Did you have this happen with your CF card?

<p>I'm a slow learner. Last year while touring the National Parks I was shooting in Antelope Canyon - the highlight of my trip. When I got back to my motel I unloaded my 16GB CF flashcard from my <strong>50D</strong> only to find that almost all of my images were not recorded. <em><strong>BIG disappointment</strong></em> and I could see no explanation. In the last few days I'm out shooting birds with my new <strong>7D</strong> and the same CF card. Near the end of the day I'm shooting flying birds until I say "enough already". When I unload my CF card I don't seem to have a many of the last images of the day so I'm thinking that maybe I didn't take as many of the shots as I had thought. Last night I'm shooting at a concert; the entertainer at first is wearing a white shirt but later in the concert switches to a black jacket. Now when I unload my card I have no images of him in his black jacket. It is beginnning to dawn on me that the 16GB card, which has less than 1/4 its space used, might be the problem. So, it's not my camera - it must be the card. Has anyone had a similar experience?</p>

<p>Try a different card and see if you get the same results. Also, have you ever formatted the card after you finish a shoot? After uploading the images to your computer and have made sure the upload is successful, format the card in the camera to restore the card's full capacity. If you don't do that, or at least delete the older images, the card's available memory will decrease over time as you add more images to it.</p>

<p>William,<br>

Yes, my habit after a day of shooting is to re-format the card.</p>

<p>I can't say I have a suggestion, but let me ask you in case this might help someone else provide you with an answer: how do you transfer the images to the computer? And do you ever check, while shooting, with the card still in the camera, to see if images have recorded?</p>

<p>Noreen,<br>

I transfer using a card reader but over the period of the story that I told I have used 2 different readers. The images <em><strong>do </strong></em>appear on the camera's LCD as I take and review them. So, that's an interesting point - they seem to be recorded somewhere but not necessarily on the CF card. Good point.</p>

<p>i've had problems with various card readers and cards and now use only the dpp software to upload...haven't lost a shot since</p>

<p>Hm... I am wondering if they are in a folder on the CF card that just isn't being picked up during the transfer. Do you use DPP? Do you drag & drop? Something else...?</p>

<p>oops, should have said dpp with the usb cable from camera to computer</p>

<p>I had a card reader that would sometimes only extract the first portion of the images on the CF card, then give an error saying the images are no longer accessible from the card. Then, switched to a different reader with the same CF card and it was fine. After more testing, I found the card reader was faulty and threw it in the trash.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>and the same CF card</p>

</blockquote>

<p>umm,<br>

after the first failure, you would have been well advised to retire that card and not to have used it 2 more times.</p>

<p>Reformatting, changing the download procedure, and the like are all good suggestions but are shutting the barn door after the horse was stolen.<br>

CF cards can go bad/be bad/be counterfeit, so invest in some new ones from a reputable source and check out the failing card in a setting where you will not lose something precious if it doesn't work.</p>

<p>You could always give the card to someone you don't like too much. :|</p>

 

<p>If you don't use DPP (I don't--I use lightroom), you can use the EOS utility to download. I use that more often than a card reader.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>he images <em><strong>do </strong></em>appear on the camera's LCD as I take and review them. So, that's an interesting point - they seem to be recorded somewhere but not necessarily on the CF card.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Depends on what you mean by review. I don't know whether the brief review that appears automatically is in memory or read off the card. However, if by review you mean going back to an image later and having it show on the lcd, I think that has to be from the card.</p>

 

<p>I have heard that some counterfeit cards have much less actual storage than the label indicates. Could this be the case here?</p>

<p>Don't know the problem, but I know I would throw that one away and buy a different brand.</p>

<p>Two questions:<br>

Have you tried to pull the pictures directly off of the camera with the card in the camera?<br>

Have you looked at the CF directly rather than some import software?<br>

Also, what you could be seeing on your LCD is a thumbnail rather than the full image.<br>

There are a number of Rescue softwares to try and I would like at that before erasing the card, but I probably would never use the card again.<br>

Oops... does this happen on all your cards or just one?</p>

Check there is not a new folder created, my 7D has done

this if I shoot lots of frames.

Else replace the card.

I think it is better to use 2-4 gig cards than 16. One of the advantages of low gig cf cards is the download time and not wasting money on an expensive CF cards. Equip yourself with lot of them for backup. If one of them happens to have an error message,don't use it anymore. Maybe you can also have a backup camera,at least one of them will produce images for sure.

<p>Low gig cards don't download pictures any faster than larger cards. They just seem faster because they don't hold as many files. But let's not get into a large vs. small card discussion.</p>

<p>I never use software to pull images off the card. I always put it in a card reader then copy DCIM folder to my hard drive. Then I compare the size and number of files to confirm I got everything.</p>

<p>Since you've had this happen with the same card in two different cameras, it's probably the card. What brand is it?</p>

 

Hi,

 

Let me share a similar incidence. There was once after shooting a wedding, and my friend couldn't find any files inside

the CF card. I had a shock and got back the card, true enough, no files inside when using a card reader. Eventually I tried

2 card readers and finally the second one manage to read the card.

 

Also, direct plugging my camera to comp also solved the problem. Found this mode of transfer faster as well compared to

usb2 card reader.

 

I don't think is the size of the card but rather the reader compatibility to your card.

 

Just my 2 cents

<p>Any chance the fault might not be in the card, but in the card reader? I've seen a few CF and SD readers which couldn't read more than 4 GB. And since the pictures appear on the camera's LCD...</p>

<p>I only ever upload files from a cf card using the software and cable supplied. I get about 700 shots from an empty card to start. I always reformat, but I'm not taking the cf in and out of the camera slot much. I've read that the pins etc are fragile. I just dont trust a card reader.</p>

<p>Lots of good ideas. Some that I can't presently use, eg. cables directlly from camera to computer - I'm away in Florida for the winter and don't have the cables.<br>

I called Canon yesterday - the fleeting view of the images on the LCD comes from the camera's own memory. Reviewing later i.e., chimping, comes from the CF card. It doesn't explain the problem but it is interesting info for me.<br>

The card is a Lexar and there is some sort of lifetime warranty. So eventually I'll get a new card one way or another.</p>

 

<p>You don't need a special cable to connect the camera to the computer. It's the same kind of cable used to connect portable hard drives like Passport - standard USB plug on one end, mini plug on the other. Any computer store, Staples, Walmart, etc. should carry them.</p>

<p>Also, I second Nelson's motion for using several 4GB cards instead of one 16GB card...</p>

<p>You should at least be able to plug your card into your computer via the reader and then read what volume the computer finds, this would tell you if the card was not a genuine 16GB and eliminate that. (Find the drive then read properties).</p>

<p>run a USB cable from the camera to the computer, use the EOS Utility program and see how that works, also check the settings in the EOS Utility Program, try toggling the option to download all shots on the card even if they have been downloaded before. This will rule out possible duplicate photo numbers, even from a second camera making the utility think that shot had been already downloaded and skipping it. I know it is probably a long shot but worth trying to see if you get better results.</p>

<p>I was also curious what computer and OS you are running, Win 7, Vista, XP, 2000, Millennium, 98, 95? MAC OS X.....<br /> Possible Card Reader Driver issue, or even USB driver issue, Motherboard Driver issue, lots of unknown variables to guess at.</p>