Canon 1ds3 alignment problems

[Mark D Segal]

Well Canon Aust managed to do an exact adjustment to mine in under 24 hours!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=170191\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Phila, may I ask, are you a professional photographer member of Canon Professional Services (CPS) or whatever the equivalent in Australia? If so, it could explain the fast service you got; if not, you are fortunate there.

[phila]

Phila, may I ask, are you a professional photographer member of Canon Professional Services (CPS) or whatever the equivalent in Australia? If so, it could explain the fast service you got; if not, you are fortunate there.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=170217\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Yes I am, but then again I'd be thinking that the overwhelming majority of MkIII buyers would be also. My last post was more to point out that the problem (where it occurs, it is obviously fairly random) can be successfully repaired, and quickly, as long as the Canon facility has their act together.

[CorySilken]

My camera, s/n 614xxx, also appears to have a misaligned viewfinder. And I have a hard enough time getting the horizon straight even on a calm day with a properly aligned camera!

-C

[Mark D Segal]

Yes I am, but then again I'd be thinking that the overwhelming majority of MkIII buyers would be also. ......................as long as the Canon facility has their act together.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=170363\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Well, right here in Toronto two other 1Ds3 owners I happen to know (and I) are not earning a living from photography. I think there are many advanced amateurs/prosumers who buy these cameras. But we mean nothing to Canon. In that sense they do NOT have their act together - at least in this corner of the world.

[djgarcia]

I believe as part of the registration process Canon ships you an expedited service kit with special labels, regardless of CPS. I used it on my Mk II, and got my shutter replaced and camera returned within a week from me shipping it. Problem is they take a month or two to send you the registration kit ...

[Mark D Segal]

I believe as part of the registration process Canon ships you an expedited service kit with special labels, regardless of CPS. I used it on my Mk II, and got my shutter replaced and camera returned within a week from me shipping it. Problem is they take a month or two to send you the registration kit ...
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=170450\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Maybe in the USA they do - no evidence of such a thing in Canada that I've seen. Good to know about. Thanks.

[canon_uw]

I called Canon Support again today, and one support representative went so far as suggesting that a tilted viewfinder was "within factory spec"! I still haven't received my registration packet with 'rush/expedite' stickers, but it would be a shame to have to immediately use them for an issue that should have already been taken care of ...

...you've reached the point where you need to get to Canon's operational centre and exert pressure. In your position and if I were totally sure of myself, I would send a very polite but stiff letter to the head of Canon's operation in the USA telling him in no uncertain terms why you have solid evidence that the behaviour of his company in respect of your camera is inadequate, incompetent and unworthy of their reputation.[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Mark - Are you referring specifically to the CEO? The only information I can find on divisional leaders is at [a href=\"http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/AboutCanon/ciwmgmgteam.html]Canon Management[/url], but I'm not sure where a letter might even be addressed?

[Mark D Segal]

My strategy in these situations is to start at the top and let them filter it down to the person who will take ownership of the issue.

[djgarcia]

Well, here's the long story with my misaligned 1Ds3 ...

Shipped it to NJ on Tuesday morning Jan 15 at a cost of $130, that would be around $8 for the shipping, 122 for insurance . I'm in NYC, the NJ Factory Repair Center is about a couple hours drive tops but I'd have to take a day off from work which I can't at the moment.

I figured it would be delivered the next day, normal for the route. Nope, delivery exception. OK, so then on Thursday. Nope, delivery exception again, place closed for business (!!??). I called Canon and asked if they'd been closed on Thursday, nope, they were open. It took UPS 3 days to find the place, and the delivery address was different:

shipped to 100 Ridge Road, Jamesburg NJ
delivered to 100 Jamesburg Road, Monroe Township, NJ

After some irate calls and e-mails with UPS I did a Google search on the delivery address and came up with a thread from 2004 where somebody had had the exact same experience with their Canon camera, but apparently it ended up in the right place in the end. Turns out there's three different names for the same street (?). One of the thread posters even included the exact wording of the UPS delivery statement. Upon checking, the signer for the 2004 delivery was the same as mine! So I figured I was OK.

So now it takes Canon three days to acknowledge they have it, that there is indeed a problem, and it's been assigned to a tech who'll eventually get to it within 10 business days if nothing bad happens. Entry in Canon system logged as Jan 23.

I call on the 28th and ask if it can be expedited by the 31st, and they log the request. Finally on Feb 1st I get a shipping notification, it's Friday so overnight is Monday, today. Woo-hoo! It comes in.

I know what you're thinking, I check it out and it's still off, but no, I do a quick visual check on a tripod with my TV as subject and it lines up nicely in Live View when I line it up in the viewfinder, whereas before it was visibly off. Another Woo-hoo!

I go to take a few pictures and ... oh-oh ... the autofocus doesn't seem to be working right. In fact, the autofocus system is now an out-of-focus system. I try a couple other lenses, same thing. If I focus manually and try autofocus, it gets very visibly out of focus, and it gets fidgety, even on an easy targets with strong horizontal & vertical lines. I tried the micro-focus adjustment but it's too far off, plus it's obviously doing little hunting runs when it should have hit focus.

So I control my cool, call Canon, politely explain, and they will be e-mailing me a UPS shipping label and promise to fix it right away. They were very understanding and quick about getting the return done, so we'll see how long it takes to get that shipping label first. Sigh ... back to Canon.

Sorry for the long wind - will keep you posted.

[jjj]

The one thing that does seem to be consistent almost everywhere is that unless you are a CPS client Canon's service arrangements are rotten.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=170065\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Sorry but my experience of Canon CPS here in the UK was pretty rotten. They promised 3 days. Then after a week said 'well it was 3 days from when we estimate repair' and then they took another 2 weeks.
3 weeks is a big difference from 3 days.

[seanw]

Here's an update on my experience with Canon service center in NJ if anyone is interested.

I called Canon at the number listed on the warranty card and after describing the problem, I politely asked for them to pay the shipping. I did not think it fair (although it is their policy) to make me pay the shipping on a camera of this expense with an issue right out of the box. The Canon rep agreed and sent me a prepaid UPS label.
Total time from the day it shipped until I received it back was 14 days. They quoted 2 to review it and 7-10 to repair it not including the shipping time so it was in line with their quote. After some quick testing it appears the alignment problem has been fixed.
They listed "viewfinder not aligned with prism" under the examination details but under the service details it said "camera checks to factory specs, parallax adj." So I'm not exactly sure what they did, but in any case it's fixed. Overall painless except for the 14 days which seemed like an eternity. Luckily I had nothing crucial going on at the time.

[pfigen]

I had my 1DsMKIII for 10 days when it completely failed with every frame filled from top to bottom with hundreds of parallel horizontal lines. I drove it to the Irvine service center where it's been for exactly one week. When I dropped it off they told me 3-5 working days, but as of this afternoon it had not been seen by a technician and they couldn't even give me an approximate timetable as to when someone might look at it. I would have just exchanged the camera if Samy's had another one, but the don't. Well, at least my viewfinder was aligned...

[Dinarius]

Spent yesterday shooting interiors.

Something is definitely awry with my viewfinder too.

When the camera was in portrait format, I occasionally used the straight line bits of the focusing screen (the straight lines on the otherwise oval shape in the middle of the frame) to align verticals. They were bang on. However, the edges of the viewfinder did not tally with these settings. So, I think I may have a problem.

Oddly too, my 50mm macro was easier to get closer to parallel than my 17-40mm, even at 40mm. Very strange.

As I said previously, I'm still waiting for my grid focusing screen to confirm the problem either way, but it seems that it's there. Not good enough in an €6.5k camera.

D.

[pfigen]

Apparently my 1DsMKIII is the first one in the US to need a sensor replaced. They had to order the part. Hopefully I'll have a camera by the middle of next week and hope they don't screw up the viewfinder registration in the process.

[Stephen Starkman]

Pfign,

What is the reason for the sensor replacement?

Stephen

Apparently my 1DsMKIII is the first one in the US to need a sensor replaced. They had to order the part. Hopefully I'll have a camera by the middle of next week and hope they don't screw up the viewfinder registration in the process.
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[pfigen]

After ten days I started getting hundreds of parallel horizontal lines (on a horizontal frame) on every frame at every ISO. From day one, I noticed an occasional frame with lines across the frame at ISO 3200, but it was only a couple of frames and I chocked it up to high ISO weirdness. The Irvine service center has apparently determined that the sensor itself is bad and had to order one as they did not have one in stock yet. So far there is no reason given for why that might happen. I guess it's just my luck.

[carl dw]

I noticed a couple of posts on DP preview and Northlight about problems people are noticing on their Canon 1ds Mark 3 that there is from a degree to 5 degrees tilt between what they are seeing on the viewfinder and what they get from the sensor or live view. The horizon seems to tilt and a correction ccw needs to be taken to line it up.

Being a portrait photographer, I don't think I would have noticed this and perhaps it was present in other DSLRs that I've had. On top of that I never print full frame 35mm anyway but prefer the 8x10 crop.

Has anyone else noticed this on their new or even their older DSLRs.
Michael
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Well, it's now a month since I received my first Canon 1Ds MkIII.

Just under a month since I returned my FOURTH body which, like the other three, was suffering with a severe dose of "mis-alignment".

I have since heard about examples of the same model suffering with mis-focusing, shutters that die after a few thousand frames, coming back from Canon Service with the same mis-alignment fault, coming back from Canon Service with a whole new fault!.... and now lines appearing on images which necessitates sensor replacement!

Call me impetuous, but I've just told my dealer to cancel my order for the foreseeable future.

I have no inclination to pay over five grand Sterling to do Canons beta testing for their flagship product..... remind me again about the 1D MkIII - oh yes, mass recall due to faulty focusing mechanism...and much egg on many faces.

It is almost inevitable that the mighty get complacent and fall, with a very eager (and able) Nikon  stage left it looks like Canons reign is coming to an end....and this is coming from someone with over £15K invested in the Canon system.

Anyone for an omelette?

[phila]

Well, it's now a month since I received my first Canon 1Ds MkIII.

Just under a month since I returned my FOURTH body which, like the other three, was suffering with a severe dose of "mis-alignment".

I have since heard about examples of the same model suffering with mis-focusing, shutters that die after a few thousand frames, coming back from Canon Service with the same mis-alignment fault, coming back from Canon Service with a whole new fault!.... and now lines appearing on images which necessitates sensor replacement!

Call me impetuous, but I've just told my dealer to cancel my order for the foreseeable future.

I have no inclination to pay over five grand Sterling to do Canons beta testing for their flagship product..... remind me again about the 1D MkIII - oh yes, mass recall due to faulty focusing mechanism...and much egg on many faces.

It is almost inevitable that the mighty get complacent and fall, with a very eager (and able) Nikon  stage left it looks like Canons reign is coming to an end....and this is coming from someone with over £15K invested in the Canon system.

Anyone for an omelette?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=173517\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Or... you could have acknowledged that (unfortunately) we live in an imperfect world, had the first body v/f adjusted, and been happily shooting with it for the past month or more...

[carl dw]

Or... you could have acknowledged that (unfortunately) we live in an imperfect world, had the first body v/f adjusted, and been happily shooting with it for the past month or more...
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=173673\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Actually, in my case the camera is a tool - not a toy.

I do realise we live in an imperfect world, it seems Canon have produced a camera that fits in quite nicely!

I personally don't want the hassle of sending a new £5000+ camera off to a service center as soon as I receive it; I don't want the possibility of the 'fix' causing further problems; I don't want to be wondering .... "is today the day it packs in?" every time I pick it up.

Things do go wrong, it's the nature of complex manufacturing technique. But I need a camera I feel confident about using. I don't feel confident about this one!

Following the footsteps of the 1D3 focus circus it seems that something has gone pear-shaped in Canons quality control department... or maybe they're rushing to get cameras out of the door with insufficient R & D.

Whichever, my confidence (after 20 years of shooting Canon) is dented.

[Dinarius]

Not connected to alignment, but may be a problem of sorts....though it could be me!

I use my Mk3 permanently:
 on a tripod;
 in manual mode;
 using both mirror lockup and 2 second self-timer.

Boring I know, but......

When I first took it out of the box a few weeks back, it was set to program mode. So, I set it to manual mode and set about setting both the mirror up and self-timer functions.

All was fine except for the self-timer function. Unlike in the 5D, I could not set the self-timer by holding down the ISO button and turning the shutter speed wheel. (Yes, I know that in the manual it says to hold down the the AF-Drive button and turn the main thumb wheel on the back of the camera. But, bear with me.)

I was just about to start a big shoot and was surrounded by clients and stylists etc. So, rather than read the manual, I phoned the dealer. He talked me down off the ledge and, deleting various settings, managed to set the 2-second self-timer using the 5D method, NOT the AF-Drive /Thumb Wheel method. It has been set to this for the last three weeks.

Just this morning, I wanted to shoot off a few test frames in various modes (at this stage I'm paranoid about this camera. The drip, drip launch, frankly, stinks.) and set it to Program mode. After shooting a few frames hand-held at high ISOs, I wanted to reset it to my usual Manual settings. I reset the ISO to 100, the mode to Manual. But, I could not reset the self-timer to 2 seconds using ISO/shutter speed wheel, only using the AF-Drive/Thumb wheel method. Fair enough, but why was it possible to do it using the 5D method too? Very, very odd.

Back to the alignment issue.....

Finally, I shot a few frames on a copy stand this morning and I definitely have a problem with alignment. I'm not going to wait for the grid screen to confirm it. I have printed off a shot I took which clearly shows it.

a. This problem was definitely created at the factory and cannot be corrected by a firmware update. It is a physical, construction flaw. Right?

b. I am terrified about what other problems might arise from having to dismantle this camera to correct this fault. For example, right now I have the cleanest sensor I have ever had. I want to keep it that way.

c. Everything I shoot involves either squaring off or vertical/horizontal alignment. So, a flawless viewfinder is really important to me. (My wonderful 5D was bang on.)

What should I do?

Thanks.

D.