Is there an easy fix for this Canon EOS 300D Compact Flash problem?

Question

I think my trusty EOS 300D is beginning to show its age and is suffering from a worn out compact flash slot.

Over the course of the weekend I've been seeing a mixture of "No CF", "Full CF" or "Err 02" error messages. It appeared to be completely random and impossible to track down any common cause, but playing around at home I've just come across a repeatable problem. I have a 4GB and a 32MB CF card. Both have been formatted in the camera. I take 3 raw photos on the 32MB card, it correctly reports that I can't take a 4th photo because the card is now full. I make sure the camera is not writing to the card and switch it off. I replace the 32MB card with the 4GB card and switch it back on. The camera fires up but continues to tell me that the card is full — it has not recognised that the card has been changed. I've tried several other 512MB cards and they all do the same — the camera does not recognise the CF card has been changed — it continues to display the "CF Full" message and a "zero" for the estimated number of shots renaming. In fact if I take the CF card out and switch it on, it still says "CF full" rather than the expected "No CF" message. I've checked the camera CF slot, all the pins are still straight (none bent).

Has anyone experienced this before, or throw any light on the problem? Is it just a case that my camera should be placed in a retirement home — if there is a problem then I'm sure it could be fixed, but it's probably not financially viable to do.

Answer 1

Based on your tests, it really sounds like a hardware problem with the camera. Given that you're seeing the same symptoms with several memory cards, it's likely the camera (not the cards) that is the culprit.

One option would be a repair on the camera, but as you note this is an older unit and you could probably pick up something like a T1i or for not much more money than a repair on the 300D.