Canon 5D Mark ii Memory Card/CF Problem - Overwriting pic

[smyers3]

Hello,

I have had my Canon 5D Mark ii for a year and a half now and love it. However, from time to time I have issues with the memory card/ memory card reader and it is really acting up right now.  I have tried a couple of different memory cards, so I don't believe that the actual card is the issue.  What happens is that the first pic comes out fine and then the next picture overwrites the one I just took and has a pink striped part through part of the pic.  If I take a third pic it will overwrite it again and the whole pic will be very washed out and have that same pink strip through it.  The only thing that works is taking out the memory card and putting it back in. I'm missing lots of pics lately though!  See below for pic examples.  In the second pic you can see the pink strip at the top.  Any ideas as to what the problem could be? We are going to the beach in a few weeks and I really want my camera to work! Thanks!!! ~ Stacie

 

[ebiggs1]

Stacie,

Almost always things like this are the fault of the CF card but not entirely.  The things you need to know and do are....

Buy top quality cards like Snadisk or Lexar.  Get them from known good retailers. Usually 4GB, 8BG or 16GB is best.

Only format the CF card with the camera, never with a computer.  Format the CF card before each important shoot.

Have spares.

Another important factor is to set the camera back to factory defaults whenever you see someting you don't know how it happened!

You may want to reinstall your camera's firmware and this is a good time to make sure it is the latest from Canon.

Go to the 5D Mk II web page.

And card readers go bad.  Get a new one.  They are cheap.  Even the USB port in your computer can fail so try a different port or another computer.

It is also possibilt that one or two of the very tiny pins in the CF card slot have been bent over.  Use a flash light to see it they are all upright.

I use the entire line of 5D's and they are truly great cameras.  You will love it.

EB

[cale_kat]

@smyers3, I would not take this developement lightly. Problems that develop in a similar fashion, a first shot is over-written by a second or third shot, are often times related to power management problems. A brief loss of power causes the devices to "forget" where it was, it repeats the last shot, a pink stripe is a sign of incomplete or interrupted write, ...

If I was you, I'd sent it in for a check.

Good luck.

[smyers3]

cale_kat, Thanks for your suggestion. Hmm...if none of the suggestions in the first post work then I will definitely have it checked out. Thanks!

[ebiggs1]

Always try the easy stuff before you go the "send it in" route.  If you send it in, they will try and eliminate exactly what I suggested you do.  Except they will charge you.

[smyers3]

ebiggs1, Thank you so much for all of the useful tips! I will try reinstalling the firmware as a starting point. I do only have Sandisk extreme memory cards and one is only a couple of months old. I will also check to see if the pins are bent. It does seem to me that it is a connection issue with the memory card/CF slot now that I think of it. The camera will work just fine for a couple of photos and then start acting up. I'm just hoping I can fix the problem soon. Thanks so much for your help. 🙂

[amfoto1]

That looks like a truncated file. Most often when I've seen that, it's been a problem with a card reader. One time it started happening to me when I attached a card reader to my computer via a USB hub. A percentage of all images showed problems like that. When I instead plugged the reader directly into the computer, problem solved.

First thing I'd suggest is to be sure to format your memory card in the camera before using it.

Then look and see if this problem is showing up before transferring the files to your computer. Look at them on the camera's LCD monitor. If okay there, and if it's happening with multiple cards, it's most likely your card reader. Check the connections to the computer first. Maybe try plugging the reader into a different USB port (I'm assuming your computer has several).

If that fails, try a different card reader.

If, on the other hand, you see the fault in images on the camera's LCD screen, it's possibly a problem with the camera. But first, try some other memory cards, properly formatted in the camera of course.

***********
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 

[sr3rafa3]

Hello Everyone,

    I have the same problem on my 5D mkII, the pictures are pink and I need to turn off and turn on for images became normal again, someone can tell me wich part I need to replace ? If this problem is in motherboard (mainboard) or in CCD (sensor) ???

Thanks for help me

[ebiggs1]

You need to do the stuff I told Stacie,

"Stacie,

Almost always things like this are the fault of the CF card but not entirely.  The things you need to know and do are....

Buy top quality cards like Snadisk or Lexar.  Get them from known good retailers. Usually 4GB, 8BG or 16GB is best.

Only format the CF card with the camera, never with a computer.  Format the CF card before each important shoot.

Have spares.

Another important factor is to set the camera back to factory defaults whenever you see someting you don't know how it happened!

You may want to reinstall your camera's firmware and this is a good time to make sure it is the latest from Canon.

Go to the 5D Mk II web page.

And card readers go bad.  Get a new one.  They are cheap.  Even the USB port in your computer can fail so try a different port or another computer.

It is also possibilt that one or two of the very tiny pins in the CF card slot have been bent over.  Use a flash light to see it they are all upright."

Do all this first.  Then come back here.