Canon 5D MKII ‘busy screen’

geetee50 · Post by **geetee50** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:11 pm

Hi has anyone had an issue with a busy screen while shooting a set. I have to open the battery compartment to bypass it as it not related to buffering.

I updated to the newest firmware 1:2:1 and tried different batteries along with formatting the card.

A search on line found this post.

http://lightingmods.blogspot.co.uk/2009 ... locks.html

I’m using the same 8GB Scandisk Extreme III but apparently some comments suggest this issue may happen with other cards.

Can anyone advise on a card to use with this camera with out issues or a solution.

Much appreciated.

Gary

Update: this freeze only occurs when the exposure is less than 1 second

nielsgeode · Post by **nielsgeode** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:14 pm

To be honoust, I doubt that this is related to your CF-card. Did you try shooting with only the SD-card instead? Do you get the same symptoms then?

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:04 am

Gary,

A similar matter is discussed at the following link:
(the suggestions may or may not be applicable your experiences)
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/sho ... p?t=796378

Just to clarify, does this problem occur when the camera is tethered?

Craig

geetee50 · Post by **geetee50** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 2:22 am

Thanks for the replies

Nielsgeode: I only have a CF option

Craig: I connect to a independant pc screen via mini HDMI directly through live view.

It never happened till I started a set with my 50x objective, the shutter speed was set to 2 seconds and I was getting the busy screen 1 in every 20 or so shots, after trying a full format and other things the problem persisted. The issue is the same as in my link in the first post. The busy screen is constant and will only go if the battery door is opened, I’ve left the busy screen running for 10mins so defiantly not buffering.

After finding this problem with the 50x I tried a set with my 5X at around 1/8th and after 250 images finished the set without any busy issues. I’m presuming the slow shutter speed is causing conflict with my card, this is all a little above my head as the card is quite fast at 30mb/s and happens in Jpeg mode or Raw+Jpeg so card size is not a concern. Also it works ok in my 50D.

I found a 16gig Lexar pro 400x that would suit my use, I might PM a couple of 5D2 users and see what cards they are using before I splash out.

Maybe if your using a Canon 5D2 and shoot slow shutter speeds without any problems you might post the card in use.

Thanks Gary

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 3:26 am

Gary,

Have you disabled 'long exposure noise reduction'?

Try shooting directly to the PC via a USB cable; such an exercise may help to isolate the specific issue at play. If connecting directly to a PC there will need to be some software talking to the camera, otherwise, the 'Busy' indicator will be blinking. If using EOS Utility it is possible to specify whether you want the image to go to the card and the PC or just the card, it would be best to keep the card out of the equation if possible. I'd also set image quality to RAW only and see if this delivers any improvements.

The best way to solve a problem is to isolate as many potential contributors as possible and 'group' them into categories; each category may require a different course of action.

A quick scan of an electronic copy of the 5D MII manual using search criteria 'Busy' reveals three key areas requiring consideration.

I'll attempt to replicate the problem based on the details of your post.

*Later note: I've been unable to replicate the problem after firing off 32 x 5 second single exposures in rapid succession. Also tried 32 @ 1/250 using Multi Shot settings, still no problem or unreasonable delays. 32 RAW images is the capacity of the 1GB SanDisk Extreme III CF card I currently have in the 5D II. A Canon lens was attached to the 5DII for the above exercise.

Could you provide some details about any adapters you may be using between the camera and your bellows? I presume your 50X setup does include a bellows?

Craig

geetee50 · Post by **geetee50** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:57 am

Craig yes I've disabled 'long exposure noise reduction'

The problem i'm sure is with the slow shutter speed and my card, the connection made to the screen is just through the mini hdmi cable, same way you would connect a tv, and no tethering software to confuse things or pc.

I've ran a few sets now at 1/8th sec and no issues with busy screen so i know this is card related to slow shutter speeds plus its more busy screen freezing rather than buffering as it can't finish buffering.

connectors are eos to nikon to bellows (no chips)

Pau · Post by **Pau** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:34 am

Try tethering the camera to a computer via USB llike Craig sugests selecting the option to save the pictures to the computer, not to the card. This will isolate any CF card issues if present. He is giving you good advice!
This will work for pictures. At least in my 7D video must be saved in the card.

geetee50 · Post by **geetee50** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:07 am

Craig and Pau thanks for the suggestion of using the canon tethering software

I’ll give it a go later and post back.

The CF card works without issue in my 50D set up like for like as the 5D2

Really would be great to get a post from other 5D2 users that use the same card with or without these issues.

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:50 am

geetee50 wrote:Craig and Pau thanks for the suggestion of using the canon tethering software

I’ll give it a go later and post back.

The CF card works without issue in my 50D set up like for like as the 5D2

Really would be great to get a post from other 5D2 users that use the same card with or without these issues.

I have a 5DII camera and the following cards:

Sandisk Extreme III (30 MB/s, 16 GB) and Sandisk Extreme IV (45 MB/s, 16GB).

Would testing these cards be helpful? If so, just specify the shutter speed, frame rate, number of frames, jpeg only vs raw vs raw+jpeg mode, and anything else of importance (e.g., exposure metering mode vs manual exposure techniques).

I haven't used the HDMI connection to my camera and thus I cannot easily offer to test that feature. If it's important, I can try to find cables, learn to use it, etc, but that may take some time.
------------------------

The only time I've run into the "busy" notice with my 5DII is during continuous shooting. After roughly 17 frames, the camera's internal buffer fills up and the camera is temporarily paused until the buffer can at least partially empty. No manual intervention is required - just wait a second or two until the buffer partially empties. This "busy" mode behavior is from somewhat distant memory - I hope I'm not misremembering it...I don't think so, but can't promise perfect memory.

geetee50 · Post by **geetee50** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:47 am

Thanks DQE first off are these your two cards used in your 5D2 or have you others?

Have you used the 30mb/s without trouble at slow exposure (2 seconds) in live view mode?

The Scandisk i was going to buy was 16gig UDMA 60mb/sec

http://www.cameraworld.co.uk/ViewProdDe ... me=SanDisk

Canon recomend a UDMA card with up to date firmware!

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:58 am

geetee50 wrote:Thanks DQE first off are these your two cards used in your 5D2 or have you others?

Have you used the 30mb/s without trouble at slow exposure (2 seconds) in live view mode?

The Scandisk i was going to buy was 16gig UDMA 60mb/sec

http://www.cameraworld.co.uk/ViewProdDe ... me=SanDisk Extreme 16GB 60MB/s UDMA Compact Flash&CAT_CODE=6&SUBCAT_CODE=75

Canon recomend a UDMA card with up to date firmware!

I made one more pass through my camera gear bags and found the following older cards:

Lexar 4GB "133X" speed. I'm not sure offhand how to convert X speed ratings to MB/second rating.

My newest Sandisk Extreme IV SanDisk cards (16GB, 45 MB/s) are marked "UDMA". The older Sandisk Extreme III cards are not marked "UDMA".

-----------------

I now recall that there has been a fair amount of discussion on the net about counterfeit cards being sold widely. Their performance and stability is of course not highly regarded. See the web pages below for a discussion:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_ ... p?cid=6007

I wonder if the counterfeit card issue is the cause of your difficulties? If you intend to buy new cards, perhaps it's worth the expense to buy from a reputable source? My personal fav vendor, especially when I become paranoid about the counterfeiting issue, is bhphotovideo.com. I've never had any reason to question the integrity of the things they have sold me for the past 20 or so years.

geetee50 · Post by **geetee50** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:26 pm

I think I’ll try the canon tether as suggested earlier just in case its an issue with body then buy the card from my link if all is well.

My card did come with my last camera so can't say if its not handling the higher MP due to being moody but never had an issue till I popped it in the 5d2

30 mb/sec is 200x i'm told.

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:47 pm

Here is a link to Galbraith's tests of the 5DII:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera ... =6007-9784

Excerpt:

"The data in the table below was derived by timing how long it took the Canon EOS 5D Mark II to write 20 Large Fine JPEG and then 10 RAW CR2 photos to the memory card. Timing commenced when the camera's card status light illuminated, and stopped when the light went out. Each test cycle was performed three times (if the card's capacity allowed for that) to ensure accurate results. The data has been converted to megabytes-per-second (MB/s). Higher numbers are better."

Perhaps these data will help in selecting the best card(s) for the 5DII.

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:52 pm

Another thought - is your firmware for the 5DII up to date?

The info below sounds like you need to make sure your firmware is up to date regarding this write speed and freezing issue.
---------------------------------------

http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resource ... date.shtml

Excerpts:

Optimizes the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D’s performance when using certain UDMA 7-compatible CF cards released in February 2012 or later, such as the 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and large-capacity 256GB CF cards in the Lexar Professional CF 1000X series that were sequentially released from late February onward.

When using these CF cards with the EOS 5D Mark II, a card error (Err02) may occur during shooting or when initializing the card. This is caused by a change in the UDMA 7’s control and process method of the above CF cards, that is different from that of the conventional cards, and outside the margin of compatibility of the EOS 5D Mark II (depending on the controller used in the cards).

Although the camera complies with the standards, this update will expand the margin of compatibility of the camera, making it compatible with the target CF cards once the firmware update is installed.

geetee50 · Post by **geetee50** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:26 pm

Thanks DQE

DQE wrote:Here is a link to Galbraith's tests of the 5DII:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera ... =6007-9784

Yes thanks I found that link today quite interesting too.

firmware all upto date as a precaution but i feel i'll be better off with an older firmware version with my current card.