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SD Card Woes

Bourdeau

Bourdeau

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2018
Messages
375
Location
Caroga Lake, New York
Anyone else having problems with cards not working in different cameras. I only use cheap cameras (Wildgame Innovations 30.00)but they are all the same manufacturer and should be formatting the cards the same. However for some reason when I bring them home and download and delete the photos I take them back out and leave them for a month and wallah....no photos...camera was on and good batteries? Is there a way to reformat them at home or is it my mac that's messing them up?
 
I have had the same situation with several brands of cameras, even with new, quality mfg cards. I have tried formatting them in the camera when I put then in with mixed results. I gave up and will not use cameras anymore.

John H.
 
Only buy really good cards.
I won’t touch a card that isn’t Class 10. Specifically SanDisk ultra or SanDisk Extreme.
Each individual camera needs to format its own card each time. You can do this in-camera with the “Delete All” function. Almost all cameras have a built in formatting at the end of that process.

Properly formatted cards, of high quality, are the absolute biggest thing you can do to improve your camera performance.

Also, treat your trail cameras like you would a decent digital camera in any other situation. When you pull them out of the field, stick them in an airtight container with desiccant packets to dry out any humidity. Stick a little silicon lubricant on the seals (like you would use for O-rings), and spray the dust out with some canned air. Don’t toss them around like a toy, either. They are electronics, after all.
Some cameras perform best with lithium batteries, because the voltage doesn’t drop as much as the battery depletes. Some parts of the motherboard charge a capacitor, and are less effected by amperage/voltage dips, but the motion sensors seem to be the most effected by the drop in voltage/amperage of the batteries.

I have some Browning’s going on their 4th or 5th season with little to no problems.
Once I started using Lithium batteries along with my maintenance program, I have only had 1 failure at all from any camera. I had an inexpensive SD card corrupt on me and wipe probably 500+ pictures. Couldn’t re-format it or anything. It was just toast.


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Bourdeau said:
Anyone else having problems with cards not working in different cameras. I only use cheap cameras (Wildgame Innovations 30.00)but they are all the same manufacturer and should be formatting the cards the same. However for some reason when I bring them home and download and delete the photos I take them back out and leave them for a month and wallah....no photos...camera was on and good batteries? Is there a way to reformat them at home or is it my mac that's messing them up?
Click to expand...
With a Mac, you also need to empty the trash after deleting the pictures from the SD card before you eject the card. If you don’t, Mac is deleting the file name only, not the actual data. Makes sense?
 
Thanks@IkemanTX and @MaxJac I think you both solved my woes. Batteries and not knowing how a Mac deletes files. Given that I use cheap cameras(people won't even steal a wildgame camera) batteries are critical...and being a newer mac user I always wondered why the next time I use the SD in the camera the card it says it has so many percent used on my mobile reader but no images on it....thanks a ton to all of you who posted great info!
 
I would also make sure you aren't using too big of an SD card, some cameras cant use anything higher than 16gb and others are 32gb. I've had this problem before. It'll say in a user manual or in the specs online.
 
BCHunter said:
I would also make sure you aren't using too big of an SD card, some cameras cant use anything higher than 16gb and others are 32gb. I've had this problem before. It'll say in a user manual or in the specs online.
Click to expand...

That’s one thing I love about the Browning’s. Since 2017 they accept up to 512G, so I can just get whatever size cards I find a deal on.


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Like Ikeman - I run mainly Browning cameras. However, I use cheap batteries 90% of the time - because I am putting them up for 2-3 months max and only take pictures (taking inventory over mineral licks or mock scrapes). I use 8-16gb Ultra San Disk cards that I buy in a 10 pack. BTW, I have never filled up a 8 gb card with pictures. Now for cameras I let soak for 6-8 months, I use energizer lithiums and a 16 gb card. The modern cameras really are battery efficient and when used properly last several seasons.
 
DaveT1963 said:
Like Ikeman - I run mainly Browning cameras. However, I use cheap batteries 90% of the time - because I am putting them up for 2-3 months max and only take pictures (taking inventory over mineral licks or mock scrapes). I use 8-16gb Ultra San Disk cards that I buy in a 10 pack. BTW, I have never filled up a 8 gb card with pictures. Now for cameras I let soak for 6-8 months, I use energizer lithiums and a 16 gb card. The modern cameras really are battery efficient and when used properly last several seasons.
Click to expand...

I run in video mode quite often, and I feel like the lithium batteries make a HUGE difference in that setting. I am slowly moving to 32G cards because I have filled my 16G ones a few times when I had a branch or grass triggering the camera. I’d rather filter through a bunch of false triggers than max out a card and lose several weeks of footage.

I pulled a browning last month that had over 6,000 pictures on it in the “ultra” picture quality setting. The only place I could set the camera and not get cows tripping it all day was RIGHT against a feeder I’m trying to use for inventory. It is so close that it triggers for birds, mice, squirrels, rats.... all kinds of stuff. 5 months of throwing corn, and not a single deer or pig on camera, though. Hopefully that changes next year when I start habitat management on the place (40 acre family piece).


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I think in general you should always format the SD card in the camera; not on your PC or Mac. That will insure that it works. If there is an error, you will know then instead of when you come back 2 months later.
 
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