Camera saving problem on SD finally solved.

[TunedM52]

Since I got my Lumia 950, I always had a U3/V30 SD card, a Sandisk 64GB and store all my media on there. Photos, music, video, etc. Apps all on local storage.

But from the start, I've been plagued with the camera problem where it dims after taking a photo and gets stuck on the "Saving...". I even had that issue when saving to local storage in the past, but I think MS fixed it in an update. Anytime I go somewhere and require a reliable camera, always had to change it to save to local storage. Major annoyance for sure.

However, Samsung released a 2017 version of their EVO Select U3 SD card. Advertised 100MB/s read 90MB/s write. Got a 128GB off amazon and tested it on my PC, sure enough, it was that quick.

Installed it in my 950, hard reset just last week or so, after the cumulative update (15063.296). Still had the saving problem with the Sandisk card, but not with the Samsung. I went hiking this past weekend, snapping hundreds of photos (some in RAW w/o lag either) and lots of 4K video. Camera performed flawlessly while saving to SD!

Anyways, just wanted to share my 2c. The camera works so well, videos start recording immediately, playback and viewing in the photos app is very smooth. Highly recommend this card, if they release a 256GB version I'm definitely getting it for my SP4.

 

[anthonyng]

@TunedM52

Interesting, what speed do you get on the phone with the SD Card Speed app on your 950?

I've been fighting with my sandisk extreme pro, never getting the 90MB/s or so on my 950XL... Hit 40MB/s... wasn't sure if any faster would make any more difference.

 

[TunedM52]

@TunedM52

Interesting, what speed do you get on the phone with the SD Card Speed app on your 950?

I've been fighting with my sandisk extreme pro, never getting the 90MB/s or so on my 950XL... Hit 40MB/s... wasn't sure if any faster would make any more difference.

I think the SD card reader in the 950/XL has a bottleneck because I never reach close to those speeds regardless of what card I use.

With the card in my SP4 using CrystalDiskMark, the Evo Select does indeed reach near 100MB/s read and 90MB/s write. My old card was the Sandisk Extreme and was able to max out around the advertised speeds as well, 90MB/s read and 60MB/s write.

Just did a few runs with that app, averaging from 50MB/s to 70MB/s write. I'll put that card into my Idol 4S and rerun the test a few times to see if the Lumia is actually bottlenecking the SD card.

 

[anthonyng]

I could just have a bad card... do you know what file system format you use for the card? From the top results list, I can see some hitting 64/65

I don't like how running the test quickly one after the other makes for a faster result. Doing it cold, I got 24 then running again I hit 50.

If your card, the min speed was 50 that's good. How full is your card?

 

[TunedM52]

It was initially formatted as FAT32 out of the box, but I immediately formatted it in the settings which defaults to exFAT, which all memory cards/USB drives should really use nowadays. Right now my card is ~56GB full.

I really dislike this app, wish there were alternatives on the store but it seems that this is the only SD card speed tester. I get such inconsistent results. The first time I ran it I got 8MB/s, next was 50MB/s, then it almost never dipped below that no matter how many runs I do afterwards. The app may be accurate, but is so incredibly imprecise.

Are you able to plug in your card to a PC and run a speed test from there? Can check the true R/W speeds.

 

[anthonyng]

yea I had the same thoughts about this app...

I don't care so much about the speed rating but the real world feel.... It's interesting to me that you say you feel the samsung is the fastest yet, especially on the saving... this only really happens because of HDR mode and living images no?

Or are you able to save how many consecutive HDR on shots before getting the "saving ...." message.

I've been pretty loyal to sandisk because they always have the highest performance for size. I'm not opposed to buy another card but trying to verify it really is better for the phone!

My 950xl and my wife 950 both have sandisk extreme pro cards, bought at much different times though, that are rated up to something like 90mb/s write and we get "saving ... " when taking a lot of consecutive HDR shots.

 

[TunedM52]

Same here, I generally do not prefer one brand over another, it always comes down to whatever performs the best. And I agree that benchmarks and speed tests do not matter, it all comes down actual usage.

I have both HDR and living images on always, and 16MP JPEG.

Just tested with a few photo bursts, snapped 9 consecutive photos in 16:9 and RAW before "Saving..." appeared, but it only took about 15 seconds for the camera to work again. In 16MP JPEG and HDR On mode, was able to get 24 photos saved before "Saving" appeared. Again not a long wait, and the UI didn't lag at all.

 

[anthonyng]

maybe I will have to buy your card... just tested, no preparation... only got 5 HDR shots before saving.

24 seems like a dream for me... More than acceptable in my opinion. The first thing I should do is probably reset my phone. I haven't done a full reset since TH2 I believe.

Many thanks for your feedback @TunedM52!

 

[TunedM52]

No problem, happy to help the community.

I'm sure it wouldn't have performed nearly as well if I didn't perform a hard reset when I updated to the CU!

Edit: This is the one I purchased.

 

[anthonyng]

Hard rest and I'm only getting 5 living images and HDR mode forced on, for both internal storage and SD.
@TunedM52 do you get 24 shots while saving on internal memory?

Thanks.

 

[TunedM52]

Hard rest and I'm only getting 5 living images and HDR mode forced on, for both internal storage and SD.
@TunedM52 do you get 24 shots while saving on internal memory?

Thanks.

Yes I was, in my last post, but I just tried it again with different results. Was only able to get about 14 in this time while saving on internal memory and 12 on SD before "saving". How about 4K@30FPS videos? I can record as long as I want w/o lag or crashing.

On my 950XL with an older samsung evo U3 card, I'm able to capture ~20 w/HDR and living images on SD. Not on creators update yet though, if that matters.

HOWEVER, my Idol 4S with the old sandisk card installed, I am able to capture an unlimited amount of burst shots. The ProShot app works superbly as well, no lag whatsoever. But the camera is atrocious, and no HDR or living images, so that's a moot point.

I guess it's a W10M bug or the slow 808 chip.

Sigh... the things I do to live with WP... :straight:

 

[anthonyng]

shrugs.... I should be able to get double digit on my 950xl.... on internal memory at least... that would be the commonality between us... I wonder what's different. Almost seems like a cpu issue if I'm processing slower...

Not a huge video guy and usually only have it set at 1080p... did a 2.5min 4k video without any issues it seems.

thanks for the info.

 

[TunedM52]

shrugs.... I should be able to get double digit on my 950xl.... on internal memory at least... that would be the commonality between us... I wonder what's different. Almost seems like a cpu issue if I'm processing slower...

Not a huge video guy and usually only have it set at 1080p... did a 2.5min 4k video without any issues it seems.

thanks for the info.

No prob. Mind you this is my 3rd 950.

First one was replaced under warranty because it just wouldn't turn on one day. The second one I accidentally shattered the screen, however it's still 100% functional.

I'll redo the test on that one later to see if this was a fluke.

Edit: Yeah so take this thread with a grain of salt everyone. I put the same exact card in my cracked 950, it was still fresh from a hard reset a while back, but was on anniversary update still. But "Saving" appeared within 11 HDR/Live Images on internal and 9 on SD. Now on my main 950 it takes no more than 15 photos before saving. Usually under 10.

Thought I stumbled on a gold mine. Sad now. Here's my old 950. Add some spice to this failed experiment.

 

[anthonyng]

Aww, poor thing