Well, no pocketbook robbing, as I have other equipment that performs admirably. I'm just not interested in being at the back of the second queue if it has to be shipped in again.
Well wonderful... I get mine back from Canon today and my MKIII that has been performing well now Front Focuses on EVERY image with the 300 F2.8IS on it. Granted...a few inches in front of the subject is crisp...but I ain't happy. I guess I gotta calibrate now.
Before the submirror replacement, it performed great.
khurram1 wrote:
Finally after almost 2 1/2 months of registering, i got an email from Canon to send my camera in for repair once i receive their shipping labels.
Now with another fix potentially, coming in, i'm just wondering if it is better to wait
Is this the email you received:
Dear Customer,
Thank you for using Canon products.
Based on the serial number of your EOS-1D Mark III we have determined that your camera was manufactured with an original mirror mechanism. As such, your camera might require an adjustment of its auto focus mirror mechanism as outlined in our EOS-1D Mark III AF Mirror Adjustment Service Notice.
We are currently making preparations to offer this repair free of charge. To have this adjustment performed, a pre-paid shipping waybill will be sent to your address in the coming weeks. In return we ask that you properly package your camera and forward it to our factory service centre upon receipt of your waybill.....
I received this message from Canon Canada on Dec. 6 and have yet to receive the prepaid shipping waybill. In mid January, speaking with someone behind the scenes at Canon Canada, apparently they'd only just set up for the service with one "machine" to do the fix. The impression I have is that the number of "machines" available to do this worldwide is very limited, hence the delay offering the service here in Canada... Taking this further, if there is indeed a second fix, and it's also hardware related and requires specialized parts/machinery, then I doubt Canon Canada will be offering that service as soon as it's announced. It's your call of course. If your camera is not performing as it should, my inclination would be to send it in for the first fix as a stopgap measure until the second fix is in place.
BTW, for those starting to doubt the validity of Rob Galbraith's report, the general gist of it has been confirmed by US Today photographer Robert Hanashiro here at Sportsshooter.com: http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=28145
Quote:
"... but Rob has done a good job outlined the official information that Canon has been giving to Mark III users." (referring to Mark III users at the Super Bowl)
If yours is functioning well or even decently well, I would wait to send it in. I am regretting my decision to send it in last week BIGTIME right now. I get to waste my evening now trying to calibrate my entire lens collection.
I now know the hostility feeling that many have had with this whole debacle. All I know is that what I thought was a perfectly decent AF body WAS indeed that. What I have now is complete SH$T and I can't use it for anything.
I sure hope all that is needed is calibration, but I don't have much faith in that at all.
Guess now you know why there are so many threads, take your frustration and multiply that by 9 months and countless OOF shots that made exactly zero $$.
And I am up here testing.. and everything I am shooting is soft now (tripod mounted). Nothing sharp. All with the 300. I just shot with the 300 on my 5D 2 days ago in similar conditions and had tack sharp images nearly all..
What is strange.. even stuff that looks in focus in LIVE VIEW comes out soft. It's like the sensor is misaligned or something..
If yours is functioning well or even decently well, I would wait to send it in. I am regretting my decision to send it in last week BIGTIME right now. I get to waste my evening now trying to calibrate my entire lens collection.
I now know the hostility feeling that many have had with this whole debacle. All I know is that what I thought was a perfectly decent AF body WAS indeed that. What I have now is complete SH$T and I can't use it for anything.
I sure hope all that is needed is calibration, but I don't have much faith in that at all.
apdieb wrote:
Well wonderful... I get mine back from Canon today and my MKIII that has been performing well now Front Focuses on EVERY image with the 300 F2.8IS on it. Granted...a few inches in front of the subject is crisp...but I ain't happy. I guess I gotta calibrate now. Before the submirror replacement, it performed great.
Subtract one from the happy camp.
Are you sure they didn't send you back #502858? That sounds a heck of a lot like my first body that they took back. Very sorry to hear that this happened to your formerly-working camera. I know it doesn't mean much, but I can sympathize with your current plight.
apdieb wrote:
What is strange.. even stuff that looks in focus in LIVE VIEW comes out soft. It's like the sensor is misaligned or something..
That's exactly what it seems like when you get those OOF shots where you think something should have been in focus, you think there should be focal plane within the image, but there often isn't. For those who haven't seen it, it is characteristic of these problematic MkIII's, and it appears as if something is moving somewhere in the system.
Monito wrote:
The sensor does not move between the time of Live View and the actual exposure, so sensor misalignment is ruled out.
Monito, do you even own a MkIII? Why do you even care to chime in on these threads? Sensor misalignment cannot possibly be 'ruled out' by an individual who doesn't own the camera, didn't design it, hasn't observed the results in question, and appears to be out to discredit any who are unhappy with Canon's recent performance as a corporate entity. Might I suggest you go 'make some photos', and leave those with verifiable problems to their own devices? You are not helping 'apdiep' in any way that I can see.
No, I don't own a Mk3, but I don't need to own one to know that the sensor doesn't move. I was trusting the owner's report that it was sharp in live view but unsharp in exposure. You don't trust this owner's report?
I follow these threads because clearly Rob Galbraith did uncover a problem and it is subtle, i.e. intermittent, thus being hard to reproduce and harder to debug. I find the whole saga very interesting, and yes, it has shaken my confidence in Canon a little, but only a little. However, this technology is complex. Though there are many skilled users who have been bitten by this bug and the complexity of the reaction, for which I do have sympathy, many other users have unreal expectations of perfection, and the death of Canon is seriously predicted many times, to great amusement of others.
I recently purchased a 300 2.8 is with a view to perhaps do a bit of motorsport for kicks & portraits for bucks. I tried it out on my MK3 & the results were REALLY bad. Virtually nothing in focus.
My bread & butter is weddings & general portraiture so basically I have not used the 300 since. I continue to shoot weddings with my MK3 & my 1DSMK3. For what I do the camera is fine, so from my perspective I am not concerned. My experience of the MK3 is that it is a fantastic camera.... I love using it & have every confidence that Canon will get it right ultimately.
Having said all that, I feel for the guys who are in the opposite position to me & need to use long lenses as their normal modus operandi. Hopefully most of you are like me & have alternatives for situations such as this.
Ah, no, you are quite wrong. It was immediately apparent to me when I got my 1D3 that something was not working with the autofocus - this was in August. I assumed the new CF settings were to blame, and vowed to take a organized methodical approach to shooting with various settings to find the best combination. That is, I assumed it was my fault. Well, 10,000 images later, the mirror fix was announced. AF performance was so poor that the camera was virtually useless for my favorite subjects, birds. I had been perfectly happy with my 1D2 for over two years, and never for a second bought into the myth that the 1D2n had superior function. The AF failure in the 1D3 is commonplace, persistent, and renders an excellent instrument useless.
What I want to say to you is that it is clear that you, a non-1D3 owner, have some kind of agenda. Why should you clog up space in this thread, pontificating, when you have no experience to share with us? We get it - you think Canon is the best thing since beans on toast.
You don't need to keep on repeating that.
Monito wrote:
No, I don't own a Mk3, but I don't need to own one to know that the sensor doesn't move. I was trusting the owner's report that it was sharp in live view but unsharp in exposure. You don't trust this owner's report?
I follow these threads because clearly Rob Galbraith did uncover a problem and it is subtle, i.e. intermittent, thus being hard to reproduce and harder to debug. I find the whole saga very interesting, and yes, it has shaken my confidence in Canon a little, but only a little. However, this technology is complex. Though there are many skilled users who have been bitten by this bug and the complexity of the reaction, for which I do have sympathy, many other users have unreal expectations of perfection, and the death of Canon is seriously predicted many times, to great amusement of others. ...Show more →
Just because I do not shoot the super bowl does not mean that I am not a 'key' customer.
News of this fix better come to me fast, officially from Canon. The extended warranty that comes with a Mark III when it gets back from a service for a year makes complete sense now...Canon knew fully that the fix was an improvement but not a solve all. Dont lose that barcode folks...
For the record, I understand that the sensor doesn't move.. My use of "out of alignment" was probably not the best description. To be honest, I was more or less having a small meltdown over here and was just spouting off about it.
I have been testing nonstop since I left that message with both a 70-200F2.8 IS and the 300 F2.8 IS.. Of course it has been on static subjects... From what I gather, whatever they did while changing out my submirror caused my lenses to be front focused. At least the 2 I have been testing.. After adjusting and adjusting.. I think dialing in about +10 of micro adjustment has somewhat improved the front focus issue. On the 70-200 it was less... I also completely reset the camera and rebuilt the settings tonight.
I am going to get out and give it another serious test ASAP..
I am praying that this will solve (or at least help) the problem. One thing I noticed for sure after going through my images from earlier today.. They are ALL consistently Front Focused. The grass about a foot in front of the subject was typically sharp with most every frame..including those that I fired off at 10FPS (until buffer filled). Given this consistency, I am hoping it is just a matter of calibration.
I am interested to hear what the "Senior Tech Rep" has to say about my email. He BETTER NOT tell me to send in my lenses and body. That 300 was very good before they touched it...and it remains stellar on my 5D.
Thanks for listening/reading.. I am feeling a little better, though still pissed.
FYI - Here is a gallery of images I shot with the 300 on the 5D Monday afternoon.
Any AF inconsistency will show easily with the f/1.2 lens @ f/1.2 compared with the f/2.8 lens. I had couple of Mark IIIs before, and they were nearly ok with f/2.8, but all failed with f/1.2 or so, but the other old 1D bodies i had showed very consistent with f/1.2 @ f/1.2....
Good luck !
Studio58 wrote:
It arrives today from the States. I will do a few shots over the weekend & maybe post some or at least report the results in a new thread.
In my home country, Finland there is just one company of Canon repairs and mainteanance.
Yesterday i got my 1DM3 back after two weeks due the AF probs. Sub Mirror Fix was not done as the body is not in affected serial numbers. All they said was done was "adjustments"
Last night i tested it with 16-35L 2.8 II only and clearly itīs front focusing!!!
"Good news" is that before it was focusing front/back, randomly and now front only.
PERKELE ! (cursing in finnish...)
All my four L-series lenses are working fine with my 5D.
