Pentax K30 & SDHC compatibility

Hello!
Got myself a K30 ( febuary) , bought it initially with an 8 Gb 100X SD card, and since i was filling it up rather quickly i bought a lexar 16Gb 400X class 10 card.
I'm getting "memory card error" messages on startup which go away once i do a reboot.
After the reboot i can do 400 shots with any glitch...
I'm also getting 'can't store image' messages while in shoot, this is after a normal startup with no indications that there is a problem.

any ideas??

Thx!!
A.

Are you formatting the card in the camera before first use and also when you want to clear the card? If not, do so and your problem may be resolved.

formated the card as soon as i had it.
trying it out on my WG II to see if the problem can be repeated on a different camera.

Haven't used lexar, but I had no problems with a 32GB Sandisk class 10 in a K30.

I sometimes get the card error message on the K5 and it is usually "fixed" by ejecting the card and then replacing slow and easy. I know it hasn't gone in right when there is no orange light shown on insertion. Whether this is only with lexar cards (8gb and 16gb I don't know, can't recall this happening with the duracell cards (8gb)

I was getting the same with my K30 and a Sandisk Ultra 45Mb/s 16Gb card. In the end the 'can't store image' message wouldn't go away and the card became locked in all devices, including the PC. I threw the card away. Not had any problems with any of the other cards, including an 8Gb Lexar class 10 UHS/1.

I don't know whether this has any bearing on the problem but apparently there are a large amount of fake 'branded' SD cards in circulation mostly emanating from China.

Lots of anecdotal evidence from people looking to buy in bulk on some of the 'wholesaler/distributor' type websites that they have been ripped off. Usually the aspiring importer/retailer orders a small quantity as a 'trial' which are apparently genuine, they then put in a much larger order on the basis of this which sometimes turn out to be 'fake'. They do work but are unreliable and do not reach the claimed transfer speeds which the original branded ones do.

Caveat emptor and all that. Probably best buying these from a reputable outlet that will take them back and refund if they prove faulty.

I'm having major problems with SD Card. I purchase a Samsung 16GB and 32GB card with my K30 last saturday and the K30 just keeps reporting memory card error. I have tried to format the cards but again the camera jsut reports memory card error. I have used the 16GB card in my K10 and it worked first time no problem at all. The only cards I can get to work in the K30 are old 4GB ones. Any help gratefully received.

There is a small program which was produced by a German Magazine which tests cards - H2testw 1.4

See: http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/h2testw-14-gold-standard-in-detecti...

Or you may prefer to read this thread from the transatlantic Pentax forum where it is discussed: http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/general-talk/180203-has-anyone-used-h2testw-c...

John K

Have you used the SDCard Association's formatter?

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/

I tested the cards and it is a genuine Samsung cards, I formated them and the K30 still reports memory card error. Both cards work perfectly in my K10. I will assume that for some reason the K30 does not work with Samsung SD cards.

Are you on the latest camera firmware, v1.04?

It corrects: Unstable performance may rarely occur in firmware version 1.03.
Perhaps you are experiencing 'unstable performance'?!

John K

I haven't updated the cameras firmware, it version 1.0 at the moment as I can't get the two new Samsung memory cards that came with the camera to work in the camera! I have an old 4GB ebay card that works perfectly however I don't trust it to do a firmware upgrade.