HDR-AS15 File format/ corruption problem

[bstark]

hi all. I have recently bought an HDR-AS15 and love the image quality, but am enfuriated by a problem with the files seemingly getting corrupted. I have a Class 10 32GB Samsung Micro SD card loaded and primarily i bought the camera to record my daily half hour cycle commute to and from work.

I find that the camera records fine for the first two rides of my week, but then after that while the camera appears to record fine, the file will not then play in either VLC, Quicktime or PlayMemories Home - it says the file type is not supported, when of course it is still an MP4 and no settings have been changed. In PlayMemories home and on my Mac, the icon for these files does not come up with a screen grab of the video but just the generic MP4 icon... and then I know the file is useless.

If I wipe the Micro SD card and then re-format it on the camera, it will then start to record again but after two videos of approx 3gb each (still only 6GB gone of my 32GB card), the file saves as something that appears to be an MP4, but without a screen grab icon, and will not open in any media player (nor can it be restored by third party software). Has anyone come across this problem? Is it the camera, or my SD card, or am I doing something wrong? I bought the camera to be able to record half an hour, twice a day, for a week - then delete my videos at the end. But with this problem I'm having to wipe the camera and re-format onc e a day - no good. thanks Ben

[Catmambo]

Hi

Gut feeling is that it might be the card - have you tried any others? May well not be a problem with yours but counterfeit/fake memory cards are a real issue for the industry as a whole, so definitely worth trying another one purchased from a reputable vendor just to see if that's the issue or not. Like you say you shouldn't be needing to reformat every day. Make sure you also have the latest firmware for the AS15 also.

Hope this helps, but do post back after you have tested.

thanks

[johnohuk]

I'd agree with the card being the problem, I use a 32Gb Sandisk Class 10 and it plays fine in VLC... Firmware is 3.0.

[Danathril]

Its not the card, i have the same problem with my camera. Its a design flaw in the memory card slot.

If you look closely the slot is designed perfecly to fit an M2 memory card, the profile of the slot is the same as an M2 card, and when you place an M2 card in it fits perfectly and cannot move.

If you place a Micro SD in the slot you may notice that you can easily move it around and dislodge it, meaning that all or some of the contacts are not aligned, and therefore creating corrupt files.

I have tested this by shaking the camera, although by no means as much as it would be shaken if I had it attached to my mountain bike on a single track (which is what its designed for, amongst other uses) and the problem was recreated.