Mini SD card for Zaxcom recorder

[Tapio]

Hi,

as I mentioned in another topic, I recently bought a Zaxcom ZFR100 recorder. It works great but uses a bit rare memory card format: Mini SD.

Everybody is selling either Micro SD or the standard SD and most shops haven't even heard of MiniSD. Any ideas where I could buy a couple of 4GB cards?

I only found this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Card+Type_Mini+SD&ci=1097&N=4270508873+4294955780

ZFR user manual lists acceptable memory cards and accordig to that list only Transcend 2GB and 4GB are approved. Not SanDisk for example. Strange...

What I really would like to buy is a MicroSD to MiniSD adapter since I have tens of 8GB MicroSD cards for my helmet cams.

-Tapio

[Jack Norflus]

Try NewEgg.com

New Egg

[Boomboom]

Yep:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208474

... and use the adaptor.

Don't forget to make a test with your different cards+adaptors before going on a gig with them... you basically put the card in the unit and let it record for a few hours then check for errors on the unit's screen...

[Tapio]

Thanks! That looks exactly what I'm looking for, but...

Newegg.com does not currently ship internationally; we only deliver to locations within the United States and to Puerto Rico.

...and I live in Finland.

-Tapio

[johnpaul215]

The miniSD was more common at the time. I'm guessing that is why the new Zaxcom units use microSD.

I *think* I had a car GPS unit that used miniSD if I remember right, I know there was a bunch of consumer electronic devices that did use them. The adapter is the way to go these days. You could try Ebay if you don't have something like Newegg that will ship to you.

Does Amazon ship to you? The US store has microSD cards with mini and full sized adapters.

Somebody else can jump in about "approved cards", but that doesn't mean other cards won't work, just that they have not gotten the same amount of testing. Theoretically somebody else can chime in with what cards are working for them. I just have the one card in my TRX900 ENG hop that I use for backup, but can't recall what brand it is. It's a backup that I almost never access, so I can't testify that it's flawless.

[Jack Norflus]

Somebody else can jump in about "approved cards", but that doesn't mean other cards won't work, just that they have not gotten the same amount of testing. Theoretically somebody else can chime in with what cards are working for them. I just have the one card in my TRX900 ENG hop that I use for backup

With regard to the TRX900 - the latest software makes a lot more card usable. But last time I checked in with Howy he was recommending either SanDisc or Transcend class 6 cards for the TRX.

But regardless ALWAYS do a test with any new card before using it in the field - even if it is an "approved card". There have been cases where cards have had bad sectors causing them to be unusable with the recorders.

[rich]

i can recommend the transcend class 6 4gb sdhc micro sd cards with the micro to mini sd adapter. have about 7 and theyve been pretty reliable for me.

do not get the sandisc class 4 4gb mini sdhc cards. they were sent on a job i did recently and they wouldnt record for more than 15 minutes.

the trx900 (at least the ones i own) seem to be very choosy about the cards they like, even though they should all pretty much be fast enough to write the data, it seems there is some background stuff that the card does that doesnt play nicely with the transmitter.

[Jack Norflus]

the trx900 (at least the ones i own) seem to be very choosy about the cards they like Transcend

If the Transcend works for you stick with it. But are you running the latest TRX software? The latest software should allow you to use a wider range of cards, this way if you find yourself with out your Transcends you still might be able to use other cards.

[rich]

yes, i am running the latest software, and have had some discussion with Howy on the deva group about card compatibility. i bought some transcend 4gig mini sd cards that were the same model number as i bought 2 years previously. the old one i still have works fine, the new ones i got wont work, and i sent one of the to Howy to see if he could get it to work, though have not heard one way or the other if he could, nor seen any new software that improves this.

on the job i was doing where we had issues with the sandisc cards, one of the the recordists also had some kingston cards with him. i tried one of them as i remembered that Howy had done some work to improve card compatibility, specifically aimed at kingston cards. and whilst the transmitter would recognise the card which it wouldnt do previously, it didnt stay in record any longer than the sandisc cards. i couldnt tell you what class or model the kingston cards were, but they worked fine with his 552.

so whilst i may be able to use other cards, i would have no confidence in their reliability.

it would be nice if zaxcom could get hold of some commonly available cards and test them and update the compatibility table in the manual though.

[Jack Norflus]

I was also told by Howy that there are counterfeit card out there that - so beware and only buy from a reputable dealer.

Perhaps users could post what has been work well for them.

For about the past 6 months I've been using exclusively the Transcend 4gb class 6 with no issues.