Help! I have taken my 5D into canon for service for the 5th time already! I am wondering if anyone has ever had this problem? My 580ex flash will not sync with my shutter. The flash is working perfect, I've already ruled out the batteries, cf card, lenses being the problem. The camera is still under warranty, it started happening 3 months into using it. The flash fires, but all of the images are underexposed and not reading the flash. Does this problem sound familiar to anyone? Everytime I have taken it in, they have given me a different reason for the problem, (dirty contacts, lens error, bad cf card, overshooting with my flash while using a battery pack etc.) and every time the problem appears to clear up by itself, but keeps occurring over and over again. If anyone has heard of this problem before, or might be able to share some insight, it would be most appreciated!

Thanks!

Can you give some more detail?
Once it starts having problems does it have problems on every frame or just some? Out of 10 frames, how many are bad? Does it happen with all lenses? What distance are your subjects? Are you using a light modifier? Is it happening with fill flash under bright condtions too?
I'll ask the most obvious last...you sure you aren't accidentally messing with exposure/flash compensation?

Have you tried other 580's with it? One of my 580's won't rear curtain sync, instead it will fire at first and rear curtain! The other is fine, it's an issue with the flash not the camera.

Once it happens it will occur on every frame . Everytime I brought it into canon they claim to have found a different problem and have fixed it. I've tried 4 other 580ex flashes and have gotten the same result. I've also tried it with all my different lenses, different brand CF cards, file formats, batteries, contacts etc...etc... The 5th time I have brought the camera in for repair to canon, they also thought it was the flash, but they tested it with their own flashes, and have also confirmed that the problem is with the body.

I have tested the exposure with a straight on flash with/without light modifiers and as a fill during the day and in the dark. I've attempted to test it at all distances, close and far, tried multiple settings, ISO, 200, 400, 800, at 1/125, 1/80, 1/60th...1/25th I double checked the exposure compensation on my camera and flash as well. I don't know what else I may have overlooked?

Tracy Kumono
http://www.tracykumono.blogspot.com
tracykumono@mac.com

If its still under warranty then get it in to Canon for them to look at it. We have three 5's and have never had any problems like this nor have I heard of anyone else.

Someone must have sneezed on the assembly line that day...

El Crapola! Sounds like you have a lemon, you need to really bug them to give you a new one.
Let us know how it goes.

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM! I just bought a 5D, and had shot about 6 weddings with it. The same problem you're experiencing happened to me on a random basis.

Then, one day the problem just continued and the flash was not showing up on anything. Flash was firing, but just as you said the flash and shutter seemed to be out of sync.

Crazy part is that as soon as I brought it into my dealer to show them, it cleared up and was working fine.

I have a really good dealer up here, and he just opened up a new box and handed me a replacement. THe new one works totally fine, but I'm always a little scared that I'll have the same problem come up.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT COMES OF YOUR PROBLEM. If I ever have the problem again, it'd be great to know what it was so that I can get it fixed!

T

Oh my gosh! Thank goodness!!
I feel relieved to know I am not the only person who has experienced this. I thought I was going crazy! This problem with the 5D seems really unusual and rare. I am convinced its a lemon, and hoping they will replace the unit since its still under warranty. Yup, everytime I took it into canon to show them, the problem seemed to clear up, so I had no proof it wasn't working. Sad thing is, ever since I have had them do work on my camera, I have been having even more camera problems on top of this one, frequent card errors and now shutter problems. Coincedence? I think not...

tracy
tracykumono@mac.com
http://www.tracykumono.blogspot.com

I'm a recent convert from Nikon. I've never ever had a problem with a Nikon camera, so was totally shocked to have this problem. I'm actually really scared that it'll happen again....and I can't afford to have it happen in the middle of a procession in a wedding or something.

I'm also shocked that they can't diagnose the problem.

if you ever hear what the problem is with the camera, please let me know.

Other than that major issue with the camera, I've been loving my new life in the Canon side of life. The shots that this 5D is giving me is blowing my world!

T

Good news! Canon has said they sucessfully repaired the camera for the millionth time, but due to my frustration, finally gave me the option to have it replaced. They didn't specifically say what was wrong with the camera but in their examination they wrote the following: "the digital pcd assembly was replaced, other electrical adjustments, inspection and cleaning and parts replacements were carried out." So in other words, it was a lemon, so they had to replace all of the main components of the camera. My new camera seems to be working perfectly and better than ever! Yay!

Good news! Canon has said they sucessfully repaired the camera for the millionth time, but due to my frustration, finally gave me the option to have it replaced. They didn't specifically say what was wrong with the camera but in their examination they wrote the following: "the digital pcd assembly was replaced, other electrical adjustments, inspection and cleaning and parts replacements were carried out." So in other words, it was a lemon, so they had to replace all of the main components of the camera. My new camera seems to be working perfectly and better than ever! Yay!

Sweet!! I'm glad this worked out fo ya!

Awesome! I sure hope I never run into that problem again. I was always terrified that I'd have the problem start during an inside ceremony procession or something!

Thanks for the follow up!

T

Symptoms like that, that then mysteriously disappear when you try it at the dealer or repair shop (where it's nice and air-conditioned) - are probably due to humidity affecting the electronics or the internal connectors.

I've never had a problem with a camera, but my 50mm started to quit working quite frequently until I sent it in. (In my case, it was obvious that it was humidity that was affecting it.) The new pcb should fix the problem, but what they should do every time they have the camera in is to spray all the electronics with a good cleaner/protector/lubricant.

But Canon doesn't do a good job of testing their equipment in real-world conditions. The Mk III is a good example. And my first 10D worked great as long as it didn't warm up too much. But outside or after shooting a hundred or so images quickly inside, the sensor would malfunction as it heated up. The dealer replaced it.

Just stumbled on this thread. Got my 5D (bought in July) back from CPS today for the same problem. They replaced the top cover assembly and display window and repaired the flash operation. Seems to have solved the problem.