Tip #4191 - Memory Cards: Fake vs. Real
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Memory
Cards: Fake vs. Real
As fake memory
cards have now proliferated throughout the marketplace, it is very
important to know how to spot a fake card when it comes down to it.
So, today we're going to go over some methods you can use to spot
fake memory cards and I will also show you some examples of what they
look like. Let's get started!
Why You
Should Care
1.) Inferior quality
card – You’re not getting what you paid for.
2.) No warranty
– When the card fails, you’re out of luck.
3.) Fake memory
cards sometimes have invalid partition sizes, making it likely to
fail on a regular basis.
4.) It will drive
up costs of genuine memory cards.
Spotting
a Fake
Unfortunately,
there is no software available that will test the card to ensure that
it’s genuine, so you must manually scrutinize your card (both
visually and by testing its performance) to get some idea of how genuine
it really is.
Presentation
Quality and Differences
Here's an example
of a fake and a real 1 GB Sandisk SD Card:
This particular
card is also missing a notch, which makes it quite easy to spot:
Here's an example of a fake 2 GB Sandisk CF Card:
Note the faded red print on the back and the "TM" next to
the "CF" on the top right side on the fake card:
Also, there is no serial number on the bottom of the fake card (the
serial number is blurred on the real one):
Take note that the fake box has no hologram on it:
Here's another example of a Sandisk 2 GB CF card. See the poor print
and alignment of the label?
Note the poor quality workmanship on the edge of this one, as well
as, the print quality and the alignment of the text:
The SanDisk card manual was different from the real one too (note
that the manual on the right hand side is from a Sandisk Ultra II,
whereas the manual on the left side is for a flash memory card):
Below is a picture of a fake Sony Pro Duo 2 GB card. Notice that the
fake card has poor quality printing and it does not have the same
various extrusions and intrusions as the genuine card. With the number
of lips and dips on the genuine card, it's not difficult to spot the
fake card:
When it comes
to this kind of thing, you can never be too safe and now you know
exactly what to look for when you're shopping for memory cards for
your digital camera. Oh yeah!
~ Zahid H. Javali
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