faulty images on my 1DS MK2

Halfway through shooting today my images started to appear with strange lines across them. I eliminated card and lens issues. The camera functions normally. I updated the firmware but still no change. I am totally baffled. The camera is 2 years old, well looked after and not overused. I've read something that indicates it may be a shutter issue. I'm worried the sensor may be damaged but I've never needed to clean it or go near it.

I'm gutted at the moment ... Has anyone any idea what the problem may be ????


www.flickr.com/photos/8779120@N02/537614640/

paul bolton said:

Has anyone any idea what the problem may be ????

Click to expand...

It's not the shutter, but rather something electronic.

Sorry, I have no solution other than to try and remove the battery for a couple of minutes, and then try again.

Bart

thanks bart

I've tried the battery trick but no luck there either. When it happened initially i changed my SD card which made no difference so i switched to a CF card and for 4 frames it was ok again and then it started once more and its been permanent since. I've emailed Canon to see what they say but it will be a few days before i get response.

paul bolton said:

thanks bart

I've tried the battery trick but no luck there either. When it happened initially i changed my SD card which made no difference so i switched to a CF card and for 4 frames it was ok again and then it started once more and its been permanent since. I've emailed Canon to see what they say but it will be a few days before i get response.

Click to expand...

Hi Paul!

I had a familiar problem with my 1Ds. Canon couldn´t pin down the problem and told me they would have to change the whole electronics . . warranty over . . very expensive.
i sold it on ebay "as it is" for spareparts . . .
Maybe a heat-problem or a contact-problem.
Could be a buffer-write/read problem.
That´s really bad, man - it´s a good camera.

btw.: i had someting like that wit a scanner some years ago: thin lines appeared in the scans, som coloured some not, some pixeled.
It was a too long scsi-cable . . .

whish you luck, Klaus

Hi Paul,

if it was ok with the cf card, then I think it is unlikely to be a sensor problem. I would think it is more likely interference of some sort. Try a load more shots of the same subject, (not the john cleese look alike, but indoors, cool of the evening, a shot of a bookshelf will do. Are the lines exactly the same? Use a new, fully charged battery. clean all the contacts you can - battery, sd cards, lens. Does it change? Temperature, as Klaus says. How are you getting the image into the pc - faulty usb cable/pc? does it happen with jpeg? Lots of tests to do, to try and define the problem. how about with remote cable, or tethered?

Best wishes,

Ray

thanks ray

I posted the same question on the fred miranda forum and the general consensus is an imaging unit failure. To clarify - when the fault first occurred I immediately tried replacing the cards and when the CF shot a few frames OK I sort of breathed a sigh of relief. But when it failed again (so far permanently) I realised there was something badly wrong. Just to make sure I set the camera's custom function to shoot without any card straight to the buffer and still the same results on the LCD. All shooting scenarios have been covered and I'm afraid no difference. I'm annoyed to say the least that my pride and joy should fail in this manner. I wouldn't wish this event on any other photographer. I'm still waiting to hear back from canon. I'll be calling them tomorrow to evaluate what my next step may be ...

Hi Paul,

As a last resort, have you tried flashing the firmware?

This assumes you have access to the menu and can read a CF card.

It might be worth try before the next step, which will probably mean sending it back to Canon.

Edit: I can see you've tried that, I did take a quick peak at the image and it does look like a sensor problem rather than shutter.

paul bolton said:

Halfway through shooting today my images started to appear with strange lines across them. I eliminated card and lens issues. The camera functions normally. I updated the firmware but still no change. I am totally baffled. The camera is 2 years old, well looked after and not overused. I've read something that indicates it may be a shutter issue. I'm worried the sensor may be damaged but I've never needed to clean it or go near it.

I'm gutted at the moment ... Has anyone any idea what the problem may be ????


www.flickr.com/photos/8779120@N02/537614640/

Click to expand...

This is most likely a faulty compactflash card issue.

Use a different compactflash card.

Update ... Canon think it could be a sensor issue after providing them fault details. However today I set the camera to 'bulb' to see how it would behave with the shutter being manually controlled and now I've found the camera will only function in this way even when set to P,TV or Manual. Now I'm hoping that this doesn't damage the sensor in any way. I'm not sure how the shutter blade works in relation to the sensor itself. Should I stop trying to use at all now ? and is there more to this than meets the eye ?

Paul, Is every frame having the exact same pattern or does it change or move from frame to frame?

Will Thompson said:

Paul, Is every frame having the exact same pattern or does it change or move from frame to frame?

Click to expand...

Hi Will, in daylight the images show horizontal lines. the slower the shutter the more lines. In ambient light it shows both horizontal and vertical lines. Now though by accident (well testing bulb mode) I've found the camera will now only shoot in bulb mode .....


Paul

I hate to say this Paul, but it sounds like the camera will have to go back to Canon. Keep your fingers crossed that they don't mug you too hard.

Steve Saunders said:

I hate to say this Paul, but it sounds like the camera will have to go back to Canon. Keep your fingers crossed that they don't mug you too hard.

Click to expand...

I'm hoping with the shutter only now working in bulb mode it is only a shutter issue. Other people have told me shutter failure at less than 20,000 clicks is a common fault and should only cost a few hundred pounds rather than well over a thousand to repair through Canon. My fingers will be well and truly crossed ! !

cheers

Paul

www.paulbolton.net