# Corrupt images from 6D camera and 32GB SDHC Memory cards



## cheefster (Feb 19, 2015)

I wanted to know if anyone was experiencing image corruption issues with their SD card and the Canon 6D. I bought my 6D last July and have shot over 2000 photos with it on a Lexar 32GB SDHC Class 10 600x card. I got error rates at about a 1 in 50 rate. I thought it might have been the Lexar card, so I sent the card back to Lexar for warranty replacement. They replaced the card, but I ended up getting similar image corruption issues on a shoot afterward. I have transferred images both directly from the SD card to my computer, and through the camera plugged via USB to my computer. I have tried loading the images on other people's computers, used iPhoto, Aperture, and Lightroom to try to read the formats - all with no luck. 

Before I go out and spend money on different SD cards, I would like to determine if it might just be my camera. Has anyone ever encountered these kinds of write issues with Lexar Cards? Has anyone ever seen similar issues with cards of a different brand? I noticed someone with a post about 7D Mk II and Lexar cards as well. Is this a Lexar or Canon problem?

I have attached four photos below that illustrate the problem. The appear as banding or solid colours where there shouldn't be any. These corruption problems happen to both JPG and Raw files.


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## Bennymiata (Feb 19, 2015)

If this banding is happening with other cards as well, then it's your camera that is doing it.
Try updating the firmware on your camera as the card you returned could have done something to the software in the camera when it became corrupted.

I had a similar thing happen to an android phone.
A Sandisk card in the phone got corrupted. Nothing on the card was damaged, but the phone went wacky, rebooting itself all the time, freezing as well as other faults.
I took the phone back to get it exchanged and the expert in the shop checked it out and mentioned to me that the memory card might be at fault.
I didn't believe him but shortly after putting the card into the new phone, it began acting up too.


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## Valvebounce (Feb 19, 2015)

Hi cheefster. 
Just studying the images, it looks like the first and second images are amalgams of more than one image, the trollies, flag poles cut and shifted and the scooter wheel seem to be from a different angle outside the frame of the main shot, and the wheel on the statue / carving seems to be interlaced, I'm wondering if this could be a camera issue, not clearing down the buffer properly? 
My concern with doing a firmware upgrade is, it is done from the card, if the card is now corrupted this could lead to missing bits and possibly worsen the situation with a bricking? 
I don't know if my reasoning is flawed as it comes from the mechanical world, alternator failed, corrupted the battery, new alternator corrupted by bad battery, new battery corrupted by alternator, changed both simultaneously all ok! 

Cheers, Graham.


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## RayL (Feb 19, 2015)

Are you formatting the card in the camera? I format the card every time after downloading my images to the computer. 
Always format a new card in the camera, not in your computer.

Formatting the card will ensure that any file written to the card, will not be written to the corupted portion of the card.


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## Marsu42 (Feb 19, 2015)

RayL said:


> Are you formatting the card in the camera? I format the card every time after downloading my images to the computer. Always format a new card in the camera, not in your computer.



I dunno, does that really make a difference?

I just had file corruption on some cr2s on my 32gb sandisk extreme (non-pro) and was unable to recover them. I've formated the card from Win7 (non quick format) and checked the free space with "chdsk /r". Today, I've filled the card again and all files are fine, so whatever was the problem obviously got solved by my procedure.


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## tolusina (Feb 19, 2015)

Any time I experience corrupt files on a card, that becomes the absolute last time I'll use that card.

Replacements are not at all that expensive, the super duper highest speed cards are overkill with a 6D anyway.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ns=p_POPULARITY|1&ci=1097&setNs=p_POPULARITY|1&N=4037060554+4264330179+4291236412&srtclk=sort


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## RayL (Feb 19, 2015)

I agree with tolusina. I would do the same. But I think the OP is having issues with 2 new cards so a third probably isn't going to help.

Per Lexar's site... http://www.lexar.com/content/lexar-memory-card-tips They recomend formatting in the camera as does Canon. I think Sandisk states something similar.
The difference being is whether it gets formatted for FAT 16 or Fat 32 which of course you can do in the computer but it's really quick to access the format option in the camera's menu. And the camera knows how to format the card properly.


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## cheefster (Feb 20, 2015)

Valvebounce said:


> Hi cheefster.
> Just studying the images, it looks like the first and second images are amalgams of more than one image, the trollies, flag poles cut and shifted and the scooter wheel seem to be from a different angle outside the frame of the main shot, and the wheel on the statue / carving seems to be interlaced, I'm wondering if this could be a camera issue, not clearing down the buffer properly?
> My concern with doing a firmware upgrade is, it is done from the card, if the card is now corrupted this could lead to missing bits and possibly worsen the situation with a bricking?
> I don't know if my reasoning is flawed as it comes from the mechanical world, alternator failed, corrupted the battery, new alternator corrupted by bad battery, new battery corrupted by alternator, changed both simultaneously all ok!
> ...



Hello Graham, actually the first photo is the same frame, but shifted. The bottom of the wheel on the left actually comes from the scooter on the right. The 2nd and 4th photos show considerable banding, and I don't know where that banding comes from. I have no idea as to whether it is a buffer clearing issue or not.

The firmware I have on my camera is 1.1.4. I have not updated to the latest 1.1.6, but don't know if that is going to change much since Canon did not mention fixing any SD card writing issues. I will eventually get around to updating the firmware.


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## cheefster (Feb 20, 2015)

Hi all, thanks for the suggestions. I have indeed formatted the card using the in-camera format function. I always do this. However, I will try shooting with a different branded card to see whether the issue reappears. I will keep everyone posted.

Cheefster


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 20, 2015)

cheefster said:


> Hi all, thanks for the suggestions. I have indeed formatted the card using the in-camera format function. I always do this. However, I will try shooting with a different branded card to see whether the issue reappears. I will keep everyone posted.
> 
> Cheefster



There are two formatting functions in the camera. Regular format revises the fat table to show that files are available for over writing, but the low level format clears the card. That's the one to use if you are seeing card issues. Occasionally there is a camera issue, but it is usually the card.


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## jhaces (Feb 20, 2015)

Definitely looks like a card issue (I've had them rarely) I'd probably toss it or mark it unfit for pro work. Have you checked if the images are corrupted when seen on camera? Perhaps it was an error when transfering them from the card to your computer, you could try that, too.


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## dolina (Feb 20, 2015)

Brand of memory card?


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## Valvebounce (Feb 20, 2015)

Hi dolina. 
From second line of original post. "a Lexar 32GB SDHC Class 10 600x card. "

Cheers, Graham. 




dolina said:


> Brand of memory card?


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## Valvebounce (Feb 20, 2015)

Hi cheefster. 
I see that now, I was thrown by the white item shielding it, I now see that is the cladding on the building, I also got suckered in by the wheel in the statue / carving. Oh well. 

Cheers, Graham. 



cheefster said:


> Hello Graham, actually the first photo is the same frame, but shifted. The bottom of the wheel on the left actually comes from the scooter on the right. The 2nd and 4th photos show considerable banding, and I don't know where that banding comes from. I have no idea as to whether it is a buffer clearing issue or not.
> 
> The firmware I have on my camera is 1.1.4. I have not updated to the latest 1.1.6, but don't know if that is going to change much since Canon did not mention fixing any SD card writing issues. I will eventually get around to updating the firmware.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 20, 2015)

I'd be inclined to purchase or borrow another card before sending your camera in. Good cards can be purchased for a few dollars from Costco, or B&H / Adorama. Don't buy them from Amazon. Amazon co-mingles inventory, and some sellers have sent counterfeit cards to Amazon where they get placed in the same bin as good ones. You may get good or bad, and no one knows who put it there. Hopefully, Amazon has fixed this, but they have not admitted anything.

I know that you had the original card replaced by Lexar, but it occasionally happens that two cards are corrupted, and defective memory card readers have also corrupted cards.

Do not reuse the card reader with a new card, import images directly from the camera. That eliminates any possibility that you have a card reader that is corrupting your card.


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## Cwt14 (Feb 28, 2015)

*Additional New INFO:* I wasn't get much help from Lexar but another discussion with Canon suggested that the problem could stem from not doing the LOW LEVEL FORMAT on a new card. Canon explained that LOW LEVEL means FULL whereas FORMAT is what most of us think of as the quick, erase file names format. However as I am still hopefully of finding some way of discovering what happened, I have not re-formatted the cards. I did do the LOW LEVEL FORMAT on some new Sandisk cards and they have been flawless.


I just ran into this problem with a two month old 6D and two different 32 GB Lexar cards (600 and 200 MB/s). I CANNOT repeat the following using an 80 MB/s Sandisk card.

On the 600 MB/S Lexar, I get occasional banding on some photos (Playback with tell me that the 6D can not play back the image but I can download the banded image to Aperture) and "missing photos".

On the 200 MB/s Lexar, there is no banding but plenty of "missing photos".

By "missing photos" = shot is taken, shows up on quick view and will show up again using playback. However, if you turn off the camera and turn it back on, any photo that was viewed by playback in the previous shooting session is "missing". You no longer see the photo on the camera or using a card reader. Photos that were not viewed in playback appear ok and the maddening aspect is that if they survive the camera being turned on and off, the act normally as they should. 

Lexar's Image Rescue 5 will recovered all the images off the 600 but not all the ones off the 200 (they were not there even though I had seen them on playback before turning off camera). However, two weird things - the recovery program created a folder "recovery from Sandisk SDDR-113" for both cards (I setup separate directories for each card but the recovery program setup the sub folder in each directory). Also, the recovery program recovered two files for each photo labelled differently on the 200 but only a single recovery on the 600.

Canon Support claims it is not the camera or firmware if you use another brand and cannot replicate the problem - as I can not, I have to suspect the Lexar disks. Also Canon Support suggested the speed of the disk should not have anything do do with problem. I must say I struggle with why two different Lexar disks have this issue - I have used Lexar before and never had this type of issue. My next stop is Lexar and my camera shop is willing to test out the 6D on a variety of disks.


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## Marsu42 (Mar 1, 2015)

Cwt14 said:


> I just ran into this problem with a two month old 6D and two different 32 GB Lexar cards (600 and 200 MB/s). I CANNOT repeat the following using an 80 MB/s Sandisk card.



Just a quick fyi all: The problem with my sd card obviously originated from a defective *reader*, the card works fine. It's quite easy to forget this possibility, esp. as it's awkward to diagnose if you've only got one reader like a built-in slot in a laptop available.


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## luckydude (Mar 1, 2015)

I'm shooting a hockey tournament with the same 32GB 600x lexar cards and I'm seeing the same thing.
5DIII, not the 6D.

I'm shooting the whole thing with small jpeg to SD and large jpeg to CF - haven't had time to look to see if
the CF has the same problem. I thought it was because the foot of my lens got hit with a puck.

My reader is the built in one on a Lenovo x220. I've got a lexar reader, I will try that the next time I see this prob.

I'll save the next one and post it here.

On the in camera format, do you need to do low level or is the default OK?


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## Antono Refa (Mar 1, 2015)

Marsu42 said:


> Cwt14 said:
> 
> 
> > I just ran into this problem with a two month old 6D and two different 32 GB Lexar cards (600 and 200 MB/s). I CANNOT repeat the following using an 80 MB/s Sandisk card.
> ...



Yes, defective card readers are real. Had one that would drop a 16x16 pixels block every so often, and was the last component I suspected & checked.

Replaced the cheapo brandless <censored> with one by a reputable brand, and never looked back.


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## grenadilla (Mar 3, 2015)

Bought a few Lexar Pro 32GB 600x SDHC in December, and have been having the exact same problem on my 70D. It has occurred on two separate cards so far. Haven't seen the problem appear with my older Lexar 200x cards. I've found the situation difficult to replicate, as I am unsure of the exact sequence of events that causes it. 

I've tried Image Rescue 5, and in most cases it returned two images from the card that were both corrupted.


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## cheefster (Mar 15, 2015)

Hi all,

As the original poster to this topic, I am adding an update to the thread of my recent experiences.

I contacted Lexar again about the problem with the replacement card I received, and though they offered no advice, they offered to simply replace the card all over again for me. I think the adage, "fool me once, shame on them. Fool me twice, shame on me" is appropriate. Needless to say I did not ask for a replacement.

I have been shooting with a different SD memory card in my 6D for weeks now, a cheaper Transcend 8GB SDHC class 10 memory card, and have had no issues with image corruption or anything of the sort. This leads me to suspect that Lexar memory cards may be the problem.

Second, I was contacted by another Canon 6D user directly by email, and she reported the exact same issues with her Lexar card. She even got her 6D camera replaced. She reported that switching to a Sandisk Extreme card seems to prevent the image corruption issues from reoccuring, for now.

Finally, I contacted Canon support to ask them about this problem, and one interesting piece of information the support agent said was that Canon does not test their cameras with Lexar cards. They test with Sandisk, Panasonic and another brand I can't recall. I don't know if this is true given how ubiquitous Lexar memory cards are, but I take it at face value.

Based on these observations, I can only hypothesize that my Canon 6D camera, and that of some others, is INCOMPATIBLE with LEXAR 32GB SDHC Class 10 memory cards.

Unless Canon develops some kind of firmware update, or if Lexar changes something about their cards, I will not be buying LEXAR cards in future for my Canon cameras.


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## cpsico (Mar 15, 2015)

I used to have problems with Lexar sd cards in 1 d mark III , it actually would lock the camera up. I have used Sandisk pro extreme exclusively since and never had a problem


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 15, 2015)

cheefster said:


> Hi all,
> 
> As the original poster to this topic, I am adding an update to the thread of my recent experiences.
> 
> ...




You would make a great scientist. With millions of Lexar cards out there and several years worth of 6D users using them, Your evidence says they don't work?

Then, you refused a replacement because that might spoil your theory?


I'm sorry that they did not work for you, I've seen similar posts from Sandisk users.


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## cheefster (Mar 15, 2015)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> cheefster said:
> 
> 
> > Hi all,
> ...



Hello "Mt. Spokane Photography",

Thank you for pointing out that the statements I have made are not in any way scientific. I do not in any way wish to claim that my hypothesis is scientific, far from. I'm not claiming to make any new theories. The sample size is far too small. They are observational in nature, and I can only say that they may be affecting some users like myself. I do not have the resources, nor the interest, to do statistically sound sampling of this issue. I can only hope that by raising the issue in this forum, others may come forward if they also have this issue. It is far from proven that the issues is systemic. I am not pushing one brand over any other, as I have no vested interest in any of the companies. I have a Lexar CF card in my 7D, and I have never experienced such issues with that camera/card combination.

I did not choose to go through the SD card replacement process (again). As I have already done it once and found it to be somewhat of a hassle to get another card that did not work, I choose not to do so again. 

That being said, I can only choose for myself not to buy Lexar cards unless there is stronger reassurances that this might not reoccur again. If the evidence is in fact that 99% of other Canon 6D and Lexar 32 GB SDHC Class 10 memory card users are not having any issue at all, then I stand corrected and fully accept that my issue may be an unfortunate outlier. 

Such data may be difficult to come by. Nonetheless, I would welcome any information about testing that has been done. As I had previously said, the Canon rep told me over the phone, they don't test their 6D cameras for compatibility with Lexar cards.

Respectfully,
cheefster


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## jeffa4444 (Mar 17, 2015)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> cheefster said:
> 
> 
> > Hi all,
> ...



One caveat in his defence as rare as the event maybe its even rarer that manufacturers admit to having a problem. By way on an example Im on my forth Jawbone Up if you listen to Jawbone they dont have any issues if you do even basic internet searches the problems Im having are common and all software related. 

It seems he is happy with his own replacement, no one died and Lexar will have no issue selling their products.


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## bereninga (Mar 18, 2015)

To the original poster,

I also have had issues w/ my Lexar card in my 6D. This is the MFR# LSD32GCRBNA600. Do you have the same one? I actually have stopped using this card because the number of errors was just too high. I have various other memory cards that have no issues, so this is the only outlier and I think of this card as my last-resort card (if I were ever to fill all of my cards up).

I'm disappointed because I viewed Lexar as good as Sandisk, but no more. Anyway, I got the card pretty cheap so it's not a huge loss, but rest assured I will never get another memory card from them.


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## Mr X (May 20, 2015)

Same exact problem here. In my case it's also a 6D with a 32GB SDHC 600X Lexar bought in B&H last December. For each 100 shots aproximately 5 are corupted, with banding. No more Lexars for me. I see in this forum it's a common issue.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 20, 2015)

Mr X said:


> Same exact problem here. In my case it's also a 6D with a 32GB SDHC 600X Lexar bought in B&H last December. For each 100 shots aproximately 5 are corupted, with banding. No more Lexars for me. I see in this forum it's a common issue.


I think that you see a very few with the issue, out of a huge number who don't have issues. Do you really want to wade thru 10,000 posts from those who have no issues? I've had 24 or more Lexar Cards, and a equal number of cards none have failed. A problem is extremely unusual.


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## tron (May 20, 2015)

cheefster said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > cheefster said:
> ...


Assuming it was a card problem, If they had a problem with a specific batch maybe the replacement card would be OK, then again maybe not. Since you continue having problems and they offered a free replacement you had nothing to lose (only to gain) from this.


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## Rams_eos (May 23, 2015)

I did use no name SDXC card without any issue with the 6D.
Now, I am using a Sandisk SDXC 64Gb Extreme and I am very satisfied. Fast and no issues.

I can just say that I ALWAYS format any card I put in ANY camera before use. I believe each camera may have some particularities and this is taken in account if the card is formatted in this camera.


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