Help! Bent pin on my 300D CF reader!

[BrandonSi]

My camera wouldn't fully turn on and upon closer inspection there's a bent pin in the area where the CF card goes on my 300D! Any suggestions here?! The camera was a refurb through National Camera Exchange and I have a "New" performance guarantee that says it protects against normal wear and tear, as well as "necessary repairs to keep the product to factory specifications." I'll give them a call tomorrow and see what's up, but are there any other options here that anyone is aware of.. would Canon service a refurb? any other suggestions on how to fix this pin? It's bent in a curved shape, just not a little bit to one direction or the other.. thanks!!!

[kram]

Any tools (pincer) that can potentially straighten it out? The problem is that they are very prone to coming off when trying to do anything with them - tried it on a Ipaq and wasnt a good result.

All the best, sorry I'm not of much help here.

[Ian Parkin]

Brandon
I have straightened quite a few pins on 3 canon cameras. that have been bent ( not by me) customers cameras.... how they bend them is another matter????
I use a stereo microscope and set it up so you can see down the slot
Then using seekers ( long sharp points on wooden handles) gently tease the bent pins back into shape.
You do need to set up the camera so its held steady( tripod perhaps) and perhaps some magnifyers on your eyes ( only low power needed)
Ian

[BrandonSi]

Brandon
I have straightened quite a few pins on 3 canon cameras. that have been bent ( not by me) customers cameras.... how they bend them is another matter????
I use a stereo microscope and set it up so you can see down the slot
Then using seekers ( long sharp points on wooden handles) gently tease the bent pins back into shape.
You do need to set up the camera so its held steady( tripod perhaps) and perhaps some magnifyers on your eyes ( only low power needed)
Ian

Thanks Ian! I'll give that a shot.. where can I find a stereo microscope?

[BrandonSi]

Phew! Actually I was able to use a tiny screwdriver and a flashlight to get it close to the correct position, and then I took a CF card (32mb, not my 1GB ;) ) and put it in there and it went in solid, took shots just fine. I'm hoping the pins stay in place now. I wish the 300D had firewire or USB2, unfortunately i'm going to have to keep taking the card in and out :(

Maybe I should just sell it and get a 1Ds Mk II ;)

[smichl7of9]

I don't know about your 300D, but mine has a USB connector (the small connector on top) on the left hand side I believe.

.02 worth...

[BrandonSi]

I don't know about your 300D, but mine has a USB connector (the small connector on top) on the left hand side I believe.

.02 worth...

Yeah, mine does. It takes about 90 minutes to transfer 1GB of raw files over USB 1.1, vs 90 seconds via my firewire card reader. Wish they had USB 2 on the 300d!

[dsze]

Canon will want $195 to fix that bent pin, but if you tell them that is ridiculous and this should not be possible on a camera like the 300D, they will fix it free the first time. This has happened to me and to 2 other people that I know of.

-daniel

[BrandonSi]

Canon will want $195 to fix that bent pin, but if you tell them that is ridiculous and this should not be possible on a camera like the 300D, they will fix it free the first time. This has happened to me and to 2 other people that I know of.

-daniel

Awesome, i'm crossing my fingers my little screwdriver job will hold but I will definitely do that should it fail again for good. You never realize how much apart of you your camera is until you can't use it! I couldn't even sleep last night!

[FScott]

Awesome, i'm crossing my fingers my little screwdriver job will hold but I will definitely do that should it fail again for good. You never realize how much apart of you your camera is until you can't use it! I couldn't even sleep last night!

You should also carefully inspect the CF card that you used when you discovered the bent pin. The sockets on CF cards are auto-centering, i.e. the little plastic funnel around each socket guides each pin in the camera into the socket. The pin is then tapered to center and engage the socket. If you bent a pin it is likely that there is a nick in the plastic on the CF card itself or the socket has gotten mangled. Sand or pointed objects in the camera bag can mess them up. With an undamaged CF card there is no reason to have a bent pin, ever. Since your camera was a refurb, it is possible that the previous owner bent the pin with a damaged CF card and you are now dealing with a weakened pin.

Remember, you only really get one, maybe two chances to bend it back successfully. After that the Kovar or phosphor-bronze that they made the pins out of will work harden and break off. Then it is off to Canon...

I agree that the USB port on the 300D is useless. Even with the 20D I still use firewire and PCCard CF readers.

-- Scott.