There have been complaints about Amazon cards and batteries since they comingled inventory from various suppliers. If someone buys a suspect card anywhere, Amazons, eBay, shady distributors, etc. then resells it here you could have that problem. Cards are rather easy to test however. Run Crystal Diskmark to test write/read performance and then use a tool like H2TestW to verify that the capacity is correct. 15-20 years ago there was a trend to program cards and USB drives to report more capacity than they had.
With the higher prickes of NAND flash the crooks are probably revisiting the older scams and inventing new ones.
I only bought 2 cards used and I knew the person personally. It's really about trust in the seller.
I'd say that, in the past, scam attempts here have likely involved much higher priced items. I did buy some old CF cards here a few years ago with no issue.
As EB-1 mentioned, the dramatic increase in memory prices does raise the risk of card counterfeiting on almost any platform.
When I buy from Amazon, I only use Amazon; not third-party sellers. That helps, but it doesn't eliminate the risk. Even Amazon gets scammed.
Choosing Amazon as the seller wasn’t solid protection when they used the commingled inventory. Apparently they’ve stopped that now but you used to run the risk of getting fake cards and even grey market gear buying from Amazon.
jwpstl wrote:
Choosing Amazon as the seller wasn’t solid protection when they used the commingled inventory. Apparently they’ve stopped that now but you used to run the risk of getting fake cards and even grey market gear buying from Amazon.
No idea AMZN no longer comingles inventory. I had stopped buying from them years ago and only bought from known legit brick and mortars.
I have trouble understanding the scope and effort of all of the various intellectual property theft that goes from copying and mimicry to actually producing "counterfeit" products.
Fstoppers did a video on this recently, which is apparently what this article is based on. I am a fake photographer, so all my fake cards have been working fine for me. YMMV of course.
I don't want to downplay the problem, but I believe that counterfeit memory cards are the least of our worries compared to all the counterfeit safety-critical automotive and aircraft parts out there—not to mention counterfeit medicines.
Braindrain232 wrote:
No idea AMZN no longer comingles inventory. I had stopped buying from them years ago and only bought from known legit brick and mortars.
This is what AI says from an inquiry about Amazon and comingling:
Amazon is set to end its commingled inventory program on March 31, 2026. This decision comes in response to ongoing concerns regarding product quality and the risks of counterfeiting that arise from pooling identical items from different sellers.
What is Commingled Inventory?
Commingled inventory refers to the practice where Amazon combines identical products from various sellers under a single manufacturer barcode. This allows for faster shipping and more efficient use of warehouse space. However, it also poses significant risks, such as:
Counterfeit Products: Authentic items can be mixed with counterfeit or damaged goods.
Quality Control Issues: Brands have expressed concerns about losing control over the quality of their products.
Transition Details:
January 1, 2026: Amazon will cease its FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) prep and labeling service.
Post-March 31, 2026: All inventory must be labeled with a unique FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit), ensuring that each item is tracked and shipped separately.
This change aims to enhance product integrity and restore trust among sellers and consumers.
Being heard of some Lexar band sd-cards possible problems with Sony cameras I had bought one during a trip to Rome ('cause I forgot one of my two 128gigs TOUGH cards at home).
It was best and most expensive they have (except 256 gig version) - Lexar 1800X v60 128gb UHS-II.
Test via card-reader and CrystalDisk Mark have confirmed claimed specs (i.e. 280 mbps read and 210 mbps write) and in camera (A1) it felt a bit more fast then my good-old Sony Tough M (299/150 mbps).
But here comes some glitches - like camera after start in the morning supposedly have written a file but cannot review it. After SD card re-insert it basically worked whole day or so.
For mixed use (RAW 20fps bursts and 4K 60 fps videos) it worked too.
A month after it somehow got formatted to 8gb instead of 128gb. After manual deletion of partition and creation of new (via Windows Disk Management) it showed again 128 gb capacity and worked.
Finally, I decided to put it into (as I thought) a little less demanding camera (my trustworthy A7RIII) and it worked until camera have 'lost' image database and refused to recover it (after re-insert into second slot back and forth Image DB got restored and pictures finally made their way to my laptop HDD). So, I've decided to put it to my photo gear backpack pocket (together with once-failed old KIngston UHS-II 64gb I kept there in case of extreme need of spare card - but I could never trust it as a main card). Back to Tough card is only viable way...
But what did happened with Lexar I don't know (didn't have other vendors cameras at hand at the moment, maybe I should try it on Canon or Nikon and trade somehow)
BTW, speed and capacity is 'authentic' i.e. I cannot see what should be a subject of extreme economy due counterfeiting - it's usually fake capacity or fake speed.
q-w-z wrote:
Being heard of some Lexar band sd-cards possible problems with Sony cameras I had bought one during a trip to Rome ('cause I forgot one of my two 128gigs TOUGH cards at home).
It was best and most expensive they have (except 256 gig version) - Lexar 1800X v60 128gb UHS-II.
Test via card-reader and CrystalDisk Mark have confirmed claimed specs (i.e. 280 mbps read and 210 mbps write) and in camera (A1) it felt a bit more fast then my good-old Sony Tough M (299/150 mbps).
But here comes some glitches - like camera after start in the morning supposedly have written a file but cannot review it. After SD card re-insert it basically worked whole day or so.
For mixed use (RAW 20fps bursts and 4K 60 fps videos) it worked too.
A month after it somehow got formatted to 8gb instead of 128gb. After manual deletion of partition and creation of new (via Windows Disk Management) it showed again 128 gb capacity and worked.
Finally, I decided to put it into (as I thought) a little less demanding camera (my trustworthy A7RIII) and it worked until camera have 'lost' image database and refused to recover it (after re-insert into second slot back and forth Image DB got restored and pictures finally made their way to my laptop HDD). So, I've decided to put it to my photo gear backpack pocket (together with once-failed old KIngston UHS-II 64gb I kept there in case of extreme need of spare card - but I could never trust it as a main card). Back to Tough card is only viable way...
But what did happened with Lexar I don't know (didn't have other vendors cameras at hand at the moment, maybe I should try it on Canon or Nikon and trade somehow)
BTW, speed and capacity is 'authentic' i.e. I cannot see what should be a subject of extreme economy due counterfeiting - it's usually fake capacity or fake speed....Show more →
I have the 64gb and 128gb version of the Lexar 1667x V60 UHS-II SD cards. Used extensively in my Oly EM1.2. Tens of thousands of pics taken with them. They were used for my little guy's soccer games for many years. Burst mode RAW shooting, etc.
Never a problem with either one. Both bought from brick and mortars but it doesn't sound like yours were fake.
q-w-z wrote:
Being heard of some Lexar band sd-cards possible problems with Sony cameras I had bought one during a trip to Rome ('cause I forgot one of my two 128gigs TOUGH cards at home).
It was best and most expensive they have (except 256 gig version) - Lexar 1800X v60 128gb UHS-II.
Test via card-reader and CrystalDisk Mark have confirmed claimed specs (i.e. 280 mbps read and 210 mbps write) and in camera (A1) it felt a bit more fast then my good-old Sony Tough M (299/150 mbps).
But here comes some glitches - like camera after start in the morning supposedly have written a file but cannot review it. After SD card re-insert it basically worked whole day or so.
For mixed use (RAW 20fps bursts and 4K 60 fps videos) it worked too.
A month after it somehow got formatted to 8gb instead of 128gb. After manual deletion of partition and creation of new (via Windows Disk Management) it showed again 128 gb capacity and worked.
Finally, I decided to put it into (as I thought) a little less demanding camera (my trustworthy A7RIII) and it worked until camera have 'lost' image database and refused to recover it (after re-insert into second slot back and forth Image DB got restored and pictures finally made their way to my laptop HDD). So, I've decided to put it to my photo gear backpack pocket (together with once-failed old KIngston UHS-II 64gb I kept there in case of extreme need of spare card - but I could never trust it as a main card). Back to Tough card is only viable way...
But what did happened with Lexar I don't know (didn't have other vendors cameras at hand at the moment, maybe I should try it on Canon or Nikon and trade somehow)
BTW, speed and capacity is 'authentic' i.e. I cannot see what should be a subject of extreme economy due counterfeiting - it's usually fake capacity or fake speed....Show more →
That sure looks like a failed card. I have a couple of old Sony 300 Read/299 Write cards that were pre-Tough UHS-II and they are still working fine, although the plastic dividers between contacts are gone now. I don't use the a7R II now, but I bought them for that camera in 2017.
Fortunately the newer cameras use the dual CFe Type A cards. My four cards that are 480-640GB are all different brands, Lexmar Gold, Delkins Black, Sony Tough, and OWC. I have some smaller, slower (CFe 2.0) Progrades Digitals. If there is a failure, it will not be systemic! I test the crap out of them with H2testW, i.e., at least 3-5 full cycles of write/read/Diskpart/format.
Braindrain232 wrote:
I have the 64gb and 128gb version of the Lexar 1667x V60 UHS-II SD cards. Used extensively in my Oly EM1.2. Tens of thousands of pics taken with them. They were used for my little guy's soccer games for many years. Burst mode RAW shooting, etc.
Never a problem with either one. Both bought from brick and mortars but it doesn't sound like yours were fake.
There is an 'opinion' saying that Lexar has some glitches with Sony, not other vendors cameras.
q-w-z wrote:
There is an 'opinion' saying that Lexar has some glitches with Sony, not other vendors cameras.
I’ve used Lexar cards in my Sony bodies for years without problems. If you search enough reviews, you’ll find problems with any memory card brand - that doesn’t mean there’s an issue with Lexar and Sony.
Choderboy wrote:
So far in this thread, it's all about SD Cards. No mention of CFexpress.
SD cards are far more common than other formats, which gives them a much larger market share and makes them easier to fake and resell. FStoppers pointed this out in their video as well. Fake SD cards often go unnoticed because most consumer cameras do not require sustained V90 speeds, so people rarely realize they were sold a slower or lower capacity card.
With CFexpress, the situation is different. The speed requirements are much higher and the camera will usually detect performance issues right away. Users also notice problems much faster because CFexpress cards are used for high speed bursts and high bitrate video, where any slowdown becomes obvious.
