# The CFexpress card reader included with the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III may be delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak



## Canon Rumors Guy (Feb 5, 2020)

> We have received a report out of Germany that the CFexpress card reader that is to be included with the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III is going to be delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The factory that makes the card reader is based in China and from this report, it has been closed down.
> Canon will instruct purchasers of the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III to register their cameras starting on February 14, 2020, to receive their card reader at a later date.
> At this time we don’t know if this will be a global issue or not, as some card readers may have already left the factory.
> We’ll update you once we know more.



Continue reading...


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## Alex784 (Feb 5, 2020)

Not sure whether it’s related, but yesterday I’ve been called by my camera store regarding my CPS member number (I’m not a pro, I don’t live in Europe, but I have European silver CPS membership because it’s free and valid worldwide). It seems that the delivery to CPS members will be prioritized.


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## Tyler Edwards (Feb 5, 2020)

Interesting. SanDisk has also said that some of their early readers were defective and Canon issued a product advisory statement about it too since they were bundled with the C500 Mark II. I sure hope this doesn't impact shipping of the 1DX III.


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## richperson (Feb 5, 2020)

Glad I ordered a separate one from a different manufacture.


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## unfocused (Feb 5, 2020)

Makes me wonder if cards will be impacted as I think they are all made in China.


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## KeithBreazeal (Feb 5, 2020)

Due to security concerns, I would never use a plugin device made in China.


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## Alex784 (Feb 5, 2020)

KeithBreazeal said:


> Due to security concerns, I would never use a plugin device made in China.


Which plugin devices, not made in China, are you using then ?


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## slclick (Feb 5, 2020)

Alex784 said:


> Which plugin devices, not made in China, are you using then ?


And photographic gear speaking that leaves what? Kirk and Wimberely?


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## Kit. (Feb 5, 2020)

KeithBreazeal said:


> Due to security concerns, I would never use a plugin device made in China.


And you plug them into devices made... where?


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## dolina (Feb 5, 2020)

they should have stuck to CF cards rather than CFEXpress


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## Bishop80 (Feb 6, 2020)

dolina said:


> they should have stuck to CF cards rather than CFEXpress


Are you saying this because of the Coronavirus?


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## Alex784 (Feb 6, 2020)

richperson said:


> Glad I ordered a separate one from a different manufacture.


The reader is supposed to be part of your bundle, unless you are based in Eastern Europe.


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## Tom W (Feb 6, 2020)

Probably ought to consider making things somewhere outside of China...


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## slclick (Feb 6, 2020)

Alex784 said:


> The reader is supposed to be part of your bundle, unless you are based in Eastern Europe.


I guess he also has the Mark iii crystal ball!


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## tnargs (Feb 6, 2020)

Canon Rumors Guy said:


> Continue reading...


Nyah nyah, your cardreader has a virus....


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## Chaitanya (Feb 6, 2020)

That Sandisk reader has some of the worst reviews, its a good thing that its delayed.


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## dolina (Feb 6, 2020)

Jack Jian said:


> Typical millennial comment.
> 
> CFEXpress was used so that all those insane video feature can be executed without a hiccup and also to integrate seamlessly with cinema environment and also "future proofing". BTW, all cards types are made in China anyways (if your comment stems from the mention of Coronavirus.)


Get off my lawn!

Unlike many I was making a humorous comment.

Canon should have abandoned CF for XQD/CFast as early as 2011 or any of these bodies below.

2011 1D X
2012 5D Mark III
2014 7D Mark II
2015 5Ds
2016 5D Mark IV
Then move to CFExpress in 2020 with the 1D X Mark III, 5Ds Mark II, 5D Mark V, 7D Mark III or RF quivalent bodies.

The delay is probably because of labor or supply chain shortages.

So if you are planning to buy 1D X Mark III then ditch the plan and actually buy it now. Projects that will need it wont wait for stocks to come in.

Same thing with those buying a Macbook Pro 16". Do so now or wait for a few months for it to come back into stock.


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## richperson (Feb 6, 2020)

Alex784 said:


> The reader is supposed to be part of your bundle, unless you are based in Eastern Europe.



Yes, but I have a few high volume shoots in February and March. I'd rather not take the chance to find out at the last minute that there was a problem or I get a card for a future reader. Besides, I prefer thunderbolt 3 readers for my Mac anyway.


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## RBS (Feb 6, 2020)

Not too worried if the reader doesn't ship with my 1DX III because I have grown used to using the ethernet ports in my 1DX and 1DX II to avoid dealing with fragile CF card pin connectors. Speed, especially with the faster gigabit LAN port on the 1DX II, is fine connected to the gigabit LAN port in my HP Z820 workstation.

After shooting a sports event, I can relax with a drink while watching the preview as the images transfer before starting editing 

At least the CFexpress card avoids the potential bent pin issue with a robust mechanical interface and no fragile pins. I am started to get excited about the new body as the release date approaches and with the even better higher ISO performance than the 1DX II, I hope that the 200-400 F4 1.4X will be very viable for HS football even on lesser illuminated fields.


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## Alex784 (Feb 6, 2020)

richperson said:


> I'd rather not take the chance to find out at the last minute that there was a problem or I get a card for a future reader.


It’s up to you, but if it ever happens, you still can transfer your files via 1GB Ethernet and eventually wifi, no ?


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## YuengLinger (Feb 6, 2020)

RBS said:


> Not too worried if the reader doesn't ship with my 1DX III because I have grown used to using the ethernet ports in my 1DX and 1DX II to avoid dealing with fragile CF card pin connectors...



So...I've had, over the past 15 years, at least 50 CF cards. I changed them out, all together, estimating, 15,000 to 20,000 times in five different bodies. I've belonged ten years to a camera club with 20 other members who have had cameras using CF cards for as long as I have...None of them ever mentioned a bent pin.

Hmmm...

How did WE get so lucky?

Sometimes I wonder if people get confused between problems they read about and problems they have actually had.


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## tpatana (Feb 7, 2020)

YuengLinger said:


> So...I've had, over the past 15 years, at least 50 CF cards. I changed them out, all together, estimating, 15,000 to 20,000 times in five different bodies. I've belonged ten years to a camera club with 20 other members who have had cameras using CF cards for as long as I have...None of them ever mentioned a bent pin.
> 
> Hmmm...
> 
> ...



Was just commenting same.

Rough estimate, I have maybe 400k clicks on my bodies past ~8 years. I always take cards out and use reader on PC. Not too often but sometimes I even have to hussle-swap cards during event. Tough to estimate how many times I've inserted CF cards, but I've never had any bent pins problems.

I have no clue where/who has those bent pins problems.


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## Michael Clark (Feb 7, 2020)

RBS said:


> Not too worried if the reader doesn't ship with my 1DX III because I have grown used to using the ethernet ports in my 1DX and 1DX II to avoid dealing with fragile CF card pin connectors. Speed, especially with the faster gigabit LAN port on the 1DX II, is fine connected to the gigabit LAN port in my HP Z820 workstation.
> 
> After shooting a sports event, I can relax with a drink while watching the preview as the images transfer before starting editing
> 
> At least the CFexpress card avoids the potential bent pin issue with a robust mechanical interface and no fragile pins. I am started to get excited about the new body as the release date approaches and with the even better higher ISO performance than the 1DX II, I hope that the 200-400 F4 1.4X will be very viable for HS football even on lesser illuminated fields.



On most of the (better) high school football fields I shoot, f/4 requires ISO 6400 to get to 1/1000.


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## SecureGSM (Feb 7, 2020)

tpatana said:


> Was just commenting same.
> 
> Rough estimate, I have maybe 400k clicks on my bodies past ~8 years. I always take cards out and use reader on PC. Not too often but sometimes I even have to hussle-swap cards during event. Tough to estimate how many times I've inserted CF cards, but I've never had any bent pins problems.
> 
> I have no clue where/who has those bent pins problems.


Not you but there is such an issue. Your personal experience may wary.

here you are, sir:









Ideas for Avoiding Bent CF Slot Pins?


I am a photography teacher, and this year I received cameras with CF cards. Within a week of letting the students use them, three cameras had bent CF slot pins. Does anyone have ideas for prevent...




photo.stackexchange.com


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## privatebydesign (Feb 7, 2020)

YuengLinger said:


> So...I've had, over the past 15 years, at least 50 CF cards. I changed them out, all together, estimating, 15,000 to 20,000 times in five different bodies. I've belonged ten years to a camera club with 20 other members who have had cameras using CF cards for as long as I have...None of them ever mentioned a bent pin.
> 
> Hmmm...
> 
> ...


I’ve bent a pin in a CF camera, it was an old Canon P&S so not the build quality of a 1 series. Actually the pin snapped off but the camera and cards still worked fine in it and I never lost an image even though for most of the life of that camera it had a pin missing.


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## Kit. (Feb 7, 2020)

YuengLinger said:


> So...I've had, over the past 15 years, at least 50 CF cards. I changed them out, all together, estimating, 15,000 to 20,000 times in five different bodies. I've belonged ten years to a camera club with 20 other members who have had cameras using CF cards for as long as I have...None of them ever mentioned a bent pin.
> 
> Hmmm...
> 
> How did WE get so lucky?


People don't always mention what they've had.

I had a card destroyed by a reader with a bent pin.


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## YuengLinger (Feb 7, 2020)

Kit. said:


> People don't always mention what they've had.
> 
> I had a card destroyed by a reader with a bent pin.



But, would you admit that, overall, CF cards are reliable and generally trouble-free?


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## Kit. (Feb 7, 2020)

YuengLinger said:


> But, would you admit that, overall, CF cards are reliable and generally trouble-free?


If I am afraid to put a card into a new reader before examining the reader first? No, I wouldn't call it "trouble-free".


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## tron (Feb 7, 2020)

YuengLinger said:


> So...I've had, over the past 15 years, at least 50 CF cards. I changed them out, all together, estimating, 15,000 to 20,000 times in five different bodies. I've belonged ten years to a camera club with 20 other members who have had cameras using CF cards for as long as I have...None of them ever mentioned a bent pin.
> 
> Hmmm...
> 
> ...


Exactly! I have used CF cards with Canon 40D, 5DMkII, 5DMkIII, 5DMkIV, 7DMkII, 5DsR. Not a single issue.
Only an AKASA card reader exhibited this problem. I bought a LEXAR card reader that workds fast and fine.


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## tron (Feb 7, 2020)

SecureGSM said:


> Not you but there is such an issue. Your personal experience may wary.
> 
> here you are, sir:
> 
> ...


hello, I read that article and the fault is obviously with the students.They managed to destroy the usb ports of the cameras when asked to use usb cables to transfer the photos instead of CF cards!


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## YuengLinger (Feb 7, 2020)

tron said:


> Exactly! I have used CF cards with Canon 40D, 5DMkII, 5DMkIII, 5DMkIV, 7DMkII, 5DsR. Not a single issue.
> Only an AKASA card reader exhibited this problem. I bought a LEXAR card reader that workds fast and fine.


We might be discussing the extremely reliable versus FOOL proof.

Here's my analogy of the day: Decades ago while eating a Caesar salad I bit my fork and chipped my tooth. Now I have fear of forks (and don't get me started on the horrors of Caesar dressing and e. coli in lettuce), and I warn my friends to stay away from them. And I'm waiting for a better technology!


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## RBS (Feb 7, 2020)

Wow has this thread taken an EXTREMELY goofy turn. My initial post was to suggest an alternative to a card reader if the poster's 1DX III (and mine) are shipped next week without the promised bundled CF Express card reader. For years, I have used the RJ-45 ethernet port built into my EOS 1DX series bodies for fast file transfer and it is a very simple file transfer alternative to removing cards with these bodies.

Are CF cards fatally flawed? Of course not but bent pins certainly can be an issue with this type of connector as a most simple search will reveal: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=cf+card+pin+problem 

I often shoot several thousand images a week for sports events and using the simple and robust RJ-45 ethernet port built into the 1DX series bodies drops the risk of damaging a CF pin connector and taking one of my camera bodies out of service from minimal to zero.


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## StoicalEtcher (Feb 8, 2020)

RBS said:


> Wow has this thread taken an EXTREMELY goofy turn. My initial post was to suggest an alternative to a card reader if the poster's 1DX III (and mine) are shipped next week without the promised bundled CF Express card reader. For years, I have used the RJ-45 ethernet port built into my EOS 1DX series bodies for fast file transfer and it is a very simple file transfer alternative to removing cards with these bodies.
> 
> Are CF cards fatally flawed? Of course not but bent pins certainly can be an issue with this type of connector as a most simple search will reveal: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=cf+card+pin+problem
> 
> I often shoot several thousand images a week for sports events and using the simple and robust RJ-45 ethernet port built into the 1DX series bodies drops the risk of damaging a CF pin connector and taking one of my camera bodies out of service from minimal to zero.


Aah, but then what are you doing to increase the risk of damage to your ethernet port? Goes from zero to something a little bit higher..? Only joking


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## RBS (Feb 8, 2020)

StoicalEtcher said:


> Aah, but then what are you doing to increase the risk of damage to your ethernet port? Goes from zero to something a little bit higher..? Only joking



I hope that I don't damage the WiFi when my 1DX III arrives if I start using that for file transfer  

On a more serious note, the RJ-45 jack (typical ethernet connector) is a very robust connector that is very simple and doesn't have to fit a large number of contacts into a tiny space and is great for the sort of duty cycle my DSLR bodies see. Although it would be possible through very clumsy behavior to bend one of the RJ-45 series contacts, it wouldn't require the skill of a surgeon to put it right again.


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## jam05 (Feb 8, 2020)

Can actually be purchased elsewhere.


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## jam05 (Feb 8, 2020)

StoicalEtcher said:


> Aah, but then what are you doing to increase the risk of damage to your ethernet port? Goes from zero to something a little bit higher..? Only joking


Yes, and that card reader in the box isn't the only CFexpress card reader manufactured and sold in the world. That card reader and others can be found at Best Buy, Amazon, etc.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 8, 2020)

RBS said:


> I hope that I don't damage the WiFi when my 1DX III arrives if I start using that for file transfer
> 
> On a more serious note, the RJ-45 jack (typical ethernet connector) is a very robust connector that is very simple and doesn't have to fit a large number of contacts into a tiny space and is great for the sort of duty cycle my DSLR bodies see. Although it would be possible through very clumsy behavior to bend one of the RJ-45 series contacts, it wouldn't require the skill of a surgeon to put it right again.


I've had many RJ-45 contacts bend and become intermittent over the years. I also spent 35 years working with connector designs and factories. Th design of the CF card connection system s beyond horrible. I've had two cameras ruined and two card readers with bad pins.

The RJ 45 is not very good either, but at least, a person who is moderately skilled can usually pull the pins that are bent or pushed out of place back in to place until the device can be fixed. The IDC connection to the wiring is far worse, I see a lot of them break off. I buy bags of replacements by the hundred.


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## YuengLinger (Feb 9, 2020)

RBS said:


> Are CF cards fatally flawed? Of course not but bent pins certainly can be an issue with this type of connector as a most simple search will reveal: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=cf+card+pin+problem
> 
> I often shoot several thousand images a week for sports events and using the simple and robust RJ-45 ethernet port built into the 1DX series bodies drops the risk of damaging a CF pin connector and taking one of my camera bodies out of service from minimal to zero.



Yes, google certainly reveals the hidden dangers of everyday life! Here's a chilling example:






Toilet-related injuries and deaths - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org


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## uri.raz (Feb 9, 2020)

tpatana said:


> Rough estimate, I have maybe 400k clicks on my bodies past ~8 years. I always take cards out and use reader on PC. Not too often but sometimes I even have to hussle-swap cards during event. Tough to estimate how many times I've inserted CF cards, but I've never had any bent pins problems.
> 
> I have no clue where/who has those bent pins problems.



I had a bent pin on my camera and on thumb sized card reader. Since then I take out the SD card in order to offload the images.


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## YuengLinger (Feb 9, 2020)

Could it be, and just tossing this out there, that some bent pins are related to intoxication? I know better than to handle my gear after a third V&T, but others simply throw caution to the wind...


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 9, 2020)

YuengLinger said:


> Could it be, and just tossing this out there, that some bent pins are related to intoxication? I know better than to handle my gear after a third V&T, but others simply throw caution to the wind...


Its more due to the tolerances and quality of both sides. They almost always come from different manufacturers. Parts are injection molded and there are many variables that affect the dimensions. Generally, the better manufacturers use a go-no go tool, but pins can get slightly bent. I've seen it.

I once had to find the cause of similar but very expensive space rated connectors doing this. Cards bent pins when mated with the motherboard. I had a lab that was dedicated to aerospace wire and connectors. What I found in this case was that cleaning residue from solder flux using a chemical had caused stress relief which lengthened the connector slightly. We first measured the true position of each pin and each socket on both sides and found the side that caused the issue, then measured new parts which were fine. Then, we looked at every step of production and found the issue. The material in the part had been changed from Diallyl Phthalate to a highly touted GE engineering thermoplastic which was supposed to be fluid resistant. It wasn't so we had to go back to the ancient but more stable material. After that, I came across some expensive kitchen utensils made from the stuff. They were guaranteed for 50 years! I bought one, it broke after being used for a year. Going thru the dishwasher hardened it and made it brittle. It was supposed to stand much more heat than a dishwasher could put out. You can't trust specs, and testing is expensive. We think of Kapton as a wonderful almost indestructable material, but put it in boiling water and it goes soft.

Pins and sockets bending when a connector from one manufacturer was mated to a part from a different manufacturer was a frequent issue. We sometimes had to bring the manufacturers together and force them to figure out the issue. Usually, it was due to different methods of dimensioning. Manufacturers don't like to do this, but there is a reporting system used by companies that report problems like this so that a manufacturer loses sales if he is at fault. Its a big lever to force them to fix the issue. I had lots of problems with plastics, even wire insulation that was conductive!


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## richperson (Feb 9, 2020)

RBS said:


> I hope that I don't damage the WiFi when my 1DX III arrives if I start using that for file transfer
> 
> On a more serious note, the RJ-45 jack (typical ethernet connector) is a very robust connector that is very simple and doesn't have to fit a large number of contacts into a tiny space and is great for the sort of duty cycle my DSLR bodies see. Although it would be possible through very clumsy behavior to bend one of the RJ-45 series contacts, it wouldn't require the skill of a surgeon to put it right again.



I'm actually considering moving to this route, but what is required for the hookup on the computer side (Mac OS). I'm not good at networks.


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## RBS (Feb 9, 2020)

richperson said:


> I'm actually considering moving to this route, but what is required for the hookup on the computer side (Mac OS). I'm not good at networks.


It depends upon which Apple computer you have, it may have have a standard ethernet port or you may need Apple's Thunderbolt to Gigabit adapter but it shouldn't be at all difficult to set up. I use a HP Z820 workstation running windows for photo processing but someone else who is more familiar with the Apple world will know.


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## mkush (Feb 14, 2020)

My 1Dx3 arrived yesterday (Best Buy) and had both the card and reader bundled.


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## mkush (Feb 14, 2020)

mkush said:


> My 1Dx3 arrived yesterday (Best Buy) and had both the card and reader bundled.


By the way, Best Buy still seems to have the 1Dx3 in stock for delivery Tuesday if anyone’s interested.


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## Alex784 (Feb 14, 2020)

mkush said:


> By the way, Best Buy still seems to have the 1Dx3 in stock for delivery Tuesday if anyone’s interested.


I got mine yesterday, Feb 13th, as expected. No delay.


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