Mandatory servicing now on XTi cameras?

I talked to a salesman who was telling me about the dust removal feature on

the XTi cameras. He was saying that the fly paper sticky tape they use in

these cameras now have to be replaced within a couple years or sooner

depending on use of the camera. He says basically the sticky tape gets clogged

up at one point and needs mandatory servicing to replace it. From this to play

it safe I shut off the automatic sensor dust cleaning and will now do it only

on a time by time basis. To be honest on my old XT I never had issues with

dust to begin with. Anyone hear of this issue with replacement of the tape?

That's interesting. I wonder what he's basing that on, considering how long the camera has been out.

"...to play it safe I shut off the automatic sensor dust cleaning..."

 

Well, shutting off the shaker is not going to reduce the amount of duct that is already in the mirror box. I doubt it'll clog anything unless you're using your camera in VERY dusty conditions.

 

Regardless, if and when the tape gets clogged "in 2 years", then your XTi becomes an XT with the dust reduction feature. Any excessive dust will fall on the clogged tape and can be emptied into the nearest trash bin. Also, I doubt you'll be babysitting your XTi in 2 years, so use it and don't worry. It's a camera, not an investment

I'm not sure if he said he got the info from Canon themselves. I'll have to talk to him again and get more info. He did say that the older cameras dont have this problem since they dont use this tape. But having used sticky tape roller style lint removers, I know how quickly they stop working after use from being clogged up with lint or dust.

"...I know how quickly they stop working after use from being clogged up with lint or dust..."

 

Have a look inside your mirror box. See much dust? The shaker was designed for the microscopic partciles that can't be seen with a naked eye. It'll take a lot more that 2 years to clog anything there.

 

IF the tape exists, it's more likely it'll dry out before it gets "clogged". In this case your turning off the shaker doesn't make sense

I wonder what's next...first the underexposure issue and now this. I've been on the verge of ordering an XTi body, but now I'm leaning toward another XT or maybe a 30D. I'm beginning to think that the dust removal system on the XTi is nothing more than a marketing gimmick because I've never had a dust problem with my XT either. A couple of light blasts with a bulb-type blower when changing lenses seems to work just fine. I haven't seen the first speck of dust on my XT's sensor. The more I learn about the XTi the less inclined I am to buy one. I never thought I'd see the day when you have to send your camera in to have it's fly paper replaced.

The XTi would be obsolete in a few years anyways, use it up.

Did the guy say what would happen if you didn't replace it? It doesn't seem like a problem. The shaken off dust has to go somewhere so it doesn't get kicked back up. Shouldn't you get your camera serviced every year or two anyways?

 

Would you not buy a performance car because it uses premium gas?

Fly paper in a modern SLR? Was he trying to get you to buy the 30D instead? I would talk to someone more informed about these cameras than a salesman; i.e., Canon customer service.

 

Since having dust inside the mirror box is not the issue (having dust specks on the sensor is), it shouldn't be necessary for the dust to "stick" elsewhere after it vibrates off of the sensor.

I would presume no matter how much you use it the stickyness of the dust trap will degrade with age as the sticky chemicals evaporate, probably degrading faster at higher tempertures. I guess you might clog it up if you are in very dusty environments.

 

I would think the vibration would still be effective. More to the point what is the lifetime of the vibration mechanism, presumably a electromechanical crystal device.

 

I think I would still uses a rocket blower with this sytem anyway to get as much gunk out of the mirror box and behind the shutter as possible.

<p>Many adhesives lose their stickiness over time. And the more dust you pile on it, the less sticky surface will be left exposed. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if, sooner or later, the sticky stuff can no longer catch and hold dust.</p>

 

<p>Turning off the automatic shaker will help with issue #2 but won't do anything about issue #1. I have no idea how much of a difference, if any, that will make to how long it is before the dust catching sticky stuff is no longer effective. Anyway, until such time as you find that dust is a problem and the shaking system doesn't fix it even when you manually activate it, I wouldn't worry about what some camera salesman said; you know that some of them are honest and knowledgeable, and some, well, not so much.</p>

I tried talking to the one sales rep again on this today, but he was not in. I then talked to another from the store who had not heard of this issue from Canon, but had heard it from Olympus. And he said it may be years before servicing would be needed. Also he didn't understand why his coworker would recommend shutting off the shake feature. I will try and talk to the first guy again to get more info.

"...talk to the first guy again to get more info..."

 

I see no point, obviously he hasn't got a clue

I contacted Canon technical service about this. Here is their answer:

 

Dear Mr. Ruting:

 

Thank you for contacting Canon product support.

 

Our cameras don't require maintenance. The strip doesn't need to be

replaced every two years.

 

We hope this information is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact us again if you have any other questions or concerns.

 

Sincerely,

 

Erik

Technical Support Representative

Interesting Canon says it never need servicing. I wonder how true that is. I talked to the original guy and he says that all manufacturers use the same basic method of trapping dust which is fly paper. He mentioned how hes had people with Olympus cameras for example had 10 servicings in 5 years to replace the fly paper on 1 camera- since the servicing is only able to be done by a repair center themselves. He did say shutting off the shake feature is up to you how you want to deal with the dust problem.

"...Interesting Canon says it never need servicing. I wonder how true that is..."

 

Who cares if it requires servicing every 10 or 20 years. Thesea things are designed to be replaced often

 

Sorry Scott, you act like a bad reporter - there's no story to report and yet you find a new angle

Well if Im wrong- then Canon owners get lucky. If what I was told is right- then youve been warned. I repeat he did say the Canon camera uses the same fly paper method as other cameras and the salesman has seen customers that have had to replace the paper twice a year. Im just passing along what Ive been told. If he is wrong on this perticular product, then I'll be happy I wont have to deal with the issue.

I guess I don't get it...my original digital Rebel had no dust control features at all. Even if the "fly paper" loses its stickiness, why would there be more dust in the XTi than in my current Rebel. I only recently had to clean the sensor (used Green Clean - worked great)after I noticed some dust spots on my images. The combination of the anti-statis coating, the shaking, and the sticky strip should keep the sensor clean for a long time.

 

I have purchased the XTi and am extremely pleased with it.

 

One last comment - if I had an Olympus and had to have it serviced 10 times in five years, I'd be looking for a new camera!

I'd be upset if I was that owner as well. I just got my XTi- so I'll see down the road if anything changes. But I never had problems when I used my XT, though that camera didnt get much use.