Lexar Cards being replaced "Lost Image condition"

[wcapald]

On DPReview today:

Lexar has issued a customer advisory regarding its Professional 80x speed CompactFlash cards (512MB - 4GB) following the news that there was a problem, described as 'lost image condition', when used with certain Canon digital SLRs. Lexar is now proposing to replace the affected cards. Owners must fill out a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) form and once they have received an RMA number, they will be sent a replacement Lexar card with the firmware installed. It is not possible to install the firmware. Affected cameras include the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, 1D Mark II, 20D and Digital Rebel XT/350D/Kiss Digital Nlast 4 digits of card edge stamp is A4B6 or 9171


http://www.dpreview.com/news/0506/05061001lexar_80xcards.asp

[scottbergerphoto]

Another reason to stay with SanDisk Ultra 2's.

[crusher420]

Yeah. I own nine different memory cards and not one of them is a Lexar....I know that I didn't do that on purpose....good thing my camera crack dealer only sells the SanDisk I guess. LOL!

[Jackal]

Owners must fill out a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) form and once they have received an RMA number, they will be sent a replacement Lexar card with the firmware installed.

Let me get this straight......

They just send you another one? Or must you send yours back first? Because mine hasn't had a problem and if this means a free lexar card then well..

(Most likely this is not the case and I have to send mine in but I can dream can't I?)

[EDIT]Nevermind I read the article. :p

[DwightMcCann]

Jackal, you must get an RMA by inputting the number on your card to a web form on the Lexar site to make sure it is affected, then mail yours back (and you are requested to attach Proof of Purchase ... yeah, right) and then they'll send you a replacement of their choice which may be refurbished. I had one card. I lost some important images. I sent my card in. I am still waiting for a replacement. They apparently knew of this problem for quite a while and sat on it. I am an unhappy camper. I think they should include a $100 coupon toward the purchase of a future Lexar card, or send you back two, or something to make up for the "pain and suffering". If not, I will never buy another Lexar card and will surely make "recommendations" on CF card brands at every opportunity.

[DeeplyDigital]

Thanks for the post!
I didn't have any problems, yet it is nice to know my cards are not affected.


J.

[Jackal]

If I've never experienced a problem with my card should I bother sending it in? If there was something wrong with the card surely I would have seen it after the 1,500 or so shots I've shot already.

It's my only card and I don't want to be left without it for days :(

[kevin_c]

I'm in the same boat as Jackal, no problems after hundreds of shots on two 512Mb Lexar cards. Is this a case of 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' - or do I mainly use my Sandisk Ultra II 1Gb card and relegate the Lexar's to 'back-up' ?

[gasrocks]

Jackal - you only have 1 card? wow. That would scare me way too much. All you eggs in 1 basket....Murphy's Law..... They do go bad, get dropped, whatever. Please have at least 2 cards! I have 8 cf cards that = a total of 9.5 gb

[Jackal]

I'm one very poor man right now.

I owe like $1,200 to my silly credit card company so I can't buy another card right now. (It wont be a Lexar if I do just to be safe).

If someone has a spare 256mb card to send a poor guy let me know ;)

[DwightMcCann]

Jackal, you can check the Lexar website to see if your card is endangered! For symptoms, my card had: (1) immediately after formatting, prior to any images, a file/image the camera said it couldn't figure out, (2) unreadable images due to "bogus jpg marker", (3) images that I had looked at that weren't there when I downloaded later.

If the NYC vendors ever get the 2G and 4G Sandisk Extreme IIIs back in stock I might be able to mail you a card. Don't let that credit card build up so high!

[Streetshooter]

Thanks for the post...I have 4 1-gig cards all with the same number that needs to be replaced...I never had a problem tho...but just to be safe...I'll send them in.......don

[d'homme]

I have a Lex. No problem. 2gb

[lancea]

My oldest (1GB card) isn't affected, but sadly my newest 2GB card is. The RMA email says turnaround is 5-7 days (from Australia), so not too bad - however they could take a leaf out of Intel's book. When they replaced all Pentium 90 chips they Fedex'd the replacement kit and included a prepaid courier envelope for the return. There wasn't any need to do without your computer. Cost them $squillions. Mind you, the value of the CPU was LOTS more than the Lexar card.

Even if Lexar can't afford to send the "fixed" cards first, it does seem rather pointless to require proof of purchase. The card I get could be someone else's (I'll have to check for photos!), but they do say it will be of "equal or greater capacity". Any bets on the likelihood that it will be a 4GB card? :)

[dmstraton]

I had one of these cards go "bad" 2 days after I got my new XT. I took it back to the shop where I bought it and they just replaced it, no problem...except I just took a look at the last 4 digits of my replacement and guess what? I'll have to send it in...:evil:

[Jackal]

Ugh, my card is affected. It ends in A4B6. But the thing is.....I don't really want to send it in since I've never had a problem with it. :o

And also I need it for a shoot next week.

[lancea]

Snap! Which makes me think this is really a batch number and not a checksum (as it says on the RMA page). I've never experienced a problem with mine either, so you must be pretty safe delaying the return. I'm sure you've realised though that this is the perfect excuse to buy another card! ;)

[lancea]

I'm not impressed with Lexar's replacement policy. Mine has to go to Australia as the nearest Lexar office. I thought I'd best send it by the fastest method and get the appropriate insurance. Because the card is not a document, our postal service tells me it must go as a parcel at a cost of $NZ33!! So, looks like I am going to have to send it by ordinary air mail - but still $10.95 and not insured to its full value. Another option is to sneak it through as a standard letter at $1.50 - but that would not be legal and does run the risk that customs could seize the card.

I'll be contacting Lexar, but the "terms and conditions" attached to the RMA make it clear that they are aware it will cost their customers to replace their faulty cards. They are nice cards, but this isn't good service.

[PaintballPhotography.com]

I have 4 of the these cards and I can not afford to be with out them, what has been the turn aroung time? I have never had any problems that I know of and I am wondering if it's worth the bother...

I have no idea where my sales receipts are, is this necessary and is not ownership of the cards sufficient proof of purchase? Unless they assumed I stole them , thats a good position for this manufacturer of potentially defective cards that I have spent hundreds of dollars on…I guess I am not real happy now with Lexar

[lancea]

I'll let the forum know how long mine takes from Australia. Fingers crossed. At least of still have my original 1GB card.

If I were you I'd send an email to Lexar to confirm they don't need proof of purchase, and put a printout of their reply in your package. Assuming you decide to return them, one by one? :) As for me - I file everything. It's just finding things that can be a problem ...

[Streetshooter]

Just sent my 4 1-gig cards to Lexar overnight...they will have it tomorrow by 3:00pm...lets see how long to get them back......I'll post as soon as I hear something.....don

[RbrtPtikLeoSeny]

Like Jackel, I also have only one CF card and it's a Lexar 1gb. Haven't had any trouble with it yet though....:confused: Guess my next card will be a Sandisk Extreme III 1gb.

[tweatherred]

I am really upset about this problem; I just bought 2 2GB cards before this problem was acknowledged, and now I am expected to ship a defective product back at my own risk and expense to have it replaced with one that works properly? That seems fishy to me, and I think if enough people make a fuss Lexar might be pressured into doing the right thing. For what its worth I have looked up my state office of consumer affairs (a branch of the attorney general's office) and might file a formal complaint with them. This may be a good opportunity to use the power of the internet to get some action; if anyone has any suggestions let the group know. There is power in numbers.

[DwightMcCann]

Bloo, do you think they can survive this sort of catastrophe? With so much competition I would think that this sort failure, lack of timely response, callous treatment and almost denial of culpability would cost them significantly. Given the treatment I have received I will surely be sharing my feelings with all my digital photography friends and will not be buying Lexar again in this lifetime.

[Streetshooter]

a few good points made....so how many other manufacturers of cards are having problems that we don't know about? I think in the long run...Lexar will step up to the plate. They responded to my emails promptly. I am not happy about this crap but I have to make a living with my digital stuff and this might just be a part of it. Let's see what happens in the near future. I think Lexar will make good even as far as shipping refunds go. I might be wrong but only time will tell.......sitting and watching....don

[tweatherred]

I agree with the point that other cards may also have problems; the reason I got Lexar cards is because cards from other manufacturers would occasionally cause my old camera (Nikon Coolpix 5700) to hang up, although I never lost any data. I too hope that Lexar will do the right thing by its customers, but the way they have apprached the problem so far seems rather half-hearted.

[DwightMcCann]

Hmmm, I'm not clear why anyone would defend Lexar's behavior or suggest they will do "the right thing" considering how badly they have handled it so far ... seems like wishful thinking to me. I'm also curious about the logic "because Lexar has problems maybe they all have problems and we just don't know about it." It's firmware in the Lexar cards. I don't have that problem in my Sandisk cards. Why would anyone make the leap to all manufacturers having this problem? If Nikon has a problem do we immediately presuppose that Canon will have the same problem? Lexar made a business decision to minimize their expense in this recall at the expense of their high end photographic clients. There is no question about this.

Anyway, let me ask this ... has anyone gotten their card(s) back from Lexar yet? I worry that in order to minimize costs yet again that they are going to hold all the cards sent in for a few weeks so they can judge the extent of the return and make some additional decisions ... and meanwhile we all sit here with our CF investments in limbo.

[DwightMcCann]

Well, Bloo, the problem for me is that I have never had a pleasant surprise from a hardware vendor ... and I've had plenty of surprises! "Respond by next business day" usually leaves off the "... and will actually do something within two weeks." Or "Replace" leaves off "... with refurbished or otherwise returned items that we consider equivalent ... and your warranty will not be extended." Sheesh, how about this business of it is entirely their problem but we have to pay to ship and insure. And how about those "rebates" where you had better save copies of everything you sent in because more often than not they won't send the check until you have made that follow up call six to eight weeks later ... and I've had them tell friends of mine, "Oh, sorry, you didn't call before the closing date" so even though they have the forms they won't send a check because you didn't make the undocumented and should be unnecessary follow-up call! And any "illegible" or "incorrectly filled out" item voids that whole thing and they don't have to advise you. After all, rebates are actually bald faced attempts to cheat customers out of their money to start with. I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no sympathy for hardware purveyors after 30+ years in the computer industry ... they are as bad as lawyers and car salesmen.

[DwightMcCann]

Another day and no one is reporting that they have received their cards back yet, sigh.

[andygrif]

I agree with your previous rant completely Dwight. I read the T&C's of returning their faulty cards (quite why there's no T&C's for supplying me with a card that will work properly I don't know).

I'm more than a bit miffed that I have to spend 10% of the price of the card (as it will have to go insured, knowing my luck it will go missing otherwise) to send something back to them through no fault of my own.

Plus I am really unhappy at the section that said that they can send me back a 'refurbished' unit even though my card is only a couple of months old.

It's really not cricket. My next card will be a SanDisk.

[DwightMcCann]

Bloo, the really effective thing to do is simply never to buy another Lexar card and to share this experience with all your friends. However, I also imagine that complaints to Attorneys General would have to be organized by state. Anybody hear complaints on other boards?

[Streetshooter]

I have communicated to Lexar, that the members here and other sites are keeping thier eyes on how they handle this situation.....I received an emal, explaining that they would expedite the return of the cards....lets see........don

[lancea]

I remain unhappy that (1) I had to pay to send my near-new 2GB card for replacement or fixing and (2) I have to do without it till ... ? However if turns up by the end of the month I can live with that. My next purchase might be another brand, but funnily enough I avoided brand x (which is often mentioned in this forum) because their SD cards used to have a bad reputation in the pocket computer world. So whadaya do? Maybe brand x has a problem we just don't know about yet. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I like the Lexar cards. Ask me again in 3 weeks :mrgreen:

[IanD]

My return is being handled by the store where I bought it. Lexar Canada has promised to get it bck to them/me within two weeks. It has been a week now.
Time will tell.

[cheme]

My 1gb card was received by Lexar on 06/07/05 and i just confirmed that my new card was shipped yesterday and will be delivered monday via UPS. Two weeks isn't so bad i guess.....

[skyphix]

So I guess this is one "advantage" to owning a 300D.


[insert neener neener face]


Just trying to lighten the situation. A Two week turn around is pretty slow, but I guess with the amount of affected cards out there its to be expected. At least they are saying there IS an issue and doing something about it, unlike a lot of people (I.E. Volkswagen and the heated seat fires in 2000-2001 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg Editions) who just deny that its a wide spread problem despite being presented with many, many, many cases.

I do understand the frustration. I have two of these affected cards but no cameras where the condition exists. If I did, Im sure I'd be pretty peaved. I am anyway knowing that I have a "defective" card if I ever get the money to go to a 20D.

[DwightMcCann]

I've had an email with a tracking number for a few days now, but the number isn't in the UPS tracking system yet which means that it hasn't really shipped ... just more "fog of war" smoke and mirrors by Lexar, sigh.

[lancea]

I haven't a lot of faith in the real-time nature of any of the tracking systems! I've had packages turn up when they were supposedly still in the US, and signed-for in Brazil when my package has turned up the next day. Your card just might be in the skies this very minute ;)

[cheme]

I received a tracking numer from lexar on 06/18 and a card was delivered yesterday via UPS. Unfortunately, I'm travelling now, so i haven't had a chance to see it yet.

[DwightMcCann]

I received a tracking number on the 15th but there is still no tracking information at UPS and no card has arrived. I'm still waiting for the first confirmation of a replacement so we know what they are sending back. I'm interested to see if all the speculation by the Lexar supporters that they will do something to compensate us for our trouble is unfounded as I suspect. I did get my new Sandisk Extreme III 4G card.

[Streetshooter]

I rec'd a tracking number today but it's not up at the UPS site yet....My ex re'd a tracking number today also but she got her cards yesterday.......go figure......don

[Dew]

I've just had 2 images go last night on my 1Gb. One gave a '?' instead of an image, the other gave a small preview and wouldn't zoom in giving a 'corrupt data' or similar message. This is the second time this has happened, but the first was a while ago and I wasn't going to bother to return my card, but I may do now. P.I.T.A.! I'm really glad I bought 2 x 1Gb Lexars about 2 weeks before the announcement :rolleyes:.
Sandisk here we come!

[cheme]

As previously posted, I received a new card from Lexar. I wrote down the old card serial number prior to returning it and the returned card was different. The last four digits do not match to either of the "affected" card numbers posted on the lexar RMA website so that's a good thing.
For those of you holding your breath with regards to additional compensation for going through this ordeal, there was nothing else in the envelope (not even a letter explaining the situation and thanking us for our patience)....

[Bamamike]

Your're so right, I will not send my card (2GB) to Lexar unless I have a problem. So far (>1000 pictures) I never experienced a problem. And I have backup (4GB micro drive and a 1 GB sandisk extreme III). But never change a running system, even the badge number says, there might be the possibility of failure. My opinion: They don't know what's wrong, so lets recall all possibly wrong cards, the customer will pay for it anyway...
BTW, the only online-shop with excellent return policy is newegg.com, no hassle, no proof of purchase problems, everything runs smoothly.

[Streetshooter]

Ok.....I rec'd 4 new cards 1-gig 80-x in my storage case fromLexar. No paper work but I don't care....1 week from when I sent them in.....not bad.......they shipped 2nd day UPS....signature req'd

good luck all....my shoot is tomorrow...just in time....don

[DwightMcCann]

I guess they heard me whining and carrying on and decided to hold mine! Street, did they ever update the UPS Tracking information?

I have finally sent Lexar a query regarding my card that was scheduled to be delivered June 17th but has never arrived, sigh. I'll post if I get any response.

[Streetshooter]

Dwight...I rec'd an updated tracking number and the cards arrived as that schedule. They are definately new cards..numbers are different and I had mine marked 1-4....there was no letter of explanation but I need the cards, not the explanation. Good luck........don

[Dew]

Well my 2-off 1Gb are going back today - have to wait and see how long!

[DwightMcCann]

Oddly, even with a UPS tracking number provided I received my card back today via U.S. mail. Three week turnaround.

[andygrif]

Three weeks is out of order. I have tried twice to get the RMA number by filling in the form on their wesbite. I'm supposed to get an email telling me where to send the card to.

So instead I wrote a letter to the Managing Director of Lexar Europe yesterday telling him that not only does their whole system suck, but the terms and conditions are unacceptable. Will keep you posted!

[Dew]

Well my 2-off 1Gb are going back today - have to wait and see how long!

10 days and counting......

I love Lexar :rolleyes: !

[scott stokes]

I got one two days before a wedding and used for the wedding and lost pictures and i am using 10D.I also have not received my rebate .A freind of mine wife has had trouble with lexar with hear rebel,they do alot of weddings and have 8 -1gb cards.

[lancea]

Anyone got one back from the Australian office? I'm mildly peeved that my 2GB card (sent 13th June) hasn't bounced back to me as I really wanted it for the next few days.

[Dew]

well mine have turned up today! 11 days turnaround.

[lancea]

Got mine back from the Australian office. Took 3 weeks and 1 day from the time I sent it via air mail. The card is my original one. A shame there's no proof (e.g. letter with serial number) to say that the firmware has been updated. However it's unlikely I'll be selling it ...

[NoLight]

So those who sent one back ahd received their new one, have the problems gone away?

[DwightMcCann]

Yes, my replacement works but I will never buy another Lexar card ... the cards are rediculously expensive to start with and I had to pay to return it. I think they should have replaced each card with two or at least a coupon good toward half the cost of a new card ... but what we got for buying Lexar was a terribly slow diagnosis of the problem (I lost dozens of images with no clue what was causing the problem and no sign on the Lexar website during this period) and then another horribly slow decision on their remedy and then a terse little note saying, "Here's your replacement card." I have no need to do business with that mentality when I can buy SanDisk cards for virtually the same price that have a real service department behind them, or Simple cards much cheaper that have never had a problem.