"Blank" frames in burst mode

macmassey

Lately when I shoot in burst mode on my Canon 7D MarkII there is often a messed up frame mixed in with the other shots. I don't seem to notice when it happens but later when I am going through the off loaded photos I see them. Sometimes its like a half a picture and other times it's a black square or some other color square. Does anyone know why this is happening? Thanks

ziggy53

I have not experienced this myself but I have heard documented cases related to:

• Using Non-Canon (third-party) batteries.
• Using Older Canon LP-E6N batteries and LP-E6 (without the "N" suffix) batteries.
• Using Image Stabilized and "Sports" lenses with large USM AF motors. (The Canon EF-S 17-55mm, f2.8 IS USM is often involved, for instance, but also the EF 70-200mm, f2.8, IS USM, etc.)
• Using batteries with dirty contacts or dirty battery contacts in the camera. (This may require servicing the camera.)
• Often some combination of the above.

The reason appears to be excessive current draw, and using the above alone or in combination seem the most common reasons.

The best test is to purchase a couple of brand new Canon LP-E6N batteries and see if the problems persist.

ziggy53

Also, what method are you using to transfer/copy the files onto your computer?

kdog

Did you try a different memory card?

pathfinder

I'm with kdog, that would be my first question? What brands of memory card are you using now? I prefer to use Sandisk brand cards of the type specified for the camera .

I have used non-OEM batteries ( STEK and Wasabi ) occasionally , LP-E6 batteries, and older LP-E6N batteries and never had this problem in over 40,000 frames that I am aware of - many of which were with large long stabilized lenses from Canon, Tamron and Sigma. I do shoot a fair amount of High Frame Rate series also. My 7D MkII is one of my most highly used walk around bodies. The frame count for my 7D MkII is probably higher than any other body I own according to my LightRoom catalog. I like like the metadata database ability within LR these days.

I am careful to keep my batteries fresh and to swap them out once they are showing 1/2 power in the LCD window on the top right of my camera body.

I am also careful to keep GPS turned off when I am not actually using the camera as this will really drain a battery in a few days in a 7D Mk II. I do not notice this battery drain with GPS active with a 5D Mk IV or a 1DX MK II nearly so much.

I don't generally clean my battery contacts, but if I felt I needed to, I would do a quick wipe with a Q tip dampened with a drop of Isopropyl alcohol, and then dry them thoroughly with a cotton hanky or rag.

If the problem persists with new LP-E6N batteries and clean battery contacts, and Sandisk or Lexar pro grade cards, I would suggest contacting Canon Factory Service for advice as to repair.

macmassey

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas. I actually do use Canon LP-E6N batteries that are only as old as my camera, about 2 years. As for memory cards I use SanDisk Extreme UDMA-7 32GB, also bought when I purchased the camera. I wondered about the cards as well. I hope it's not a shutter issue. As far as transferring the photos to my computer, I attach the camera USB cable (that came with the camera) directly to my laptop then open the folder to view the files. Then I drag them to a new folder. It's a terrible workflow I know but truth is, this is the first time this has been happening so not sure it's the transfer method, as archaic as it is. The issue didn't happen when I was out today so perhaps is a temporary thing but if it persists, given the newer batteries and cards, I guess I will have to contact Canon. Thanks again for the suggestions everyone. P.S. any chance its the lens? A Tamron 18_270, which has actually been a really great general purpose lens for me.

ziggy53

I do suggest using a card reader attached to your computer, or a card reader built-in to your computer.

You could also test by using someone else's card reader and computer, to see if it yields the same flawed files.

pathfinder

I'm with Ziggy, and favor a good recent card reader over using the camera to computer cable -

Your lens is not causing absent frames - I like the Tamron travel zooms, and their 16-300 is one of my favorite lens for walk around shooting with a 7D Mk II. I have over 11,000 frames with mine in LR and its still going strong.

I think you have an intermittent electrical gremlin causing your grief.

macmassey

Electrical gremlin....just in time for Halloween! I'll look into a card reader. Thanks folks for the suggestion!

kdog

I know you said you didn't seem to notice the blank frames while shooting. However, it would be very useful to reinsert a card that shows the problem back into the camera and confirm whether you can see the blank frames in the camera. That would draw a hard line whether the issue is in the camera or caused during the uploading process.

kdog

@pathfinder said:
I'm with Ziggy, and favor a good recent card reader over using the camera to computer cable -

^^ this. And to further elaborate, be certain the card reader says it's UDMA-7 compatible. Example: https://tinyurl.com/yd299mem

(The folks at Lexar used to swear that using non-UDMA-7 card readers with UDMA-7 cards could actually damage the cards. Yes, this sounds fishy to this electronics technician, but this was the official position at Lexar support. One would assume that reading in-camera would be fine, but who knows. Evidently there's some witchcraft involved. (Halloween pun intended. )

ziggy53

If a USB connecting cable, either between the camera-computer or between the card reader-computer, develops a broken "shield", then that same cable can act as an antenna, either receiving or transmitting RF. The RF interference can cause this sort of file problem. Since the shield surrounds the entire power and data-signal wire bundle, and since the shield is not typically visible, it can be damaged through normal use and not detected.

I used to use a portable AM/FM radio, tuned to an unused frequency, to help diagnose errant RF emissions. Now I just use card readers which plug directly in to the USB port, or I use the on-board card reader of my Dell XPS desktop.