5dmkII Freezes when transferring photos

Hey, gang. Just got back from a couple of shoots in Michigan. I used a new 32gb Transend CF card in my 5dmkII. Everything went very well on the shoots, but when I tried to transfer my images to the computer (using DPP and connecting the camera to the computer with a USB cable) it would download about 20 or 30 images, then freeze. I eventually got an error message saying that the camera had been disconnected, and to try again. I used a different USB cable, tried again and got the same error, only it made it through about 50 images this time. I put in fresh batteries, but it still froze on the third try. I finally went through and manually selected each photo that had been skipped over, and it downloaded them without further problems.

Since it's a new CF card (formatted it prior to use), I suspect it's the culprit. But I also just updated DPP (to the 5dmkIII version), so I'm wondering if that could cause an issue.

Has anybody run into this before? I searched the forum, but didn't find any threads on this. Before I ship the CF card back to B&H, I'd like to be relatively certain that it's defective. Any input would be appreciated.

I actually have run into that problem with my 1DIV, when downloading straight from the camera.
I was using a 32GB Compact Flash Sandisk Extreme card, however and using the Canon EOS Utility to download. It was an intermittent problem...I could download fine one day, then have the problem you are having the next.

I eventually decided just to use Adobe Bridge's donwload utility and have not had a single hiccup since then.

Using the USB cable and EOS utility isn't a particularly good idea for the long-term. Besides not being reliable, constant use puts wear on the USB connector on the camera, which could very well break.

I suggest getting a card reader instead; it's also much faster in terms of transfer speed.

And yeah, I used to have similar problems too, until I started using a card reader.

Card Reader all the way. I never both hooking my camera up with the USB cable for the simple fact I hate putting my big ass camera on my desk. I like it simple and clean

Plus I have a usb 3.0 card reader, makes life easy.

Unlike Kolor-Pikker and WRXTACY, I've had far more problems using a card reader than downloading direct from camera using Eos Utility.

The comment about the wear on the USB cable should be considered against the equal amount of wear on the card and its camera connection. I'd claim that they cancel out.

+1 for the card reader... you can get cheap ones that mount in your 5.25 bays which is what I've done

I find making statements like "Using the USB cable and EOS utility isn't a particularly good idea for the long-term. Besides not being reliable, constant use puts wear on the USB connector on the camera, which could very well break." to be absurb. The USB connector is fairly robust, just look at the number of devices that use this method of communication. My cell phone is connected/disconnected on multiple occasions every day and it somehow has survived (as have done my other phones) for several years. Keep in mind that the CF card slot pins are not the most robust thing in the world either, although many will say they have never had a problem. Read some of the current posts and you will find an individual now faced with a $350 repair because of a bent pin in his camera body.

One thing I would suggest to the OP is to try this method of image transfer after rebooting the PC and try to observe a pattern. Many, if not most, USB communication problems are caused by the PC, not the attached device or the interface software. Improperly disconnecting a device may cause issues. Then connecting a different device to the same port can compound the issue. If the PC is then placed in standby it just builds more on the issues that can develop.

If the OP can establish that the camera/PC behaves properly when booted clean, then I would start paying attention to properly disconnecting the device and then do some retesting.

Another vote for a card reader. I have a tiny card reader for travelling that is super fast and cost £8.

I had the same problem when I "upgraded" to Vista a few years back. Both my xTi and 5D started to freeze in the middle of transferring.

I started using the card readers (built into my PC) and had no problems since.

I don't think the problem is with USB per se - as a matter of fact the card reader uses USB as well. I think its Canon software thats not keeping up with the USB drivers in OS.

Lowner wrote in post #14567850
Unlike Kolor-Pikker and WRXTACY, I've had far more problems using a card reader than downloading direct from camera using Eos Utility.

The comment about the wear on the USB cable should be considered against the equal amount of wear on the card and its camera connection. I'd claim that they cancel out.

But they don't cancel out.

The camera uses CF cards. The camera have pins and the CF card have holes with the connectors. This design with pins can handle a very high number of connect cycles.

The USB have flat contact surfaces sliding against each other. They normally supports much, much less number of connect cycles because of how flag surfaces interacts. Datasheets for different connector types clearly shows the advantage for pin connectors.

Another thing is that for CF cards, the majority of the wear is with the card - which can be replaced. With the USB connector, a significant amount of the wear is inside the camera, requiring the USB connector to be replaced.

When it comes to number of removals or support for vibrations etc, the CF connector really shines.

So when thinking about mechanical wear, the CF card connector wins greatly.

On the other hand, the original, full-size, USB connector was originally designed for interfacing joysticks for a game console. It's designed to support lots of abuse and be easy to connect by childs. The mini/micro connectors are much more fragile.

The CF connector have one major weakness and that is the danger of bending a pin if the camera has very bad guide rails - or if a hole in the card is plugged and the user still tries to force the card into camera or card reader.

But in the end, the camera can take more connects/removals of the card than of a USB cable. And there shouldn't be any problems with bent pins if people are careful and not inserting the card with force.

WaltA wrote in post #14568198
I think its Canon software thats not keeping up with the USB drivers in OS.

M$ have lots of nice bugs in their USB layer - different bugs in different versions of the OS. Canon may have taken into account bugs in Win2k, WinXP but what about bugs in Windows versions released after the camera was released?

So none of you think it may be the CF card itself? Wow. That was my first guess all the way. I tried downloading the images onto my laptop, which has the older version of EOS Utility and DPP. Same thing happened. It froze after about 30 images.

The only variable now is the card, I would think. I've never had an issue before, and I have always downloaded by simply connecting the camera to the computer using a USB cable.

I'll have to experiment a little. I"m definitely using a different card for my next shoot. We'll see if this happens again.

Thank you all for your input.

gibbit1 wrote in post #14568428
So none of you think it may be the CF card itself? Wow. That was my first guess all the way. I tried downloading the images onto my laptop, which has the older version of EOS Utility and DPP. Same thing happened. It froze after about 30 images.

The only variable now is the card, I would think. I've never had an issue before, and I have always downloaded by simply connecting the camera to the computer using a USB cable.

I'll have to experiment a little. I"m definitely using a different card for my next shoot. We'll see if this happens again.

Thank you all for your input.

But what OS does the laptop have?

My point was that upgrading my OS caused the EOS Utility to have problems transferring files. I don't think the age/version of the Canon software makes much difference.

Examine the links I provided and carefully examine the card. I doubt that anyone here is specifically ruling out the card, especially in light of you stating "I used a new 32gb Transend CF card." New cards have been known to be an issue on rare occasions, and no one here knows the possibility of your specifc new card being a counterfeit, which is also known to occur far more often than desired.

pwm2 wrote in post #14568358
But they don't cancel out.

The camera uses CF cards. The camera have pins and the CF card have holes with the connectors. This design with pins can handle a very high number of connect cycles.

You do know there is another thread here right now where someone has managed to damage one of the cameras card pins?

Sorry, but I am going to stick with my direct download method - simple, straightfoward and nothing ever goes wrong. Unlike my experience with a card reader. Believe me that was a nightmare.