SD memory card question

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

I'm dealing with another head scratcher so I'm turning to the PPOT brain trust for it's wisdom.

I received a game camera as a gift and set it up a few days ago. It went through 8 AA batteries overnight. The camera is made in China and the instruction book looks like it was translated from Chinese by an 8 year old Rumanian, so it's not much help.

Googling the camera came up with this:
"Use the specified Class 10 SD card or it will run your batteries down quickly."
So I figure that's the problem. Nope - turns out the card in the camera IS a Class 10
But the instruction book that came with the camera calls for a Class 8 card. The only Class 8 cards I can find are micro SD and the slot in the camera is for a full sized SD.
So my questions are:

1. Why should the wrong SD card run batteries down?

2. Will a micro SD in a full size adapter function the same as a full sized SD?

asphaltgambler · 11-08-2016, 07:47 AM

I don't see how a file storage device affects processing / run time as that's what is running the batteries down.........

stomachmonkey · 11-08-2016, 08:20 AM

Size and class of card should not matter.

Brand of card and partition format may.

Implementation of error checking can prevent the device form hibernating / entering a lower power mode. This can be a vendor specific implementation.

Get a dedicated SD card formatter.

Try ExFat if the camera supports it.

Try a different brand card.

stomachmonkey · 11-08-2016, 08:21 AM

And yes, a micro in a full size adapter works fine.

I use them all the time.

Neilk · 11-08-2016, 08:42 AM

And get rechargeable batteries. They seem to last much longer in cameras than the regular batteries, or that has been my experience in the past.

Esel Mann · 11-08-2016, 09:08 AM

To answer your questions:

1 - Not all SD cards are created equal when it comes to power consumption. Consult the datasheet (not to be confused with marketing brochure) for various SD cards to compare.

2 - micro-SD (physical package aside) is compatible. Simply choose an adapter.

Some other things to consider:

- Widgets and gadgets often have several modes of operation and power consumption can possibly vary depending upon mode of operation. Does any of the information you have discuss or mention modes of operation?

- Is there anywhere in the information you have which gives the power requirements (eg. 12v @ 100mA)? That would give an idea of expected run-time on the batteries. Sometimes there is even a label on the unit which has this information.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Why would you get a camera with the instructions in Romanian?

I kid.

Nickel metal hydride batteries seem to work pretty well, far better than the NiCad ones did. You can get a LOT of cycles out of them. Get two sets, so one can be in the charger and one in the camera. It may well be that it is only going to last 10 hours, or whatever, and you will have to swap them every day. AA ones are 2500 mAmp, like double what the NiCad ones were.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Thank you all. This is good info.
Power consumption is <0.3mA in idle mode, and since it only took one photo, it should have been in idle mode pretty much the whole time it was on. It's supposed to take 40,000 pictures on one set of batteries. It is 12 volt.
I'm going to try a different brand of card and see if that's the problem. A message board that references the camera has several comments about the wrong card being the source of short battery life. SM's comment "Implementation of error checking can prevent the device form hibernating / entering a lower power mode," sounds like a possibility.
I'll probably switch to rechargeable batteries after I get it going and know how long to expect the batteries to last. I made the mistake of running my Eneloops all the way down once. My "good" charger wouldn't recognize them when I tried to charge them. I had to get a cheepo charger that put some juice back in them before the good charger would recognize them.