Chopped Image on CF Card - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

08/14/2005 05:18:51 AM · #1

I'm wondering if my card is about to die? I came back with a totally black image after one shoot and put it down to my own error although I don't recall doing anything that may have caused it, another time there was something wrong (can't remember exactly what it was) with just one image, then today I got this. It seems to be one image out of the whole card each time. Perhaps this is common?

This is straight out of camera.

Message edited by author 2005-08-14 05:19:23.

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

08/14/2005 05:57:44 AM · #2

I had a similar issue to this. The jpeg on the computer is probably corrupt. For me it was because of the card reader connection to the PC, so the image may be fine on the CF card. Try downloading it again, or with a different computer, using a different cable / card reader, or different USB port.

08/14/2005 06:15:07 AM · #3

Thanks. I'll check my connections first, and move on from there if that's not it.

KiwiChris

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

08/14/2005 06:22:43 AM · #4

I'd agree with Paul, but I'd also add you should change the title of the photo to 'Some assembly required' :-).

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

08/14/2005 06:27:22 AM · #5

Ha ha ha ha!
I'd love to know how the right side got on the left side. LOL

deapee

Kodak V803

08/14/2005 08:23:16 AM · #6

YOU SO shoulda entered this into a basic editing competition. Then submit the original when asked for validation.

NathanWert

Canon EOS-90D

Sigma 18-250 f/3.5 - 6.3 DC OS HSM

08/14/2005 09:49:32 AM · #7

Originally posted by deapee:

YOU SO shoulda entered this into a basic editing competition. Then submit the original when asked for validation.

Now that would have been funny. I can just picture all the validation requests inundating the SC. LOL

Edit: Spelling

Message edited by author 2005-08-14 09:50:05.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70 f2.8 L IS

08/14/2005 10:29:38 AM · #8

If it's always one and only one image that's corrupted, then it's quite possible that it's the card. There may be one physical location that's bad on the momory chip. Try reformatting the card, then after reformatting check it for errors just like you would a hard drive. The OS should be able to mark the erroneous location and it no longer will be used. Bear in mind though, if there is one location like this, there could be more failed locations popping up.

peecee

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

08/14/2005 10:34:29 AM · #9

I came across this once or twice and put it down to switching off before it had finished writing. Never done it since.

Paul.

David Ey

Nikon D80

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

08/14/2005 10:54:35 AM · #10

Do you format the cf card IN THE CAMERA every time you put one in after you have uploaded from it?

Do you ever only upload SOME of the photos and leave some of them on the card?

As already said, turning off the cam too early before it has finished writing can cause problems.

Deleting photos on the card that is not the last one taken is not a good idea either. ie: going thru the photos and deleting so you can create more room.

It seems these cards require a more structured use than a hard drive does. You might try these methods...or hope for one of these screwups to enter in a challenge.

notonline

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

08/14/2005 11:08:47 AM · #11

does it have 1 exif data??? make a hell of an entry for something like illusions.

ergo

08/14/2005 11:17:27 AM · #12

My 2 gig card does this, but in two spots. Somewhere between the 70th and 90th shots, there will be 2 frames that are corrupt. They're always 2 frames apart, as in #79 and #81, or #83 and #85.
I can't ever download those off the card, and reformatting the card erases them, but then the corrupt files appear again as I shoot.

A few days ago, I tried the following:
1 Shot the card full
2 Downloaded what I needed. Instead of reformatting, I "erased all."
3 The corrupt files were not erased, as somehow the camera treats them as protected files
4 Shot the card full again
5 Erased all, and this time all the frames were erased. Reformatted
6 Shot the card full again, and this time no corrupted files

I'm with a 20D. Maybe this would work on yours.

coolhar

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

08/14/2005 02:05:10 PM · #13

Originally posted by David Ey:

.... Deleting photos on the card that is not the last one taken is not a good idea either. ie: going thru the photos and deleting so you can create more room. ...

Assuming that both card and camera are functioning properly, deleting in any order should be ok. I think deleting to make more room is a practice that is intended in the design of modern digital cameras.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/14/2005 02:14:42 PM · #14

Originally posted by coolhar:

Originally posted by David Ey:
.... Deleting photos on the card that is not the last one taken is not a good idea either. ie: going thru the photos and deleting so you can create more room. ...

Assuming that both card and camera are functioning properly, deleting in any order should be ok. I think deleting to make more room is a practice that is intended in the design of modern digital cameras.

Intending it to work some way and designing it to work some way doesn't always mean that it does work that way. I've had many installation technicians remark that they "didn't know that [some piece of equiment] could do that!"

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70 f2.8 L IS

08/14/2005 04:12:01 PM · #15

The main issue with deleting one image on a card, out of order, and continuing to use the card, is that all images are not the same size. So, for example, when you delete one in the middle of a series, and the size of the deleted pic is, say, 2400kB, then take another pic, the cam starts to write the next file in the first available space. Now if the "new" file is 2500kB, it won't fit, and 100kB is written somewhere else. When this happens repeatedly, the card becomes "fragmented." Each photo is written in little pieces, and this slows down performance. That's the main benefit of reformatting before each use.
Complicating this is the fact that the contoller on the card tries to "randomize" the areas that are written to, to lengthen the life of the card. You dont' really need to worry about this, sincde the camera doesn't really care. It does mean that a defect in one memory location on a card may not always seem to be in the same place.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/14/2005 06:38:10 PM · #16

Originally posted by coolhar:

i haven't run across anyone shooting professionally that doesn't 'field edit', ie, deleting images on the fly. i do it all the time, and after 80K+ clicks have never had a problem.

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

08/14/2005 07:20:19 PM · #17

Oh WOW, I just woke up to find all these suggestions. Thanks!
Sometimes I delete in the field, sometimes not. I don't turn my camera off often while out either. I do format in the camera. I always upload all the pics.
I'll try checking it for errors and see what comes. It would be good to mark the location and exclude it 'cause with my luck that would be the best shot of the day.

SpoonEGee

Kodak DX6440

08/14/2005 07:44:52 PM · #18

some card readers have software (or you can find some on the web if you look hard enough) for running diagnostics on your cards. the same way you can get diagnostic software for your hard drives on your PC. ScanDisk, Defrag, etc.

if you are transferring your photos to the PC directly from the camera using a Dock or USB cable or such. then you probably cant use most of these softwares on your card.... get yourself a card reader.

its probably a problem similar to when you ScanDisk a hard drive and it has "Bad Sectors". like kirbic said, these sectors can be marked as not to be used.

David Ey

Nikon D80

08/14/2005 09:16:04 PM · #19

I think this is exactly what happened to Datcat....be interesting to know if it repeated when transfered a second time. As before, I think it got confused where it placed some of the pieces of the photo. I get like that sometimes myself.

[quote=kirbic] The main issue with deleting one image on a card, out of order, and continuing to use the card, is that all images are not the same size. So, for example, when you delete one in the middle of a series, and the size of the deleted pic is, say, 2400kB, then take another pic, the cam starts to write the next file in the first available space. Now if the "new" file is 2500kB, it won't fit, and 100kB is written somewhere else. When this happens repeatedly, the card becomes "fragmented." Each photo is written in little pieces, and this slows down performance. That's the main benefit of reformatting before each use.
Complicating this is the fact that the contoller on the card tries to "randomize" the areas that are written to, to lengthen the life of the card. You dont' really need to worry about this, sincde the camera doesn't really care. It does mean that a defect in one memory location on a card may not always seem to be in the same place.
--------
Originally posted by GeneralE:

Intending it to work some way and designing it to work some way doesn't always mean that it does work that way. I've had many installation technicians remark that they "didn't know that [some piece of equiment] could do that!"