A50 'CF' Error

[shimonmor]

Have a Canon A50 which has served me well for years but one day turned it on and the lens did not come out and I got a 'CF' flashing on the top mounted LCD. Nothing else would work. The manual says that either no CF card is inserted or the CF door is open. There is a card in there and the door is closed.

Once in a while the camera works ok but most of the time I get the CF error. I've tried 3 different CF cards which work ok in other cameras so I'm sure it's a problem inside the A50. I checked the pin that the door presses on (to tell the camera the CF card door is shut) and appears to work. Sometimes if I shake the camera hard I can get it to work. I took the back cover off but couldn't see anything wrong.

Any ideas? I did use the opportunity to upgrade to an S70 but I would still like to get the old A50 to work (as a backup). Thank you.

[Bodryn]

I'm just a non-expert guessing, but since the same thing happens with different CF cards, I suspect that one or more of the pin connectors inside your A50 might have gotten bent or damaged in some way. Or maybe there's just some corrosion or something on a few of them; maybe there would be a way to get in there and clean them? Just an idea.... Meanwhile, I bet there are some good buys out there on older A series Canons.

[Zekevarg]

I have the same problem with my A50. I gave up and bought a A75. The A75 is significantly more noisy compared to the A50, otherwise I'm happy.