I think I got lucky with memory cards

[Bad Santa]

When I was playing with my drone, it kept saying something about my memory card being too slow.
Not a huge surprise because my cards were top-of-the- line when I got them a few years ago. They were all class 10. Bought them for my GoPro.
Well, I found out that DJI recommends U3/V30 cards so I went to buy some.
I went to aliexpress to order some. (Don't shame me)
They had San Disk (best brand) clones (San Diam) 256Gb for $3.44 each so I ordered 4 of them.
San Disk, same specs, were $25 each.

I watched some videos comparing the cards and it turns out the clones have a 50% defect rate. I was kind of bummed but figured I'd run tests on them to make sure they were good.
Even if only one of the cards checked out it was still a savings and I could use the others for transferring files.

Well....

They accidentally sent me genuine 256Gb San Disk memory cards with the same U3/V30 specs.

So $100 worth of cards for $16.

Probably used up all my luck for the year.

 

[VenomXts]

I'd test fill one up and check personally, I love cheap but nothing has pissed me off more than losing a photoshoot to a defective card or having one up in the air when i am trying to shoot. And anything coming from aliexpress has a possibility to be counterfeit.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I suggest that if you have a windows computer you do a full check of each card with h2testw. Be warned it I very slow ..... but good.
Can't comment on speed checkers.

 

[Bad Santa]

I'm using a program very similar to that, and just as slow.
Testing at @ 600MB/minute. 256GB will take around 7 hours (f my math is right)

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I'm using a program very similar to that, and just as slow.
Testing at @ 600MB/minute. 256GB will take around 7 hours (f my math is right)

Oh spill the beans, the program's name is what ?
I think my h2testw tests of 128gb cards were 3+ hours long, 7 hours would be off putting.
Can your program be stopped and restarted once the "write" phase had been completed. I recollect h2testw can be directed to just do the read test.

 

[Ldwillie1216]

Proceed with caution, I had some a few years ago that would save/uisd fine, but then would only allow me a portion of the data when I went to retrieve.

The 128G would only allow 8G to be transferred off. The 64G would only allow 4G to be transferred off.

They were absolutely identical visually to the legit SD cards but failed the H2Test software.

 

[Bad Santa]

EaseUS

I wasn't being coy. I was doing it on a different computer in a different room.
It looks like it won't do a speed test but that's also limited by my computer. It's getting kind of old.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I wasn't being coy

I didn't think you were, I was just teasing.
My computer is old too, it would be interesting to know how quickly modern ones can run the likes of our testers.

 

[mavic3usa]

These tests are performed overnight so when you wake up in the morning, you have a good card or a fake. Since you only do it once, no worries. We're getting into 256g, 512g, 1TB so they're going to be longish. I use h2testw.

 

[Xi Zhou]

SanDisk MicroSD cards are NOT the best, they use a bizarre controller system that is more like RAID0. SanDisk cards typically read/write at higher speeds but also typically corrupt much more often than other brands. As a result, SanDisk MicroSD's get HOT which means they are more likely to corrupt data.

Samsungs are usually more reliable but with lower sustained r/w speeds, causing dropouts.

However, DJI drones do not seem to care for Samsung MicroSD cards.

Regular SD cards, SanDisks are typically the most reliable.

 

[mavic3usa]

SanDisk MicroSD cards are NOT the best, they use a bizarre controller system that is more like RAID0. SanDisk cards typically read/write at higher speeds but also typically corrupt much more often than other brands. As a result, SanDisk MicroSD's get HOT which means they are more likely to corrupt data.

Samsungs are usually more reliable but with lower sustained r/w speeds, causing dropouts.

However, DJI drones do not seem to care for Samsung MicroSD cards.

Regular SD cards, SanDisks are typically the most reliable.

Here's the DJI recommended list I try to stick to as best I can for drones where the content matter the most:

List of Recommended Storage Cards for Drones

List of Recommended Storage Cards for Drones

support.dji.com

 

[Bad Santa]

Here's the DJI recommended list I try to stick to as best I can for drones where the content matter the most:

List of Recommended Storage Cards for Drones

List of Recommended Storage Cards for Drones

support.dji.com

Well, their list for the DJI Mini 4, which I have, includes the 256 GB: SanDisk Extreme V30 A2, which is what I have.

I think I'm good at 4 of them for $16

 

[EssenYVR]

They had San Disk (best brand) clones (San Diam) 256Gb for $3.44 each so I ordered 4 of them.

Those kinds of prices virtually guarantee that you get a fake card. The Chinese scammers have no problems making fake cards that look genuine, along with all the packaging. Make d@mn sure you test them before you rely on them, and count yourself extremely fortunate if they actually work and hold as much as they claim.

 

[Xi Zhou]

Those kinds of prices virtually guarantee that you get a fake card. The Chinese scammers have no problems making fake cards that look genuine, along with all the packaging. Make d@mn sure you test them before you rely on them, and count yourself extremely fortunate if they actually work and hold as much as they claim.

some are also factory rejects, so they usually fail under prolonged writes.

 

[Bad Santa]

All four memory cards passed the surface write testing.
I need to get a free speed test program. One that's not going to spy on me.