topic Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1. in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

tallen5262 — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 22:02:14 GMT

I have a fairly new 5D Mark 3 and it is saying it won't recognize Card1. It says to format the card but the camera will not do so. Very dissapointing in a new and expensive model camera. I have tried new cards and old cards and get the same message with both. Any help will be much appreciated.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

TCampbell — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 22:26:30 GMT

If it's new, then contact your store or Canon for support. That's why you have a new camera warranty.

CF cards aren't new technology. I have heard of people forcing them down a bit too fast & hard and bending pins. I generally push my cards in to the point where I can feel the card start to kiss the pins... then give it one more gentle push to seat the card completely.

If you visually look inside the card slot, you should be able to see all the pins pointing straight at you. Make sure you don't see any bent pins.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

tallen5262 — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 00:16:14 GMT

Thanks for the response. No bent pins that I can tell. Was hoping there was and easy solve and I wouldn't have to send it in.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

amfoto1 — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 15:30:07 GMT

Before you send it in, you can try several things.

First, since you say that this is happeing with multiple cards, it's probably not the memory cards at fault. Most likely it's a problem with the camera and the most likely thing with those is a bent or broken pin in the card socket. It can be hard to see a bent pin. Look again, very closely, with a flashlight and magnifier if possible. Also sometimes a pin breaks off inside the memory card, so look very carefully at the business end of all your memory cards, too.

If you are certain the socket and cards are fine, next you could try "rebooting" the camera, which is much like rebooting a computer. This can clear bad instructions that are "stuck" in memory. To do a reboot, turn the camera off, remove all the batteries including the silver memory battery, turn the camera on and press the shutter release button once. The shutter won't fire, but this should deplete any and all electrical charge remaining in the circuitry, resetting the camera to factory defaults and clearing everything from memory. Turn the camera off, reinstall the batteries, turn the camera back on and check the date/time. If it needs resetting, you got a proper reboot. If not, you might have to try the slower method, same as above but just turn the camera on and leave the batteries out for an hour or so while the remaining charge in the circuitry slowly drains. Once again, turn the camera off, reinstall the batteries, turn the camera on and check the date/time. There are no guarantees this will solve the problem, but sometimes it does and it's free and pretty easy to try.

If the reboot doesn't solve the problem, one more thing you might try is reinstalling (or updating) the firmware. Go to the Canon website, download the latest firmware and follow the instructions carefully. However in this case something I am concerned about is that a freshly formatted memory card has to be in the camera while doing the install. I haven't tried it myself, so am not sure if you can use the camera's second memory slot for this purpose. But, if you can, a firmware update/reinstall might solve the problem. It's possible that something got corrupted in the firmware. Again, no guarantees this will help, but it's free and fairly easy to try.

If neither of those help, then I'm afraid the camera needs to be looked at. If you've have it only a short time, the retailer might help you. Otherwise, contact Canon about warranty repair or replacement under warranty.

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

tallen5262 — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 16:18:07 GMT

Thank you. I will try re-booting the camera.

Appreciate your help!

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

Buddy1 — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 12:30:20 GMT

Oh no!! After looking and posting and looking some more (I've been at this literally all night!), I think you've hit it! I'm old-ish, but with a magnifying glass and lots of cursing, I think I can see bent pins in MY card slot....now what? I guess my camera has to go to the shop, right? I don't suppose I can get in there myself?? And I guess I better put a PS on my earlier post, asap....thanks for the help!

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

DanBell — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 11:17:39 GMT

i have a brand new canon 5d mark 3 i took it out this weekend to a really nice rain forrest and i got the same problem. i tryed 4 different cards and went to the menu and used format card but still the same. if any one has any suggestions please let me know.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

tallen5262 — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 11:43:59 GMT

I ended up sending it back and having the firmware updated.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

ebiggs1 — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 13:23:45 GMT

"I can see bent pins in MY card slot....now what? I guess my camera has to go to the shop, right? I don't suppose I can get in there myself??"

You can straighten the pins yourself. You need a pair of jeweler's long needle nose pliers. The pins are quite soft and they can be broken off so you may still be better off sending it to Canon.

I doubt this is warranty but Canon may fix it for free if you have not had it very long.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

cale_kat — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 19:40:12 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
"I can see bent pins in MY card slot....now what? I guess my camera has to go to the shop, right? I don't suppose I can get in there myself??"

You can straighten the pins yourself. You need a pair of jeweler's long needle nose pliers. The pins are quite soft and they can be broken off so you may still be better off sending it to Canon.
I doubt this is warranty but Canon may fix it for free if you have not had it very long.

Tweezers will also work in a pinch. 🙂

Disclaim: I have tried this on a card reader and not in the deep recesses of my camera. I'd probably have my camera professionally repaired if it had a bent pin. There's just not much room

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

cuda719 — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 12:43:09 GMT

I had he same issue with my 5D Mark III, contacted canon tried 4 different cards rebooted the camera and

finally had to send it in. They fixed the issue with the camera bu I never really found out what it was. It took about a week

to finally get it back.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

orfeous — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:05:25 GMT

@tallen5262 wrote:
I have a fairly new 5D Mark 3 and it is saying it won't recognize Card1. It says to format the card but the camera will not do so. Very dissapointing in a new and expensive model camera. I have tried new cards and old cards and get the same message with both. Any help will be much appreciated.

Just bought a new 5dmk3 and just tried my camera with my new CF-card and got the same message as you.

I cant do a format or take a picture with it.

My old CF-card seems not to work in the camera either.

New CF-card works in my older camera though.

New SD-card works in camera like a charm..

so.. i dont know what to do.

Take the camera to the local shop? and let them send it to service? or should i get another camera?

send it to canon service myself?

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

ebiggs1 — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 15:23:04 GMT

The camera should shoot whether it has a card in it or not. Unless you turned off shoot without card in the menu.

Get a flash light and look foa bent pin in the CF card slot.

How old is this camera? If it is less than a year Canon will warranty it. If it is a few days send it back.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

orfeous — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 02:03:57 GMT

The camera works, both with SD-card inserted and without a card with the special setting that allows you to shoot
without a card.

I have searched for any bent pint or other pin-issie but i really cant see anything wrong.

The camera is like 1-2 days old 🙂 so i will go to the store with it Monday.

Why can i read that this is very common for this model?

i have owned several canon eos XXD cameras without any CF-slot issues at all.. used them for years and years etc 🙂

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

ebiggs1 — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 12:09:20 GMT

Take it back to the store, today!

"Why can i read that this is very common for this model?"

I have never heard of this being a problem and I know lots of people with 5D3's. Don't believe all you read on the internet.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

orfeous — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 14:45:34 GMT

Problem solved!

Got a new one 🙂

canon 5d mark iii and cf card. should i format the card first before shooting videos

ziondarl — Sun, 22 May 2016 00:00:54 GMT

i bougth a new cf card for my cano 5d mark iii. should i format the card before using it to shoot video.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

alxmcandalla — Sat, 18 Feb 2017 18:33:36 GMT

did you happen to find a solution to the problem you were having with the SD card? Im having the same problem.

Re: My 5d mark 3 says it can't recognize card1.

LucyLu33 — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 20:01:40 GMT

I had this problem too! If I didn't jam the CF card down all the way into it's slot, it would work fine. The little grey toggle that rises up all the way when you push the CF card all the way down, should only rise up about half way, flush with the CF card itself. No idea if this'll fix your problem but it fixed mine!!