Canon 40D
Hi Ziggy another one for you!
I recently parted with one of my first cameras a 40D. The guy I sold it to only uses Auto and 'S' mode. He contacted me today to say that when in Auto he takes a pic he only gets a black screen on his LCD. I told him to try AV and it was the same. Any ideas as to what he has done or has happened. I am having to travel and see him tomorrow.
Best
Bob
I recently parted with one of my first cameras a 40D. The guy I sold it to only uses Auto and 'S' mode. He contacted me today to say that when in Auto he takes a pic he only gets a black screen on his LCD. I told him to try AV and it was the same. Any ideas as to what he has done or has happened. I am having to travel and see him tomorrow.
Best
Bob
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Comments
What is the experience level of the photographer and what is their experience with Canon dSLR cameras in particular?
Is this person able to join our forum and answer questions first-hand? (It's always best to work with someone who has the camera to test in their own hands.)
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I have tried my best to explain the workings of the camera to the best of my ability but it is a waste of time. He was in my company last Friday and the camera was functioning fine for him on 'S' mode when he was photographing squirrels. He told me today when he tried to shoot birds on the feeders this is what he found. I was wondering what I could check on the camera Ziggy when I meet up with him tomorrow.
Cheers
Bob
If there is a CF card in the camera, try a factory reset:
1. Open the "Tools" tab.
2. Navigate to the "Clear All Camera Settings" option. Press the "Set" button to select it. A confirmation prompt will appear on the screen.
3. Turn the navigation dial to highlight "OK," then press the "Set" button to make the selection.
Barring that, just remove the main battery "and" the CMOS backup battery and switch the camera to On. Let the camera sit for about 15 minutes with the switch On. This should perform a "hard" reset.
Turn the switch off and reinsert the batteries. Turn the camera on and test again.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Thanks ever so much Ziggy. I had a look at it this afternoon and there is an obvious fault as the mirror is not completing its full movement when depressing the shutter button. I have asked if he had interfered with the mirror or dropped the camera but he says not so I have no idea what could have caused this. He has taken it in for an estimate/repair.
Cheers
Bob
I remember hearing about other people with the same experience with the 40D.
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
Cheers
Bob
I suppose you checked the obvious and your buyer had not enabled mirror lock-up? Then it is supposed to stay up until you press the shutter again.
Bob
the repair cost ($>200) is likely to exceed the selling cost of an old 40D today
Has he tried putting a compact flash card in it? Sounds stupid but you never know.
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Photography San Antonio
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Yes I told him to try that and he has now got a result. It needs a new shutter and mirror motor set and is costing me £261. To be honest it is more than the camera is worth on the market.
Cheers
Bob
Dan.
The Canon 40D has a Shutter Durability Rating of 100,000 cycles, the same as the 30D through the 70D. (I believe that both the 10D and 20D were rated at 50,000 cycles.) For more information see the individual camera's press releases, plus the shutter ratings information at The Digital Picture:
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/about_canon/products?pageKeyCode=pressreldetail&docId=0901e0248004d295 (Look under "Enhanced Durability")
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-40D-Digital-SLR-Camera-Review.aspx (Look for the chart about 2/3 of the page down with the "Shutter Durability Rating" for many Canon dSLR cameras.)
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I believe the "ratings" for shutter life is more of a marketing term than any real predictable number!
The manufacturer ratings are what the manufacturer uses for determining whether the shutter and/or mirror box assemblies will be repaired under warranty, assuming that the warranty time has not expired. From that perspective, the "shutter actuations rating" is very much a hard figure.
I agree that the shutter life and mirror box life in any particular camera body will often fall well before or well beyond the manufacturer ratings, for better or worse (from a user perspective).
Part of any product durability too relates to user handling, which is obviously beyond any manufacturer control. If the product is exposed to extremes in temperatures, for instance, that alone can have a strong influence on product life.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
if the camera is within the warranty period (usually a year) then I suspect Canon would repair it whether the shutter count was 10 or 100,000 or 200,000 or whatever. Sure, at some point they certainly did extensive testing but I think the technology is very similar with electro-mechanical shutters and not surprisingly the "ratings" all all appear to be around 100,000. (1D series excepted!) And if you read the shutter sob stories on camera forums many of the failures seem to be around 100,000, some less, some more - .... perhaps if ever plotted it would show a nice bell curve !
Very interesting indeed.
Bob
http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/
From that site and their 40D page (http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/canon_eos40d.htm):
"Average number of actuations after which shutter is still alive: 48,477.0
Average number of actuations after which shutter died: 86,181.6"
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
looks to be an old site. I suspect many of those 30D shutters have gone to the big shutter in the sky!