# 7D mark II corrupt files on SD card



## willhl (Feb 9, 2015)

Has anyone had any issues with corrupt files on SD cards from the 7D Mark II? I've got an non-brand name card that works fine but two versions (got the first one replaced) of a Lexar 32GB 600x SDHC card produce corrupt files. Could it be something to do with the way the camera formats the card?
Thanks


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## Marsu42 (Feb 9, 2015)

willhl said:


> Has anyone had any issues with corrupt files on SD cards from the 7D Mark II? I've got an non-brand name card that works fine but two versions (got the first one replaced) of a Lexar 32GB 600x SDHC card produce corrupt files.



Are you 100% sure your brand cards aren't forgeries? With these memory devices and the price difference no-name vs. brand, there are lots of forged ones around that have sub-spec memory cards or are even missing some of the memory altogether.

And of course even from brand items, there are always faulty batches - that's why "pro" Canon cameras (and "amateur" cameras from other manufacturers, too) have two card slots to keep you on the safe side. Offhand, I cam hardly imagine the 7d2 is to blame.


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## Don Haines (Feb 9, 2015)

Low level format the card in a PC. Run any diagnostics you can from the manufacturer, then low level format the card in the camera.....


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## Tinky (Feb 9, 2015)

Getting terrible deja vu here.

My 7 kept on crashing video when I used UDMA cards.

Not a known problem said Canon. Take it up with the card manufacturer.

Nothing wrong with our cards, take it up with the camera company.

Of course it wasn't a problem until Canon could trumpet their firmware fix for it. "Occassionally" 

By that point I had bought a 550D which was far more stable. To be fair the firmware update did fix it, but it kind of sticks in the throat that Canon were probably working on a solution with one hand whilst telling me there wasn't an issue with the other.

The perils of early adoption.


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## mackguyver (Feb 9, 2015)

Give this a try:
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/index.html


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## Viper28 (Feb 9, 2015)

Tinky said:


> Getting terrible deja vu here.
> 
> My 7 kept on crashing video when I used UDMA cards.
> 
> ...



+1 I had terrible trouble with SanDisk cards in the 7D but it was fine with Lexar. Firmware did fix it however


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## canon1dxman (Feb 9, 2015)

Yes I have. Took the 7D II to the Kruger in South Africa over the Christmas/ New Year holiday. New SD and CF cards. SD was a Sandisk 64GB Extreme. No problems with the CF card (Lexar UDMA 7) but the SD card showed approximately 150 corrupt files when downloading in LR5. I tried again in iPhoto, same problem. Didn't try DPP.
I just assumed that it was my first ever duff memory card so I took it back for a refund. 

Definitely genuine cards, bought from John Lewis in the UK, one of the biggest retailers around. I didn't have time to get from my usual sources, WEX/ Park/ Clifton.


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## willhl (Feb 10, 2015)

Thanks for the response.
I'm pretty sure the cards are genuine, reputable retailer in San Fran (Sammys) and they exchange the first one no problem. The fact it happened with both cards is what makes me thing it is something other than a faulty card (I know they show up occasionally).
As far as I can tell there is not been a firmware update for the 7D II yet, I guess waiting for the update is my best hope for now although I'll give the SD format tool a try once it's backed up. *fingers crossed*


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## willhl (Feb 11, 2015)

And just for fun got a few unreadable files on the new CF card (32GB Lexar 800x UDMA 7) today too...


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 11, 2015)

willhl said:


> And just for fun got a few unreadable files on the new CF card (32GB Lexar 800x UDMA 7) today too...




So are they unreadable when downloaded, or unreadable in the camera? Its common to find issues with USB readers and cables or even computers that corrupt files as they are downloaded.

If the files look OK in the camera, that can help narrow the issue down.

There have been few complaints about this with the 7D MK II, so its not a common issue. Individual cameras can be a issue.


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## willhl (Feb 17, 2015)

Files do look ok in camera but I'm pretty sure what you are seeing is a jpeg preview. Either way it doesn't seem to be the card reader as I've imported directly from the camera and the image has the same issue.

In most of cases the temperatures would have been between 0C and -15C?


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## Zekealot (Mar 15, 2015)

I have the same issue, my photos look like the example from the last post. 

With me it only affects CF cards, SD is fine. 

I have tried two brand new CF and I replaced my memory card reader. Weirdly enough if I do an in camera transfer from CF to SD the photos are fine.


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## Marsu42 (Mar 15, 2015)

Zekealot said:


> I have the same issue, my photos look like the example from the last post.



Strange, the vertical stripes don't quite look like a classic jpeg files corruption to me, but it's really impossible to say w/o forensic analysis of the actual file data (garbage, zeros, pattern, ...)



Zekealot said:


> With me it only affects CF cards, SD is fine. I have tried two brand new CF and I replaced my memory card reader. Weirdly enough if I do an in camera transfer from CF to SD the photos are fine.



Ugh, and this is getting really weird. Sounds like a case for further in-depth investigation.

Remember: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Elementary, my dear Watson


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## anderswk (Mar 15, 2015)

I had similar issue with CF cards, where LR5 would refuse to read about 10% of the CR2 files after downloading via USB3. Download was also pretty slow and would sometimes hang for a minute or so.

What confused me was that DPP could read the files without complaint, so at first I assumed there was a bug in LR.

Since I've written a CR2 decoder myself, I tried parsing one of the bad CR2 and indeed it was corrupt. The raw data section was a few Kb too short, so the last few lines of the image were missing. So, LR was right.

I then tried with an old USB2 CF card reader and that worked fine. So I concluded it must be the USB3 interface that was causing it. Either the cable, the USB3 interface on my PC, or the camera's USB3 interface was bad.

Long story short, I have an ASUS mobo with Intel chipset which has USB3 ports, and in addition there's an ASMedia USB3 controller on board for extra USB3 ports. I had been using the ASMedia controller without thinking about it, so I switched to Intel and then everythings worked. No corrupt files, no hangs.

I'm a little worried that DPP just accepts corrupt CR2 files without any warning. I wonder how many users have big CR2 libraries with many partially corrupt files without even knowing about it.


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## Marsu42 (Mar 15, 2015)

anderswk said:


> I'm a little worried that DPP just accepts corrupt CR2 files without any warning. I wonder how many users have big CR2 libraries with many partially corrupt files without even knowing about it.



One of the advantages of dng: It has a built-in checksum so you can always verify for file corruption... gives me a certain peace of mind, what good is your backup if you don't even realize your original file is hit for six w/o looking at each and every export in detail?


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## Zekealot (Mar 29, 2015)

I resolved my issue (kinda) 

When transferring using 2 different CF cards and 2 different card readers that were plugged into the USB3 header of my motherboard I got corrupted issues. 

I bought an old USB 2 external reader and am able to transfer without issues. I still don't know what the underlying cause is but I have a workaround so im happy.


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## willhl (May 12, 2015)

Wow, been a while since I check in here, thanks for suggestions. I havne't made much progress but potentially gathered some more info:

-I'm now getting quite a few corrupt files on the Lexar CF card I mentioned earlier which was purchased at the same time (I stopped using the SD card long ago)
-The SD care was purchased at a reputable supplier and was also replaced once after the issue first showed up
-Corruption doesn't seem to happen on any other cards
-Happens when downloading via USB3 card reader or directly from the camera (also USB3)
-Occurs on the raw image (I typically don't shoot jpeg so don't know about them)
-I have tried using the RAW converter in camera but the resulting jpeg is still corrupt

I'm currently on an around the world trip so can't try my USB2 card reader, downloading from my mark I or provide a return address for a replacement just yet. Here's an example of one I got of a the CF card just recently.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 12, 2015)

willhl said:


> Wow, been a while since I check in here, thanks for suggestions. I havne't made much progress but potentially gathered some more info:
> 
> -I'm now getting quite a few corrupt files on the Lexar CF card I mentioned earlier which was purchased at the same time (I stopped using the SD card long ago)
> -Corruption doesn't seem to happen on any other cards
> ...



Did you send the card back to Lexar? They are guaranteed forever. I'd do that and see what happens. It could be a incompatibility with the USB 3 controller in the camera, but since at least 100,000 7D MK II's are out there and I've only seen 2 or 3 posts at most about card issues with Lexar, I'd first have the card replaced.

If you bought it from Amazon.com, its possible that it is co-mingled inventory. They dump all of the same products in a bin, no matter who the seller is. If a seller sends in counterfeit cards, you can get them, even if the seller is Amazon and they buy from the manufacturer.

I sell on Amazon and know about the issues sellers are having with co-mingled inventory. A seller can opt out of using it, and Amazon claims they are aware of the issue and are not co-mingling commonly counterfeited items any longer. I got bit last year when I received a 3 generations old Kenko TC from Amazon. Someone probably picked them up for a low price from Surplus, and they were mixed with the current version. Kenko has been doing silent updates and not changing the part number.


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## willhl (May 12, 2015)

I updated my previous post to try and keep it together but:
-the SD card was replaced but has the same issue
-I'll probably ask for replacement/refund if a firmware updated doesn't fix it (if one ever comes out) but I don't have a fixed mailing address for another two months.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 12, 2015)

willhl said:


> I updated my previous post to try and keep it together but:
> -the SD card was replaced but has the same issue
> -I'll probably ask for replacement/refund if a firmware updated doesn't fix it (if one ever comes out) but I don't have a fixed mailing address for another two months.



Its entirely possible that there is a issue with your camera. A new firmware is being released for the 7D II shortly. It may fix the issue.


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## Tinky (May 12, 2015)

Those striations remind me of two things, unlikely to be either but here goes:

In the early days of digital cameras the EXIF information could be read by some minilabs as part of the image data and you would get strange corruptions like this. I recall that Canon and Casio were particular culprits, but the problem had ceased by the start of the 2000's.

The other issue was the massive sony CCD failure of the mod 2000's. I owned a couple of cameras that were affected by this, particularly my Minolta Dimage A2. My work at the time had a pool of canon camcorders, MV600's which were to a unit affected by the problem.

The problem was not the chips themselves, but the read off ribbons which could perish in humid climates, causing green and violet casts and strong striations.

This looks to me very much like a hardware issue, I'm afraid to say.


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## VistechVistech2aol.com (Aug 5, 2015)

I have similar corrupted files - Canon 7D Mark2 and sandisk sd cards
All files OK when viewed in camera from both SD and CF cards
Sandisk 16 gb and 32 gb card have many corrupted files when connected to USB2 card reader (tried 2 different inexpensive USB 2 card readers)and viewed in Bridge - Same files are corrupted on each card - even when disconnected and reconnected several times
Sandisk 8 gb card ok when viewed in bridge with both card readers
All images can be transferred to Sanho Colorspace and from there to Bridge without any corruption

Is it possible that cheaper card readers tend to corrupt data on larger SD cards?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Aug 5, 2015)

Your reader must be compatible with the type of card. I'd stay away from cheap readers, they may not read UHS-1 cards correctly. Bad cables are another source of problems and can be intermittent.


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## Mediabug (Sep 20, 2015)

All,
I have a new EOS 7dMK2 body, less than 3 months old, I have the latest version of firmware loaded.
I purchased new memory sticks, both San Disk Pro Extreme. CF card is 64GB. the SD card is 32 GB. The data is always transferred off the cards via a card reader built in he computer. I am running Windows XP 64 Bit lasts service packs

I have used both card extensively (over 3,000 images) Today however I did a very high number of shots at 20 fps. Most of the images are corrupted. WTF.. It almost seems the DIGIAC data stream is getting corrupted. I have taken this number of images in one day (>2,000) but at a slower rate. Not sure how confirm that the DIGIAC data stream is getting corrupted. Any thoughts.

Seems real sad that the end user if finding this out. Point to a very flawed testing process. I have managed software test groups. This is typical of a product getting "pushed out the door" to hit some point a accountant picked on a calendar


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## ksgal (Sep 23, 2015)

How about writing to both cards? I seem to remember there being an issue with the 5DIII and doing dual writes.. and how fast/slow is the write speed of the cards on each slot?

Some advertise cards as 90mb/s and that is really the read, and the write speed is more like 40mb/s - Just some thoughts.


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## DoctorT (Dec 13, 2015)

I have had the exact same problem of corrupted files upon import via LR5 from Lexar 32gb CF UDMA cards, even though the files are fine in camera (7Dii). I used a Lexar 3.0 card reader as well as importing directly from camera. Lexar has already replaced two cards, and it just happened again. The same strange color banding.
Has anyone found a clear answer?


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## ntmb1976 (Feb 15, 2016)

I have the same issue; I replaced the card and I'm getting corrupt images as well
It's a lexar card but my Transend seems to be fine

I've used a lexar and verbatim card reader and I'm still getting corrupt images (same as those posted) from it

There seems to be my rhyme or reason for this at all, the SD is fine but the lexar card is causing issues


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## FredJ (Feb 26, 2016)

I have just had a similar problem I have been shooting withJPG stored to a CF card and CR2 to a 32GB Kingston SD card. When I transferred the CR2 files to my PC using the Adobe Lightroom 6 Import function, 90 files were not recognised. Opening the flies using Free File Viewer showed partial photos with areas of grey in the rest of the frame.
Very disappointing when you have just returned to the UK from a trip to New Zealand.

The JPG files saved to the CF card exhibited the same problem.


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## willhl (Apr 13, 2016)

I just had corrupt and unrecognizable (by lightroom) files show up when using another card. This time on a SanDisk Compact Flash Ultra - 32gb - 50mb/s. I had upgraded the firmware on the camera recently as well. The problem doesn't seem to be specific to the card or the firmware.


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## RustyTheGeek (Apr 13, 2016)

Fake Flash Memory has been a problem for YEARS. Actually DECADES. There are billions of memory chips in the world today and it's very easy to buy low quality chips very cheaply and manufacture crap flash cards or counterfeit high dollar flash cards. Some are so good that they fool major retailers.

*Go HERE and FIGHT BACK. https://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/h2testw/*

I TEST all my memory, regardless of who, where or when I buy it. I've even run across bad memory that was totally legitimate. (Hey, nobody's perfect!)

Personally, I tend to stick with the same brands I've used for a long time. Transcend, PixelFast, SanDisk, PNY and Kingston. I got lucky with a couple Komputer Bay CF cards but they are a bit more risky.

Good luck and may the Force be with You! Let us know how it turns out!


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## RustyTheGeek (Apr 13, 2016)

dilbert said:


> willhl said:
> 
> 
> > I just had corrupt and unrecognizable (by lightroom) files show up when using another card. This time on a SanDisk Compact Flash Ultra - 32gb - 50mb/s. I had upgraded the firmware on the camera recently as well. The problem doesn't seem to be specific to the card or the firmware.
> ...



The reader used is a GREAT POINT. And believe it or not, as ridiculous as it sounds, I've heard of folks swearing that some readers don't read all of their flash cards the same.

I'll add to that the USB interface and its chipset. Try the reader you are using in another port or even better, another computer. USB 3 chipsets have had a LOT of problems over the years. USB 2, not so much. Try a USB 2 port and see if the problems go away.

FYI - I have had a lot of good luck using this little gem Transcend USB 3 reader since 2014...

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Super-Multi-Card-Reader-TS-RDF8K/dp/B0056TYRMW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1460511268&sr=8-2&keywords=transcend+reader


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## wvr1970 (Aug 1, 2016)

I've also problems with corrupted RAW-images. 
Sometimes (rarely) it appears.
The only CF card (which I used most) which giving troubles is the Lexar 32GB 800x UDMA7.
I have replaced it by a new one (garanty) but the problems still remain. Recently my camera was send back for repair, but the problems will still remain, even with a new mainboard.

I've tried al solutions mentioned above, but none helps.

My opinion is that this specific Lexar card won't work correct with the 7D mkII. 
Just my two cents...

Wouter


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## RGF (Aug 4, 2016)

We had problems with cards a while ago.

Card was good at first but got corrupted when we read it several times

In the end our best guess the problem was with the USB cable. Once replaced that, all was good again.


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## Macoose (Aug 5, 2016)

wvr1970 said:


> I've also problems with corrupted RAW-images.
> Sometimes (rarely) it appears.
> The only CF card (which I used most) which giving troubles is the Lexar 32GB 800x UDMA7.
> I have replaced it by a new one (garanty) but the problems still remain. Recently my camera was send back for repair, but the problems will still remain, even with a new mainboard.
> ...






My Lexar 64gb 800x has had two corrupt raw files since I bought it. But that is 2 out of about 20,000 clicks so I'm really not complaining. I don't think it's worth replacing the card because of two files.

I almost forgot to add. The two files looked exactly like the one posted.


Macoose


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