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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Compact flash bent pins

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fightordie

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I've read about this happening on CML to the CF module and was wondering if any attempts are being made to avoid this issue or will one have to purchase a backup.
 
fightordie said:
I've read about this happening on CML to the CF module and was wondering if any attempts are being made to avoid this issue or will one have to purchase a backup.
Click to expand...

Sadly, there's no way around bent pins. Just make sure you pull out the card properly. It's a pretty rare thing unless you happen to yank out the card every time but I find it takes at least ten tries to find the right way to take a CF card out of whatever it's being used in.
 
Right way to take out a CF? Never had a problem with that. You obviously need to be a bit careful when inserting a card...
 
CF has been standard on DSLRs for the past many years and it seems to work pretty well for most people. I have done a LOT of insert-remove cycles on my DSLR cameras without troubles. No doubt there is a problem if you slam the card in too hard, or if there is any dirt stuck in the camera's card socket, or the card's pin holes. For this reason I don't like to carry a bare CF card loose in a pocket; always try to use some kind of holder.
 
Over the years I've bent, or witnessed bent, pins on several CF card readers, but never on a DSLR. My theory is the CF card sticks out of the CF reader by about 1/3" of it's length. With lots of use, and the poor tolerances on the cheap readers, things loosen up. Eventually pins and socket loosen until one pin is bent during card insertion.

The DSLR bodies have a door which prevents the card from being bumped or torqued during camera use, thus preventing the pins and socket from loosening.

But, I'm no engineer.
 
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jbeale said:
CF has been standard on DSLRs for the past many years and it seems to work pretty well for most people. I have done a LOT of insert-remove cycles on my DSLR cameras without troubles. No doubt there is a problem if you slam the card in too hard, or if there is any dirt stuck in the camera's card socket, or the card's pin holes. For this reason I don't like to carry a bare CF card loose in a pocket; always try to use some kind of holder.
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I don't think you can compare a DSLR to the RED regarding insert/removal. I think most of us have done alot of insert /remove of cf cards on our DSLR's in the past with small storage cards but with a 4gb card in my dslr I have yet to fill it up or remove it. The red with only 4 min of shoot time on a days shoot is in a whole different world and may suggest a different approach to insert durability/tolerance is necessary. Telling someone to be more careful on insertion isn't really a solution. I think David Winters is on to something.

And please note that Geoff Boyle has been shooting with the RED for only over a month or two and he got a bent pin.
 
In my experience on a Red shoot it's a good idea to carry around a small jewellers screw driver, a head lamp and a good set of eyes. It doesn't happen often, but when a pin bends on set it needs to be fixed...fast :)

As to readers I've had to open up the sandisk 800 reader to repair a pushed in pin, which is more problematic than a bent pin. Whereas a bent pin only "bends" when put in a certain position and then forced, a pushed in pin (even when repaired) experiences the same pressure in its direction of most weakness...in other words the pin keeps getting pushed in. Also with the back end of the pins being so close together you have to make sure that when you repair it the flatter inside portion of the pins aren't touching each other :)

You can go through A LOT of cards on a Red shoot in a day - let a caring AC do the card change :)
 
I've been a little concerned about this as well. I've done thousands of in/out cycles on DSLR's but the design of the socket is quite different. All of the DSLR's I have used have an eject button that evenly prys the card off the pins. It doesn't appear that RED is using this design socket. I don't know any conclusive test information on how much more secure a eject button based system is, but i have never bent a pin on any of them, and people have already reported a few on the Red
 
Mike Prevette said:
I've been a little concerned about this as well. I've done thousands of in/out cycles on DSLR's but the design of the socket is quite different. All of the DSLR's I have used have an eject button that evenly prys the card off the pins. It doesn't appear that RED is using this design socket. I don't know any conclusive test information on how much more secure a eject button based system is, but i have never bent a pin on any of them, and people have already reported a few on the Red
Click to expand...

If the Red socket is inferior to a DSLR socket then that is something which can and should be fixed. Until then, I don't know what else anyone can suggest except to use care on insert & removal.
 
Everything in life can and will be made better. We subscribe to this philosophy.

Jim
 
_MR_ said:
In my experience on a Red shoot it's a good idea to carry around a small jewellers screw driver, a head lamp and a good set of eyes. It doesn't happen often, but when a pin bends on set it needs to be fixed........
Click to expand...

Just to get this straight, because it sounds like your saying "from your experience on a RED shoot" that during the shoot the RED had needed repair for some reason by using a Jeweler's Screw Driver, and a Head Lamp?

Did you experience Compact Flash bent pins during the shoot?
Did something go wrong with the RED during the shoot that required repair?
 
If you remove he CF module from the camera can you view the card socket in profile? or is it covered by a plate of circuit board?

It could make it easier to repair if you could take the CF module off the camera and get up close and personal to the pins as opposed to trying to repair a bent pin from the throat of the card slot.
 
I have a policy to be careful with anything I touch that costs more than a certain amount of dough... $20000 cameras do fall into the "kid-gloves" category... so I will be inserting and removing CF cards with a LOT of care...and I will be dismembering any person I see NOT being careful with the CF slot on my camera...or any of it's other bits.
 
Omnius said:
Just to get this straight, because it sounds like your saying "from your experience on a RED shoot" that during the shoot the RED had needed repair for some reason by using a Jeweler's Screw Driver, and a Head Lamp?

Did you experience Compact Flash bent pins during the shoot?
Did something go wrong with the RED during the shoot that required repair?
Click to expand...

We have experienced bent CF pins on shoots. As Matt has said the quickest way to fix this is with a jewelers screwdriver to right the bent pin and a headlamp to see what you're doing. Of course there will only be a limited number of times you can do this before you lose the pin altogether.

This is quicker than taking the side panel off the camera, removing the CF board and straightening the pin and reassembling.

Our recommendation is if you have a record error during a shoot your first check would be for a bent pin.

If you have been following Geoff Boyles posts on CML you would of seen he thought his Red had a problem with cold when in fact it was due to a bent CF pin.

From Jim's post they recognise the design can be improved.

I would favor a pinless magazine based on the SxS express card format even with the added cost of the media.
 
Great...I can see it now...an updated user guide

"You gotta be careful, you can't just jam into the slot like that, you gotta carefully stick in and then pull it out slowly and properly, use your fingers delicately and without rash movements"
 
Shawn Nelson said:
"You gotta be careful, you can't just jam into the slot like that, you gotta carefully stick in and then pull it out slowly and properly, use your fingers delicately and without rash movements"
Click to expand...
That's what she said last night... :pirate:
 
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