# Repair cost cf card bent pin



## Jack56 (Dec 21, 2014)

Hi,
My mark5dIII has got a bent pin in the cf card slot. In the shop they told me that the repair (I think he meant replacement of the slot holder) would cot me 300+ euro's.
WHAT? Is that true? I've bought the camera a year ago. Does warranty do the job?


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## tron (Dec 21, 2014)

That is unfortunate  How was the pin bent?


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## Jack56 (Dec 21, 2014)

A few month ago I had to release the card with a bit of force. I tried to put it back in the slot and again it didn't fit smoothly.
Why? No idea.
I summer I had a silly "accident". I dropped my camera because I was hit by a electric fence. Stupid, and maybe that's the reason? I can't think about something else. But are those costs that high?


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## alistairm1 (Dec 21, 2014)

I think there is a significant amount of disassembly required to access the CF pin assembly. That is what will jack up the cost of repair.
I remember getting the shutter button replaced on my 50D.
Cost of spare part was about 60p (€0.76, $0.93)
Total cost of repair £88. (€112, $137)


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## alben (Dec 21, 2014)

Friend of mine had this repair done recently to his 5D3, the cost was in the region of £200.


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## Antono Refa (Dec 21, 2014)

With memory cards supporting UHS Speed Class 3 (= minimum 30MB/s) selling for under U.S.$100, and the smaller form factor, I don't see any reason to keep supporting CF any more.


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## Jack56 (Dec 21, 2014)

Thanks for your comments. Any idea about warranty?


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## Viggo (Dec 21, 2014)

Jack56 said:


> Thanks for your comments. Any idea about warranty?



A pin only bends with excessive force, not by itself, so it is not covered by warranty.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 21, 2014)

Antono Refa said:


> With memory cards supporting UHS Speed Class 3 (= minimum *30MB/s*) selling for under U.S.$100, and the smaller form factor, I don't see any reason to keep supporting CF any more.



Considering that my old 7D hit write speeds of >45 MB/s, I don't see a card which would take 50% longer to clear the buffer as a viable option. Also, highest SD card speeds are only achieved after a low-level format, so if you don't perform that time-consuming in-camera task frequently, your speeds get even slower.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 21, 2014)

Jack56 said:


> Hi,
> My mark5dIII has got a bent pin in the cf card slot. In the shop they told me that the repair (I think he meant replacement of the slot holder) would cot me 300+ euro's.
> WHAT? Is that true? I've bought the camera a year ago. Does warranty do the job?


 

If the camera is in warranty, and it wasn't caused by a bad card, it should be covered.

What causes the bent pins on CR Card sockets is a combination of card and slot tolerances that lets a card mis-register with a pin or pins in the camera. I'd certainly ask Canon to fix it under warranty. I don't know what type of card you are using, but tolerances are critical, so use only the best brands.

You can replace the card yourself, just two tools are needed, a screwdriver with a cross tip to JIS standards (Not Phillips) and a flat blade jewelers screwdriver. Its best to have a set of each so that you can pick the right size.

There are lots of utube videos showing people replacing the card slot assembly. You remove the screws (Peeling back part of the rubber covering is required), disconnect the ribbon cables using the flat blade screwdriver to open the clamps, and after working your way to the unit, remove and replace it.

You can buy a replacement from Canon, or on ebay, they are not expensive. 

With setup time to prepare a workplace, and putting down some tape to hold the screws, it should take 30-45 minutes.


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## Canon1 (Dec 21, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> Antono Refa said:
> 
> 
> > With memory cards supporting UHS Speed Class 3 (= minimum *30MB/s*) selling for under U.S.$100, and the smaller form factor, I don't see any reason to keep supporting CF any more.
> ...



Time consuming? Takes no more time at all to initiate the function, and the actual format only takes a few seconds, of which you are not obligated to watch it carry out. Hardly a valid argument. The write speed issue is clearly a problem. Until the write speeds are improved the buffer fills much to quickly when shooting to SD.


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## Antono Refa (Dec 21, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> Antono Refa said:
> 
> 
> > With memory cards supporting UHS Speed Class 3 (= minimum *30MB/s*) selling for under U.S.$100, and the smaller form factor, I don't see any reason to keep supporting CF any more.
> ...



1) I can see the advantage on the 7D and 1D-X. For the 5DmkIV (assuming it's MP count doesn't skyrocket), I'll be happy to settle for 30MB/s when the buffer runs out.

2) We're talking guaranteed writing speeds.

After low level format, the Lexar Pro 1066x CF card* wouldn't do better than 160MB/s.

[That's Lexar'slatest & greatest w/ min writing speed 65MB/s, older models were slower - the 800x's guaranteed min write speed is 20MB/s. What cards offer a guaranteed min write speed 45MB/s two years ago?]

After low level format, the Lexar Pro 2000x SDHC UHS-II has a max speed of 260MB/s.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 21, 2014)

Canon1 said:


> neuroanatomist said:
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> > Antono Refa said:
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A in-computer low level format writes 0's or 1's to every memory cell, and takes a very long time. The in-camera low level format is apparently much smarter, because it seems to only take seconds. I think that its finding just the cells that are not zeroed and writing them, while a in computer format is testing every cell to verify that it works. That's what you should do to find card issues, but the in-camera low level format will recover the lost speed.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 21, 2014)

Antono Refa said:


> 1) I can see the advantage on the 7D and 1D-X. For the 5DmkIV (assuming it's MP count doesn't skyrocket), I'll be happy to settle for 30MB/s when the buffer runs out.



Even my old 5DII wrote at ~40 MB/s. After a 20 s burst, the buffer took ~26 s to clear before a shot could be taken. A lot can happen in 26 s, even more could happen in the 35 s it would take to clear at 30 MB/s. But if you're happy with the additional delay, that's ok for you. I wouldn't be.


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## Antono Refa (Dec 21, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> Antono Refa said:
> 
> 
> > 1) I can see the advantage on the 7D and 1D-X. For the 5DmkIV (assuming it's MP count doesn't skyrocket), I'll be happy to settle for 30MB/s when the buffer runs out.
> ...



1. Just to clear that one aside: yes, I can be happy with an additional delay.

2. And now to the point: did the 5DmkII you used at the time had CF cards with a guaranteed minimum writing speed of ~40MB/s (if so, please state date and card model), or not?


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 21, 2014)

Antono Refa said:


> neuroanatomist said:
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> > Antono Refa said:
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I tested multiple cards, all of them SanDisk models. They were pre-UDMA7 cards, but nevertheless the Canon firmware updated to increase UDMA7 speeds also applied to high capacity UDMA6 cards. 







I think I'll repeat the test with my 1D X at some point.


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## Marsu42 (Dec 21, 2014)

Jack56 said:


> WHAT? Is that true?



Welcome to the club, I know THAT feeling. It's simply that the wages for qualified techs and the repair shop are so high even picking up a screwdriver is €70, and that replacing is cheaper than spending time to "fix" it - esp. if it's not clear if a fixing attempt will succeed.

Morality of the story: With expensive gear, expect and calculate in expensive repair costs :-\



Jack56 said:


> Thanks for your comments. Any idea about warranty?



Well, I doubt it's warranty case, they just explained how it works to me at the local cps. At least where I live (Germany, Berlin cps) everything that isn't clearly Canon's fault but wrong handling, moisture/dirt or wear like shutter isn't covered. But you never know - esp. with more expensive gear and common mis-usage problems you might get lucky and they give you a "famed Canon customer service" present.


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## Antono Refa (Dec 21, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> Antono Refa said:
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> > neuroanatomist said:
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the "Extreme Pro 32GB 90MB/s" card with which you've got a 45MB/s write speed is this one?

If so, it has a guaranteed minimum writing speed of 20MB/s, which would your point about a card guaranteed minimum writing speed of "only" 30MB/s being too slow moot.


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## PhotographAdventure (Dec 21, 2014)

I had a bent pin on my 5d3 as well earlier this year. It was $162.50 for the repair. And that was with a 30% discount with a CPS account.

I don't know much about CF cards and pins, but I think it's a poor design.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 21, 2014)

Antono Refa said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong, but the "Extreme Pro 32GB 90MB/s" card with which you've got a 45MB/s write speed is this one?
> 
> If so, it has a guaranteed minimum writing speed of 20MB/s, which would your point about a card guaranteed minimum writing speed of "only" 30MB/s being too slow moot.



Yes , I missed (misinterpreted, actually) the 'minimum' part. Still, the if Canon supports higher CF speeds than SD speeds, the card specs are irrelevant as long as the card isn't the bottleneck (which it's not with current cards).


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## nc0b (Dec 21, 2014)

My friend's 20D had the CF assembly replaced by a third-party shop for $116.00. My iPhone fell on the top LCD of my 60D, while the plastic "window" escaped damage, the LCD itself was ruined. Canon repaired it for about $220.00. The part was $10 or something like that. All my equipment is insured against loss or damage, but of course I pay annually for $14K of coverage.


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## Antono Refa (Dec 22, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> Antono Refa said:
> 
> 
> > Correct me if I'm wrong, but the "Extreme Pro 32GB 90MB/s" card with which you've got a 45MB/s write speed is this one?
> ...



I don't have a catalog of cards in my head, but looking at Lexar's offering

* The fastest CF card is 1066x, with min guaranteed is 65MB/s, and top possible <=156MB/s - close to UDMA 7's speed limit. To break this limit, the CF card would have to be replaced with CFast (still requires pins, and incompatible with CF).

* The fastest SD card is 2000x, with min guaranteed is 30MB/s, top possible is 260MB/s. UHS-II cards can be as fast as 312MB/s.

I can't say for sure which of the two specific cards would perform better in practice, but looking a bit further down the line I think it's clear SD w/ UHS-II would do better than CF.

Some people might like CFast and XQD better, I would be happy to settle for SD UHS-II.


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## dgatwood (Dec 26, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> Even my old 5DII wrote at ~40 MB/s. After a 20 s burst, the buffer took ~26 s to clear before a shot could be taken. A lot can happen in 26 s, even more could happen in the 35 s it would take to clear at 30 MB/s. But if you're happy with the additional delay, that's ok for you. I wouldn't be.



I've never seen a camera that required the buffer to fully clear. Even my 300D would let me take additional photos as soon as it had enough room to hold one more. Was the 5D Mark II really that broken?




PhotographAdventure said:


> I don't know much about CF cards and pins, but I think it's a poor design.



It is a terrible design, in every sense of the word.


The cards are wider than they are long. It is physically impossible to insert an SD card sideways. It is easy to insert a CF card sideways, and the lack of guides when you do so can easily result in bent pins.
The pins are on the camera. Normally, you would expect the flash cards to have pins instead, so that if something breaks, it is a cheap flash card rather than an expensive camera (though if you consider photos priceless, you could argue that this dubious design is correct—either way, the surface contact design of SD is much better).
The guides are insufficient to properly align the pins if you don't insert the card carefully.
The pins are way too small.

When they designed the MMC card standard (which evolved into SD), they learned from CF's many mistakes, and the result is a much more robust standard, both mechanically and in terms of long-term expandability, IMO.




Antono Refa said:


> * The fastest SD card is 2000x, with min guaranteed is 30MB/s, top possible is 260MB/s. UHS-II cards can be as fast as 312MB/s.



AFAIK all UHS-I and later hardware should support the discard command (eMMC 4.5). Assuming you're using an operating system that actually supports sending that command, then with proper UHS-II hardware, the nominal write speed *should* be about 260 MB/s unless your flash card is almost completely full. (Beyond a certain point, the flash card won't have enough pre-erased blocks to keep up with the filesystem metadata changes, and performance will fall off a cliff.)

Whether Canon's OS supports sending the discard command or not, of course, is another question. And it's all a bit moot until Canon starts putting UHS-II hardware in their cameras. Given that the UHS-II standard is well over three years old now, their seeming inability to put UHS-II on cameras costing thousands of dollars is, at best, disappointing and at worst, flat out appalling. By the time Canon finally gets with the program, everybody else will have moved on to a future UHS-III standard, which I'd expect to be based on 2x PCIe (about 4 GB/sec.) running over the same pins as UHS-II....


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## tpatana (Dec 26, 2014)

Antono Refa said:


> neuroanatomist said:
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> > Antono Refa said:
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I did speed test with my Lexar 1066x, and it's outstanding on my 5D3.

If I press the shutter button for 30 seconds in high fps mode, it takes 137 pictures (in 30 seconds), and it takes only 3 seconds to clear the buffer after that.

So I can take virtually unlimited number of pictures at any sports event.

If I calculated the data speed correctly, that comes to about 100MB/s actual write speed.

After getting used to those Lexars, I can't use any slow cards anymore.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 26, 2014)

tpatana said:


> I did speed test with my Lexar 1066x, and it's outstanding on my 5D3.
> 
> If I press the shutter button for 30 seconds in high fps mode, it takes 137 pictures (in 30 seconds), and it takes only 3 seconds to clear the buffer after that.



Is that RAW or JPG?


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## tpatana (Dec 26, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> tpatana said:
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> > I did speed test with my Lexar 1066x, and it's outstanding on my 5D3.
> ...



Full size raw. Setup:

5D Mark III FW: 1.2.3 with 24-105mm lens. Manual focus on the lens at a wall in my office. Camera on manual, 1/200 F5.0 ISO400, with high-speed fps mode (6fps), shooting RAW only, no jpeg.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 27, 2014)

Thanks. I'll have to see how the 1D X does with my 90 MB/s cards. In practice, I've never had it slow down, but the buffer is very deep.


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## tpatana (Dec 27, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> Thanks. I'll have to see how the 1D X does with my 90 MB/s cards. In practice, I've never had it slow down, but the buffer is very deep.



With my slow cards, on 5D3 I quite easily hit the buffer limit if I'm not careful about my bursts. On those Lexars, it's almost impossible.

Slow card results: Kingston Elite Pro 133x 40/14, A-Data 120x 36/18, Patriot Signature 266x 31/24 (first number is number of shots in 30 seconds, second one is time to clear buffer after that)

When I feel less lazy, I'm planning to repeat same test with 7D.

If I'd get my wish-list for 1DX2, it'd have dual-CF slots with separate data bus for both (and SW to support dumping buffer to both at the same time). Meaning it could do that ~100MB/s write speed on each individually, or even with slower cards you could reach really high combined numbers).


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## martti (Dec 27, 2014)

Bent pins on my 5D II. Repair by Diana in France would have cost me 380 euros. JAS in Helsinki finland did it for 140 euros (inc. VAT) for the next weekend. Since that experience, I have been using the USB cable a lot more for the downloads.


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## RGF (Dec 27, 2014)

Jack56 said:


> Hi,
> My mark5dIII has got a bent pin in the cf card slot. In the shop they told me that the repair (I think he meant replacement of the slot holder) would cot me 300+ euro's.
> WHAT? Is that true? I've bought the camera a year ago. Does warranty do the job?



Canon Professional Services (US) did the job for me about 5-7 years ago. I think it cost USD 150 after CPS discount.


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## Antono Refa (Dec 27, 2014)

dgatwood said:


> Antono Refa said:
> 
> 
> > * The fastest SD card is 2000x, with min guaranteed is 30MB/s, top possible is 260MB/s. UHS-II cards can be as fast as 312MB/s.
> ...



For the purpose of this discussion, as long as Canon gets UHS-II right, the SD slot should be able to write 260MB/s, which is >5x faster than neuro got with his CF slots, which means the CF slot could be replaced with an SD slot.

It seems Canon makes a slow progress (the 7DmkII supports UHS-I), so I hope UHS-II support will come up in the near future.


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## tpatana (Dec 27, 2014)

Antono Refa said:


> dgatwood said:
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> > Antono Refa said:
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One reason why the high end bodies are difficult to switch from CF is that people who are likely to buy those, have already invested on CF cards. I have 128GB on the 1066 Lexars, and 80GB on other slower cards. It'd be sad to buy whole new batch of cards.

Technically it could be possible to switch for SD slot, if they implement really fast lanes. One more problem though, people tend to buy the cheap ones, and cheap SDs are slow. People wouldn't be happy about the camera if the buffer is always full, and they'd blame the camera even when the reason was the slow card they bought.

I'm ok to stay CF.


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## adventureous (Dec 27, 2014)

I bent a cf card pin hole by using a cheap card reader. It was very shallow and did not allow the card to slide down deep inside the reader before connecting. I noticed it and had a machinist fix the bent spot on the card itself. I then threw the cheap reader away and bought a Lexar reader. No problems.


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## Antono Refa (Dec 27, 2014)

tpatana said:


> Antono Refa said:
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That Lexar SDHC card that does 2000x costs $100 for the 32GB version, and $150 for the 64GB version. My 5DmkIII's raw files are on average 30MB in size (just checked a random folder . Had it supported UHS-II, it could write 8.66fps continuously.

It's two more than my 5DmkIII's top rate, which I'm more than happy with, and as fast as the 7DmkI does.

So, if Canon releases a 5DmkIV that has a 24MP sensor, two UHS-II slots, and can shoot 6fps till photo #1000 chokes up my new 32GB card, I'll be happy to fork over the cash to buy a couple of new 32GB UHS-II cards, knowing I wouldn't have to buy new ones for a very long time.


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