Ironically, my paperwork didn't mention the submirror by name...
Examination/Request Details:
AF mirror mechanism adjustment, update firmware.
in the Service details,
All adjustments and corresponding testing have been completed to Canon factory standards. Firmware was updated to the latest version.
My camera serial number is 525xxx and is clearly in the affected range per the spreadsheet. I am wondering if they didn't replace the submirror and just adjusted it like crap.
PasiM wrote:
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 it´s 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.
No work today so i can make more testing....
I have some questions to do about your situation
a) In what conditions did you notice that randomness of back and front focus.
b)What techniq did you use to make your measurements.
and as I saw from my situations its so easy to make errors in making that tests
Alistair
My fixed mk3 still had problems so last week I contacted canon again at elstree and said what next? its still soft/ front focus/and the ghosting problem
Aaron said he would contact my dealer to replace it with a new blue dot
two days later it came.
The differance is amazing its sharp
My qustion is my early mk3 was ok for a month or so, is your new one still ok?
If this new fix improves my new mk3 even more then HAPPY and MK3 will go together in the same sentence.
I heard Aaron has gone from canon soon after he gave the ok for my camera replacement, gulp.
Alan.
I am generally quite happy with my 'fixed' mkIII. I find it better than the mkIIN.
I finally got to test it in 30+degrees C, and it worked very well in bright sunshine. It tracked this fast flying eagle with no problem(with 600f4):
That said I experienced some 'oscillating' performance of AF in very warm shady conditions. I will be interesting to see any further announcement from Canon.
apdieb wrote:
Ironically, my paperwork didn't mention the submirror by name...
Examination/Request Details:
AF mirror mechanism adjustment, update firmware.
in the Service details,
All adjustments and corresponding testing have been completed to Canon factory standards. Firmware was updated to the latest version.
My camera serial number is 525xxx and is clearly in the affected range per the spreadsheet. I am wondering if they didn't replace the submirror and just adjusted it like crap.
BTW: I was already at 1.1.3 firmware...
That's pretty much what every camera gets from Virginia, a generic (and often untrue) account of what happened to the camera while there, regardless of whether it gets one or two 'Glue Dots', the paperwork regurgitates the same thing.
For some reason in Europe they are giving an accurate account of what parts were replaced.
As far as the finger-pointing toward the 300/2.8, I think that any f/2.8 lens is subjected to whatever is occurring, and if my 50/1.4 is any indication, it gets worse as you go down. It could simply be the lens, but it seemed to work fine on both the 1Ds and 30D.
Thanks Jeff. I don't think AF-problems is related to the 300 2.8 either. My mkIII was quite good with the 300 even before the fix. Far worse with the 500f4 . Strangely it seems to perform best with the 400f5.6. Even with firmware 1.0.8 this lens produced consistent results.
Alan F wrote:
Alistair
My fixed mk3 still had problems so last week I contacted canon again at elstree and said what next? its still soft/ front focus/and the ghosting problem
Aaron said he would contact my dealer to replace it with a new blue dot
two days later it came.
The differance is amazing its sharp
My qustion is my early mk3 was ok for a month or so, is your new one still ok?
If this new fix improves my new mk3 even more then HAPPY and MK3 will go together in the same sentence.
I heard Aaron has gone from canon soon after he gave the ok for my camera replacement, gulp.
Alan....Show more →
Yes I am still happy with my new blue dot Alan. It is now my primary body now which is something I thought I would never say last year! The difference between the last non blue dot I had and this one is night and day.
I still have a few concerns, primarily with the need to use expand for sports so will continue to tweak a few settings. If this next (rumoured) Canon fix makes it better, great!!
I have a busy weekend planned, a car rally on Saturday and then a Division 1 rugby match on Sunday. I am actually very keen to see how the 1D3 will perform on the rally. Dark wet forest stages, in theory it should excel. Will post pics next week!
Yes, I have noticed quite a few people at Canon UK I was speaking to at Elstree and Woodhatch have moved on or left.... quite curious really.
After a few more months and a after a few more successful and most of all consistent results from the Mark 3 I too will say HAPPY and Mark 3 in the same sentence!
Colin Key wrote: But I have a differing opinion of Canon with regards to "not fixing anything..."
I take it you have changed your viewpoint on this one?
Colin
...
Yeah.. They "fixed me" alright.
After spending 8hrs calibrating all my lenses last night, I went out and shot a few just a minute ago with my wife wandering around our yard in bright sun... The 300 seems to be much better after +10 of MicroAF adjustment.
Canon contacted me today with new shipping labels and apology.. I am going to give it a thorough workout before I send it back. The thing I don't understand.. Even if the various calibrations that I went through last night make a difference, why is it that prior to them replacing the submirror "stopper" (I got confirmation that was replaced)...all my lenses were pretty much spot on without adjustment (just as they are with my other bodies). Now I have to dial in adjustment to 5 of the 7 lenses that I have and all at varying amounts. It just makes no sense to me...
I honestly think that you would be ill-advised (O.K. "crazy") to send in your body again just now until we know what the new fix recently announced actually is, and when it will be implemented. As I stated way back when the first fix was announced, I cannot understand why everyone wants to be the first to send their camera in. If someone was offering brain transplants at $200 a go (with a guarantee that you would become another Einstein), would you be the first to sign up?
I am still sitting on my #503xxx bought last May (which is working O.K. up till now) and will not be letting anyone touch it until I know that they are really "Dr Mender" and will fix anything which might be amiss.
To be a guinea pig once is forgivable, to be a guinea pig two or three times is simply being a "rodent".
Just sent my camera back for the 3rd time. Had the submirror fix about a month ago. I asked the tech guy about Rob Galbraiths article. He said "oh that article" he would not tell me anything except it is just a rumor. They have heard nothing except the rumor. I asked that if he did know of a second fix and they turn right around and send my camera back as it was, I was going to be really ticked off. I will not send this back a 4th time. The next time it will be sent back by my attorney with a demand for a refund. Or I will take them to small claims court.
I honestly think that you would be ill-advised (O.K. "crazy") to send in your body again just now until we know what the new fix recently announced actually is, and when it will be implemented. As I stated way back when the first fix was announced, I cannot understand why everyone wants to be the first to send their camera in. If someone was offering brain transplants at $200 a go (with a guarantee that you would become another Einstein), would you be the first to sign up?
I am still sitting on my #503xxx bought last May (which is working O.K. up till now) and will not be letting anyone touch it until I know that they are really "Dr Mender" and will fix anything which might be amiss.
To be a guinea pig once is forgivable, to be a guinea pig two or three times is simply being a "rodent".
I waited 2 months after the first fix was announced to send it in and only did so because I wanted the warranty extension...That is what is more infuriating than anything.. It was working fine before. I have had mine since July..
BTW: Here is an excerpt of the response I got when inquiring about the new fix.
---------------------
"Sir,
Thank you for letting me know what is going on with your camera. I am sorry for the results you are getting, they are definitely not the norm. That being said, let me address your questions/issues below, starting at the bottom, ok? (by the way, thank you for the nice remarks about about what I'm trying to do for you).
1) As far as "Now I am not sure what to do.. " is concerned, I would recommend sending back to the Factory Service Center (at our expense) along with a CD showing unedited sample images taken after you got the camera back, include in the box the FSC evaluation form I will be sending you, and a copy of the email string below (you may just staple it to the evaluation form and include both in the box.
2) Regarding "yet another ‘fix” forthcoming", we have not heard anything from Canon, U.S.A. (our parent company) regarding that fix. We have read the same things on the web that everybody else has, and have had some calls regarding an upcoming fix, but we just don't know anything yet. What we have been told is that if someone receives their camera back from repair and it is still not right, to please follow the steps above in step 1).
3) In answer to "Please let me know if the submirror was actually REPLACED", the fix does not replace the sub-mirror itself, what it does, when needed, is to replace the sub-mirror stopper, and, yes, that was done on your camera"
------------------
I probably will print the label and sit on it for a little bit like you advised...I really need it working properly fairly soon. I can rely on my backup for only so long... at this point I don't have a backup to the backup.
Thanks for the advise.. I wish I'd just done like yourself.
I'm not surprised that your lenses were spot-on before and now need substantial AF micro-adjustment. In my case, all of my long lenses required fairly significant adjustments prior to repair, and they still require adjustments after repair, but the adjustments are not even close to what they were before the repair. I think I have my lenses adjusted pretty well at this point, but alas, the MkIII is still only slightly less inconsistent with AF than it was before the repair, and works nowhere near as reliably as my five-year-old 1Ds.
I may be one of the lucky ones but none of my lenses have needed any adjustments before or after the fix. I have tested each one and they all seem spot on.
Studio58 wrote:
it was shots with motion. Not very fast though.
Interesting... not sure what you photographed in your tests but read this from Galbraith's summary of the "fixed" III vs. IIN with runners at different speeds:
Our EOS-1D Mark III and EOS-1D Mark II N report card:
Runner tests, bright sunlight (EOS-1D Mark III: B-, EOS-1D Mark II N: A) All three Phoenix trips have included the shooting of multiple sequences of an athlete running straight towards the camera in bright sunlight and warm or hot temperatures. Because the subject is moving at a fairly constant speed, there are no refs or other obstructions passing through the frame and with a little practice it's possible keep the active AF point trained on the athlete's torso throughout, this is the sort of thing that a pro camera's autofocus should be able to nail.
The EOS-1D Mark II N comes closest to doing so, delivering multiple sequences where just about every frame is properly focused, and gets a solid A for its efforts. The EOS-1D Mark III is a B-; its autofocus is somewhat more successful when the runner is moving reasonably fast and is filling the frame, and somewhat less so when the runner is moving at a jogging pace or is looser in the frame.
...