Problems with Fujifilm XD cards
Hi everyone!
I recently moved to my first Mac, and have been slowly introducing various peripherals, including my much-loved Fujifilm F30 camera.
While I haven't had many problems with the changeover, the F30 is proving a major stumbling point. Could anyone help me figure out how to negotiate this? I'd be really grateful for any help!
In short, when I use my MBP to delete photos from my XD card, it deletes the files happily. However, when I then insert the same XD card into my camera, it tells me that the card is full, and I cannot take any more photos.
Basically, I think I have compatability issues with the XD card and the MPB.
Longer version:
1) If I connect the F30 camera directly to my MBP, using the provided cable, the computer doesn't recognise it at all. It's not simply a case of not being able to read the files, or copy them across - it doesn't recognised that there is any camera attached. As it happens, my brother has the same camera, so I tried borrowing his cable (in case mine had become faulty). Same problem.
I checked the Fuji website, and I shouldn't need any drivers (I'm using OSX, 10.5.6).
I have never had any trouble with either cable or camera with previous laptop, and it still transfers happily to PCs. In other words, I don't think the camera is faulty. It seemed like some kind of compatability issue, but it was a real mystery.
2) I bought a USB card reader, to see if this would help. This is the beastie I chose:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-USB-XD-Card-Reader/dp/B00172017W/ref=cmcr_pr_product_tophttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-USB-XD-Card-Reader/dp/B0017201 7W/ref=cm_cr_pr_producttop
At first: triumph! MPB immediately detected the USB, and I could transfer the photos on my XD card easily to my hard-drive. No problem opening or manipulating the files, either - I've been playing with them on Picasa, and all is well with the .jpgs - no corruptions that I can see.
However, when I try to delete the photos from my XD card, something goes awry.
I had transferred the .jpgs in question to my hard-drive, then returned to the USB to delete the original files. This seemed straighforward, and was easily done (with the files moved to trash). But - here's the weirdness - when I insert the XD card to my camera:
a) the files are gone (hurray!)
b) there is no free space.
In other words, having deleted all the files on my 512MB XD card, the camera told me that my XD card was full.
I used the camera's own buttons to review the XD card - i.e. inserted the XD card into the F30, and pressed 'play' to open up the memory. There was nothing there. The camera could not show me any photographs.
So I now have the very strange situation of:
- having no photographs on the XD memory
- being told that the card is full, and I cannot take any more photos.
Help?!
Some more info:
As it happens, I have a second XD card, a 1GB XD. I tried an experiment. I noted how many photographs were left on the card: 63 shots.
I inserted the card into my USB card reader, deleted c.20 photographs already backed up elsewhere, and reinserted the XD card into my camera.
There were still only 63 shots left.
I used the camera's own interface to delete a shot. Remaining space: 64 shots.
In other words, only those files deleted by my Mac are affected.
Why not just use the camera to delete files, then? Well, in the short-term, it doesn't help my poor, borked 512MB XD card. I have no files to delete, and so I can't convince my camera that there is, in fact, room. Any files I deleted seems to be dead space now, with no clear way to retrieve it.
In the long-term, though, this is troubling. Yes, I could buy more XD cards (which aren't cheap, but let's just go with this). I could decide that the 512 MB card is now dead, and the 1GB card somewhat damaged. I could restrict myself to only delete photos on the F30 itself.
However, this is a major disappointment, and very frustrating. I take hundreds of photos, and to go through them one by one, pressing 'delete, ok' for each of them in turn would be hugely time intensive (and draining on battery power, while travelling).
I would dearly love to find a way to do negotiate this - any ideas? It feels like this is a formatting issue, but I don't know for sure. Has anyone else used an F30 with their Mac? Any solutions? 🙂
I recently moved to my first Mac, and have been slowly introducing various peripherals, including my much-loved Fujifilm F30 camera.
While I haven't had many problems with the changeover, the F30 is proving a major stumbling point. Could anyone help me figure out how to negotiate this? I'd be really grateful for any help!
In short, when I use my MBP to delete photos from my XD card, it deletes the files happily. However, when I then insert the same XD card into my camera, it tells me that the card is full, and I cannot take any more photos.
Basically, I think I have compatability issues with the XD card and the MPB.
Longer version:
1) If I connect the F30 camera directly to my MBP, using the provided cable, the computer doesn't recognise it at all. It's not simply a case of not being able to read the files, or copy them across - it doesn't recognised that there is any camera attached. As it happens, my brother has the same camera, so I tried borrowing his cable (in case mine had become faulty). Same problem.
I checked the Fuji website, and I shouldn't need any drivers (I'm using OSX, 10.5.6).
I have never had any trouble with either cable or camera with previous laptop, and it still transfers happily to PCs. In other words, I don't think the camera is faulty. It seemed like some kind of compatability issue, but it was a real mystery.
2) I bought a USB card reader, to see if this would help. This is the beastie I chose:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-USB-XD-Card-Reader/dp/B00172017W/ref=cmcr_pr_product_tophttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-USB-XD-Card-Reader/dp/B0017201 7W/ref=cm_cr_pr_producttop
At first: triumph! MPB immediately detected the USB, and I could transfer the photos on my XD card easily to my hard-drive. No problem opening or manipulating the files, either - I've been playing with them on Picasa, and all is well with the .jpgs - no corruptions that I can see.
However, when I try to delete the photos from my XD card, something goes awry.
I had transferred the .jpgs in question to my hard-drive, then returned to the USB to delete the original files. This seemed straighforward, and was easily done (with the files moved to trash). But - here's the weirdness - when I insert the XD card to my camera:
a) the files are gone (hurray!)
b) there is no free space.
In other words, having deleted all the files on my 512MB XD card, the camera told me that my XD card was full.
I used the camera's own buttons to review the XD card - i.e. inserted the XD card into the F30, and pressed 'play' to open up the memory. There was nothing there. The camera could not show me any photographs.
So I now have the very strange situation of:
- having no photographs on the XD memory
- being told that the card is full, and I cannot take any more photos.
Help?!
Some more info:
As it happens, I have a second XD card, a 1GB XD. I tried an experiment. I noted how many photographs were left on the card: 63 shots.
I inserted the card into my USB card reader, deleted c.20 photographs already backed up elsewhere, and reinserted the XD card into my camera.
There were still only 63 shots left.
I used the camera's own interface to delete a shot. Remaining space: 64 shots.
In other words, only those files deleted by my Mac are affected.
Why not just use the camera to delete files, then? Well, in the short-term, it doesn't help my poor, borked 512MB XD card. I have no files to delete, and so I can't convince my camera that there is, in fact, room. Any files I deleted seems to be dead space now, with no clear way to retrieve it.
In the long-term, though, this is troubling. Yes, I could buy more XD cards (which aren't cheap, but let's just go with this). I could decide that the 512 MB card is now dead, and the 1GB card somewhat damaged. I could restrict myself to only delete photos on the F30 itself.
However, this is a major disappointment, and very frustrating. I take hundreds of photos, and to go through them one by one, pressing 'delete, ok' for each of them in turn would be hugely time intensive (and draining on battery power, while travelling).
I would dearly love to find a way to do negotiate this - any ideas? It feels like this is a formatting issue, but I don't know for sure. Has anyone else used an F30 with their Mac? Any solutions? 🙂
