Help! a CF card can short circuit your camera?? (Canon 50D)

PNF · Jun 11, 2009

Mod, Please move to the right section if I have posted in the wrong section. Thanks

--------------------
Need some professional help/opinions from those who are in this business and I am sure there seem to be many who KNOW about their photography.

Here is what happened.

I posted earlier about upgrading to a Canon 50D, from a Nikon D40x, with a bunch of equipment and glasses.

I just got my camera body and I keep it very close to me and baby it since.

Just last night, I got a HUGE scare!!

When I tried to turn on my camera, nothing happened! Literally nothing happened. I called my friends up who have been using 30D and 40D for a few years now and they asked if I have received any error message and I said NO and that I cannot even turn on the power. The little red light thats just at the bottom of the large dial did not get turned on (as it usually would for a second or two when the camera is cleansing the sensor).

At first, I thought it was my battery went completely DEAD, so I took out my 2nd fully charged backup battery (OEM canon battery), and I still cant turn on.

I took my friends 50D camera battery out and use it on mine, and I still cannot turn on my 50D.

Now, I put my battery in my friends 50D, it works and I do have full charge on both of my OEM batteries.

Now, I was like, "fuk, I just got this baby like literally one month ago and it broke down on me!?" I was all ready to get out my warranty and about to make a phone call..

Then, my 30D friend said, lets try to isolate the issue first.

So, we made sure it was not the battery.

Then, we tried to switch different lens, as we thought it might be my EFS 17-55 f2.8 lens. So I tried my friends 17-40L, and my camera still cant turn on.

Then, I took out my 16G CF card (some digiExpress brand I have never heard of that came with the camera), and inserted my backup Kingston CF card, still did not work!

Now, after about 5 min of trying other things, I put back my 4G backup card, my 50D now turns on!! (what a relief at the time).

So, now works.

Long story short, I went back and insert back that 16G CF card, my camera does not turn on again!!!! So, we quickly inserted back the 4G and still cannot turn on. We could turn on after aout 3-5 min.. and then camera is back on...

So, at the end of the night, we were 95% sure it was the CF card that is "short circuiting" my camera?

My 30D friend said that he knows that if a bad CF card is inserted, the 50D would give you an error on the LCD screen or some sort of message. BUT, he has never heard of inserting a bad CF card and the camera body wont turn on issue!

anyone has or heard similar issues?

I'm still pretty new to this newly found hobby of photography..

Thanks

PS. I just found this site and seeking for some help.

Garbz · Jun 11, 2009

The CF has both a 5V and GND connection going to it, which runs from the same supply as the digital electronics of the camera. If the card is faulty and shorted, then yes this could effect the camera in this way, although I have never heard of it happening.

Do you have a multimeter handy? Your conclusion seems reasonably sound but this is trivial to test. Just do a resistance measurement between pin 1 and pin 13 using some small wires.

PNF · Jun 11, 2009

Garbz said:
The CF has both a 5V and GND connection going to it, which runs from the same supply as the digital electronics of the camera. If the card is faulty and shorted, then yes this could effect the camera in this way, although I have never heard of it happening.

Do you have a multimeter handy? Your conclusion seems reasonably sound but this is trivial to test. Just do a resistance measurement between pin 1 and pin 13 using some small wires.

Thank you for the quick response!

Yes, you are correct that this is some simple trial/error for my own conclusion. I have personally never heard/expected a CF card to short a camera. But after a good 30-45 min of testing, isolating the issues, it really seems to be the CF card.

I dont have a multimeter

So, the resistance abnormalies might be whats causing this issue?

I have already called in the shop who sold me the camera + CF card. They are going to exchange my CF card immediately. I guess my utmost concern is....... has this affected my 50D in any way? (software wise, metering algorithums, etc) I hope not and I have no idea how to "test" if my 50D has been impacted.

I am going to try again tonight, (not with the 16G), but with my 4G CF card and see if my 50D functions properly..

I am still quite worried and concerned for my camera body as well.....

Garbz · Jun 11, 2009

A short could have done one thing which is blow the voltage regulator, however since your camera still turns on with another card it looks like this didn't happen. 99% of the time an electrical short causes either complete failure or no damage at all.

Electronics are usually isolated modules connected to each other in sensible groups rather than everything connected to everything else. So if anything else could be damaged it's the chip which writes to the card. However this is also easy to test just by taking a picture. I think you may be fine.

PNF · Jun 12, 2009

Garbz said:
A short could have done one thing which is blow the voltage regulator, however since your camera still turns on with another card it looks like this didn't happen. 99% of the time an electrical short causes either complete failure or no damage at all.

Electronics are usually isolated modules connected to each other in sensible groups rather than everything connected to everything else. So if anything else could be damaged it's the chip which writes to the card. However this is also easy to test just by taking a picture. I think you may be fine.

I can still take pictures. Camera turned on normally with my other CF cards.

Based on what you said, I hope this is the case... I do plan to keep this body for quite a few years, even if I decide to move on a FF..

Thanks man.

I guess I'm the only person who had his camera camera shorted by a CF CARD....................

ryyback · Jul 30, 2009

You're not the only now. I think my Canon 40D is doing the same thing, although with a Sandisk 8 GB card. Got the dreaded Error 99 while we were at the Ontario Science Center in Toronto. I got a little irritated with this as the warrenty is done-typical!
Running test now to see, but I have this funny feeling it's not the card, as the flash was doing some really crazy things-UGGGG

ryyback · Jul 30, 2009

FYI for anyone getting the error 99 on Canon camera's.
I took the batteries out for 15 minutes and put them back in, at which time I could get into the menu again. From there I updated the firmware to the most recent one, and low and behold we are back in business.
What a relief-

Hope this helps anyone who runs into the dreaded err99. ( kind of like the Blue screen of death with windows-lol)

Garbz · Jul 31, 2009

err99 is a generic error. Be lucky that yours was fixed by your firmware upgrade. Many of these will be hardware failures and won't be so easy to fix.

ryyback · Jul 31, 2009

Garbz said:
err99 is a generic error. Be lucky that yours was fixed by your firmware upgrade. Many of these will be hardware failures and won't be so easy to fix.

Lucky-yes
I just posted in hopes of helping someone else, as information about this issue is scarce.
Hopefully I don't see that again. I found that code to be rude-

MACollum · Jul 31, 2009

Garbz said:
err99 is a generic error. Be lucky that yours was fixed by your firmware upgrade. Many of these will be hardware failures and won't be so easy to fix.

Yep. Mine was due to a faulty lens. Got the lens fixed and it hasn't happened since.