I bought my Canon EOS 5D in September 2010 with the knowledge that it did not have the mirror fix completed on it. Some 5D users never had the mirror fix performed and don’t bother sending it in for repairs while others had the mirror physically fall out. Not wanting to continue to risk the odds I decided to send the camera in.
After using the camera for 11 months I am using a pause in the action (between summer hockey and before the holiday season) to send the camera away for a few weeks to be fixed up. I was mostly concerned about having something happen to the camera while on vacation. The 5D survived our trip to England/France in 2010 but I was afraid of what would happen if it decided to break in Iceland 2012.
On August 15 I went to the Canon Repair website, created a profile and requested a repair of my camera. I asked that the mirror fix be performed and to get the body shutter count. The original cost estimate for the repair was $250, but after speaking to a member on the Photography on the Net boards, they assured me the same thing happened to them and they paid $0 for the mirror fix and shutter count.
I received a confirmation email that day from Canon and on August 17 I sent the camera to Mississauga, Ontario. I shipped only the camera body, I removed the memory card, strap, eye cup and battery. The only thing that was attached to it was the body cap cover. As per the instructions Canon sent me I had Canada Post send the package with a tracking number and insurance. To expedite the process I paid for two day shipping and on August 18 the camera was received by Canon.
On August 19 I received a repair estimate email (
) from Canon stating that the total charge would be $271.95. To see why I was being charged something that should be corrected for free I contacted Canon Customer Support. I spent a few minutes getting into the right department but once I arrived at the service area the phone agent (Mike, one of two I spoke to) confirmed the repair would be done for free and sent a revised email to me stating the repair had been acknowledged.
Shortly after my phone call the end user online repairs page was updated to reflect the $0 amount and that work was underway () . The camera was in their system and ready to be fixed, and now I just had to wait the estimated 15-20 business days for it to be completed.
On August 29 the repair status said completed ()! Later in the day the status changed to shipped (). Seven business days to perform the work on their end, thankfully this was well under the estimated time frame.
On August 30 the camera arrived in Edmonton and was delivered to me over lunch (). I appreciate that Canon rushed the delivery (as the Online Repair page said), after checking the Online Repair status daily for the last 10 days I didn’t want to have any delays with the shipment.
The camera came well packaged with paper and the body was inside a plastic bag with a print out of the work done. The technician’s notes were:
Adjusted shutter speed, AE, AF, cleaned sensor, mirror modification was already done last time.
Oh…that’s underwhelming.
Admittedly I felt like a putz for sending the camera in for something when it was already performed but I’m surprised the work was allowed to continue if there was nothing to do. I had hoped that if the mirror fix had already been performed it would have been something the Online Repairs system could determine before accepting the body in for work.
I read the Service Repair Form () several times but I didn’t see anything about my shutter count, which was listed in the “customer complaint” section. I guess it’s good to have the camera be given a once over, but without knowing the exact shutter count I won’t know how much life is left on the body.
Without the 5D I felt a little like a photography nomad. I had cameras available to use but none could perform the way I knew the 5D could. I would see a sprinkler creating a rainbow or a large spider web and knew that my Pentax Optio S55 or iPhone 4 wouldn’t capture it and I begrudgingly moved on. It was nice not to have to carry a second bag with me everywhere I went, but after having one around me for so long it was strange to not have it. I always felt like I was leaving the house and forgetting something.
In a rather anticlimactic fashion my experience with Canon Canada comes to an end and overall I’m satisfied with the process and how quickly it took to get the camera back. I hope this post will assist other Canadians who have a 5D to get their camera to Canon and back without problem.
Can you explain shutter count and “life of the body”? It was on a hike last year that my D40 wrapped 10,000 photos reverting back to DSC_0001. That being said it’s alive and well, if criminally under-used these days.
In, or around, 2009 Canon released how long their shutters and other mechanical bits would last for, some would exceed that life expectancy…others would not. After searching on a few pages it looks like I can expect my 5D to last for around 100,000 clicks. I am somewhere in the 25,000-30,000 range but I was hoping to get an exact number so I would know how much time I had left. Judging by this page: http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/canon_eos5d.htm I’m still in the healthy time frame.
There is software to get the number of actuation’s taken on a camera but my 5D isn’t compatible so it has to be read by a Canon technician. If you passed 10,000 last year I think you still have a bit of life to go (at least according to this: http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/nikon_d40.htm). Under-used or not, you can still expect it to be ready and willing whenever you are.
That’s a statistic I’ve never really considered. After the first 10,000 I consider the camera “paid for”. If the shutter was to die, so long as it wasn’t mid-trip, I’d be Ok with it. Bodies can be replaced, I’d just be jilted with the inconvenience.
All this considered, the Camera has had its challenges. The flash died in the first 10,000, I lost the eye cup, and I’ve broken the original lens. But for what I paid for it, it’s paid me back several fold.
Come to think of it.. you have the most recent photo taken with my camera, in your inbox. DSC_2401 if I’m not mistaken.
You are correct, 2401 is the number. 12,400 photos and that Nikon has lived a good hard life. You know that D40 inside and out, know where everything is and it’s basically an extension of your body. At this rate the rest of the camera will break down before it stops actually taking photos.
This is hilarious, I am searching for CANON CAMERA CANADA, to get into the DSLR game and you guys have this page as search result number 4 on google. Do they know I frequent both of your blogs?
That is pretty funny, maybe this was a part of Google’s new privacy policy where it became aware of your history and modified the search results based on that.
I have a canon sure-shot A75. everything seems to work except the image doesn’t record on the card. I know a 12 yr old who is extremely interested in photography but their family is financially strapped. the camera was a great camera and if I could get it repaired at a reasonable cost I would donate it to her. I have a service quote for 89-99 dollars which would fix and overhaul the camera. downside is it’s in California. i’m hoping to find a closer location in southwest Ontario, Canada. any help would be greatly appreciated.
I emailed them about the maintenance, but it’s not free tho
My Canon camera shut down some years back. It wouldn’t come on + the few times it did, the zoom wouldn’t pop out.
Please I need help as to how to resolve this. I love my camera and need it back in good shape!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.