Is it the CF card or the 7D

[Khamelion]

Bit of a strange one this, 3 weeks ago I bought my 7D not had much time to play with it, needless to say it only has 100 photos taken so far.

At time of purchase I bought a 16gb SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s UDMA CF card, which I've had in the camera since purchase.

Today when out taking a few shots I got the message

"Card cannot be accessed. Reinsert/change the card or format card with camera."

I can't format the card in the camera, I just get told

"Cannot format. Change card"

So I changed the card, 3 times, with two 1gb Lexar and one 2gb Lexar card, all of which had the same issue.

So I put in my cheap and nasty emergency only card and the 7D was happy.

Then I decided to put the cards my 7D would not recognize into my 20D and straight away no issue, the 20D formatted the cards.

So I put the 20D formatted cards into the 7D and low and behold the 7D recognized the card and allowed me to format them.

But, alas, when I thought the issue was sorted, I put the 16gb SanDisk back into the 7D and took some more shots, only to find the same error happening again.

I'm thinking it's the 7D as all the cards work without problem in my 20D.

So what so you think, broken cards or broken 7D?

[joeseph]

From the description above, I'd say the problem was the 7D. If you have previously formatted a number of different cards in the suspect camera and they all then fail with similar issues then you've done all the testing you can reasonably do - time for a visit to Canon I'd say, or better still to the retailer that sold you and see if you can get a replacement...

[elContrarian]

You have a computer, don't you?
Try to format it there.

[Khamelion]

Think I've found the issue, it may be me it may be the camera, however, I found that by pushing the CF Card in a little more firmly than I was used to with my 20D I don't have the problems.

A symptom I forgot to mention was that after inserting the card and turning the 7D on, the activity LED would come on for a good few seconds, go out, and nothing would happen, then when you tried to wake the camera up by pressing the shutter button, that's when the error message would appear.

However, if the card is pressed in a little firmer, when turning the 7D on, you get hte sensor cleaning graphic and all is good.

So the question is now, was I being a little paranoid about my expensive new cameram, or do I just have to learn a new way of thinking?

[TJH132]

Sounds like a problem I had with two 8gig SanDisk Extreme IV. SanDisk finally decided they had a problem with a particular batch and replaced them. My thread is here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=772884

This thread has some detailed batch numbers to watch out for and ways to get new cards from SanDisk.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=765502

I would NOT continue to use that card until you know for sure it's ok. You may be in for some lost images if you continue to use it!

TJH

[dr1ft]

Ah, I'm having the SAME problem! (my thread: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=798123)

A cheap 2gb 50x Kingston works fine in my 7d but my 4gb ultra ii (100x) and my 8gb extreme iii (200x) give me that damned error.

I really need a camera right now for the holidays so I will use the 2gb cards, then send in the 7d for repair on 2nd January.

I'm convinced it's the 7d that's the problem. Pressing the card firmly does nothing. Call Canon ASAP.

-Vik

[Khamelion]

Pushing the card in firmly makes no difference, I think it was more hope and willing on my behalf that that was the issue.

I left the camera overnight, battery out as Canon recommend, tried again this morning, but straight away, CF card error. I was straight on the Phone to the shop and I'm off there now hopefully to get a replacement, as I really do not want them to send it off to Canon for repair.

[Khamelion]

Took the 3 week old 7D back to the shop, and got a straight swap and the new one I got has the latest firmware already installed.

So fingers crossed this one behaves.

[dr1ft]

Glad it worked out for you Dave. I wish I had the option of returning to the shop!

[Khamelion]

While I was in there, I bought the grip and battery, I think it was a Canon ploy to get me back to the shop to spend more money.

The bad news is when the other half finds the credit card bill I'm in for trouble, but the good news is at least I'll be able to snap her exploding now.

[oldvultureface]

A similar issue with the 5DMKII and SanDisk cards:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=798749

[Khamelion]

I've still got the 16gb SanDisk, as it worked fine in my 20D, I'll take a few shots over the next couple of days to see if all is well. If not 'll send it back to SanDisk.

I wouildn't care, but when I was in the shop I was going to buy a Lexar card, but the assistant talked me into the SanDisk, should have stuck to my gut feeling. Hey ho we live and learn.