CF Pin Repair on DSLR advice

I have a DSLR camera where someone damged the CF pins on it. I am a COMPLETE newbie at electronics but was wondering if anyone can point me towards resources on how learn to fix this myself since camera shops want $135 just for base labor charges

Have you checked Youtube, etc.? I have had some decent success with finding relevant information / videos when it comes to camera repair. CF pin damage is fairly typical.

I found a video of a guy who shoved a wire in it…which seems sketchy as a repair technique. Still looking, but ya know, things on youtube aren’t always best practices or proper and I don’t know enough to determine which is super and which is stupid. But I follow directions pretty well once I have a good resource :slight_smile: It’s an Canon XTi

Make/model?

You can often find the part you need on eBay or Amazon… the problem is how to take the thing apart.

YT has a lot of videos on how to take the various cameras apart to repair them. Between that and the part you should be able to handle it.

I HIGHLY recommend you have a large work area and a smooth towel or sheet to lay down. Then you take the screws out and panels off and lay them out in order so you know where they all go back. Don’t use a towel with loops as the screws can be quite small. The softer surface of a towel or sheet minimizes bouncing and lost screws. (Voice of experience on that one…)

XTi? You can buy a used one off eBay for less than that repair price.

Oh for sure…but the district doesn’t go for Amazon or Ebay and I don’t have $100 everytime it happens which apparently is often on these models so I thought I’d add it to my skill set

Are CF reader pins a universal part or manufacture specific? Seems like something Tanners would sell?

If this is what they’d actually do, it seems like $135 isn’t all that bad.


Especially if they have to listen to that music…

Also,

“The District” likely has a repair budget. Not to deter you from adding to your skill set, but often folks are not aware that repairs ARE budgeted for…

They come in an incredible amount of different physical sizes and solder termination points.

You don’t want that video. You want the video @jast found. With that video along with this manual (https://thydzik.com/downloads/canon-service-manual-eos-kiss-digital-x-eos-digital-rebel-xti-eos-400d-digital.pdf) [pdf pages 103-114] and a great deal of confidence, I’d say you are good to go.

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Thanks @jast. That’s much more…uh professional than the guy I saw going at it with needle pliers and some bare copper wire. I’m checking on the repair budget issue. I’m also hoping the batteries fit the even older one I have on deck (that one left the batteries and charger in New Mexico) and I can just trade them out…this is why all the rest of the loaners are military grade drop proof. :laughing:

@darrent I have little confidence but little guilt if I screw it up since repair bill is 2x just getting another body. I’ll probably go after it and see what happens. After I’ve mastered something exceptionally basic apparently. I’m still trying to learn to make a hot wire foam cutter and wiggle the motor with an arduino lol.

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