TZ1 and 4GB SD Card

[Dmares]

Has anybody yet tried if the Tizzi works with 4 GB cards ?

Thanks
Dennis

[genece]

I do not think it will work in the TZ1 but its my understanding it will work in the new FZ50.....But I do not have a Tizzy so I am not positive.

[tim11]

Just a thought....
Now and then there is a thread started off "I went on vacation.... blah blah blah.... took many pix with my 1/2/4GB card.... got back home.... can't download.....panic... disappointment"
Wisdom: don't leave all the eggs in one basket.

[Dmares]

Just a thought....
Now and then there is a thread started off "I went on vacation.... blah blah blah.... took many pix with my 1/2/4GB card.... got back home.... can't download.....panic... disappointment"
Wisdom: don't leave all the eggs in one basket.


Hi Tim

I agree with you. The question has arisen as we are thinking about buying the Panasonic SDR-S150, and this videocamera can take up to 4GB SD cards. If the TZ1 can take them too, it will make life for the family a lot easier, especially as they are really cheap now

Cheers
Dennis

[genece]

I heard that point made when they started selling the huge 256mb cards....

I see nothing wrong with large cards but there is a new technology behind the 4gb cards(SDHC) that only some devices can use.

And from what I can find the tizzy does not support the SDHC technology.

Just a thought....
Now and then there is a thread started off "I went on vacation.... blah blah blah.... took many pix with my 1/2/4GB card.... got back home.... can't download.....panic... disappointment"
Wisdom: don't leave all the eggs in one basket.

[tim11]

Point taken, Genece.
But like all accidents, it doesn't happen all the time and to everyone. Just to be on the safe side, I personally use four 512MB cards.

[BonjiB]

Wisdom: don't leave all the eggs in one basket.

Amen to that. My local photo shop salesperson mentioned to me that the 4 gig compact flash cards came down in price to 208 or something stupid like that. I don't shoot with any cards over 1 gig because i can't imagin losing more than 1 gig of pictures in one memory card failure. I've never had a card die on me but i'd rather it be a 1 gig than a 4 gig. I carry 4 1 gig cards with me on every shoot (professional that is) so in the event of a card failure, however unlikely it is, i won't lose too much data. I just got a 1 gig ATP 60x CF card (8.8 megabytes write speed) today for 25 bucks with a 15 dollar mail in from Fry's Electronics. I'd rather buy 4 of those than one 4 gig for 208 dollars.

[Dmares]

Hi All

thanks for your contribution, and I agree on the long run that it is better to have 4 x 1GB then 1 x 4 GB in case of loss, and I know what I am talking about. During Wilma I lost my camera with a 512 card and so only part of our photos were lost.

But as the Panasonic SDR S150 uses SD card and to record a reasonable amount of video you need a 4GB card ( about 1:30 hrs recording time) I just questioned if it would be possible to use the 4 GB card in the Tizzy, especially as it has a great video function too. ( 2GB Tizzy ~ 25min)

And I pay now less for a 4 GB card ( ~ 65€) than I payed two month ago for a 2 GB card ( 22mbit/sec)


Cheers
Dennis

[California]

Somebody will be along shortly with the proper technical explanation, but the short answer is No. You can't use a 4 gig card in a TZ1. This camera and I think all previous models use a format (addressing scheme) that can only see 2gb maximum. It would be pointless to format the large card with the old format, and possibly risky. And you couldn't use that mis-formatted 4gb card in the new video camera.

I'm glad to see Panasonic has the new 4gb technology in their newest models.

[ryanbrancel]

Most SD cameras and SD card readers (not just Panasonic) are unable to address cards larger than 2 GB because they rely on the FAT16 file system. It's due to the initial implementation of SecureDigital since FAT16 has always been recommended for removable storage for the best compatibility (e.g. floppy diskettes) and smaller allocation unit size to limit slack (wasted) space and limit fragmentation.

Some further info if interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAT16
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital

IMO, I really don't see a use for more than 2 GB with the TZ1. If you're shooting movies for that long I'd recommend a camcorder instead (I prefer the hard drive based camcorders).

-Ryan
http://ryanbrancel.googlepages.com/panasonicdmc-tz1review

[JMBZ71]

Just to support what others have said here, the TZ1 Owners Manual states that the TZ1 supports the FAT12 and FAT16 systems but does not support the FAT32 system. Thus, it's compatible with SD cards ranging in size from 8MB to 2GB. 4GB SD cards require FAT32 system compatibility.

JMBZ71