7D PROBLEM

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Archive 2011 · 7D PROBLEM

johnsbattaglia
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p.1 #1 · 7D PROBLEM

When I press the shutter release button on my 7D window on the top of the camera flashes "buSY" for a few seconds than flashes "ERR CF". The LCD panel says "Card cannot be accessed. Reinsert/change the card or format the card with the camera." So far I have tried the following:

Tried multiple CF cards. All get the same message. I have tested the cards in my 5D Mark II and they all work fine.

Tried formatting the cards in the 7D and get the following message in the LCD - " Cannot format. Change card"

Turned the camera on and off multiple times.

Took the battery out for a few minutes.

Anyone have any thoughts as to what might be causing this problem and what I can do to fix it? thanks for you help.

Dec 26, 2011 at 04:34 PM

mco_970
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p.1 #2 · 7D PROBLEM

WAG - bent pin in the 7D CF card slot? Look in with a flashlight to confirm?

Dec 26, 2011 at 04:42 PM

fredyr
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p.1 #3 · 7D PROBLEM

Something like that happened to me years ago and I was told to take the battery out and clean the contacts with a bit of alcohol. It was a 20D and it is still working even though I now have a 7D. Good luck.

Dec 26, 2011 at 04:42 PM

JimboCin
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p.1 #4 · 7D PROBLEM

If those suggestions don't work call Canon Tech Support at 1-800-OK-Canon

Dec 26, 2011 at 08:52 PM

BrianO
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p.1 #5 · 7D PROBLEM

mco_970 wrote: ...bent pin in the 7D CF card slot?

That would be my first guess as well; bent or broken -- I've seen both.

That's one of the disadvantages of CF cards versus SD cards. The CF card has 50 tiny little holes that have to drop over 50 tiny little pins in the camera, and it doesn't take much of a misalignment while inserting the card to bend or break one or more of those pins.

The SD design, with external contacts that slide into, rather than drop around, the camera contacts is a safer design.

Dec 26, 2011 at 09:02 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #6 · 7D PROBLEM

But the SD cards chip and split IME.

What does XQD have for contacts?

EBH

Dec 28, 2011 at 12:27 PM

jaybird555
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p.1 #7 · 7D PROBLEM

EB-1 wrote:
But the SD cards chip and split IME.

What does XQD have for contacts?

EBH
what is ime, what is xqd ( I know what SSDD means )

Dec 29, 2011 at 08:06 PM

omarlyn
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p.1 #8 · 7D PROBLEM

BrianO wrote:
That's one of the disadvantages of CF cards versus SD cards. The CF card has 50 tiny little holes that have to drop over 50 tiny little pins in the camera, and it doesn't take much of a misalignment while inserting the card to bend or break one or more of those pins.

The SD design, with external contacts that slide into, rather than drop around, the camera contacts is a safer design.

Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that but my personal experience tells me that in almost 10 years of CF card use, the only pin I ever bent was in a very cheap card reader with poor tolerances. I probably have had many tens of thousands of insert/remove cycles of CF cards in my camera bodies without issue (knock on wood). However, I've seen several SD cards that have split/chipped with much, much lighter use!

YMMV,
Omar

Edited on Dec 29, 2011 at 08:56 PM · View previous versions

Dec 29, 2011 at 08:54 PM

omarlyn
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p.1 #9 · 7D PROBLEM

EB-1 wrote:
But the SD cards chip and split IME.

What does XQD have for contacts?

EBH

jaybird555 wrote:
what is ime, what is xqd ( I know what SSDD means )

'IME' - in my experience
'XQD' - new flash memory format

HTH,
Omar

('HTH' - Hope that helps)

Dec 29, 2011 at 08:56 PM

Gochugogi
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p.1 #10 · 7D PROBLEM

Since 2003 I have yet to break a CF or bend a pin. You have to try hard to ruin one and I have dropped and washed & dried several with no ill effects. Managed to break two SD cards as they're made so flimsy. Plus the contacts tend to foul easily. Luckily most SD card users tend to be P&S and rarely remove them from their cameras so flimsy works for them.

If you managed to bend a pin you I've heard of people carefully bending them back. Otherwise the fix is to replace the port and associated board.

Dec 29, 2011 at 09:11 PM

BrianO
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p.1 #11 · 7D PROBLEM

Gochugogi wrote: ...Since 2003 I have yet to break a CF or bend a pin. You have to try hard to ruin one and I have dropped and washed & dried several with no ill effect.

I hope you mean you have dropped, washed, and dried a CF card, and not a CF-equipped camera!

Yes, SD cards have their own set of problems, but I was refering only to the use of long, thin pins versus other contact methods.

I haven't bent any pins, either, but I've repaired three cameras since 2005 for others who have. (Since I'm a watchmaker, I often get calls from people who use me as a first responder for anything macroscopic in scale that gets messed up.)

Dec 29, 2011 at 09:55 PM

BrianO
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p.1 #12 · 7D PROBLEM

So, John? Any word yet on what you've found?

Dec 29, 2011 at 10:01 PM

John_T
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p.1 #13 · 7D PROBLEM

...if you have something like a Visible Dust 8X sensor loupe with LED lights, you can check all the pins in the CF slot and the holes on the card for damage or dirt. You might also want to check and clean your lens contacts and pins on the body. I have rarely had error messages, but as I recall, the fault indicated is not always the direct source of the fault.

Dec 29, 2011 at 11:12 PM

tanglefoot47
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p.1 #14 · 7D PROBLEM

try a camera reset like pulling the internal battery maybe

Dec 29, 2011 at 11:20 PM

BrianO
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p.1 #15 · 7D PROBLEM

John_T wrote: ...if you have something like a Visible Dust 8X sensor loupe with LED lights, you can check all the pins in the CF slot and the holes on the card for damage or dirt.

That's a very handy tool to have.

I actually use a medical otoscope that I got during school a decade ago. You can get inexpensive "Doctor Mom" otoscopes at many pharmacies that work just about as well; or buy direct here:

http://www.drmomotoscope.com/#product

Dec 30, 2011 at 08:47 AM

Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #16 · 7D PROBLEM

omarlyn wrote:
BrianO wrote:
That's one of the disadvantages of CF cards versus SD cards. The CF card has 50 tiny little holes that have to drop over 50 tiny little pins in the camera, and it doesn't take much of a misalignment while inserting the card to bend or break one or more of those pins.

The SD design, with external contacts that slide into, rather than drop around, the camera contacts is a safer design.

Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that but my personal experience tells me that in almost 10 years of CF card use, the only pin I ever bent was in a very cheap card reader with poor tolerances. I probably have had many tens of thousands of insert/remove cycles of CF cards in my camera bodies without issue (knock on wood). However, I've seen several SD cards that have split/chipped with much, much lighter use!

YMMV,
Omar

this is very true Omar but (and no ive never bent a pin in the body either) if an SD card splits (yes I've had it happen) its only the card thats thrown away. if the pins bend/break its a bigger repair that could either end up costing a fair bit or even end the life of the camera (some would be beyond economic repair).
I to have put a CF card thru the wash to no ill effect and they are probably much more sturdy than SD cards but the one weak point is if a pin hole/holes gets blocked up and you dont notice the pins in the reader will probably break/bend.

as for other types of memory I can see that if the next couple of releases of prosumer bodies comes quickly (5D3 /7D2) they may still have CF but after that I think its going to be SD for most things (maybe even those bodies could be SD) and the new XQD after that .
I read that Canon and Nikon have signed up to XQD

Dec 30, 2011 at 11:04 AM

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