"Cannot Format Change Card" 5d mkii error

We have received many messages requesting repair pricing; it shows that I am not alone in finding the dreaded "Cannot Format Change Card" error on my Canon 5d mkii's display. Now, before you throw out your Canon, I would suggest two things: first try to format your card using your CF reader or directly on your computer, if available. If the card formats with no problem you might have a bent pin on your camera's CF reader. Take a flash light and look in the CF slot and check to see if any little pins are bent. Generally, you would find them towards the center of the pin grid, laying flat or slightly bent, if you're lucky - we found one missing on ours.

These pins become damaged for numerous reasons and I remeber the exact moment it happened to me. I was inserting the CF and it turned diagnally on the way in, bending the pin. I remeber stopping myself then re-inserting the card to do the final damage of flatening the pin down. The damge was pretty severe, as seen in this video. The other way that I have read pins may be damaged are by generic memory cards. I own a few of these generic cards and after my experience, I've been very cautious when changing cards and I haven't damaged any pins since. Best thing to do is to make sure everything aligns with minimal stress on slot and pins.

The primary reason I shot this video was a reassembly precaution- it's always good to have the ability to review work just in case there is question on how it goes back together. This was the 2nd digital camera I have taken apart and I was plesantly surprised at how similar to film cameras it felt to me. Moving rapidly through the disassembly, undoing ribbons and removing obstructing pieces, I got to the CF reader and was able to expose the pins needing repair. One pin needed straightening and the other, complete replacement. I removed a pin from a faulty CF Card reader and reinstalled it on the camera's reader. The operation went succesful and the camera hasn't failed.

We hope that this was a useful read and hope it helps prevent some unfortunate mis-happenings when inserting CF cards. Thank you from all of us here at Camera Hogs,LLC. Stay tuned, stay connected, and we will continue to post and blog about what we learn from our daily experiences. Please comment and share; if you find improvements, we'd love for you to share your ideas. Visit us at www.camerahogsllc.com and come see what we are all about.