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I recently bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50K camera, and followed it up with
an order for RiDATA's 4GB SecureDigital Card Pro (150X speed SD card). When
I received the memory card, I dropped it into the camera, and was greeted by
an error when turning the camera on:

MEMORY CARD ERROR
PLEASE CHECK THE CARD

So I plugged the card into the USB 2.0 SD reader that I also ordered. The
card works fine in there. I downloaded the SD/SDHC official card formatter
from sdcard.org. The formatter is even made by Panasonic, which speaks
really well to the prospect of it formatting the card so that it's compatible
with a Panasonic camera. No go. Same error, and this error doesn't let me
access the menu, so I can't try to make the camera format the card.

Any idea how I can make this work? Returning it to NewEgg for a 15%
restocking fee doesn't appeal to me, and trying to get RiData to reimburse me
sounds like an uphill battle (especially since the DMC-FZ50 is new enough
that it's not on their compatibility list for the card at
http://www.ritekusa.com/ebproductdetail.asp?id=52 - however, the DMC-FZ30 is,
and the FZ50 is a pretty minor upgrade to the FZ30).

Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com

FZ50 supports SDHC cards in case of capacity larger than 2GB.

But RiData 150X 4GB is SD only! That's why FZ50 can't recognize it but card
reader can.

I think that RiData website's compatibility list may be wrongly included the
FZ30.

"Erik Harris" <n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com>
??????:(E-Mail Removed). ..
>I recently bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50K camera, and followed it up
>with
> an order for RiDATA's 4GB SecureDigital Card Pro (150X speed SD card).
> When
> I received the memory card, I dropped it into the camera, and was greeted
> by
> an error when turning the camera on:
>
> MEMORY CARD ERROR
> PLEASE CHECK THE CARD
>
> So I plugged the card into the USB 2.0 SD reader that I also ordered. The
> card works fine in there. I downloaded the SD/SDHC official card
> formatter
> from sdcard.org. The formatter is even made by Panasonic, which speaks
> really well to the prospect of it formatting the card so that it's
> compatible
> with a Panasonic camera. No go. Same error, and this error doesn't let
> me
> access the menu, so I can't try to make the camera format the card.
>
> Any idea how I can make this work? Returning it to NewEgg for a 15%
> restocking fee doesn't appeal to me, and trying to get RiData to reimburse
> me
> sounds like an uphill battle (especially since the DMC-FZ50 is new enough
> that it's not on their compatibility list for the card at
> http://www.ritekusa.com/ebproductdetail.asp?id=52 - however, the DMC-FZ30
> is,
> and the FZ50 is a pretty minor upgrade to the FZ30).
>
> Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
> n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
> Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com

same here

bought a FZ50 + 4g SDHC card from same place -- 4g card labeled as SDHC will
not work in the FZ50

sent it back to the place I bought it for 4 1 gig cards in trade -- they
said they would do that on the phone

I try for 2 2g cards -- but 4 1g they would do without a lot of hassle -- to
just return the card for refund meant restock fee for me too..



"Leung Wai Hung" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4538f3ad$1@127.0.0.1...
> FZ50 supports SDHC cards in case of capacity larger than 2GB.
>
> But RiData 150X 4GB is SD only! That's why FZ50 can't recognize it but
> card reader can.
>
> I think that RiData website's compatibility list may be wrongly included
> the FZ30.
>
> "Erik Harris" <n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com>
> ??????:(E-Mail Removed). ..
>>I recently bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50K camera, and followed it up
>>with
>> an order for RiDATA's 4GB SecureDigital Card Pro (150X speed SD card).
>> When
>> I received the memory card, I dropped it into the camera, and was greeted
>> by
>> an error when turning the camera on:
>>
>> MEMORY CARD ERROR
>> PLEASE CHECK THE CARD
>>
>> So I plugged the card into the USB 2.0 SD reader that I also ordered.
>> The
>> card works fine in there. I downloaded the SD/SDHC official card
>> formatter
>> from sdcard.org. The formatter is even made by Panasonic, which speaks
>> really well to the prospect of it formatting the card so that it's
>> compatible
>> with a Panasonic camera. No go. Same error, and this error doesn't let
>> me
>> access the menu, so I can't try to make the camera format the card.
>>
>> Any idea how I can make this work? Returning it to NewEgg for a 15%
>> restocking fee doesn't appeal to me, and trying to get RiData to
>> reimburse me
>> sounds like an uphill battle (especially since the DMC-FZ50 is new enough
>> that it's not on their compatibility list for the card at
>> http://www.ritekusa.com/ebproductdetail.asp?id=52 - however, the DMC-FZ30
>> is,
>> and the FZ50 is a pretty minor upgrade to the FZ30).
>>
>> Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
>> n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
>> Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com
>
>

On 19 Oct 2006 19:32:18 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Does the FZ50 support 4g's. Seem to remember read it did only 2. ??

The FZ50 specifically adds support for SDHC cards over the FZ30. As far as I
can tell, the only difference between SD and SDHC is that SDHC is formatted
with FAT32, allowing sizes larger than 2GB.

So ANY device that supports SDHC should support 4GB cards.

Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:28:39 GMT, "harlen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>When you get to take some pictures with your new FZ50, let us know how you
>like it. I'm interested in your opinion.

So far, I've only been able to play a little bit, because the only WORKING
card I've got is the 32MB card that came with the camera - which will
accommodate 5 JPG's or a single RAW image. So even though I've had it for
over a week now, I haven't really used it much at all. I was hoping I'd be
able to do that now, after receiving my 4GB card, but no such luck.

So far, no reply from RiDATA or Panasonic about this card, but that's no
surprise.

Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:04:50 +0800, "Leung Wai Hung" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>FZ50 supports SDHC cards in case of capacity larger than 2GB.
>
>But RiData 150X 4GB is SD only! That's why FZ50 can't recognize it but card
>reader can.

....so what exactly IS an SDHC card, but an SD card formatted in FAT32 format
(thus allowing sizes over 2GB)?

I haven't been able to find a whole lot of specific information, but from
what I did find before making this purchase, it doesn't seem that there's any
other difference between the two formats. That leads me to the assumption
that cards with capacities above 2GB that weren't labeled as SDHC were
basically just those cards that did it before the SD Association blessed it
with the 2.0 standard.

To make matters worse, I've seen 4GB SD cards that don't say anything about
SDHC, but do say that they support the 2.0 version of the spec - i.e. the
version that adds support for higher capacities (that is, SDHC).

Simply put, I'm confused, and I'm out $70 unless I can find a solution or
RiDATA buys the card back from me (or return it to NewEgg and take a 15%
restocking fee hit; which I'll do before eating the $70 for a worthless
card).

Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:01:40 -0400, Erik Harris
<n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com> wrote:

>On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:04:50 +0800, "Leung Wai Hung" <(E-Mail Removed)>
>wrote:
>
>>FZ50 supports SDHC cards in case of capacity larger than 2GB.
>>
>>But RiData 150X 4GB is SD only! That's why FZ50 can't recognize it but card
>>reader can.
>
>...so what exactly IS an SDHC card, but an SD card formatted in FAT32 format
>(thus allowing sizes over 2GB)?
>
>I haven't been able to find a whole lot of specific information, but from
>what I did find before making this purchase, it doesn't seem that there's any
>other difference between the two formats. That leads me to the assumption
>that cards with capacities above 2GB that weren't labeled as SDHC were
>basically just those cards that did it before the SD Association blessed it
>with the 2.0 standard.

This might help:
http://www.sandisk.com/sdhc/SDHC.pdf
>
>To make matters worse, I've seen 4GB SD cards that don't say anything about
>SDHC, but do say that they support the 2.0 version of the spec - i.e. the
>version that adds support for higher capacities (that is, SDHC).
>
>Simply put, I'm confused, and I'm out $70 unless I can find a solution or
>RiDATA buys the card back from me (or return it to NewEgg and take a 15%
>restocking fee hit; which I'll do before eating the $70 for a worthless
>card).
>
>Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
>n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
>Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com
--
Bill Funk
replace "g" with "a"

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 09:50:01 -0700, Bill Funk <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:01:40 -0400, Erik Harris
><n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:04:50 +0800, "Leung Wai Hung" <(E-Mail Removed)>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>FZ50 supports SDHC cards in case of capacity larger than 2GB.
>>>
>>>But RiData 150X 4GB is SD only! That's why FZ50 can't recognize it but card
>>>reader can.
>>
>>...so what exactly IS an SDHC card, but an SD card formatted in FAT32 format
>>(thus allowing sizes over 2GB)?
>>
>>I haven't been able to find a whole lot of specific information, but from
>>what I did find before making this purchase, it doesn't seem that there's any
>>other difference between the two formats. That leads me to the assumption
>>that cards with capacities above 2GB that weren't labeled as SDHC were
>>basically just those cards that did it before the SD Association blessed it
>>with the 2.0 standard.

>This might help:
>http://www.sandisk.com/sdhc/SDHC.pdf

It really doesn't, unfortunately. It says that SD cards can be formatted in
the 4-32GB range (i.e. higher address space because it's using FAT32 instead
of FAT16), and that it's not backwards compatible with previous versions of
SD (i.e. because devices designed for the FAT16 file system won't work with
FAT32-formatted storage devices). It also goes into the new speed rating
system, which is nice because most cards are currently only rated for their
read speeds.

However, it doesn't tell me what the difference is between an SD card
formatted with FAT32 that's not labeled as SDHC and a "proper" SDHC card, and
work with NewEgg if they'll accommodate something to save me the 15%
restocking fee. That is, how do the 2.0 and prior (1.1, was it?) versions of
the SDA spec differ other than the FAT32 format (and the new way of rating
speed; which has no bearing on compatibility, only performance).

I guess I'll just order a 2GB card until SDHC gets a bit more mature and I
have a clear idea of what 4GB (or larger) cards DO work with the FZ50, given
that another response from someone who had a 4GB card fail in the camera
gives me little confidence in being able to order another brand and have it
work. I'd like to primarily shoot RAW format, which is my main reason for
wanting as much capacity as possible (less than 100 RAW pics fit on a 2GB
card).

Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 22:10:28 -0400, Erik Harris
<n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com> wrote:

>On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 09:50:01 -0700, Bill Funk <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:01:40 -0400, Erik Harris
>><n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:04:50 +0800, "Leung Wai Hung" <(E-Mail Removed)>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>FZ50 supports SDHC cards in case of capacity larger than 2GB.
>>>>
>>>>But RiData 150X 4GB is SD only! That's why FZ50 can't recognize it but card
>>>>reader can.
>>>
>>>...so what exactly IS an SDHC card, but an SD card formatted in FAT32 format
>>>(thus allowing sizes over 2GB)?
>>>
>>>I haven't been able to find a whole lot of specific information, but from
>>>what I did find before making this purchase, it doesn't seem that there's any
>>>other difference between the two formats. That leads me to the assumption
>>>that cards with capacities above 2GB that weren't labeled as SDHC were
>>>basically just those cards that did it before the SD Association blessed it
>>>with the 2.0 standard.
>
>>This might help:
>>http://www.sandisk.com/sdhc/SDHC.pdf
>
>It really doesn't, unfortunately. It says that SD cards can be formatted in
>the 4-32GB range (i.e. higher address space because it's using FAT32 instead
>of FAT16), and that it's not backwards compatible with previous versions of
>SD (i.e. because devices designed for the FAT16 file system won't work with
>FAT32-formatted storage devices). It also goes into the new speed rating
>system, which is nice because most cards are currently only rated for their
>read speeds.
>
>However, it doesn't tell me what the difference is between an SD card
>formatted with FAT32 that's not labeled as SDHC and a "proper" SDHC card, and
>work with NewEgg if they'll accommodate something to save me the 15%
>restocking fee. That is, how do the 2.0 and prior (1.1, was it?) versions of
>the SDA spec differ other than the FAT32 format (and the new way of rating
>speed; which has no bearing on compatibility, only performance).
>
>I guess I'll just order a 2GB card until SDHC gets a bit more mature and I
>have a clear idea of what 4GB (or larger) cards DO work with the FZ50, given
>that another response from someone who had a 4GB card fail in the camera
>gives me little confidence in being able to order another brand and have it
>work. I'd like to primarily shoot RAW format, which is my main reason for
>wanting as much capacity as possible (less than 100 RAW pics fit on a 2GB
>card).

Well, I'm one of those people who figures that if something won't
work, it won't work, and spending a lot of effort figuring out why it
won't work is pretty pointless, other than as a mental excersize.
The second paragraph is pretty specific:
"Because SDHC works differently than standard SD cards, this new
format is not backwards compatible with legacy SD format host
devices."
But, DPReview says the FZ50 is compatible with SDHC
(http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...ic_dmcfz50.asp),
so it would seem evident that your problem with the RiData 150X 4GB
card is that it's too big for the FZ50 as an SD card, and in order to
be recognized, it needs to be an SDHC card. It doesn't matter what the
differences betwen a 4GB SD card and a 4GB SDHC card are unless you
can turn the card you have into a SDHC card. I can't seem to find a
way to do this (probably because if anyone could do so, the makers
would lose a munch of bunny).
Sorry. :-(
--
Bill Funk
replace "g" with "a"

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 20:56:34 -0700, Bill Funk <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>>However, it doesn't tell me what the difference is between an SD card
>>formatted with FAT32 that's not labeled as SDHC and a "proper" SDHC card, and
>>work with NewEgg if they'll accommodate something to save me the 15%

>Well, I'm one of those people who figures that if something won't
>work, it won't work, and spending a lot of effort figuring out why it
>won't work is pretty pointless, other than as a mental excersize.

Some of us just like to know stuff. Aside from that, though, it could
help in picking a replacement if I have a better idea of what's what. A few
companies are labelling their larger SD cards with the SDHC label, but a
number of them are just calling them SD. Some of those (like OCZ) have info
buried on their website saying that the larger cards require a device
compatible with the SDA 2.0 spec - i.e. the spec that adds SDHC support (and
specifically-non-SDHC cards that use the new SDHC speed class ratings, like
Panasonic's). So whether a card is _labeled_ SDHC or not seems to have
little relationship to whether or not the card follows the SDHC spec.
(Perhaps done for continuity of manufacturing? Perhaps there are additional
costs associated with licensing the new logo or getting their cards tested
for the new speed classses?). I want to know what's what, and it seems that
the question that comes before "which ones are really SDHC?" is "is there
even a difference aside from file system format?"

Bottom line - I want to know what I can use in my camera. I tried a 4GB card
that appeared to be compatible, and it doesn't work. Another person who
replied said he has the same problem with a 4GB "SDHC" card, suggesting that
he had a card labeled as such, and it didn't work either - and suggesting
that there's more to compatibility with this camera than just SDHC vs
non-SDHC (or that he was mistaken on what kind of card he had). The camera's
manual specifically mentions 4GB cards, and Panasonic even sells an SDHC card
that's listed as an accessory in the camera's manual (Panasonic's cards cost
2-4 times as much as anyone else's, for only a Class 2 rating, so that's not
an option)

>The second paragraph is pretty specific:
>"Because SDHC works differently than standard SD cards, this new
>format is not backwards compatible with legacy SD format host
>devices."

That's pretty darn vague, actually. FAT32 vs. FAT16 could be "works
differently." Or there could be more substantive differences.

Erik Harris http://www.eHarrisHome.com
n$wsr$ader@$harrishom$.com - replace each dollar sign with an e
Chinese-Indonesian Martial Arts Club http://www.kungfu-silat.com