Canon Eos Rebel T4i does not read memory cards. Wife's camera. NEEDS TO BE FIXED!

[chapin316]

Hello everyone.

I am having the same problem alot of people are having when it comes to the T4i and memory cards. MY wife has had this camera for several years and absolutly loves it. She loves taking pictures and has even done some wedding photography work. Now recently we have come across the problem where whenever ANY memory card is put into the camera an error message pops up "Card can not be accessed. Please reinsert, switch cards or format". When I attempt to format the card on the camera, I recvieve the message "Cannot format, change card". I have also live chatted with a Cannon rep who helped me troubleshoot (to no avail) and todl me that since the camera is "out of service life" since 11/29/17 they can no longer repair it and reccomend participating in their Upgrade Program to swap the camera out for something else at a discounted price. However my wife has purchased many accessories for this camera and I do not want them to go to waste and am unsure if they can be used with any other camera. So I come to you guys for help in hopes of fixing the camera and saving the day. Here are a few notes:

* Yes I have tried ALL of the memory cards that we own, from Sandisk 32 GB cards to Pro200x 8GB cards to PNY 16 GB cards both new and old. NONE of them work.

* Yes I have backed up the photos from several cards onto the computer and formatted the card through the computer (which has worked). However when I put that formatted card back into the camera I get the same error message.

*Yes I have tried to use a little bit of dust off to see if maybe some foreign substance has gotten into the memory card slot. It has not helped.

* Yes I tried to use a flashlight and look to see if any of the pins were bent or misaligned inside the memory card slot. From what I can tell everything looks fine (allthough the little slot for the top part of the card looks slightly bent compared to the slot for the rest of the card. Does anyone elses look that way?)

The only other thing I can think of is if there is a way to restore the camera to its factory settings. Maybe my brother in law or someone accidently hit a setting to make this error come up.

Any help would be appreciated as my wife is looking to shoot a wedding in June.

Thank you.

[jrhoffman75]

You seem to have covered all the user possible solutions. I have a T5i. Looking straight down into the card slot everything is uniform all the way down.The metal piece at the front of the slot has a scalloped top, so that if you look at it an an angle it appears bent.

Canon has the T5i refurb for $640 - https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/eos-t5i-18-55mm-is-stm-lens-kit-refurbished

T4i items should be directly usable on the T5i. If I recall correctly Canon short-lived the T4i becasue of some problem with chemicals in the covering material. T5i has a more upscale appearing covering.

For later Rebels other than a battery grip and batteries I would expect that any accessories you purchased would be compatible.

[ebiggs1]

First try formatting the memory card with a Windows computer.  If it deosn't work than I would not trust the T4i to do a wedding.  A wedding is way to important and critical to trust a less than top notch camera.

You can reset the Rebel in the Menus under Tools. Also removing the battery for an extended time period will totally reset it. The T4i does not have a real-time clock and settings battery so they are powered by the same battery that powers the camera. A capacitor is used for backup so date/time and settings are retained for a while when the battery is removed from the camera. The battery must be left out until that cap drains off all its voltage.

I believe the T5i is close enough the T4i to make all accessories work.  A Canon sales rep can answer that question.  However, I think most accessories especially the lenses will absolutely work with even a more current Rebel.

IMHO, you need a new camera.  That is what you need to do. Weddings are way too important.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

First try formatting the memory card with a Windows computer.  If it deosn't work than I would not trust the T4i to do a wedding.  A wedding is way to important and critical to trust a less than top notch camera.

You can reset the Rebel in the Menus under Tools. Also removing the battery for an extended time period will totally reset it. The T4i does not have a real-time clock and settings battery so they are powered by the same battery that powers the camera. A capacitor is used for backup so date/time and settings are retained for a while when the battery is removed from the camera. The battery must be left out until that cap drains off all its voltage.

I believe the T5i is close enough the T4i to make all accessories work.  A Canon sales rep can answer that question.  However, I think most accessories especially the lenses will absolutely work with even a more current Rebel.

IMHO, you need a new camera.  That is what you need to do. Weddings are way too important.

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I strongly second Ernie's advice. When someone else is relying on you, even if you're not getting paid for it, you have a responsibility not to knowingly try to use defective equipment. If your wife is being paid for the job, then depending on the laws in your jurisdiction, I might even be concerned about the possibility of a lawsuit if something went wrong.

Except for the problem that John mentioned (which had no impact on image quality), the T4i was a very decent camera in its day. But there have been significant improvements in Canon's product line in the meantime. For any professional or semi-professional work, and especially for a wedding, a new or refurbished camera is in order.

[ebiggs1]

"If your wife is being paid for the job, then depending on the laws in your jurisdiction, I might even be concerned about the possibility of a lawsuit ..."

Absolutely, I always get a force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract) agreement signed.