Why does my Canon Rebel XT only recognize 7.8GB of my memory card?

Question

I have a Lexar 16gb CF card. Whenever I format it in my camera (a Canon Digital Rebel XT), it only recognizes 7.8 GB of storage. If I format it in my computer, in the computer it shows 15.6 GB, but only shows 14.7 in my camera. What is causing this reduction in storage space?

I already contacted Canon and Lexar, but they don't know what the problem is. My camera is supposed to be compatible with this size card.

I have tried two identical cards, and they both displayed the same problem right after the first formatting. When the brand new card was inserted, it displayed as 15.6 GB, but after the formatting, it was cut to 7.8.

Answer 1

This is a known limitation of the Canon Rebel XT. You can only format up to an 8GB card in camera, but should not have a problem using other commonly available cards in it(as long as they are formatted outside of the camera). I had a Rebel XT and can attest to also encountering this issue.

One may also suggest that above 8GB in the Rebel XT is too big. You can fit around 900 RAW images on the Rebel XT on a 8GB card. If you are putting over 1,000 images on a memory card, some people feel that you are putting too much trust or risk in that single card. What if on vacation you lost 1,000 images, someone could steal the card or it could get dropped and break, etc. They also do fail sometimes. This is just something to keep in mind, it is an opinion, but some people spread images across multiple cards because they feel that limits the risk. You might want to try that anyways since you have found the cameras limitation with cards over 8GB.

Further - I'm not up to date on the Rebel XT's available firmware, but you could double check that you have the newest version. This might remove the limitation that you have with your current firmware.