Should have reviewed the u1030SW...much more interesting camera..
and the problem with your memory cards is that there are FOUR types of xD cards:
- standard grade, which are slow and have no extra functions enabled
- Type M : which are faster and enable panorama features (even Fuji's cards work if Type M I believe)
- Type H : High-speed, for faster shot to shot, and panorama (rare to find, and expensive)
- Type M+ : coming out in the next month, will enable high-res video recording without the current 10second max record time, until card memory runs out.
I suspect you had a cheap standard grade card, which has been outdated for at least two years. Anyone with a recent Oly wants a Type M or M+ to get access to the features.
The Oly 1030SW is the camera you should have reviewed though - a 28mm wide-angle lens with internal 3.8x optical zoom, shockproof, waterproof, and same sensor. A much more interesting and unique camera...