Recommend an SDHC card?

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Kookoo

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#83012 8-May-2011 20:57

Hi all

I've got a Samsung WB600 camera, which is supposed to be very good for a "point and shoot" camera.
Problem is, it is misbehaving badly. Besides taking ages to process a shot, it has this funny noise that appears when playing back captured 720p videos. It's like faint mechanical noise, as if the camera's lens keeps moving, or almost as if it was a film camera and you can hear the motor running. The noise also appears when playing back the files after uploading them to a computer.
Samsung had a look at it under warranty, and determined that it was a problem with the SD card I've been using. I've since replaced the card at PB Tech (thanks guys), but the issues remain.
So I tried other brands, and nothing seems to help. So far I've tried a Panasonic class 4, a Sandisk class 4 and an Apacer class 10.

Before I invest any more money in cards, can someone tell me:
1) Does this even sound like a card issue, or should I go back to Samsung and tell them they are wrong?
2) If it is a card issue, can you recommend a card/class combination for me?

Hello, Ground!

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#466912 8-May-2011 21:26

I can't see how the SD card could possibly be at fault here. If there were something wrong with the card then you'd get file corruption or total failure to read/write, but you wouldn't get a foreign noise overlaid onto an otherwise intact file.

From what I understand it's not unusual to get a bit of motor noise when recording videos on a compact camera due to the AF motor making continuous adjustments.

Kookoo

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#466932 8-May-2011 22:44

alasta: I can't see how the SD card could possibly be at fault here. If there were something wrong with the card then you'd get file corruption or total failure to read/write, but you wouldn't get a foreign noise overlaid onto an otherwise intact file.

Thanks alasta. That's what I thought, but they tell me they tried another SD card and got no noise. I forgot to ask them what brand they used, so will try to get hold of them next week.

alasta: From what I understand it's not unusual to get a bit of motor noise when recording videos on a compact camera due to the AF motor making continuous adjustments.

I'd have thought so, but when I tested it for the issue I simply pointed it at the wall and let it record video for 20 seconds. No reason for AF to make any adjustments really.

Hello, Ground!

sbaird

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#466937 8-May-2011 23:16

General recommend a Class 6 or better card for HD Video.
Adata, Lexar and Sandisk are 3 brands
Doesn't Sound like a SD card problem tho

Gadgetcity

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#466975 9-May-2011 08:10

Pointing at a wall will not turn off the focus motor. In fact, a blank wall might make it work harder than it should as there would be little contrast.
The OIS will still be running as well.

Can you disable OIS and set it to manual focus while doing video? If you can and the noise disappears then it will be easier to identify the source as motor noise.

It would be highly unusual for the card to be responsible for the noise (but not completely impossible).

Chainsaw

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#467586 10-May-2011 14:49

Does the video make a noise when played on a PC? IF not, then it's not lens AF noise.

Sounds totally dodgy to me, how can it possibly be the card making noises? What moving parts does it have? Plus you've tried about 5 different cards. Take it back to the shop and say it's not fit.

Kookoo

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#467594 10-May-2011 15:02

Chainsaw: Does the video make a noise when played on a PC? IF not, then it's not lens AF noise.

Yes, PC playback still has the same noise, so it is definitely noise which is being actually recorded as part of the audio capture.

Hello, Ground!

alexx

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#467606 10-May-2011 15:28

I guess this is one reason professional video cameras are often seen with some sort of boom microphone.

Is there a possibility to plug in an external mic and shoot a test video?
If this video is free of mechanical noises, then no point in messing around with different memory cards.

As mentioned - can you switch off autofocus - do most of your videos need auto focus?

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Kookoo

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#468839 13-May-2011 16:47

alexx: I guess this is one reason professional video cameras are often seen with some sort of boom microphone.

Is there a possibility to plug in an external mic and shoot a test video?
If this video is free of mechanical noises, then no point in messing around with different memory cards.

As mentioned - can you switch off autofocus - do most of your videos need auto focus?

It's not a video camera, it's a stills camera with a HD video capability, so there are very limited settings I can change, and there is definitely no way to hook up an external mic.

Funnily enough, I just talked to Samsung, and surprise-surprise... they told me I should use a Samsung Class 6 card.

ARE THEY FOR REAL?! I couldn't find even a single stockist of Samsung SDHC cards in New Zealand.
I am sure there are SDHC cards out there with a Samsung chipset, but they couldn't even tell me which brands were using Samsung chips in their cards.

I am not sure what my options are at this stage, but I am sure of two things:
1) Samsung are a bunch of muppets
2) This was my first ever and last ever purchase of any type of a Samsung product.

Hello, Ground!

Gadgetcity

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#468903 13-May-2011 20:36

Kookoo:
alexx:
As mentioned - can you switch off autofocus - do most of your videos need auto focus?

It's not a video camera, it's a stills camera with a HD video capability, so there are very limited settings I can change, and there is definitely no way to hook up an external mic.

You can disable OIS and auto focus to prove that it is one/both of those causing the video noise.

Batman

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#468931 13-May-2011 22:04

i use a class 4 and get perfect 1080p recording from my Canon DSLR. i wonder how you can convince them it's not the SD card ...

Batman

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#468934 13-May-2011 22:10

hang on a sec - you have a problem with mechanical noise ... how can that be an SD card issue?!!!

autofocus noise is very common. what you need to argue is not that there is a noise and if they can fix it - they can't.

your argument should be - it makes noisy recordings and you want a refund! (although unlikely that it will be approved ... as someone said focus once and turn off autofocus if you can't live with the noise. on my DSLR i do manual focussing.)

Kookoo

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#468945 13-May-2011 22:32

Gadgetcity:

You can disable OIS and auto focus to prove that it is one/both of those causing the video noise.

I can't disable af in video mode. It only allows macro or af.
I tested it with resolutions from 640 to 1280HQ, with focus on af and on macro, with OIS on and off, with scene detection on and off - the noise is always there.

joker97: i use a class 4 and get perfect 1080p recording from my Canon DSLR. i wonder how you can convince them it's not the SD card ...

No idea, but I'll give them a call on Monday and will scream and shout. It's a real shame, because as a point-and-shoot stills camera it is an awesome device, but this video problem is very very annoying.

Hello, Ground!

Kookoo

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#468946 13-May-2011 22:40

joker97: hang on a sec - you have a problem with mechanical noise ... how can that be an SD card issue?!!!

autofocus noise is very common. what you need to argue is not that there is a noise and if they can fix it - they can't.

your argument should be - it makes noisy recordings and you want a refund! (although unlikely that it will be approved ... as someone said focus once and turn off autofocus if you can't live with the noise. on my DSLR i do manual focussing.)

I wish I knew the answer to that. The note that they provided with the camera when it came back from repairs was very clear - couldn't reproduce noise with the test SD, was able to reproduce the noise with customer's SD. No camera fault found, customer's SD faulty, recommend replacement.

I don't see why af would cause THAT much noise, and more importantly, why would af even move. For my tests I placed the camera on a table, aimed it at a bright-coloured toy about 50 to 60 cm away on the same table, and let it run for 10 seconds. No matter what I tried in terms of settings, the noise was always there.

Hello, Ground!

Batman

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#468950 13-May-2011 22:54

1) ask them to EXPLAIN why a "faulty" SD card records audio noise into a digital file. tell them you not stupid.

2) send them all your clips that has the noise and tell them just because they cannot reproduce it does not mean it does not exist. you are not happy with the product and you want either a store credit or a refund. isn't the customer always right?

it sounds like FAULTY software to me!

Batman

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#468951 13-May-2011 22:56

*cheekily* ( *tsk if your SDHC cards are 16GB and above and you don't want them are you open to offers )

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