5DmkII out of whack?

[olli.pekonen]

<p>Hi there!</p>

<p>My new EOS 5D mark II finally arrived. After 30 secs of using I realized that the quick dial (the thumb wheel in the back) does not work... at all! And no, the power switch was not in the middle position (thanks for asking :-) but all the way in the position that should enable quick dial operation.</p>

<p>Then, after 5 minutes I realized that that, when viewing the pictures, "zoom in" works OK, but "zoom out" stops the image viewing function and makes the focus dots flash in the viewfinder (what kind of zoom out is that?) </p>

<p>Two peculiarities in five minutes. I have used digital EOS systems since 2004 in a pro/semipro level.</p>

<p>Now, what the hey is going on here? Should I really start reading the manual, or claim warranty of the product. Has Canon pushed outside of the envelope a bit too much in their attempt to keep Nikon at bay in DSLR wars? Quality Assurance is a poor place to save, IMHO...</p>

<p>BR,</p>

<p>Olli Pekonen</p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>Oh dear, my sympathy is with you. Sounds like a dodgy unit. Best send it back.</p>

<p>My 5D2 hasn't arrived yet. I hope I have better luck. I hope Canon isn't cutting corners with these cameras in order to meet demand.</p>

[nhut-nguyen]

<p>Send it back, I feel for you man, after all those wait. Hope you'll get a properly working one.</p>

 

[photo_dark]

<p>i'd send it back. I've had mine for 2 weeks now, and haven't had any problems so far.</p>

[diego_di_michele]

<p>Check out the camera's custom function menu. Maybe the answer is there.<br>

Cheers!</p>

[roy_dunn2]

<p>Check out this article at Luminous Landscape - 77 photographers to the Antarctic, 26 of them have 5D Mk2's and a quarter of them fail.<br>

Not a single Nikon failure.<br>

I have been with Canon gear since 1979, but am seriously considering a change. I will make good money on all my glass, and bodies are obsolete so soon, it doesn't matter.<br>

Canon seem to have lost the plot.</p>

<p>Roy.</p>

[evphotography]

<p>Sounds like you got a bummer Olli, return it for new one. I had to laugh when I saw Roy's post. The article on Luminous Landscape, give it a rest. What I find funny is that out of 77 photographers, Canon shooter made up half of all people on the trip compared to all the other brands of cameras combined. On the previous Antarctic trip through them Canon shooters were 80%. Wow Canon must be really really crappy cameras, I guess that is why most people buy Canon, because they make the worst cameras and if I was going to spend that kind of money on a DSLR, I surely want to make sure I get the worst one I can for the money.</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>I think you have a bad example but should not worry. I have had my 5DII since Dec 22nd and it has be used extensively outside in temperatures as low as -32C without any issues. It is not as well made as the 1 series but it appears to be of a similar build quality to my EOS3 (they have cut a few corners - no viewfinder blind, cheaper AF and no multi-spot metering). This Antarctic story is getting a lot of milage but since one of the failures was the LCD cracking I am not sure what user issues are at play here. It seems odd that the Canons failed more than the Nikons as while the Nikons are probably slightly better made the differences are small and should not account for the differential between the two brands. If it was cold then they would have to stop selling the 5DII in western canada but I asked the dealer and they have sold over 400 with no issue. If it was wet why aren't the British complaining in droves as it rains all the time there.</p>

[hawkman]

<p>Olli, are you getting any error messages like Error 20, Error 30, Error 70 etc. on the rear LCD?</p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p><em>"If it was wet why aren't the British complaining in droves as it rains all the time there."</em><br /><em></em><br />Philip, how dare you! I assure you that we had at least two days last year when the rain stopped for over an hour!</p>

<p>My old 350D has had a few good soakings over here in the UK and has never complained. I certainly won't be keeping my 5D2 in an air conditioned cabinet when I eventually get it. I will be out in the rain with it where it belongs.</p>

[olli.pekonen]

<p>Hi there and thanks for the feedback.</p>

<p>No, I get no error msg. The thumbwheel is just plain dead and the zoom out makes the focus points in the viewfinder flash like it was some sort of disco fever. That actually makes this a really spooky feature, QA wise - its like a car that runs perfectly, but when you turn the wheel to the right, the car steers left...</p>

[puriantoh]

<p>Olli,<br>

I replaced my 50D with 5DMkII. Works just fine from the 1st day. You're just unlucky! This toy is really fantastic for studio work. Color reproduction almost perfect!<br>

Every system has its flaw. So does Nikon. MkII is new and people want to hear news/reviews. Surely some bad publicity here and there. If one only listen from one side of the world, they'll never discover the wonderful things that MkII can produce. If it is really bad, why do people still buy?<br>

Send back to Canon and see how fast they respond it.</p>

[olli.pekonen]

<p>I took the camera back to the vendor. They sent it to the workshop. And I guess I will be hearing from these guys in a couple of weeks. The economy is bad - why serve the customer fast :-)</p>

<p>I'll keep you posted.</p>

[thomas_sarver]

<p>Just to let u know Olli that you are not the only one with this issue. My new 5D MkII has the same issue. The Custom Wheel does not work for exposure or for changing the aperture. I was on the phone with canon support and they gave me a work around so that I can use the camera on vacation, but as soon as I get back, it goes back to them for repair.</p>

<p>Their work around was under the C.Fn III: Autoficus/Drive. Under option 3 (AF point selection method) the default is 0. Changed that setting to 2 & that moves the AF points adjustment to the thumb wheel. By doing that, you now can use the AF Button on the top right while moving the main dial to adjust for expouser compensation & aperture in the manual mode. The only down side is that you now cannot adjust the AF points because the thumb wheel doesn't work.</p>

[olli.pekonen]

<p>Just a closing update on this item: The camera was fixed in a matter of weeks. They had replaced the whole back portion of the camera - thumbwheel, display, side buttons etc. But now the thingy has worked without a hitch.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions!</p>

[olli.pekonen]

<p>Unfortunately the saga on Canon quality continues. Today the same camera body (1 year and five days after purchase, for a one year guarantee) went crazy again by itself. The buttons fail to response, and the shutter can be, sometimes, triggered from the "AF on" button (but not from the shutter release). This is really hairy, especially having paid 2300EUR for the thingy, and enjoyed it for 9 months (2 months for delivery and one month for fixing it after one day of usage). I'm really dumbfounded and I will keep you posted on how the camera shop/repair/Canon Finland responds in getting this camera body finally working the way it should. It is simply not nice to pay huge amounts of money for digital equipment that all of the sudden decides to turn itself to a piece of *rap and forces the customer to spend another huge amount of money (but this time, for a Nikon...)</p>