Quality Control?

I have had some serious quality-control issues with new Canon equipment and

wonder if this is widespread. I bought a 5D 2 years ago and shot about 80 files

before it died completely. It had to go to the factory for a new circuit board.

(and I had no camera on my only trip to the Olympic rain forest, argh) Just

now I bought a 40D kit for my son, and the 28-135 wouldn't autofocus. Luckily

in this case the vendor swapped it out, which I think they aren't supposed to

do. Am I just really "lucky?"

 

Ken

I think perhaps you are just unlucky. There are countless numbers of Canon users on Photo.net that have never had /any/ problems and some who have had a few problems. I see no more QC issues with Canon than with any other camera manufacturer, but then again my views are based only on what I read here and other photography-related message boards.

 

It is unfortunate that you've had two problems like this (and I do understand your frustration) but I don't think it's a pattern of poor quality from Canon.

I've owned dozens of Canon lenses and a handful of bodies over the years and I've only had one problem (back door latch broke on an 8 year old film body). Am I lucky or unlucky?

I agree that Canon is probably no worse or no better than any other camera as far as

quality control goes... BUT... does that make it right? I have brought this very same subject

up on the EOS mailing list, that I seem to see lots more problems from Canon cameras in

the last couple of years than in years past. On this very list it seems to me there are lots of

40D issues, but also, I suppose it is a very small percentage of how many are sold. The

same old argument comes up... well it is no better or worse than Nikon, Olympus, Pentax,

etc, etc. Nothing made by man is ever going to be 100% perfect 100% of the time.

Personally, I will NOT buy any newly introduced camera until it has been in production for

about a year and had time to get all the bugs worked out, and even then things can still

happen. I have never been one with my panties all in a wad having to have the "latest and

greatest" .... "upgrade". I'm still using, quite successfully, my original 1Ds and D60. I will

say neither of them has ever given me any problems.

I think you must be very unlucky. Other than the oderror99, I've had no problems with either 20D or 5D and a half dozen lenses.

 

Others' milage may vary a lot.

 

P

I don't know, I've had a few lemon "L" lenses. Get them fixed free of course, but who needs the hassle. I do think Canon is running the line a little too fast these days.

<p>It happens. FWIW, I've bought two EOS film SLRs, one EOS DSLR, two non-L EF zooms, three L zooms, and two EX flash units over the last decade or so, and never had problems with any of them. (Those are the ones I bought new; I've also bought three used lenses, but if those had been DOA, it would have been the original owner's problem, not something I'd find out about.) I think most people's experiences are closer to mine than to yours, but certainly you're not the only one who's ever had such a problem.</p>

 

<p>In 2001, I bought a German luxury sport sedan as a new car. Three weeks later, it wouldn't start. The engine control computer had died. Earlier this year, I bought another new car of the same make. A little over half a year later, and it hasn't died. So Canon isn't the only company which occasionally ships a product which experiences a problem shortly after delivery to the customer.</p>

I just received a 135mm F/2L from B&H for xmas... and one of the internal (looks nearly in the middle of the lens) elements has a chip right in the centre, looks like a big black dot and actually affects shots since it's not on the front element.

 

Needless to say I'm not entirely happy and I will be having Canon Australia swap it for a lens that has been through QC ASAP.

The number and thoughtfulness of the replies above is wonderful! I placed the lead post today as a new member. Thank you all!

 

Yes, I also don't usually buy version 1.0 of anything, and I do know there are lemons: Once I bought a brand new Milwaukee sawzall and had the gears strip with the first piece of work it touched, and no one on the job could believe it. Once fixed, I have worked the hell out of that tool for 20 years with no problem. If I can parallel this experience with the cameras (admittedly, on the shorter time frame of electronic obsolescence) then I will be a very happy camper. The overall experience will definitely cause me to bring backups when the gig is important.

 

Thanks again!

 

Ken

Over the last few years, Canon have had some systematic problems with design errors (24~105 "heavenly rays", 70~300 vertical orientation problems, 580EX incorrect zoom algorithm for 1.6-factor bodies, and, most famously, 1DIII AF problems) but, sooner or later, each of these has been admitted to and fixed (or so we hope ...). What you are talking about, Ken, are bits of kit that are either dead-on-arrival or suffer premature failure of some kind. That happens with individual items from any mass-production process, and it's an interesting question whether Canon should be putting more effort into minimising it. There's certainly an argument that high-end kit like L-series lenses should be subject to "closed-loop" testing. Many years ago I had a pair of B&W speakers that came with individual measured response curves. An equivalent for L-series lenses would be testing to ensure freedom from optical faults like defective or decentred elements, factory calibration of AF to standard settings, and a measured MTF chart showing that the lens met design standards. I wonder how much it would add to the cost, and how willing users would be to pay the extra?

been with canon from 1990. I have some error99 on 20D and 5D. Power cycled them works. I broke the 28-200mm, something fell out inside. Is that a quality issue or I just broke it myself? I don't know. Other than that, 17 canon lenses, 3 bodies, 5 flashes, extenders still working. Lucky or unlucky?