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Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

Started 3 weeks ago | Questions
pedz
pedz Regular Member • Posts: 163
Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

This may not be the best forum for this question but I have an EOS R5 and an EOS R5 C that I need help with.

Two basic questions:

  1. What is a good CF Express card reader that works on a Mac running the latest Ventura?
  2. What is a good software to recover images and files from a corrupted card?

I have been using these cameras for a while with no problems.  About 6 weeks ago, I started to have problems.  I had Wise 512GB CFExpress type B cards and a Wise Card reader and I thought one of the cards went bad so I purchased two SanDisk 512GB cards (CFExpress Type B).

Today, I am having problems.  Both the CFExpress cards from both cameras are having problems when I put them in the Wise reader and try to copy the files off.  I put the card back into the camera and it seems happy.  I connected the camera to the laptop and I'm having Lightroom copy the files off.  This works for image files but not for all of the various video files.

I think / hope the cards are fine.  It is just the Wise reader that somehow can't work with Ventura.  The cards and card reader are both no longer available on B&H Photo so... I suspect they were a bad investment.  But today I have the SanDisk cards which I know is good quality stuff but I am still using the Wise reader and still having problems.  So, my next step will be to replace the reader.  (I'm kicking myself for not testing this more... 20/20 hindsight.)

Also, long ago, card failures or camera hiccups were not uncommon so I had some software that could "recover" the lost and corrupted files.  While I hope I won't need to get to that point, I'd still like to have such software in my back packet so I have it if and when it is needed.  What are the recommendations for that type of software today?

Thank you,
pedz

 pedz's gear list:pedz's gear list
Canon EOS R5 Venus Laowa 100mm F2.8 Macro Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS STM Macro Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 +4 more
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MarshallG
MarshallG Veteran Member • Posts: 8,951
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

I can’t help you… I use a USB-C cable and the Canon software to transfer the files from the CF card to my Mac.  I’ll get a reader one of these days…

I haven’t tried, but maybe you can copy inside the camera from CF to the SD card and put that card in the laptop for direct copying.

 MarshallG's gear list:MarshallG's gear list
Canon EOS R5 Canon EF 50mm F1.4 USM Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM Canon EF 16-35mm F2.8L II USM Canon Extender EF 1.4x II +4 more
koenkooi Contributing Member • Posts: 920
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

I’m very happy with the Prograde Thunderbolt reader, it hasn’t given me any issues in the past 2 years.
For rescuing data, photorec is my go to software, it works very well if the data is still there, but it can’t work magic if things are really missing.

 koenkooi's gear list:koenkooi's gear list
Canon EOS 7D Canon EOS M Canon EOS M6 II Canon EOS R5 Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM +20 more
Victor Engel Forum Pro • Posts: 20,968
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

I have this one and am very happy with it. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1643021-REG/lexar_lrw550u_rnbnu_cfexpress_usb_3_2_gen.html

The maximum speed is most likely limited by your Mac rather than the device because Apple has not implemented the full speed of the interface as far as I know on any of their computers.

P.S. I use Monterey. It looks like a Ventura update may fix the problem .

-- hide signature --

Victor Engel

 Victor Engel's gear list:Victor Engel's gear list
Canon EOS 5D Canon EOS 5D Mark II Canon EOS 600D Canon EOS 5DS Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II +13 more
drsnoopy Senior Member • Posts: 1,216
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader
1

The most likely culprit is your card reader, either hardware or an OS issue.  It’s unlikely in the extreme that all your cards are faulty, especially SanDisk.  Try using a USB-C cable of the appropriate type to transfer your images direct from the camera, that would eliminate the reader from your fault-finding process.

I use a SanDisk reader with an Integral 128GB CF-express type B card and have had no issues (Windows PC).

Recently I recovered images from a friend’s CFExpress card which had been formatted, but was not faulty.   I used my SanDisk reader and the free SanDisk recovery software (RescuePro which you should have received with your cards), which worked well.

 drsnoopy's gear list:drsnoopy's gear list
Canon EOS RP Canon EOS R5 Canon EOS R10 Canon EF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS STM Macro +10 more
L a r s New Member • Posts: 24
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

I have used this no name reader for the past two years without any problems and transferred several hundred thousand photos without any problems. (Windows first then MacOS Ventura since end of last year). Sorry, not a helpful link as they no longer seem to sell this reader. I hope you can figure out your problems with the reader/cards.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FD7B2LF/

 L a r s's gear list:L a r s's gear list
Canon EOS R5 Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM Canon EF 135mm F2L USM +8 more
Ephemeris
Ephemeris Senior Member • Posts: 1,186
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

drsnoopy wrote:

The most likely culprit is your card reader, either hardware or an OS issue. It’s unlikely in the extreme that all your cards are faulty, especially SanDisk. Try using a USB-C cable of the appropriate type to transfer your images direct from the camera, that would eliminate the reader from your fault-finding process.

I think that was done which also showed problems with some files.

Could this be real card problems?

I use a SanDisk reader with an Integral 128GB CF-express type B card and have had no issues (Windows PC).

Recently I recovered images from a friend’s CFExpress card which had been formatted, but was not faulty. I used my SanDisk reader and the free SanDisk recovery software (RescuePro which you should have received with your cards), which worked well.

noggin2k1
noggin2k1 Senior Member • Posts: 2,950
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

I've got the Angelbird AV Pro SE 512GB cards, and Angelbird CFE card reader.

No problems with either, and historically when the Angelbird cards needed a firmware update, it had to be via the Angelbird card reader.

 noggin2k1's gear list:noggin2k1's gear list
Canon EOS R3 Sony a7 IV Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Canon EF 35mm F1.4L II USM Sigma 105mm F1.4 DG HSM Art +7 more
Abbott Schindler Veteran Member • Posts: 3,099
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

I've used Delkin and ProGrade USB-C readers on Macs (Mojave and Ventura) without any problems. I've never heard of Wise, which may be why B&H no longer carries them. I've been using Delkin Power and Sony Tough CFexpress B cards in those readers without any issues. I also have 2 ProGrade cards that work in the readers perfectly (albeit they're slow cards), but also happen to be the only cards my R5's have frozen with, so they're strictly for backup now.

Here's the ProGrade reader I've got:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1548490-REG/prograde_digital_pgrwcfxsdana_digital_cfxb_sdxc_sdhc_usb_3_1.html

Before you totally give up on your gear, and if you haven't done this already, try:

- Different cable

- Connect to a different port on your Mac(s)

I've solved a couple of USB-C problems by replacing the cables.

For rescuing files, I'm also on SanDisk's included application. They provide a year of free use, after which I think it's subscription software.

pedz
OP pedz Regular Member • Posts: 163
Re: Need help with CF Express cards and card reader

I got a SanDisk reader from Best Buy today and it is working.  It seems fast too.  17G in what seemed about 80 seconds.

As far as I know, you can’t transfer R5 C video files via USB-C cable.  If that is not correct, I’d love to find out how to do that as a fall back plan.

-- hide signature --

Thank you,
pedz

 pedz's gear list:pedz's gear list
Canon EOS R5 Venus Laowa 100mm F2.8 Macro Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS STM Macro Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 +4 more
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