George II Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

Every day is a learning experience, especially with photography. About 2 years ago I purchased two 32GB class 6 Kingston SDHC cards for my Canon 550D. Both were formatted in the camera at that tyme. Last week end I attended my Daughters graduation from Medical School. I inserted one of the cards in the camera and the camera would not power up. nuttin, nadda, removed the battery, exchanged cards,(the other Kingston) re installed the battery, everything powered up, good to go...very strange, I then powered down the camera and inserted the first card, again camera would not power up..My question is how can one card disable a camera? Again, more questions in life than answers. I bought these cards off eBay and suspect they are black market, a call to Kingston sorta confirmed this.

Thanx group, I feel better already, best regards,
George

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

If you look through the menu of your Canon you should find an option named "Release Shutter Without Card". If this is disabled, as it usually is, then the camera will not power up if it does not detect a card. A faulty card can remain undetected. This can happen with any card that fails in a manner that prevents detection or if a card has dirty or damaged contacts. Examine the contacts for dirt or damage. If it looks OK then toss the card, since it has most likely failed internally. You could check to see if your computer recognizes it. If it does, then format it and try it again in the camera. The second card works, so there is nothing wrong with the camera. Unless you can identify and resolve the problem, such as dirty contacts, I wouldn't trust it even if your computer recognizes it.

George II Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

Thank you, for the information, I did exchange cards for a second Kingston card, it worked great without doing anything in the menu. Just this one card just shut the camera down. I really do not think anyone has ever heard of this before, I know Kingston has not..
But thanks again for the assistance, I think one day this week I will venture into Atlanta to a camera store and try it on a canon in stock.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Interesting. Nikon has the same choice, but it will let you power on and do everything but click the shutter if you select that option. One of the first things I do with a new camera is change that setting to "Card Only."

On the other hand, Ben Long (lynda.com) has a video segment advising you to go shooting without a card. Just go out and shoot - practicing framing and technique, without worrying about exposure.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I was using my camera on a tripod a while back and removed the card to transfer the photos. Almost had heart failure when the camera wouldn't turn back on. Until I realized I had the card in my hand! Duh!
Now that you mention it though, I believe that with Canon the camera will come to life without a card but will display a message that no card is detected. If the card slot door is left open (as I did) the camera will not power up. Won't hurt for the OP to check the setting anyway to see if it makes a difference, as it may work differently on some models.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Cards do fail. One of the best things about my D7000 is the ability to have a duplicate backup card. I've twice lost shoots when the SDHC card failed AFTER THE SHOOT WAS OVER. Just be glad yours failed before.

George II Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

I wish to express my gratitude to all that responded. Lesson learned, do not buy cheap, buy only known, proven products.

Thanks again and best regards,
George