CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

Wow. Until this thread I hadn't realized XQD cards are like the old CF cards and that your camera is going to have those tiny little pins. That part of the technology seems like a step backward. I have bent CF card pins in the past and was glad when those went the way of party lines.
...Cam

Larryshuman

It is no faster downloading images from the camera than using a card reader, so why take a chance on bending pins?

Bill_de Loc: US

I believe if it was a design problem we would see a lot of posts complaining about bent pins. Every day I take a pictures the cards are swapped out. The only issue I ever had was a bent pin in a CF card reader, never an issue with any card slot in a camera, starting with a D1x through D850 (including a D500) with a bunch in between.

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smf85 Loc: Freeport, IL

All the static ram media types have some kind of pin in the socket. CF cards use straight pins - so they're the easiest to bend. XQD cards use a side connector pin - basically it's a pin connected at two ends that's bent to make contact with the card edge connectors, more difficult but still bendable. SD cards have a somewhat more robust side pin connector that is the most difficult to bend. But they're all bendable.

As to making the card socket more robust - the card standard for that type would have to be modified.

Bill P

Wow! I bent some pins so i'm never removing a card from my camera? that's like saying I was in a fender bender once so I'm never driving again.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I have a CF card in my Nikon D200. The pins look very vulnerable to me so I leave the card in the camera and just download my pics from the card using the usb port. The cord is the same one I use on my card reader, so the cord is always plugged into the computer.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I have a D200 that I bought in 2007. It was my primary camera for 11 years. My largest CF card for most of that time was 4 GB, so 4 cards have been removed and downloaded many, many times. That camera is now used by my brother. Still no bent pins. Just insert the card with attention and care, and don't ever force it if it is difficult to insert in a socket.

Ray and JoJo Loc: Florida--Tenneessee

Have D300 w/CF card and 250k click at first bent pins in reader, cheep, bough a better one and no problem, camera has never had a bent pin.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I don't use a camera with an XQD slot... but I've got and used many with Compact Flash.

It's really not all that common, but occasionally the pins get bent... It usually is caused by someone forcing the card in at an angle or inserting it backwards!

I've done HUNDREDS... maybe even thousands of Compact Flash card swaps, with at least a hundred different memory cards and several dozen different cameras.... never damaged a single pin (knock on wood).

I did buy a DSLR for $5 that had a bent pin. Thought I'd fix it, but it turned out the bent pin shorted out the circuitry, so the cost to repair was going to be too high to be worth it. It's in a drawer somewhere... maybe I should sell it for parts!

It's actually a much worse plan to leave the card in the camera and use the USB cord to download your images. If you do that, you risk wearing out/damaging the micro USB socket on the camera. I don't know about the D500 in particular... but on most cameras, that socket is part of the main circuit board. If you think replacing the XQD socket was expensive, wait until you have to replace the entire main circuit board! The memory card socket is a sub module and relatively easy to access, less expensive both for parts and labor. The main circuit board is far more expensive and requires pretty much complete teardown of the camera to replace, so labor charges will be much higher, too. I bet it will cost at least 3X as much... maybe more.

You also drain battery power and put more "time" on many of the camera's electronic components, using the camera as sort of a card reader.

Inspect that memory card under a magnifying glass, for any sort of damage or abnormalities around the sockets where the pins got bent. If at all in doubt, replace the card. That would be safest. If you want, contact Lexar about the card, if you think it's at fault.

throughrhettseyes Loc: Rowlett, TX

I download from mine every time. It's just as fast. Less ware. I use 64g cards and very rarely change them.

smf85 Loc: Freeport, IL

The micro-USB 2 port is fairly resistant to bending; the mini-USB 2 port (D200) is not that resistant to the bending of its pins. The USB 3 C port (D850) is the most resistant to bending as it has guides to insure the correct alignment of the plug and port.