Maximum Capacity SD Card for PowerShot SX20IS

[FLNJRetiree13]

I have an old PowerShot Model SX20IS digital camera, which still works fine.  However, I recently purchased a SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-1 128GB SD Card, and received a "Memory Card Error" message when I inserted it in the camera (it fitted fine in the slot).  Up until now, the greatest capacity SD card I've used is a SanDisk Extreme 32 GB card, which still works (as does an older SanDisk Ultra 8 GB card).  Is there a maximum capacity card for this camera, or is there something unusual about the card I purchased?  I couldn't find anything relevant in the old user guide for this camera, although it doesn't list SDXC cards in the Specifications section among the other types of Recording Media (possibly due to their being too new?).  Thanks!

[Danny · Accepted solution]

Thanks for joining the conversation, FLNJRetiree13!  The PowerShot SX20 IS is an older model that was designed at a time when SD and SDHC cards were the industry standards.  It will not accept SDXC cards.

Hope this helps!

[FLNJRetiree13]

Thanks, Danny, for the prompt reply!  I was afraid that was the issue.

[rs-eos]

The spec for SDHC states that 32 GB would be the maximum size.

Such a card could capture up to 168 minutes of the camera's highest resolution video (1280 x 720).   Or around 10,000 images in the highest resolution format.

[FLNJRetiree13]

Thanks, Ricky.  I did some research and reached the same conclusion that SDHC cards max out at 32 GB.  I still have room fpr a few thousand pics on my 32 GB card, and a blank 8 GB card, so I'm good for now.

[rs-eos]

I hope you have a way to back up your photos.  From what you wrote, it sounds like you're keeping your photos on the cards for long-term storage.   It's always best to copy your photos to a computer or other device that itself would be backed up.  Or, to the cloud that would also be backed up.

[FLNJRetiree13]

Yes, when I return from a trip or other photo-taking venture, I always save the photos to my computer (and from which all photos are automatically backed up to an external hard drive and to Cloud storage).  I just forget sometimes to clear the card of the transferred photos.   Thanks again for your suggestions.

[normadel]

MANY folks fall into the idea that they should use a huge SD card. It is much better to have multiple reasonable-size cards. Entrusting a card with all of its capacity is risky. If it fails, all is lost. With multiple smaller cards, a failure of one doesn't produce a total loss of your data.

[FLNJRetiree13]

Thanks for the suggestion.