Im sure that it is more coincidental, but when I sent mine in they replaced both the mirror and shutter motor (if I am remembering the name of the parts correctly). I am happy to say my Mk III is an even better tool after this fix. I have had little to no issues with any of the outside focus points that were peviously suspect. Keeper rate for using those points went from abut 30% to around 80%, with the remainders mainly being my fault.
GeneO wrote:
While my AF is accurate, it hunts more often in good light with a good target (e.g. a red-winged blackbird against a light tan background) than before the AF calibration and the firmware update. And by hunt I mean go to the focus limit and back for both my 400/5.6L and 500/4L + 1.4X (I haven;t enough data points with the bare 500 yet).
Sigh.
Gene
Hey Gene, what cfn. settings are you using for situations like those? i.e. fast/slow tracking, assist points on/off etc etc. Jut curious if you've tried more than one combination.
Ruy, this sounds exactly like the problem I had. They exchanged my 1.5 yr old MkIII for a brand new one as they acknowledged I had a problem but they figured it would be more expensive to try and figure out the source of it -again- than just handing me a new one.
rhorta wrote:
Ok, after testing I've come to the conclusion that it came back worse than it went in....
The overal AF performance may have improved, but they've managed to introduce a new problem that negates that completely.
Although previously the body required +12 MA for best results, they solved that. But it now looks like the outer left AF-point is front focusing compared to the others, there may even be a complete skewed effect from:
far left outer is ff - af is more off than on (in one test by more than a couple of meters)
center is ok - af is on
far right is bf a little - af is more on than off
In answer to my mail they replied that the modification might mess up the settings.
...If they know this, why don't they check this before sending the body back (time and money?!).
So they asked me to call them to make an apointment to send in my equipment (?)
To be honest if they mean my all lenses, I'm afraid it will get from bad to worse (I'd only dare to send in the lenses that I suspect to be a little off).
M Vers wrote:
Hey Gene, what cfn. settings are you using for situations like those? i.e. fast/slow tracking, assist points on/off etc etc. Jut curious if you've tried more than one combination.
Matt
one-shot so tracking CF.N are not relevant. single point, no assist. In fact, some AF points are worse than others. For instance my center AF point hunts worse than some of the outer, though all AF points are accurate ( I did a test on every one).
rhorta wrote:
Ok, after testing I've come to the conclusion that it came back worse than it went in.... Emile Gregoire wrote:
Ruy, this sounds exactly like the problem I had. They exchanged my 1.5 yr old MkIII for a brand new one as they acknowledged I had a problem but they figured it would be more expensive to try and figure out the source of it -again- than just handing me a new one.
Emile,
That doesn't sound good...not good at all.
I'm supposed to get call from one of the technicians to answer some of my questions.
My trust level is at a point that I don't feel comfortable sending in all my lenses.
Neither am I convinced that this would solve the issue as I described it to be.
If it was a lens issue, I must be the unluckiest buyer with all of them having the same misalignment to the left.
Ruy
PS. at home with a cold and hay fever combined, and it was my birthday yesterday, so feeling quadruple sorry for myself at this stage
That doesn't sound good...not good at all.
I'm supposed to get call from one of the technicians to answer some of my questions.
My trust level is at a point that I don't feel comfortable sending in all my lenses.
Neither am I convinced that this would solve the issue as I described it to be.
If it was a lens issue, I must be the unluckiest buyer with all of them having the same misalignment to the left.
Ruy
PS. at home with a cold and hay fever combined, and it was my birthday yesterday, so feeling quadruple sorry for myself at this stage
Sorry, just had to get that out of my system!...Show more →
Ruy, I think in fact it is good news as it looks like Canon is willing to come up with a solution even if it means exchanging a camera.
I was having truckloads of problems beforehand and the fix only made things worse. I could clearly demonstrate that a lot of my AF-points were off: some required -10 MA, others +10 MA, relative to center point. They didn't know what to do anymore and just handed me a new one. I still do have some problems with my 70-200 (off on 3 AF-points) and get some front-focusing when using wide angle zooms at the wide end and non-center AF points but at least it is consistent and these things I can easily work around by using center point for wide angle and simply not using those 3 AF points with my 70-200. I'm a happy camper, finally I might add and for the first time in 1.5 years.
Anyway, good luck and keep us posted. Furthermore: happy birthday and get well soon!
Well spoke with their service department (non-tech, but very kind), and they persisted in claiming that this issue could be solved by sending in all my lenses.
Reading your description, it sounds like exactly the same problem.
Next Wednesday they will collect my 2 bodies and 11 lenses for calibration, but I'll include a written request to be double certain that all AF-points are within specs. I don't mind having to use MA, to adjust the body, but having one or more AF-points off negates the advantage of having a pro AF-system (my 5D is perfectly capable of offering mediocre outer AF-points).
Bottom line, it doesn't look like an isolated problem, but hopefully it is very rare.
And yes, there is always hope that Canon will replace if they cannot repair.
Have to admit I feel very apprehensive about handing over in all my glass...
Well spoke with their service department (non-tech, but very kind), and they persisted in claiming that this issue could be solved by sending in all my lenses.
Reading your description, it sounds like exactly the same problem.
Next Wednesday they will collect my 2 bodies and 11 lenses for calibration, but I'll include a written request to be double certain that all AF-points are within specs. I don't mind having to use MA, to adjust the body, but having one or more AF-points off negates the advantage of having a pro AF-system (my 5D is perfectly capable of offering mediocre outer AF-points).
Bottom line, it doesn't look like an isolated problem, but hopefully it is very rare.
And yes, there is always hope that Canon will replace if they cannot repair.
Have to admit I feel very apprehensive about handing over in all my glass...
Ruy, sorry to hear about your problems. I hope Canon can sort it out for you.
I had a 1Ds3 that had the same AF problems. All AF points were in need of different adjustments. Even so, none of the AF points were very consistent in testing conditions. Sometimes focus was spot on... and the next minute it was way off for no appearant reason. IIRC just like Emile's mkIII.
In my case calibration (of both body and lenses) didn't do much good. In fact, it made things only worse. After three times trying Canon offered me a replacement that works fine. Just like they offered Emile a replacement mkIII. I see a pattern here... I also think we all bought our cameras at Kamera-express...
Your experience is exactly the thing why I haven't sent in my 1Ds3 yet... Too scared they screw things up again. And since I have no AF problems with my current body, the reason to sent it in becomes even less demanding.
For my understanding... did Canon Service/ETB replace some hardware in your 1D3? Or did they only calibrate it? IIRC you 1D3 was new and recently purchased, right?
I have been holding off purchasing and hoping the problem would be resolved. It still looks like it is a hit and miss thing and has not relly been fixed. I don't think I will purchase one as I would be more than pissed if I spent that kind of money only to have to return it a few times to have it fixed.
Canuck42 wrote:
I have been holding off purchasing and hoping the problem would be resolved. .
I think for the majority it has been resolved. This incident is only two I've heard of with new problems so far.
It's a pity that Canon could not have made the 1DMKIII as good as the one I got back two weeks ago, two years ago, there would have been no migration to Nikon I suspect.
Yeah, what's up with Canon, why it took so long to fix this ?. Did they botch the AF design ?.
gbee wrote:
I think for the majority it has been resolved. This incident is only two I've heard of with new problems so far.
It's a pity that Canon could not have made the 1DMKIII as good as the one I got back two weeks ago, two years ago, there would have been no migration to Nikon I suspect.
Well spoke with their service department (non-tech, but very kind), and they persisted in claiming that this issue could be solved by sending in all my lenses.
Reading your description, it sounds like exactly the same problem.
Next Wednesday they will collect my 2 bodies and 11 lenses for calibration, but I'll include a written request to be double certain that all AF-points are within specs. I don't mind having to use MA, to adjust the body, but having one or more AF-points off negates the advantage of having a pro AF-system (my 5D is perfectly capable of offering mediocre outer AF-points).
Bottom line, it doesn't look like an isolated problem, but hopefully it is very rare.
And yes, there is always hope that Canon will replace if they cannot repair.
Have to admit I feel very apprehensive about handing over in all my glass...
Ruy, I would never send all my lenses in! I have been through many canon repair adventures over the last couple of years and I always refused to send in my lenses when they requested. Just like you know your body better than a doctor does, you know your lenses and their performance better than the Canon techs do. All my lenses have worked great with my MKIIn, 30D, and 2 5D's. When I got my MKIII I started having trouble. Then because I liked my original MKIIn I bought another used MKIIn from my local dealer so I would have a backup since I couldn't trust my MKIII. I had focusing trouble with the used MKIIn. The focus was always off (ie front focusing). The used MKIIn went back 4 times and the Canon NJ service center claimed it was calibrated perfectly so they could only fix it if I sent my lenses in. I knew that was rubbish since I had 4 other bodies that were working fine with the same group of lenses. After a long period of frustration I returned the second MKIIn (my local store let me return it after 4 months). Then I bought another used MKIIn during the time my MKIII was not functioning so well. Believe it or not that MKIIn had a front focusing problem too, and i sent it in for $300 worth of service to calibrate. It came back just as bad so I was really getting mad by this point. I ended up returning that MKIIn as well. The store once again let me get an in-store credit. At that point I bought a MKII non "n" and it has been working great. This whole scenario ended just two weeks before the latest MKIII fix got underway. I would not have bought the last 1 series body if I had known the MKIII fix was going to finally work. Now my MKIII is fixed and I have 4 1 series bodies that all work superbly. My 14-year-old daughter is going to use the MKII so all is not lost.
My point in all this is that the techs at the Canon service center don't really understand some basic principles about photography. They have no idea what depth of field is. I tried to explain it to them over the phone but just got the run-a-round.
The special Canon techs that were assembled to work on the latest MKIII fix were fantastic. They knew what they were looking for and had a pre-planned fix staged. The other techs in the New Jersey center I am not so sure about.
With what I have learned I will always buy my equipment from a local dealer and if it is not working properly when I buy it I will just return it and try another. I will never send anything back to the service center for things like focus adjustments again.
I know a lot of people have had great experience with calibration and all sorts of other problems with their equipment. I just wanted to share what I have been through.
I spoke to a local canon rep, about a purchase of the 1D3 and he told me " To wait !! The techs in Japan have given up on the Mk3 and the MK4 will be announced later this year".
And
"They have gone back to the drawing board for the auto focus on the mk4, as they still haven't worked out the problems with the MK3, and don't know why it it's performing like they thought it should."
And i also had a play with the 500d , looks an interesting Camera, sorry no pic or video as i couldn't slip a card in the camera , as they were watcking me like a hawk
