Wearing out the CF card connector. How many times a day do you take it in/out?

[arpi]

Hi folks,

Every time I pull the CF card out of the camera I worry about the possible wear of the contacts and the connector. So, my question is what is an acceptable number of times that you can take in/out the CF card per daily basis. Or better yet, how many times do you do it per day?

TX

[tim]

I do it whenever necessary, and I don't worry about things like this. If it breaks i'll have it repaired, if I can't take cards in and out the camera's no good to me. You rarely hear of anyone having a problem with this. I do it up to dozens of times per day, but I don't use my camera every day.

[kram]

I use my camera mainly weekends. And I pull out the CF card probably 5-6 times both the days. Actually, I dont see a problem as the card seems to be slide through without any issues. The card reader is another issue altogether. But then, its easy to replace that.

[CyberPet]

I don't think you have to worry, it seem to be a pretty tight fit, so it's hard to bend anything. Although I'm careful to not get dust in there, just in case. But I do probaly take out and put in the memory card at least twice a day, if you calculate it over a month.

kram, btw, you're user name is cute... it means "hug" in Swedish. :)

So kram!

[FlyingPete]

I don't think you have to worry, it seem to be a pretty tight fit, so it's hard to bend anything. Although I'm careful to not get dust in there, just in case. But I do probaly take out and put in the memory card at least twice a day, if you calculate it over a month.


Yes, dust is more an issue than wearing the pins out. This sort of conenctor has been around now for quite some time, and I am yet to see one actually worn out from over use.

[lostdoggy]

I think the Pins are made with heavy gauge material then the CF female connector.

[Salleke]

I don't think you have to worry, it seem to be a pretty tight fit, so it's hard to bend anything. Although I'm careful to not get dust in there, just in case. But I do probaly take out and put in the memory card at least twice a day, if you calculate it over a month.

kram, btw, you're user name is cute... it means "hug" in Swedish. :)

So kram!

Hello CyberPet, a while ago you were looking for a dealer of Lumiquest in Sweden.
Did you find what you were looking for?

Kram to you to...:)

[dsze]

I did bend one of the pins in my first drebel. I don't know how it happened, but the card went in crooked and the pin bent. Canon fixed it for free, but made a note at the bottom that it would cost me $195 if it ever happened again. ...it has never happened again, and I would estimate that I take my cards in and out of my cameras at least twice/day. Some days, not at all and other days probably up to 30 times. I'm with Tim though; if you have to worry about things like this then how many photo ops are you really missing? Take pictures.

-daniel

[CyberPet]

Salleke, no I never got a reply for the one guy that sold the LigthSphere II in Sweden. So I had a friend of mine in NYC to buy me one and ship it to me (cost 5 bucks instead of 26 bucks). And then the darn friend doesn't want my money, so I can't pay him back!!! He said it was a gift for real.

I sure love him... great to have friends like that! So now I have to come up with something fun to send him from Sweden, cuz he ain't gonna get away with this. :D

[bauerman]

I would agree that you are much more apt to bend a pin in the CF slot rather than wear anything out. Much more. Just make sure that everytime you re-insert the card - it is perfectly straight going in and there should not be a problem.

[Miranda1]

I wouldn't worry to much about wearing out the pins however you certainly can bend the pins, trust me on that one.

[scottbergerphoto]

I don't know why people are pulling their cards in and out of the camera so many times a day. (Flash Card Flashers?) I put one in until it's filled up and then insert a new one. Sounds like a frequency problem. Try a little Detrol-DP (for digital cameras).

[napolar]

The CF Card should slide in smoothly, if you get resistance STOP and try again. I personally do not worry about bending the CF pins, I have used these types of connectors in computer for years and I have only bent one pin in 15 years. If you are gentle, and do not go crazy with pressure the risk of bending or breaking a pin is minimal. I only use 512MB cards for fear of loosing a picture, more likely IMHO. This means I replace CF cards many many times while out shooting, the issues of wearing out the card / pins or bending a pin has and will never worry me. If you hire a gorilla to put your CF card in then you should be ready to be without a camera for a few weeks.

Murphy's Law, "If it don't fit force it, if it breaks it needed to be replaced anyway" :eek:, should not be used around computers / electronic equipment.

[CyberPet]

Scott, but you shoot one thing for a short while.... you don't want to wait until the whole 1 GB card is full... so you take out the card, download it with your card reader, work with the images and then you get some new idea you want to try, and in the camera the card goes and we're back at square one.

Maybe I'm odd, but that's how I work. :D

[pjd83]

I agree with Cyberpet. Last idea I had I took 9 Photos before taking my card out. And I haven't used my camera since.

I'm gentle with my camera. So if it needs forced...I'll stop and have a look to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

[Leorooster]

I just plug in the cam directly to the computer via USB if I only have a few pics to download. There is nothing wrong with that, and it won't damage the cam.

[Salleke]

Salleke, no I never got a reply for the one guy that sold the LigthSphere II in Sweden. So I had a friend of mine in NYC to buy me one and ship it to me (cost 5 bucks instead of 26 bucks). And then the darn friend doesn't want my money, so I can't pay him back!!! He said it was a gift for real.

I sure love him... great to have friends like that! So now I have to come up with something fun to send him from Sweden, cuz he ain't gonna get away with this. :D

In Belgium we say: "Friends are like stars, we don't see them allways but we know they are there." ... :)

[twalker294]

I will have had my 10D for two years on August 1st. I've taken almost 24,000 pictures with it and it's never been hooked up to my computer -- I have used a card reader from day one. Don't worry about it.

Todd

[kram]

Never got back to this thread.....wonder how I missed it given the amoutn I browse around the forums??!!

Salleke, I was not looking for Lumiquest......and I am not in Sweden. And cyberpet, thanx for the complement on the name, but its just a made up name from some alphabets in my name....

maybe use it when I travel to Sweden :)

[Salleke]

Never got back to this thread.....wonder how I missed it given the amoutn I browse around the forums??!!

Salleke, I was not looking for Lumiquest......and I am not in Sweden. And cyberpet, thanx for the complement on the name, but its just a made up name from some alphabets in my name....

maybe use it when I travel to Sweden :)

Please read the 4 th tread from the top of this tread from CyberPet and you'll understand what the word "Kram" means in Swedisch. ... :)

[slin100]

The Compact Flash connector is rated for 10,000 insertions. In all likelihood, it will last even longer with proper and careful use.

[soupdragon]

Having spent some time working with this style connector if you dont bend the pins in the camera body by inserting/removing the card, with time, you will wear the gold plating away.

That said, the camera will be obsolete by the time you are back to brass.

[scottbergerphoto]

Scott, but you shoot one thing for a short while.... you don't want to wait until the whole 1 GB card is full... so you take out the card, download it with your card reader, work with the images and then you get some new idea you want to try, and in the camera the card goes and we're back at square one.

Maybe I'm odd, but that's how I work. :D
I plan for one project per day, allowing for lighting, travel and set up.
I use 2gb cards. That's good for about 180 Raw shots per card. I use about 2 cards per shoot. That's over 300 shots to review. If that was film that would be 10 Rolls. That's more then enough for me in a day.

[KennyG]

I don't know why people are pulling their cards in and out of the camera so many times a day. (Flash Card Flashers?) I put one in until it's filled up and then insert a new one. Sounds like a frequency problem. Try a little Detrol-DP (for digital cameras).

Scott, if like me you use RAW and 1GB cards, taking 1,500 to 2,000 shots a day, that's a lot of removals/inserts at around 100 shots per card. I often don't even let the card fill and do one specific shoot per card (I carry 20 x 1GB cards by the way) so the numbers are way higher.

There is no risk to the connector other than bent pins due to being less than careful when inserting a card. The CF connectors in the cameras are far better quality than those in cheap readers.

[scottbergerphoto]

Scott, if like me you use RAW and 1GB cards, taking 1,500 to 2,000 shots a day, that's a lot of removals/inserts at around 100 shots per card. I often don't even let the card fill and do one specific shoot per card (I carry 20 x 1GB cards by the way) so the numbers are way higher.

There is no risk to the connector other than bent pins due to being less than careful when inserting a card. The CF connectors in the cameras are far better quality than those in cheap readers.
If you shoot 2,000 pictures and spend just 10secs reviewing each shot afterwards, that comes out to 6 hours just selecting keepers. I would kill myself first. ;)