SD Card Not Recognized By Camera Connection Kit

Question

Level 1

137 points

SD Card Not Recognized By Camera Connection Kit

Just freshley formatted my Patriot SDXC EP 64GB Class 10 SD Card in my Canon EOS Rebel T3, and took a few test pictures using it. I then immediately put it into mynew iPad and got the following message:

"Contents not available, cannot read the connected storage media"

I then tested in my friend's new iPad, and got the same message. I put it in my original iPad and once again got the same message. I then rebooted all of the iPads using the Power + Home buttons method and shut them down and turn them back on, both with and without the Camera kit adapter. The results were the same.

Only then did I pop it into my MacBook Pro to check it. The card quickly shows up, and checking it, I find it is correctly formmated as a MS-DOS (FAT) with an ExFAT volume. Inside are two folders: a DCIM and a MISC, inside the DCIM folder is a 100CANON folder with two test shots inside it: IMG_0029.jpg and IMG_0030.jpg, as well as an EOSMISC folder.

I can easily preview the JPGs in the Finder. So the card seems to be fine.

What's going on here? The card works in the camera, it works in the Mac, and it appears to be correctly formatted by the camera.

I've reformatted the card, rebooted the iPads. Unfortunately I do not have another SD card to try in the iPad reader. But I fail to see why an SD card that works in everything else won't work in any of the iPads.

At this point is there anything else I can do, or should I just take it to an Apple Store?

Posted on Jul 29, 2012 8:05 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 29, 2012 8:17 PM in response to Woodwyn

In order for the iPad to read the contents of and SD card on your iPad, the files need to be named in the standard 8 digit naming convention.

Files should be named something like this in the DCIM directory: DNS_0001

This is a user settable option in your camera, so make sure you guide your camera to name the files correctly (at least for the CCK on iPad) and you'll find they download easily from there.

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Answer 2

Woodwyn Author

Level 1

137 points

Jul 29, 2012 8:26 PM in response to lobsterghost1

Thanks, I have been reading this throughout the forum for similar questions. I know it was a lengthy post, but I did indicate that the files are named in the correct convention by my Canon T3 as follows:

IMG_0029.jpg

IMG_0030.jpg

Unless I missed something, this is the correct format, no? Or am I missing something?

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Answer 3

Jul 29, 2012 8:30 PM in response to Woodwyn

I read through your post too quickly and failed to see you are naming the files correctly. I don't really know what else to suggest. A trip to your Apple Store with the card, your camera and iPad would be a worthwhile trip.

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Answer 4

Dylrob

Level 2

280 points

Jul 29, 2012 11:30 PM in response to Woodwyn

The CCK currently does not support SDXC cards; It can't read the ExFAT format they use.

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Answer 5

Woodwyn Author

Level 1

137 points

Jul 30, 2012 7:43 AM in response to Dylrob

Wow. You are right. Had to Google this specifically, but there it was in the fine print on Apple's Camera Connection Kit, written in-line with all the media it does support, so you kind of have to do a double-take to catch it.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4101

Is this a HARDWARE restriction? Or is it merely that Apple has not licensed the drivers to support the exFAT file system? I'm just not familiar enough with the media to know ...

If its not a hardware issue, could I just format the card FAT?

I must say I'm a little perplexed by this as this kit was released a year after Apple had already been supporting SDXC in the 2009 MacBooks and iMacs ... http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3553#

Has Apple been into a retail store lately? I went to Fry's, Radio Shack, Target and Best Buy, and the only SD cards I could find we're SDXC. Now granted I was only looking at 16, 32 & 64GB, but seriously ... How can Apple not support the most popular media standard sold today with their flagship product?

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Answer 6

Woodwyn Author

Level 1

137 points

Jul 30, 2012 10:36 AM in response to Woodwyn

As it turns out, I was right.

YOU CAN USE SDXC CARDS as long as they are formatted FAT.

In this case, I formatted the card using Disk Utility on my MacBook Pro running Mountain Lion as a 64GB FAT format. Transferred several .jpgs and .m4vs to the DCIM folder I created on the card, and they all readily opened up and imported to the iPad just like they are supposed to.

As long as you can format the SDXC card using FAT (either in your camera or computer), then there should be no problem using the SDXC cards with your the iPad, allowing you to buy them and thereby future-proofing your purchase and remain full backward compatibility with SDHC only devices (assuming they do not have a 32GB limitation), until Apple gets around to updating their very dated technology.

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Answer 7

May 3, 2013 3:39 PM in response to Woodwyn

I hope you'll still see this message. I've just run into this issue today buying a 64 GB SDXC card for my Canon Powershot SX50. My plan was to take the camera and the iPad on vacation and leave my computer at home.

So here's my question--when you reformat the card as FAT, does it still format it as a full 64 GB card or does it reduce it to 32 GB?

Have you had any problems since you reformatted your card last year?

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Answer 8

whizzo

Level 1

29 points

Jul 9, 2013 8:16 PM in response to Rick Mansfield

FAT only formats up to 32GB. You'll lose the extra 32GB formatting that way.

See https://www.sdcard.org/developers/overview/capacity/

Bummer - I just bought a 64GB card for my NEX-6 and now I'll have to only offload the pictures on my Mini and not the iPad.

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Answer 9

locobuey

Level 1

0 points

Jul 23, 2013 5:10 AM in response to Woodwyn

Shouldn't it be possible to format the SDXC card using HFS+ filesystem? so that the whole 64Gb can be used and it can be used with the Ipad.

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Answer 10

Jan 7, 2014 3:21 PM in response to Woodwyn

exFAT is not yet supported by the major number of mobile devices. exFAT patent belogs to Microsoft. Any vendor that wants to use it would have to pay to Microsoft. It's all about money and politics. I would not expect it to me sorted in coming months.

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Answer 11

Jan 7, 2014 3:30 PM in response to Woodwyn

Looks like IOS 7 has exFAT support.

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