Or actually, any high end digital I guess. I've been having problems that I was wondering if was common or just me. After taking a lot of photos, some of the pictures on the camera become corrupt. Example, take 40 pictures, I can see all of them on the camera, including zooming in/out, etc. They are fine. Take another 30 or so, and two or three of the first 40 pictures are now corrupt and non viewable. Downloading to the computer doesn't help, they are just gone. Sometimes I can take a lot and not have any problems, other times I will lose more than a dozen images. The worst was the night of the lunar eclipse, I lost every single one of them. ( and didn't bother taking any film of it. ) Recently, thanksgiving, I took over 100 pictures, and lost 2 images. I have picked up some software to completely wipe and format the CF card, as well as use the camera to format the card. I have replaced the card once already, (it's a one gig card) I don't see this as a camera issue, but more of a card issue. i'm not really expecting an answer to the problem, but was more wondering if I'm alone or if this is common to digital CF cards. Anyone? :) Thanks ~ Rich

Hummm...personally, I would not use the PC to format my card(s)...as that is a different kind of OS and format as to in camera...I ALWAYS do it 'in camera'...as I'm sure most ppl here do...maybe that corrupted it in the first place?...just a thought.

Message edited on: 11/29/2004 15:27

Message edited on: 11/29/2004 15:27

Hmm if it happens on 2 different CF's I'd start to suspect the camera. And I'm with jimry on the formatting issue. Format it in camera so that you are absolutlely sure the storagemedium has the right format and does not suffer from incompatibilities from the OS you're using. So far I've shot around 3800 photo's with my D70 and haven't had even 1 corrupt picture.

Message edited on: 11/29/2004 16:05

I used the PC program as a last resort after a week or two of trying other options. It is made specifically for CF cards. I did format the card with the camera like I'm supposed to, and still do. (It certainly didn't cause the problem. :) It was an attempt at finding a solution.) Canon tech support was no help at all on this issue. 3 days going back and forth with them with no resolution. I hate the thought of sending the camera back for replacement, but it sounds like that may be an option in the near future. Thanks for the input ~ Rich

Yeah as Jim says I have found that the files can get corrupt by not formating on camera the other issue as this has not worked for you is the quality of the card Lexar cards I have have been faultless as have my two Microdrives.. There may be some restoration files on the website for your card it comes on lexar ones on the card itself you can take it off before you format the card first time

:) Once again, I didn't try the software until well into the troubleshooting of this issue. It was a last resort. Not the problem in this case. Since I left the last message, the card went completely dead. CF Error is all the camera says. No pictures can be taken, no formatting, no nothing. I went back to the camera store and they are ordering a new 20D to swap out the camera for me. (Also gave me another new card to go on a couple important shoots in the mean time) (Oh, and they were both Lexar cards, BTW) So, hopefully this will finally resolve the issue, and I can go back to worry free snapping sometime soon. :) Thanks again for all the input, ~ Rich

Well I have shot digital only for nearly 4 years. Thousands of photos. Most using Smart Media cards, and the last thousand shot with the DRebel and stored on compact flash. I have never lost a photo on Smart Media. On the Compact flash shot with the Canon Rebel, I had a problem with one of my San Disk 1GB cards. It would not save the photo, I did not lose any photos already shot, just could not save any more. Put in another card and continued shooting. I had not formatted the new SanDisk card so that might have been the problem. So with many thousands of photos shot, I really have not lost any photos. So I am guessing it must be the camera or you got some cards from a bad lot. Did you buy the cards from the same store around the same time?

Q> Did you buy the cards from the same store around the same time? A> Not really, same store, but 2 different locations 20 miles apart. Distance doesn't mean anything as they are the same store and same warehouse for distribution, but they haven't had anyone else with this problem, and I trust the manager of the store. They've been VERY good to me there. I mean, she's replacing the camera past the 10 day purchase return period that they have as store policy, and knowing it's going to be at LEAST a week to get a new one in, gave me a third new card so I can use the camera this upcoming weekend. (1 gig card, over $100.) Of course when you spend more than $2,000 cash in a month, I guess they rend to try to keep you happy and coming back. LOL If there is interest in this topic as far as resoltuion I will be sure to post an update when I get the new camera body. ( I sure hope it's resolved at least!) :) I can't stress enough, even with the card issues, I LOVE this camera!!!

Attached Link: http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/eos20d/eos20d_firmware-e.html

Maybe something to do with the firmware rather than the camera or card. The original firmware, had issues with some CF cards. Canon issued firmware 1.04 which had a bug and was replaced with firmware v1.05 that fixed the bug in v1.04 and the issue with some CF cards plus some other things. See link And or Search Google canon 20D firmware issues" I have never had any problems I use 512MB and 10D I totally agree with Jimry and IMO formatting the card on a PC is not a good idea either. If you have never done a firmware update before or are not comfortable doing it yourself I recommend that you get a Canon service centre to do it.

:) That was the first thing I tried, (literally) Good idea though.

It is possible that there is a problem with your camera, but I would tend to think that it is more likely to be an issue with your flash cards, in the same way that some memory has issues with PC mobo's.

The problem is/may be that there are so many different brands, that it is very hard if not impossible for Canon to guarantee compatibility with all CF cards.

I know of some cards that just dont like the 10D and cause errors, some are affected by low temperatures too (below 5 c)

Message edited on: 12/01/2004 12:48

I see some questions about CF formatting operations -- camera v. PC. The camera manufacturers have (in general) failed to give clear, understandable, explicit guidance in this area. They have created an information vacuum that became filled with FUD. I want to set the record straight and clear away the FUD. [under 2GBy] The format (file system) of a CF is FAT16 -- this is exactly the same format as for a PC HDD that is less than 2GBy and formatted as FAT16. [over 2GBy] The format (file system) of a CF is FAT32 -- this is exactly the same format as for a PC HDD that is larger than 2GBy and formatted as FAT32. A new CF device must be formatted before it can be used. A 'file system' is the data structure on a disk (FDD, HDD, or ZIP) that records folder names, file names, their locations, as well as free space on the media. This kind of structure exists on the disk and must be known to the Operating System. Many file system formats have been designed. e.g. FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, HFS, MFS, VFAT, FAT, UFS, isofs, extfs, ext2fs, HPFS, HPFS-2, ... Every operating system handles at least one file system -- some are programmed to handle more than one file system. If the file system format as generated by the camera was unique, it might not be readable in the PC -- the reverse could be true as well. That is why, as stated above, under 2GBy = FAT16 and over 2GBy = FAT32. Can you see B. Gates upgrading the functionality of Microsoft Windows on a whim initiated by a camera manufacturer? Can you see a camera manufacturer waiting for Microsoft to complete such an upgrade in order to begin marketing a new camera? That is why they both use existing standards. IOW, in order for the CF cards to be interoperable between a camera and a PC, a specific file system format (FAT16 or FAT32) is recorded on the CF media, whether by the camera's software or by the PC's operating system. Notebook PC's usually have PCMCIA slots to accept PCMCIA cards (the equivalent of expansion cards in a PC --- but much more expensive). PCMCIA cards have 68 pins (connections) and CF cards have 50 pins -- both conform to ATA specs (HDD specs). An inexpensive, passive adapter can be used to access a CF memory device from a notebook PC. Here, 'passive' means no electronic circuits -- just wires. e.g. "Viking PC Card CompactFlash Adapter (CF-ADAPT)", $7 from amazon. I have used these devices and am sure about the facts. I have a notebook PC dating to about 1996 with Windows 95 installed. A CF card is instantly recognized in that system as an additional HDD when a CF to PCMCIA adapter is used. For Nikon, I used both Google and also their internal search engine -- neither FAT16 nor FAT32 was found. For Canon, I used Google and found 4 hits on FAT16 and/or FAT32. OTOH, camera reviews had this information. Gee wizz ... how do those reviewers get this kind of information if the manufacturers don't let me find it on their sites? Despite having that information, some of the reviews continued to promulgate FUD WRT formatting a CF device. Quoting from this site, http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007 "Cameras don't write their stream of zeros and ones randomly. Most, if not all, digital cameras use the DOS FAT16 file system as the basis for placing photos on a card and keeping track of the location of those photos. This means the cards themselves have to be FAT16-formatted, regardless of whether they're hard drive or flash memory CompactFlash. Cards with capacities over 2GB must be formatted FAT32, a newer variant of the FAT file system that is not universally supported in older digital cameras (though camera models that accept CompactFlash Type II introduced from 2003 onwards will almost certainly be FAT32-capable)." MGD

As far as I know the 10 and 20D both use FAT16/FAT32 by default, depending on of CF size. However if the CF card (with a 10D) is PC formatted then the camera will not recognise it, and it will have to be in camera formatted. There is no reason to believe that the 20D would be any different. The thing is that when the CF card is in camera formatted it writes a data file folder to the card, I dont know exactly what this does, but without it the card will not work properly if at all. This is maybe getting away from the issue a little, but CF card memory in fact all memory is made by only a two manufacturers I believe, however all the makers of the memory/cards then add either their own or third party circuit boards to control the card memory, and that is when incompatibilities start to appear. There is probably only two reasons for your problem. 1. That there is an incompatibility with the camera and memory used, improbable but not implausible. This is a common problem with PC's so there is no reason to believe that it would not occur with cameras. Or 2. There is a problem with the camera, not what you want to hear but to be fair there are so many made that it would be practically impossible for none of them to be faulty.

grin Kinda sorry I mentioned the PC software format at this point. I do like the debate on the PC Vs. Camera formatting for educational purposes, however, I can't stress enough that this is not now, nor ever was the problem in my case. As mentioned (a number of times at this point) before, but I'll be very specific here... I got the camera (Canon 20D) and a 1 gig 3.2 speed Lexar card. It worked OK, but I would lose pictures. (Never having such an expensive camera, I didn't know this was not normal.) I was still OK with it. I took MANY pictures, and formatted the card a number of times in the camera. Everything was fine until the night of the Lunar Eclipse. After taking over 100 photos that night, the camera gave me a CF error. It wouldn't read the card at all, nor would it take any pictures. I couldn't even format the card. (Lost every one of those pictures too. Sigh Oh well, 2007 isn't that far away I guess) I went back to the camera shop, and they were very good about replacing the card. Formatted it first thing, and was very concious (and cautious) about always making sure the camera was turned off before removing the card or even when changing lenses. Proud to say I didn't forget once. :) However, it was still losing pictures. I went back to the camera store, as Canon tech support was little if any help. The tech at the camera store and I were trying to think of anything we could at least try. It was at THIS point I recieved the software. It is recovery software speifically written for camera CFs. If nothing else, we were hoping it might recover the "lost images" when they happened. It also has a function for a complete wipe (beyond formatting) to completely wipe the card of any data. (Tekky people here may realize "formatting" a card simply removes the pointers in the FAT but doesn't actually remove any data.) Needless to say this didn't work either, but it was worth trying. This was the only time I tried this method of formatting the card After getting another CF error, rendering the camera dead once again, they agreed to replace the camera. In the mean time, they gave me a third card, as it will be a few weeks until a replacement 20D will be available to swap out for me. So for the time being, I have a working card (still losing pictures even on this 3rd new card, all 3 Lexars) and have a new 20D on it's way. This was a bit more verbose than I intended, but I felt a need to explain exactly the situation to remove the debate about the software formatting. :) Again though, I am grateful to all who offered help. I'm not new to troubleshooting, I was more wondering if I was alone in this issue, or if it was common. I am glad to know that it's not, and that the new camera should be 100% trustworthy. Thanks ~ Rich

It is an interesting situation, although it must be very frustrating for you. These discussions tend to fly off on a tangent; its just the nature of the beast so to speak. Hope you get it all sorted, I for one would be interested in the final outcome. Regards LP