tnste Loc: New Westminster, BC

I did a dumb thing yesterday. I went to insert my CF memory card in the memory card slot of my 7DII. Was not paying attention and put the card in the wrong way. I did not apply much pressure as I realized my error so I inserted the proper way but could not insert the memory card all the way. Did not force the card as I knew their was something wrong. I was going to the camera store to pick up my bonus battery grip for the 6DII I just bought on sale the week before so I had the staff look at my camera to see what the problem was. It turns out one of the pins is out of alignment and just very slightly bent. They said they could try to straighten it but no guarantees. They did not have a tool small enough anyway but suggested either sending it to Canon for repair and pay over $300 or take it to a camera repair shop to see what they could do. Called the repair shop and explained my problem. They said if it is just out of alignment they may be able to straighten the pin and the cost would be about $95. It the pin is bent too much they said the pin will break and the whole memory card slot will have to be replaced and the cost is $350-$400. A buddy of mine who has the 7D said that once the pin is bent it wont be the same and may break. That is why he never removes the memory card after he straightened a bent pin on his 30D. Has anybody else had this problem and if so how did you handle it? If I have to replace the entire memory card slot I would feel more comfortable sending the camera to Canon for repairs since it will probably cost the same.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

I would send the camera to Canon. However, if you are determined to attempt to straighten a pin, what I did once, (and, this was on a card reader, not a camera), was to take the lead out of a mechanical pencil, then use the pencil to grasp the pin and straighten it.

connievloutely Loc: Quaker State (PA)

I had a bent pin on my 5D III too. It cost me $270.00 plus shipping to have canon do the repair.

If you try to do the repair with the lead pencil method and pin breaks nothing loss it still will need to be send it to Canon.

If the pin is just out of alignment it can be straightened My pin was bent over flat down.

Cheers,
Connie

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Nothing to lose by trying it yourself. The mechanical pencil sounds like a good idea. Go slowly.

ronjay Loc: york Pa.

I used a big needle and a flashlight to straighten out a bent pin. Works great have had the card in and out dozens of times.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍👍 just make sure to get it EXACTLY aligned in both axis. It also depends on which pin it is. Some pins, such as grounds, are duplicated and the camera will function fine without it, but the danger of a pin bent completely flat is that it may short to an adjacent pin, which could cause a major failure. If only slightly bent, I would carefully straighten it and be very careful in the future when inserting a card. Alternately, if you get it inserted once, you could just leave the CF card in place and do your future downloads via USB. My son bent one on his 7D (which could not be straightened), and Canon charged about $300 to replace the pin assembly.

farwest Loc: Utah

I bent a pin on my D500 xqd slot 333.95 to replace plus the cost of sending the camera in and the cost of replacing the xqd card as I wasn't going to risk using the same card. So over 500.00 dollars I'm back in business. I'm still ticked about the whole episode as I didn't put it in wrong and I didn't slam it in. It was a Lexar xqd card so I decided to use a sony this time got rid of the Lexar. By the way it downloads real slow from the camera to computer it works much faster with the xqd reader.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

I'm surprised that you CAN insert a CF card the wrong way in a 7DII (without reeeeaaaallllyyyyy forcing it). On my EOS 40D, the card will only go in one way. The card has side rails that have to match direction on the slot. Same thing on my multiple CF card readers.

It would be like trying to insert a USB A plug upside down into a computer. If you try hard enough you can, breaking things at the same time.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

You state that "one of the pins is out of alignment and just very slightly bent"...

Based on that, I'd try to straighten it. The safest thing would be to have a repair shop do that, rather than try it yourself.

If it's as slight as you say, it is not likely to break. I'd be more concerned if it were more severely bent and required a lot of effort to straighten.... but it sounds as if only minor "tweaking" is needed. A repair shop can probably tell you more.

So long as the pin isn't bent to the point it's making contact with one of the other pins, which might result in a short that can further damage the electronics of the camera, it's probably safe to use the camera with an SD card in the second slot.

I'm also surprised that the card could even be inserted backward. I swap both the CF and the SD cards frequently in my two 7DII's and have never had any problems (knock on wood).



That really isn't a good solution. The USB socket is vulnerable to wear or accidental damage, too... And in most cameras it's an integral part of the main IC board. As a result, it's often much, much more expensive to replace the USB socket than the memory card socket, if either is ever needed. In most cameras the memory card socket is part of a separate sub-module that plugs into the main board, so the cost of a replacement part is usually a lot lower than that of the main board. The memory card module is also fairly easily accessed and disconnected for replacement. In contrast, replacing the main board will likely require a near complete teardown of the camera that makes for much higher labor costs, too. To be fair, I haven't torn down either of my 7DII to confirm this is true with that particular camera (and I have no plans to do so )

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I've had the same problem with a card reader on my computer. It's not that hard to straighten a pin. Just use a small pick, or small screwdriver, or a pointy knitting needle and a flashlight to straighten it yourself.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I agree Alan and started to add this admonition. Although mini and micro USB connectors are rated for 5K insertions, I have seen the female connector fail with many less. You’re balancing the chance of rebending the pin vs the USB connector failing. On the other hand, if the USB connector fails, it won’t disable the cameras, so you just revert to the card. You pays your money and takes your choice.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

rjriggins11 Loc: Colorado Springs, CO

I've repaired thousands of CF card readers, either by replacing single pins or, in some cases, the entire card reader assembly when necessary.

Hi. My name is Rick. I’m the owner and lead technician at Discount Camera Repair and a member in good standing here at the UHH. I’ve been doing repairs for other members here at greatly discounted rates and would be glad to help.

I'd be more than happy to repair your camera for you and keep the cost as low as possible. If you’re interested, please respond by private message.

Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA

If you decide to straighten the pin, remember to remove the battery first.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍👍 Good point!