Canon 5d ii intermittently not recording to CF card

[maddy33]

Hello,

Having intermittent issues with my d5 ii not recording still images, which has never happened in the past. Once in a while I’ll take photos just to find out that they didn’t record to the card. It has happened with 2 Lexar Pro 800x 16 GB UDMA7 cards. I chimp on my first exposure to see the image on the screen and then do the rest of my shots without looking back, at this point I know now to look at the image through the menu, but do forget. The cards have been reformatted. I do take the card out to read on the computer and then use it in the camera without reformatting. I get lazy and edit some images in photoshop straight out of the cf card, at this point the images have not been saved to the computer until the editing is done. The camera is set to not take pix without a card. I’m shooting in manual taking RAW images.

I’ve got 2 new cards coming, but doubt that is the issue.

I’m going to Florida next week and want to make sure that the images will save.

Any advice would greatly be appreciated!

Mark

[Waddizzle]

I suggest that you immediately stop using the computer to write files to the card. 

[maddy33]

I am not saving the files to the card, although they will contain an .xmp when I have worked with the RAW straight off of the card. The issue has not happened in the past 5 years. Is this the real problem?

[Waddizzle]

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@maddy33 wrote:

I am not saving the files to the card, although they will contain an .xmp when I have worked with the RAW straight off of the card. The issue has not happened in the past 5 years. Is this the real problem?

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"I get lazy and edit some images in photoshop straight out of the cf card, at this point the images have not been saved to the computer until the editing is done."

Yes, you are.  Troubleshooting is not about hunting for problems.  It's all about eliminating possibilities.  To quote Sherlock Holmes.

"How often have I said . . . that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" 

[maddy33]

I open the image directly from the CF card, edit and then save to the computer. I don't save the edited image back to the CF card.

[Waddizzle]

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@maddy33 wrote:
I open the image directly from the CF card, edit and then save to the computer. I don't save the edited image back to the CF card.

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I understand.  The problem is that you don't.  Is it really that hard for you to stop doing that?

[maddy33]

No, but I'm questioning if that it could be the real issue, as I have been doing the same for years.

[RobertTheFat]

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@maddy33 wrote:
No, but I'm questioning if that it could be the real issue.

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It should not be. What Waddizzle is saying is, don't even give it a chance to be. When an apparently unexplainable phenomenon occurs, the first thing you have to do is narrow the conditions down as much as possible in order to simplify the statement of exactly what is happening. Only then can you sensibly start to grope for explanations.

[Waddizzle]

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@maddy33 wrote:

No, but I'm questioning if that it could be the real issue, as I have been doing the same for years.

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You've been using the same camera and card for years?  Been using the same computer, too, I assume.

Well, you're not going to figure out what is wrong until you start changing what you do.  Troubleshooting is all about eliminating possibilities.  If you don't want to change your habits, then good luck finding the problem.

[maddy33]

Yes, same camera, cards and computer.
I will change my "habits" it's just hard knowing which might be needing changed... I'll start by downloading images then working with those from the hard drive. I'll re-format the cards each time I put them back into the camera. Beyond that, I am at a loose.