OMD-EM5 Corrupting SD Cards

[Dave Jenkins]

I have a strange problem with one of my OMD-EM5 bodies: over a period of several days or weeks, it appears to corrupt its memory card.

When this happens, the camera locks up. I can usually look through the EVF, but the camera will not focus and the shutter will not work.

When the card is placed in my other OMD body, it locks up and will not work at all.

Any images on the card can be downloaded to my computer with no apparent ill effects. No virus shows up when scanning the card with my anti-virus program.

I can format the card in my Canon 6D and it will be usable again in the OMD until it again becomes corrupted. This has happened with two different cards, a Transcend and a Sandisk.

Any ideas, other than sending it to Olympus repair?

 

[broncophil]

yes i saw this with my first 2 omds.

do you have another DSLR. because i noticed this happening with one of my SD Cards that was sharing SD cards.

i had the same symptom, would turn on, and evf would work, but couldnt do much else.

EDIT: i noticed you said you are using with 6d as well. thats exactly the problem i had.

see this post that i started .... https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=35739

more spefically here https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=35739&page=2&p=350212#post350212

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Thanks, Phil. I have mostly used this card in the EM5, but may have also used it in the 6D. I'll put in a card that I know hasn't been in the 6D and see if it corrupts. BTW, the corruption doesn't happen immediately, but takes place over a period of days, or even weeks before the camera locks up.

 

[Vivalo]

Do you format the card with the OMD every time you start to use it with that particular body?

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Hard to say. I don't switch cards around that much, but I'm sure the card was used in the 6D before I put it in the EM5. I would have formatted it, though.

 

[Mikefellh]

Did you buy the cards at a legit camera store, or on eBay?

Just there's been issues with counterfeit cards causing problems.

I bought my Sandisk cards at a reputable local camera store, and never had a problem (although I format EVERY time in the camera).

 

[rfortson]

I've always heard sharing cards between cameras without formatting in camera was asking for trouble. I can't remember ever seeing this with any of my cameras, but I never really shared cards between brands.

Just to isolate the problem, I'd try to replicate the problem with a card only used in the E-M5, or see if it is isolated to a particular card (in case it's counterfeit).

Hope you get it sorted out.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

Did you buy the cards at a legit camera store, or on eBay?

Just there's been issues with counterfeit cards causing problems.

I bought my Sandisk cards at a reputable local camera store, and never had a problem (although I format EVERY time in the camera).

If they are genuine then they also come in sealed packaging & also have a serial number. If it didn't come like that then it wouldn't be genuine & that is where operational problems start to arise.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

I've always heard sharing cards between cameras without formatting in camera was asking for trouble. I can't remember ever seeing this with any of my cameras, but I never really shared cards between brands.

Just to isolate the problem, I'd try to replicate the problem with a card only used in the E-M5, or see if it is isolated to a particular card (in case it's counterfeit).

Hope you get it sorted out.

That's definitely true as I can't even share the same card between an E-M5 & E-M1 without formatting in each camera before using.

 

[barry]

The E-M1 accepts cards formatted with EXFAT, it's possible the E-M5 doesn't.

Barry

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Got the cards from amazon.com.

 

[barry]

Got the cards from amazon.com.

From Amazon itself or one of their 'marketplace' sellers?

Barry

 

[Dave Jenkins]

No, bought the cards from amazon with other stuff so I could get free shipping.

This thing just gets curiouser and curiouser. I have two OMD-EM5 bodies -- a black and a silver. The black body is the one giving me problems. A day or two ago, I put a card in it that I'm pretty sure has never been in anything other than an Olympus body. It may have been in my E-PL1. It sat in the camera until this morning, when I took some pix with it. I uploaded the pix into my computer and put the card back in the camera. Later, I turned the camera on, and it was locked up.

I then put the card in the silver body, and it locked up. Then I put the card which had originally been in the silver body back into it, and it was locked up with that card also.

I had a couple of old 1-gig cards laying around which may have been used in the E-PL1, but nowhere else, so I put one in each body and formatted them. Now we'll see what happens.

Even if a card locks my camera up, if it has photos on it, they upload to my computer with no difficulty. Scanning the cards with Panda before uploading shows no virus.

 

[Growltiger]

Why on earth don't you format a card whenever you put it in a camera. That way they would work.

 

[Nam-in-Sonoma]

When you have multiple bodies and multiple brand...it is recommended to format the card in the body before each time you use it for the first time...I have friends who have lost many photo in a trip because they just bough the card before the trip and never format the cards. Further more, don't format or delete file/image on the card with your computer.

 

[Vivalo]

Make sure that all contacts are clean and format the card every time you switch it to another body. If that doesn't solve it, there has to be something wrong with the card. If it happens with all cards it has to be the camera in which case you better contact Olympus service.

 

[Vivalo]

Oh, and what is the exact brand and type of the sd-card? I have never had problems with top level cards such as Sandisk Extreme/Pro series cards.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

No, bought the cards from amazon with other stuff so I could get free shipping.

This thing just gets curiouser and curiouser. I have two OMD-EM5 bodies -- a black and a silver. The black body is the one giving me problems. A day or two ago, I put a card in it that I'm pretty sure has never been in anything other than an Olympus body. It may have been in my E-PL1. It sat in the camera until this morning, when I took some pix with it. I uploaded the pix into my computer and put the card back in the camera. Later, I turned the camera on, and it was locked up.

I then put the card in the silver body, and it locked up. Then I put the card which had originally been in the silver body back into it, and it was locked up with that card also.

I had a couple of old 1-gig cards laying around which may have been used in the E-PL1, but nowhere else, so I put one in each body and formatted them. Now we'll see what happens.

Even if a card locks my camera up, if it has photos on it, they upload to my computer with no difficulty. Scanning the cards with Panda before uploading shows no virus.

Why on earth don't you format a card whenever you put it in a camera. That way they would work.

That would be my question anyhow, because if it isn't formatted in the camera to used in & has been in another camera, then there will be problems.

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Well, of course I format a card in the camera I'm going to use it in when I put it in.:horse:

 

[Growltiger]

Well, of course I format a card in the camera I'm going to use it in when I put it in.:horse:

"of course"... Every time?

But in the first post you said you had used a card formatted in a Canon. And in message 13 above you are swapping cards all over the place, with no mention of reformatting every time you put them in a camera.

I suggest you buy a new Sandisk card and test it fully and try that. Transcend is a lower quality make and you could have been unlucky with the Sandisk.