Recently, the compact flash door on my 1Ds has intermittently failed to open when operating the release lever. Sometimes it will open right away as usual, other times I need to finesse it open. This worries me in that there will come a time when it will fail entirely and I will be stuck without access to remove or change out CF cards, likely in the most uncompromising situation.

Are there any others out there that have experienced this and is there a fix other than sending it out for repair? I understand that wear and tear on this mechanism (it's over 3 years old now) has no doubt reached near end of life, but I'm heading out on a big trip the end of next month and would like to have this fixed soonest, if not by then.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Mike, I haven't had that experience and I'm using a 1Ds that is now over 3 years old. This camera is so well built that three years is nothing in its useable life. This is a fluke situation. I recommend if there is a Canon repair facility near you that you take it there and tell them when you need the camera back. It should be a relatively minor repair.

Yes, I didn't expect to have any issues this soon, but there it is. The closest authorized repair facility is 700 miles away so it's more than a stop in and have them look at it trip. In all my years of photographing I've never had to send a camera back for repair so this is new for me.

Hi:

Sorry that you are having problems with the CF Card Door. I have several Series 1 Canon Digital cameras with no such problems. Can you tell why the door doesn't open? Is there any chance that the door hinge has been sprung? Maybe the little spring that opens the door is weak? I'm sure that Canon can fix it for you and hopefully at a reasonable cost.