[Agie]

Good news: MicroSD cards keep getting cheaper, unlike many other things.

256 GB SanDisk High Endurance is now going for around US$23 ea., about half (adjusting for inflation) what I paid for each of my last 2 such cards, most of 2 years ago (US$46).

512 GB size HE is today US$45, slightly less than twice the price for twice the capacity. Some dashcams can't use cards this large, including two of mine (Viofo A129 Duo tops out at 256 GB), but it's nice to see the prices creep downward.

Cards in all four of my dashcams (2 x Viofo A129 Duo, 2 x Innovv K2) are 256 GB SanDisk High Endurance. One of them is now over 3 years old. Probably should order some new cards soon, so I can retire the old ones to less-critical roles as phone, tablet, gaming console, etc. storage expansion.


I had reason to investigate the differences between SanDisk High Endurance (HE) and Max Endurance (ME). These may be summarized as:

--HE costs less. HE: US$23/256 GB. ME:US$45/256 GB.

--Dfiferent maximum size. HE goes up to 512 GB, while ME largest size is 256 GB.

--Up to 40000 hr expected continuous recording life (HE) vs. 120000 hrs for ME.

--2 year (HE) vs. 3 to 15 year (ME) warranty (varies with size. 15 years for the 256 GB).


To put the numbers in perspective: 40000 hours is about 5 years of uninterrupted use. 120000 hours is over 10 years (!).

Given the dashcams are in vehicles, which certainly are not in operation anything close to 24/7, either HE or ME should be more than adequate.

I might think differently, if I were using the cards in something that's on all the time, say a security camera system.

Interesting point that I didn't know about until today: Viofo doesn't like SanDisk HE cards. They insist that you use only the ME cards, if you use SanDisk:

What memory card is recommended for a VIOFO dashcam?

Micro SD Cards play an important role in dashcams, but not all cards are suitable to be used in dashcams. The footage recorded by dash cams is saved on a micro SD card, which is an essential component of the dash cam setup. Here are some parame...

support.viofo.com

I don't know why specifically they don't like the SanDisk HE cards.

The difference seems unlikely to matter, for most of us. I've had trouble-free service from all my SanDisk HE cards, over the last 4 years.

Could it be that VIofo had trouble with the 128 GB SanDisk High Endurance card, specifically?

Could be the issue, I've had issues with SanDisk cards and have friends that have had issues with them also. But then there are many that do not that report online. I've tended to stick to Samsung cards the last few years as they've been reliable and haven't failed me once. Viofo seems to have validated the experiences those of us have had with SanDisk cards, that's what I'd absolutely say and I don't blame them for recommending otherwise.

 

[DesertBike]

I've had three Samsung cards fail in the past four years, since I started using dashcams, zero SanDisk. I still have my oldest SanDisk cards, from long before I did anything with dashcams, all still work.

The first Samsung failure was an Evo 128 GB, in my first dashcam, the Innov K2. Evo isn't the best choice for dashcam duty, but I was only using it temporarily for testing. It may have been in service for only a few weeks total.

The next two Samsung Evo 128 GB cards failed in Nintendo Switch consoles, in the same way. Both within a few months. Which is odd, as console duty shouldn't be all that hard on the card.

Yesterday when I ordered replacement cards for the ones in all four of our dashcams, they were all SanDisk High Endurance 256 GB.

The old cards hadn't failed, but I like to swap them every 2 years or so. The old cards will now get used for phone, tablet, and other less-critical applications.

The 256 GB size SanDisk High Endurance is rated for up to 20000 hours constant service. That's two years and change. That's more than two years of dashcam duty, since the dashcam won't be on and recording 24/7. I swap them at roughly the 2 year point anyway, as a precaution.

 

[DashCamUser123]

I use the SanDisk 256GB High Endurance in my Viofo A139 3-Channel 2k version. Runs well. I also use the same Sandisk High Endurance 128gb and 64gb cards in my Akaso action cams and they have all worked well. I use the SAMSUNG EVO Select 512gb (blue colour) in my two GoPro Hero9 Black and it works great.

 

[kamkar]

Okay have just ordered 2 more cards for the collection.

A PNY PRO elite. ( 100 / 90 MB/s speeds R/W )



A Sandisk extreme plus. ( 200 / 130 MB/s speeds R/W )


Both 256 GB naturally as that is the smallers anyone should consider if their camera support it.

The PNY are in the cheap end here right now, the Sandisk is a bit more expensive, but none of them budget killers.

 

[DT MI]

...The PNY are in the cheap end here right now...

I use PNY cards a LOT - in dash cams, dSLRs as well as other devices. Never had an issue with them.

 

[kamkar]

Only had 1 PNY before, and it was one of the two 64 GB cards i had back in the day that died almost before i filled them one time. got replaced of course but it died again later on where as the Trancend ultimate that did the same it still work.
BUT ! i am always ready to cut someone a little slack,,,,, well on some things at least.