1DX fault

[Dune]

I have a fault on my 1DX, if I put a card in slot two the camera will not switch on. I’ve tried every combination and different cards.. anyone had the same issue? 

Thanks 

[wq9nsc · Accepted solution]

You likely have damaged pins in slot two that are being pushed together when a card is inserted and the camera won't power on to protect itself due to this fault.

CF and Cfast card sockets are a poor design for high insertion duty cycle operation because those pins are pretty fragile unlike the much more robust SD socket.  For my 1DX and 1DX 2 they have a pair of large cards in both of them which has been sufficient to handle every single event where I use them and I then use the ethernet port to transfer images to the computer.  I would not be at all comfortable frequently removing these cards,

Take a good look at the offending slot and see if you see one or more pins that are bent.  If so it would be best to send it to Canon, other options are to live with one card slot or you can try to carefully straighten the pin yourself but I would want that connector replaced if there is a bent pin because once bent it will be easy to have it happen again. Or if you decide to straighten it and are sucessful then carefully insert a high capacity card in that slot and leave it there.

Rodger

[jrhoffman75]

Do you mean that it will power on with Card2 empty but not power on if you put a card in Card2?

[Dune]

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@jrhoffman75 wrote:

Do you mean that it will power on with Card2 empty but not power on if you put a card in Card2?

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Yes

[wq9nsc · Accepted solution]

You likely have damaged pins in slot two that are being pushed together when a card is inserted and the camera won't power on to protect itself due to this fault.

CF and Cfast card sockets are a poor design for high insertion duty cycle operation because those pins are pretty fragile unlike the much more robust SD socket.  For my 1DX and 1DX 2 they have a pair of large cards in both of them which has been sufficient to handle every single event where I use them and I then use the ethernet port to transfer images to the computer.  I would not be at all comfortable frequently removing these cards,

Take a good look at the offending slot and see if you see one or more pins that are bent.  If so it would be best to send it to Canon, other options are to live with one card slot or you can try to carefully straighten the pin yourself but I would want that connector replaced if there is a bent pin because once bent it will be easy to have it happen again. Or if you decide to straighten it and are sucessful then carefully insert a high capacity card in that slot and leave it there.

Rodger

[Dune]

Yes, broken pin. One had managed to bend over and part snap so no chance of home repair. I’ll need a new card slot base. Thanks for your help 

[wq9nsc]

Canon service should be able to repair that quickly with no problem.  

I know that CF and CFast cards are used in a lot of products but I think that connector setup is better suited for equipment where the card is intended to remain in place for long periods of time rather than where it will see a high duty cycle. 

It probably varies by operating system and computer but with my HP Z820 for best results I had to manually set the etherhnet address in camera settings; when I set it up using the camera's connection wizard it worked fine but it would take a long time to connect every time I wanted to transfer photos.  Once I manually set the address in the camera, enabling communications in the camera menu will launch EOS utility with it at the ready to start downloading photos screen in under 5 seconds.  My PC has two gigabit Ethernet ports and I leave a cable in the second one just for connecting my 1DX and 1DX2 but I suspect you could use router ports with no problem.

Rodger 

[CaliforniaDream]

I have a 5D MarkIV  and never take the CF card out.  Just transfer to computer and then reformat.  I was worried about the pins too.  Had to send in a previous camara due to bent pins.

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

Rodger's advice is sound. I damaged a pin on my Digital Rebel (aka 300) many years ago. I was able to carefully bend it back enough to get the card to start and seating the card straightened it fully.

I left the card in and used the USB cable to download. That’s not a cure all since the USB port can be damaged as well.

Since the Rebel all my cameras have been 1 series, I have never had another problem. I do slide the card in until it stops freely moving and then slowly seat it so I can sense any abnormal resistance.

[wq9nsc]

John,

With your current 1 series, the standard RJ45 style ethernet connector is quite robust and is a safe way to do fast transfer as long as your PC also has a fast ethernet port.  USB ports are designed as much for compactness as they are for robustness while the RJ45 style jack dates back to much earlier telephone days where reliability was a major concern.

It is possible to bend a wire in this stye of RJ connector but it isn't as likely and itis much easier to repair than the multiple tiny pin CF and Cfast sockets.

Rodger 

[jrhoffman75]

Thanks Roger. I am going to try the Ethernet approach.