Problem with images out of 5D mkIII: half the image distorted colors

[gbc]

Try shooting with a different card and transfer the images to your computer using the USB cable. That should let you know if there's an issue with the camera of if the problem is specific to the other card and/or card reader.

Shot another 900 or so shots tonight, with a new Lexar CF card that I used two nights ago with no problems. Downloaded the files straight from the camera via USB. Tonight, about 15 shots had the same discoloration problem. Starting to worry the problem is in the camera and not the card and/or reader. Any ideas what could be causing it? Not even sure how to describe the problem to a Canon repair center without showing them a picture.

[Kayaker72]

Shot another 900 or so shots tonight, with a new Lexar CF card that I used two nights ago with no problems. Downloaded the files straight from the camera via USB. Tonight, about 15 shots had the same discoloration problem. Starting to worry the problem is in the camera and not the card and/or reader. Any ideas what could be causing it? Not even sure how to describe the problem to a Canon repair center without showing them a picture.

Have you tried downloading the problem images a second time? If it is the reader, the issue is likely random and unlikely to impact the same image twice. Did you shot simultaneously to both the SD and CF cards? That would help tell you if it is the CF card pin or something like that.

Overall, I think you are explaining it fine and I would call Canon. Your images are being split in half with a vertical line. On the left half, the image is fine, but on the right half there is some sort of data storage issue. The thumbnail jpgs are fine, indicating that the camera is taking the image correctly, but either not storing or transferring the images correctly. This is occurring 1-2% of the time.

[gbc]

Have you tried downloading the problem images a second time? If it is the reader, the issue is likely random and unlikely to impact the same image twice. Did you shot simultaneously to both the SD and CF cards? That would help tell you if it is the CF card pin or something like that.

Overall, I think you are explaining it fine and I would call Canon. Your images are being split in half with a vertical line. On the left half, the image is fine, but on the right half there is some sort of data storage issue. The thumbnail jpgs are fine, indicating that the camera is taking the image correctly, but either not storing or transferring the images correctly. This is occurring 1-2% of the time.

Yeah, I've tried downloading the images multiple times, through Image Capture, iPhoto, and by dragging the file from the card folder onto my desktop. Same files each time. Next time out I'll shoot to both SD and CF simultaneously. I guess the problem is recreating it if it's happening 15 times out of 900.

[peety3]

Shot another 900 or so shots tonight, with a new Lexar CF card that I used two nights ago with no problems. Downloaded the files straight from the camera via USB. Tonight, about 15 shots had the same discoloration problem. Starting to worry the problem is in the camera and not the card and/or reader. Any ideas what could be causing it? Not even sure how to describe the problem to a Canon repair center without showing them a picture.

As others have suggested, you should do more troubleshooting to isolate it. Shoot to the SD card first and see if happens there. Shoot to both and see if it's specific to one type of card. Shoot RAW+JPEG and see if it happens in both types.

If it's not specific to one card, it's either the camera's main board or the card reader socket in the camera. In the end, the cause doesn't matter: document the troubleshooting you've done so far, print one of the pictures so Canon can see the results, and send it in for repair. They have so many tools at their disposal that it's just not your responsibility to diagnose the problem; let them do their magic and get you back in business.