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Author Topic: What to do with my dead 5D?  (Read 2367 times)

Peter Barnes

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What to do with my dead 5D?
« on: July 20, 2010, 08:08:30 am »

My Canon 5D died the other day when I put what turned out to be a dodgy CF card into it.   I have a quote for $937 Australian (about $820 US) from a local repair shop who have diagnosed a need to replace the 'circuit board' - parts $587, labour $350.  I paid A$1100 for it, used of course, just 2 months ago.  The repair shop are offering a 12mth warranty on their work.  Is it worth getting a second opinion - could they be wrong about what needs to be done?  Is there a possibility of a cheaper way to get the 5D back on the road?   Would I be better off scrapping it and putting the money to a used Mark II (which would be a stretch financially)?  

And what is a good strategy for preventing an event like this happening again - the card came with the camera, so it may be a fake San Disk Extreme III, but it had been working fine with the camera just half an hour before.  I took it out to upload images via a card reader, when that didn't work I blamed the reader, and put the card back in the camera to upload directly from it, only to get no response - a completely dead camera.  The card won't be read by anything, Mac or PC - luckily I have copies of everything on it bar the test and experimental shots I took that day.  Should I blame the card, or is it likely that it is innocent, and something else fried both camera and card?
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Peter Barnes

sojournerphoto

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What to do with my dead 5D?
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2010, 11:37:32 am »

Quote from: PeterBarnes
My Canon 5D died the other day when I put what turned out to be a dodgy CF card into it.   I have a quote for $937 Australian (about $820 US) from a local repair shop who have diagnosed a need to replace the 'circuit board' - parts $587, labour $350.  I paid A$1100 for it, used of course, just 2 months ago.  The repair shop are offering a 12mth warranty on their work.  Is it worth getting a second opinion - could they be wrong about what needs to be done?  Is there a possibility of a cheaper way to get the 5D back on the road?   Would I be better off scrapping it and putting the money to a used Mark II (which would be a stretch financially)?  

And what is a good strategy for preventing an event like this happening again - the card came with the camera, so it may be a fake San Disk Extreme III, but it had been working fine with the camera just half an hour before.  I took it out to upload images via a card reader, when that didn't work I blamed the reader, and put the card back in the camera to upload directly from it, only to get no response - a completely dead camera.  The card won't be read by anything, Mac or PC - luckily I have copies of everything on it bar the test and experimental shots I took that day.  Should I blame the card, or is it likely that it is innocent, and something else fried both camera and card?


I'd send it to your local Canon operation. Hopefully they will be able to understand if it really needs a new circuit board or is a simpler fix.
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Ken Bennett

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What to do with my dead 5D?
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2010, 12:53:19 pm »

Yup, I would send it to Canon Australia for their opinion:

http://www.canon.com.au/en-AU/Support-Serv...Service-Repairs
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Wayne Fox

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What to do with my dead 5D?
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2010, 07:25:25 pm »

When you say it "died", you mean it won't even turn on?  I can't image a "dodgy" CF card doing that.   But in fact if it won't even power on, typically the entire circuit board will get swapped out.  

If it still powers on and just won't see the card, maybe you bent one of the pins.  See this quite often.
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Peter Barnes

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What to do with my dead 5D?
« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2010, 08:17:03 pm »

Thanks guys. Wayne - dead as in when it is turned on absolutely nothing happens.
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Peter Barnes

schrodingerscat

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What to do with my dead 5D?
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2010, 10:46:23 pm »

Not sure what repairs run in Oz, but I would send it to Canon before making a decision.

It's possible that it has bent CF pins and one of the pins shorted to another. Might be a minor board problem, but if it needs the main board it could be spendy. Make sure to check the card for damage and if any of the holes show even the slightest irregularities do not use it again as it is possible to re-damage the pins after a repair. I can't think of any other way a card can cause a camera to go dead. The worst that can happen with a card that doesn't suffer from physical damage is it just won't work. Make sure to check your reader for bent pins as well.

Repairing CF pin assemblies is probably the most common repair I do on DSLRs.

If you get it repaired, then you would have a nice backup when you finally do get the Mk II.

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Peter Barnes

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What to do with my dead 5D?
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2010, 02:58:09 am »

Quote from: schrodingerscat
Not sure what repairs run in Oz, but I would send it to Canon before making a decision.

It's possible that it has bent CF pins and one of the pins shorted to another. Might be a minor board problem, but if it needs the main board it could be spendy. Make sure to check the card for damage and if any of the holes show even the slightest irregularities do not use it again as it is possible to re-damage the pins after a repair. I can't think of any other way a card can cause a camera to go dead. The worst that can happen with a card that doesn't suffer from physical damage is it just won't work. Make sure to check your reader for bent pins as well.

Thanks - I have been quoted $A587 for the part, a new PCB, the main board I presume.   How much are these to procure in your neck of the woods?
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Peter Barnes
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