Problem with Canon 2xTC?

darkdragondarkdragon Registered Users Posts: 1,051 Major grins
edited March 22, 2009 in Cameras
I first noticed this problem on Wednesday when I went out to the park to shoot some ducks. I was shooting in manual mode but I noticed that my exposure meter seemed way off. Even when it _should_ have been properly exposed, the meter was saying it would be way too dark. I'd snap the shot and look at the histogram - it was perfect. I did try a couple shots on Av and Tv and they didn't turn out so good.

Tonight I decided to do some tests to figure out if the problem was with the camera, the 70-200, or the 2xTC. I tested with another lens and had no issues at all, tested with the 70-200 with no issues, but once I put the 2xTC on I saw the same problems.

Below are examples of what I'm seeing. 1 from each mode. Click the image to see the EXIF. Is this my imagination or something I did wrong, or could it really point to an issue with my TC? Has anyone ever heard of something like this happening before? I'm going to a local camera store tomorrow and I think I'll have them do some tests too if they can.

1. Manual Exposure (yeah, its a bit underexposed but that is my fault)
495516938_iBnBs-L.jpg

2. Program Mode
495517584_Ko8o7-L.jpg

3. Tv Mode
495517293_7jZvX-L.jpg

4. Av Mode
495516983_Bz48P-M.jpg
~ Lisa

Comments

  • darkdragondarkdragon Registered Users Posts: 1,051 Major grins
    edited March 21, 2009
    It looks like nobody has ever heard of an issue like this.

    I just got off the phone with Canon and once I got it completely explained what was happening, she hadn't heard of anything like this before either. She suggested I clean the contacts (which I did before I called), and then she had me clear all the custom functions.

    After clearing the custom functions everything seems to be working correctly again. I hadn't set any custom functions that should have created and issue - all I set was Live View to be on and shot in RAW, and some settings on Picture Styles.

    Anyhow, it is nice to see that the setup is working as expected now wings.gif

    The only thing I can think of that could have caused it is the other night when I went to take my CF card out some static electricity jumped from my finger to the card. Maybe that shock scrambled some of my camera's brains. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this though.
    ~ Lisa
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,133 moderator
    edited March 21, 2009
    Sorry Lisa, I didn't have a clue. Hopefully Canon has you on the right track.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • howardhoward Registered Users Posts: 89 Big grins
    edited March 22, 2009
    Can't help with the ducks but here's a thought on the others.

    They were done with flash so that adds another factor to be taken into account. The one in AV mode is the issue because it will give you the SS for the ambient light which in this case was 6sec and I suspect the flash may be the reason for the over exposure. It depends what the flash settings were.
    darkdragon wrote:
    I first noticed this problem on Wednesday when I went out to the park to shoot some ducks. I was shooting in manual mode but I noticed that my exposure meter seemed way off. Even when it _should_ have been properly exposed, the meter was saying it would be way too dark. I'd snap the shot and look at the histogram - it was perfect. I did try a couple shots on Av and Tv and they didn't turn out so good.

    Tonight I decided to do some tests to figure out if the problem was with the camera, the 70-200, or the 2xTC. I tested with another lens and had no issues at all, tested with the 70-200 with no issues, but once I put the 2xTC on I saw the same problems.

    Below are examples of what I'm seeing. 1 from each mode. Click the image to see the EXIF. Is this my imagination or something I did wrong, or could it really point to an issue with my TC? Has anyone ever heard of something like this happening before? I'm going to a local camera store tomorrow and I think I'll have them do some tests too if they can.

    1. Manual Exposure (yeah, its a bit underexposed but that is my fault)
    495516938_iBnBs-L.jpg

    2. Program Mode
    495517584_Ko8o7-L.jpg

    3. Tv Mode
    495517293_7jZvX-L.jpg

    4. Av Mode
    495516983_Bz48P-M.jpg
  • darkdragondarkdragon Registered Users Posts: 1,051 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2009
    howard wrote:
    Can't help with the ducks but here's a thought on the others.

    They were done with flash so that adds another factor to be taken into account. The one in AV mode is the issue because it will give you the SS for the ambient light which in this case was 6sec and I suspect the flash may be the reason for the over exposure. It depends what the flash settings were.

    That is what the lady on the support call said too, but that is not really what is happening. Of course the Av mode will give me shutter speed based on the ambient light. So when using flash I would expect that the areas of the image that were flashed would be over-exposed but the "ambient light" areas would be correctly exposed or at least close. As you can see from the image here that whole image is completely blown.

    After resetting custom functions I took some similar shots and they were exactly as i expected in Av mode : white ares where flash hit are over-exposed but the surrounding ambient areas are perfect.

    Still no idea what caused the camera brains to get confused and cause this strange issue, but I suspect the static shock.
    ~ Lisa
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