Canon 5D2 in the shop again!

[mrenters]

My Canon 5D2 which had problems in Antarctica and subsequently spent 2 months recuperating at Canon is back there again for service.  When I got it back Canon had replaced both the PCB and the sensor.  When I used it the first time after the servicing it died with an Err70 within 15 frames.  This requires the camera to be power-cycled and then every 15th frame or so it happened again. It was a good thing I had a backup camera along to finish the shoot with.

I'm really not impressed with the reliability of this thing or the idea of shared custody with Canon.  I've asked them to replace the whole camera with a new one but haven't heard anything from them for 2 weeks despite repeated phone calls. Customer service is definitely very poor.

Martin

[Anthony R]

Sorry to hear. Sounds like you got a lemon. I know you don't want to hear this either, but I've around 50k clicks on mine without the slightest hiccup. Hopefully they give you a new camera.

[markfieldingpic]

Hi Martin
Sorry to hear about your ongoing troubles with the 5Dmk2. I have recently had a similar problem to you with my 5Dmk2. I am very interested to see if your problems have finally been laid to rest. My 5dmk2 gave up on me for one night after shooting near the ocean. Amdittedly in my case there was a light breeze and a tiny bit of ocean spray went on to the camera but I was at least 5 metres away from the ocean at all times. I'm very disappointed that a camera cannot withstand being used near the ocean.

The options given to me by Canon Customer Service here in Japan were
1) Pay almost 1000 USD to get a new mainboard installed (no talk of it voiding my warranty)
2) Leave it and hope the problem doesn't come back

Thanks in advance for your response

Best regards

Mark

[mrenters]

Canon still has my camera. Of the 7 months I've owned it, it has been at Canon getting serviced for over 3 of those months.

The latest word is that they can't find anything wrong with it despite it having repeatedly locked up during the last shoot I did with it on a completely dry day. It hadn't been anywhere near water since the last repair - as a matter of fact it hadn't been used at all since the last repair. I've now sent in the flash, lens and card I used, along with the corrupted images it wrote out during that shoot.  I tried the same lens, flash and card on my wife's 5D2 and they worked fine there, so it doesn't appear to be related to one of those components.

Even if they do fix it again, I don't really have much confidence it isn't going to fail again and have to spend another month or two getting fixed again.

For a camera that claims "improved weather sealing" it appears it is awfully susceptible to water damage. I've used my original 5D in the same conditions and haven't had any problems.  Canon's response to me is "It isn't a professional camera, you should be using a 1 series in those conditions".  I'm beginning to think I should be using a Nikon.

Martin

[DesW]

Canon still has my camera. Of the 7 months I've owned it, it has been at Canon getting serviced for over 3 of those months.

The latest word is that they can't find anything wrong with it despite it having repeatedly locked up during the last shoot I did with it on a completely dry day. It hadn't been anywhere near water since the last repair - as a matter of fact it hadn't been used at all since the last repair. I've now sent in the flash, lens and card I used, along with the corrupted images it wrote out during that shoot.  I tried the same lens, flash and card on my wife's 5D2 and they worked fine there, so it doesn't appear to be related to one of those components.

Even if they do fix it again, I don't really have much confidence it isn't going to fail again and have to spend another month or two getting fixed again.

For a camera that claims "improved weather sealing" it appears it is awfully susceptible to water damage. I've used my original 5D in the same conditions and haven't had any problems.  Canon's response to me is "It isn't a professional camera, you should be using a 1 series in those conditions".  I'm beginning to think I should be using a Nikon.

Martin

Morning,

Yes the Canon service is a bit of bluster and blowhard-- I sent my 1DSIII for service-out of warranty -- asking for items to be replaced/etc they missed that!

Plus I included the new 14mm II -in warranty-- needed PCB replaced and AF recalibrated and they charged me $316USD!!!--so much for Canon warranty what a con!

Ha!-then they sent me a Customer Satisfaction form to fill in-- they removed it after 1 day-Blah

Better though with Phase One Our' Phamiya' body was runover by a UPS truck--no Physical damage but crushed box

Phase sent us a Brand new one without question

Kudos to Phase One!

DesW

[Kirk Gittings]

Sorry to hear about all the problems. It would make me nuts. You have my sympathies. FWIW, I have to say that both my 5DII and the 5D before it have performed flawlessly, but working in New Mexico, we rarely encounter really wet conditions (or should I say prolonged really wet conditions). I have shot in light brief rains with both cameras with no ill effects, but maybe it was not enough or long enough to do any real penetration of the critical areas. Our main issue has always been dust, but the dust solution of the 5DII is nothing short of amazing with not a single spot of dust after some 5K frames with constant exterior lens changings. So a step forward in that regard at least.

[Pelao]

To those who have had 5DII issues: how are things now?

[john2]

To those who have had 5DII issues: how are things now?

I bought a 5D MKII in December in the UK, and I have had no problems with it whatsoever. My major photographic project in this time has been taking photographs of sea cliffs for a rock climbing guidebook, and this has involved regularly getting close to the sea, sometimes on days when there are big waves. I was rather disconcerted to read of the problems that some people had with their cameras in Antarctica, and on reading that the problem was possibly with the shutter button I decided to stick a piece of duck tape over the shutter button to waterproof it. I have no way of knowing whether this modification has improved the reliability of my camera, but it does not make it any more difficult to use.

 During this period I have once been covered completely by a freak wave when my back was to the sea - the camera was covered in spray, though my body shielded it from the worst of the water. It continued to work perfectly after this experience. The only further precaution that I make is never to change then lens while in the outdoor environment.

[Misirlou]

I wonder if the problem isn't moisture per se, but maybe moisture combined with extreme cold. Maybe when the camera gets really cold, some seal opens up a bit and lets any water that is present get to soemthing really sensistive. And once it happens, the repair guys aren't finding the actual damage, since they're not working in freezing conditions.

[frugal]

I wonder if the problem isn't moisture per se, but maybe moisture combined with extreme cold. Maybe when the camera gets really cold, some seal opens up a bit and lets any water that is present get to soemthing really sensistive. And once it happens, the repair guys aren't finding the actual damage, since they're not working in freezing conditions.

If memory serves, the issues in Antarctica happened on days where the temp was above freezing (remember, they went during summer for the southern hemisphere) and fairly early in the trip so I don't think they were exposed to much extremely cold conditions.