Canon Camera Dies Yet Again....ugh

Adam,

If they think you're a "Pro" and you are, they might react differently. If you've paid for these repairs,then you should receive a refund. They should offer to replace your body with a "new" used body, at the very least!

Try going up the "food chain" a bit and see if you get somebody's ear,

Rich

My 10 to 22 mm died on me a few years ago literally the day after the warranity went out. They fixed it for free and it was good as new for a few years, but now has a crack and won't focus. Didn't try again since the warranity was even further gone. I'd love to have that lens back in my working collection though. The majority of my sales were made with it.

switch to Nikon.............. (and begin)..............

If it wasn't for all the Canon lenses I'd switch to some other company. There have been enough issues its time to go as far up the good chain as possible (might be able to find someone on LinkedIn).

It's had $1,000 worth of repairs in the last year so one would think it should basically be a refurb at this point but the failures continue.

Seems like you've put the camera through a lot. Extreme locations, harsh environments (overnight in the car for example), tons of usage. Some repair work comes with the territory me thinks.

Come over to the dark side Adam (and I don't mean the iPhone). :)

You can add your data here:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Shutter Life

http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/canon_eos5dmkii.htm

Nikon won't be any better. One of the reasons I switched from them to Canon was because of poor service.

Are you a CPS member? If not, join, it helps.

I had a 5D that went back 5 times with an intermittent problem before it was solved. Turned out to be a small crack in one of the tracings on a circuit board. Changes in temp or camera position would break the connection. Luckily for me I had 3 5D bodies at the time, so it was only a small inconvenience.

I like Rich's advice, go higher up, write emails, keep hammering at it, act like a dog with a bone.

A good friend of mine just had that happen. Lately I hear some of my pro friends are switching gear. Not sure why Canon in having trouble with their customer service. Years ago my Canon mirror just fell out and I thought I did something wrong. I find out asking around in the pro forums there was a Canon manufacturing problem and Canon knew about this. They never send out any notice to people who just had purchase the body. They fixed it at no cost but if this had happen on a job I would have been very upset. The more I read about the problems lately the more I am considering switching myself. Our industry is not forgiving we can't have our equipment fail. The word would get around very fast and clients woulds top calling.

i try to carry a spare with me, just in case something does happen. odd that the same thing happened twice. i wonder if its a battery thing. did they say they changed anything? usually they cover a little bit after a repair. but i don't think they would ever send a replacement loaner. they do have a service plan which i should sign up for that has discounts on getting things repaired. i don't think i'd pay the insurance version of that though.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I have to say, if someone is shooting for a client, they must have adequate backup equipment with them. There's no excuse not to.

Canon has CPS -

http://www.cps.usa.canon.com

If you have any Canon gear you should sign up for at least the free one.

I went Platinum last November when the camera needed a lot of repairs. You supposedly get 30% off repairs with platinum but a 100-400 went back because it was having some slow focusing issues. About $600 to do whatever they did with a 30% discount.

The main benefit seems to be free overnight shipping and fast turnaround. That would be great if it was possible to count on it actually getting fixed.

I do put a lot of wear on gear. November 2013 $700.00 worth of repairs. I'd been in the desert, the pacific coast and everywhere else so it needed it.

Something else went wrong in June, I think it was, another $240.

Then after very minimal use all the buttons and the screen stopped working on the way to NY in Sept. No charge for that one, just missed the peak colors.

Now out again and the same thing happens again. They said they did something to it last time but I can't remember what.

I'd get any future gear (or at least cameras - lenses don't seem to have too many problems) at Best But and get the extended repair/replacement thing but when on the road and without an address for more than a day or two that doesn't really help either.

With Platinum CPS they will do loaners if the repair takes longer than anticipated but that's usually fast enough to work something out on the road.

The worse a companies gear performs the more of it you have to have in order to make sure you can keep shooting. Canon, Nikon, any of them.

After three nights sleeping in the car guess I'm a little cranky this morning. Was able to come away with something using the 7D but just single shots. The extra zoom with the crop throws off everything with the current lenses for panoramas.

I have to agree with David. The client in this case is you because you've taken on this self assignment. You are traveling from desert to mountains to river banks, subjecting your equipment to extreme temperatures in your car etc. You can't blame Canon for not having proper back up equipment. If your car broke down would you blame it for making you miss a shot?

Knock on wood.

I have never had any problems with any DSLR (Nikon) that I've owned. Never needed a repair shop. While at Yellowstone, my D7000 with 50-500mm lens and teleconverter rolled off the jeep's hood and onto the ground. The teleconverter broke, but camera and lens survived. Never had a camera just stop working while in the middle of shooting. So, since I never needed repairs I can't say how Nikon customer service is compare to Canon customer service. All I know is, the shit I put my camera through I'm happy it still works.

But, this is why we all should know better to carry a back up camera. Never know what will happen.

This is an interesting thread for those of us considering a new camera purchase. I have an old Panasonic Lumix (10 years old) and have put it through the wringer. I have used it more on boats, beaches and sandbars than anywhere. Moisture, sand, shock (hitting against the side of boats) and I have had zero problems (except that it's old!). When my niece got a new Canon (bridge type) I compared online reviews and the Panasonic equivalent (new Lumix) beat the Canon hands down.

What about Pentax? I read that they are very rugged and hold up well in all conditions. Anyone here have any service problems to report with that brand?

When a car goes into the repair shop and it breaks down again with the very same symptoms after supposedly being repaired and driving 1,500 miles I would certainly hold the mechanic responsible.

Canon has had the camera three times in the last year. The first was after shooting in lots of adverse conditions for a year.

The last two after shooting in good weather with some cold temperatures but nothing below freezing.

Maybe my expectations are too high? A $3,000 piece of "weatherproof" equipment should be expected to break down repeatedly in harsh as well as pretty normal conditions?

A camera that was supposedly tested after major and minor repairs to be restored to full functionality should continue to fail?

If a car dealer sold a car like that and performed repairs like that it would probably be called a lemon.

Adam;

That last post sounds like it needs to be incorporated into an e-mail to Canon. All we can do here is cheer you on! Logically, a manufactuer who makes anything is large quanities will no doubt make a few lemons, regardless of whether we're talking cars, cameras or iPhones.

email.....email.....not just Canon locally.

Adam,

Have you tried going up the "food chain"? If not, your bad.

Second choice is another 5D MKIII. You're doing this professionally and should have the gear needed to accomplish that challenge. If that means another $2,000 used body, then that's the answer.

I don't think another camera maker is the answer,you're glass is going to keep you in Canon's family.

Have you ever joined ASMP? They would help, I think...........

Rich

Adam,you said a lot about camera, excluded how many shots you made with this body.
For example if you have appr.70 000 it's time for new body..
Are you prime owner?

How weatherproof can a camera with interchangeable lens be made? Every time a lens is changed the guts of the camera is exposed to wind, dust, grit, grime, weather extremes etc.

Sounds like this body has developed a terminal illness. Something beyond servicing.

If you were using the camera in the studio and it had these problems I say it was a lemon. But this camera has been exposed to all sorts of harsh environments. Who knows what found its way deep inside the body.

the only issues i've had thus far - when i got my new mk3, after 2 months i had a weird line of pixels just missing. they replaced the guts and almost charged me $900 for the repair, mix up in paperwork and what i should have sent. the other time is when i dropped a camera on a break lever and broke the mirror. insurance covered most of that. usually by the time the shutter reaches the click lifetime i usually end up getting a new camera anyway.

i usually don't take the camera out in odd weather though. cold, hot, dusty etc would wear camera out faster. i don't use rapid fire either. if the camera is dying i would venture to say water or salt water is the problem. when i built hearing aids in my last job, the main killer was moisture and corrosion. it doesn't take much to kill a chip.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com