Problem with SanDisk 4GB Ultra II compact flash card

Hi,
I bought a Lexar Ultra II 4 GBytes compact flash
card, and put it in my Canon 1D Mark II camera.
It showed only 2 GB. I put it in my flash card reader
on my PC. It showed only 2 GBytes. I reformatted
it in the camera and it still showed only 2 GBytes.

I have several Lexar 40 and 80x 4 GByte cards and
have never had this problem.

Documentation with the card says nothing.
On the card it says:

[left half circle symbol] 3. - 2GB for fat 16 SLRs
[right half circle symbol] 2. - 2GB for fat 16 SLRs
[full circle symbol] 4. - 4GB for fat 32 SLRs

The 1D Mark II does fat 32 on the lexar cards.

Does anyone know how I can get beyond the 2 GB limit?

Roger

 

Try formatting it while it's in the card reader. It's hard to believe a 1D
formats to Fat16, but you never know.

 

typo error: the full circle position is 1 not 4.

I figured it out.
There is a switch on the side of the card to select
the 3 positions noted above. This information should
have been shipped with the card. It took a while digging on
the sandisk web site to find this information.
I finally found a pdf describing the switch. A big
red flag is that if you change the switch position,
to use 4 GB (from the sandisk pdf):

"When you switch to position #1 all data on the card may
be lost. Even if the data is not deleted, it will not be viewable
in position #1. Please save data to a PC before
switching to position # 1 (4 GB)."

So what happens if in the field you accidentally switch from
position 1 to 2 or 3? Do you lose all your images?
Has anyone had a problem with this switch?

The flimsy feel of the switch to me means this is the
last one of these cards I buy.

Roger

 

I figured it out.

That does sound rather weak, but at least you will only use it once. For the
record, I've been using a (switchless) Ultra II 2 gig for about six months and
have zero complaints.

 

Just in case it's news, 2GB is the limit for fat16. There is probably a
way to get the camera to format in fat 32, and the format utility in Win
should allow you to specify fat32.

Colin

 

It's only an (educated) guess, but I'd be very surprised if you lost
anything just by flicking the switch (unless there's a battery inside,
there's nothing in the CF able to change the data). Provided you noticed
(that might be the hard bit!) and returned it to the correct setting before
putting the card in the camera or reader, I would think you'd be OK. I'd
even hazard a guess that trying to _read_ the card while the switch is in
the wrong position won't lose anything (but probably won't show what's on
the card). Providing you don't try WRITING to the card (i.e. take a shot
or format the card) there's a strong chance that you'll see your files if
you change the switch back to the correct setting.


Regards,
Graham Holden (g-holden AT dircon DOT co DOT uk)