Canon EOS 7D issues

[Seesee]

Curious as to how many people have had problems with their Canon 7D's.....apart from the stupidly loose main function dial.

I've had nothing serious so far, but the occassional glitch when I get a message advising my camera wont recognise a battery all of a sudden, then rectifies itself, I've cleaned contacts thoroughly { they are genuine Canon batteries }

Now and again my menu functions refuse to work, they just jam, and removing battery, and/or switching on and off rectifies it. I have mine set to auto sensor clean on start up and shut down, and sometimes either one or the other clean schedule doesn't kick in.

A mate of mine's 7D just packed it in completely while on holiday in Tasmania, and it's less than 6 months old and not used daily by any means....but it's no go. He keeps getting error 22 messages. On googling the net it comes up with a number of 7D error problems, but not the error 22, so that seems like a new one....and I don't think any firmware upgrade will rectify.

At risk of sounding like a pessimist, I hope the 7D doesn't follow the same path as the problem plagued Canon 40D.

[plusnq]

I have used a 7D since Xmas. Over 25000 clicks and none of those issues except the loose function dial which can be annoying, especially with an R Strap. Touch wood. Most difficult part was having to adjust to the new AF system.

Cheers

Shane

[kevinj]

Likewise,no problems with my 7D,maybe a bad batch?

[Ang]

My 7d has been spot on.....very sharp with the 70-200, fantastic auto focus, done a LOT of outdoor shots in all weather, hasnt looked like being a problem anytime........until last weekend, the shutter button feels a little "sticky" so its being checked out at Canon. What do you mean by a loose function dial? Does it move by itself?

Colin..... what do you mean by the problem plagued 40D? I got one a year ago because of the apparent reliabilty and read nothing but geat reports on it, and it has been a great camera to learn with, not one problem. I'm just curious about your comment.......

Ang

[Seesee]

My 7d has been spot on.....very sharp with the 70-200, fantastic auto focus, done a LOT of outdoor shots in all weather, hasnt looked like being a problem anytime........until last weekend, the shutter button feels a little "sticky" so its being checked out at Canon. What do you mean by a loose function dial? Does it move by itself?

Colin..... what do you mean by the problem plagued 40D? I got one a year ago because of the apparent reliabilty and read nothing but geat reports on it, and it has been a great camera to learn with, not one problem. I'm just curious about your comment.......

Ang

Sorry for the late reply......I've been away for two days out bush on a birding trip.

My reference to the 40D problems is, or maybe was from various problems I've read on the net, I thought it was fairly well known, I believe the 50D solved any problems I don't think it affects all users though. I've known a lot of people with 40D's with no problem at all, just seems the incidence of problems with the 40D was more common. At the same time I also a few of people who have problems with theirs, mostly shutter problems, one of these people had two that failed on him, and another's failed on a morning out birding with him.

I'm not suggesting the 40D is a bad camera, they are great, I've seen the results.....just maybe prone to a few more hiccups than other models...a quality control thing maybe, .they take great pictures.

The main function dial { top dial } on the 7D is quite soft and clicks off mode very easily, and has resulted in the loss of many shots from accidently clicking onto TV instead of AV or other modes, it needs more resistance, or better still a locking button. I'd read about it from others on the net, and met a fellow a few weeks back that simply ties it down with some tape to stop it moving unexpectedly. It's something I've started doing as well to try to curb the annoyance, tape looks ugly, but it stops lost shots.



{ PS : and worryingly, no sooner did I mention it, but I just got back from away for two nights in the bush and my 7D has just developed some challenging gremlins in it's electronics :( }

{ and now my Canon 1.4 x TC has a dicky lens release switch, it wont unlock :'(

[MickT]

Had to have a bit of a laugh at myself while reading this thread. I always thought my 7D performed beautifully without any problems, but I just never thought of it's horrible tendency to switch modes mid shoot by itself as anything more than me being clumsy and bumping the dial. Thanks Colin for helping me to realise that maybe I am not as clumsy as I thought :)

[LJG]

Well, I nearly went 7D after I was a bit underimpressed with the 60D, I really am glad I didn't now! Although one of the guys with us on Thursday night had a 7D and he loved his.

[Snix]

Are you all running the latest firmware V1.2.2? Might help fix some issues...

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos7d/firmware.html

[Seesee]

Are you all running the latest firmware V1.2.2? Might help fix some issues...

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos7d/firmware.html


Yes, done that with no remedy for all 7D problems, and not for the problems I and others I mknow are starting to find. My 7D now has stopped registering battery power level as well, done a lot of internet googling and it seems that too is a common gripe with many 7D owners, believed to be something to do with the Canon batteries now being micro chipped leading to failures, and nobody seems to of come up with a remedy short of sending it back to the repair shop.

Seriously considering flogging off my Canon 7D and 500 f4 + 1.4 x TC and sticking with my trusted Nikon D300....but not sure that I can afford to do that yet :(

[Seesee]

Well, I nearly went 7D after I was a bit underimpressed with the 60D, I really am glad I didn't now! Although one of the guys with us on Thursday night had a 7D and he loved his.


Dont get me wrong, my 7D takes great images, has some nice functions, almost as good as my Nikon D300...but there does seem to be some quality control issues with Canon, moreso that Nikon or some others in my findings and readings. That's not to say they will all have shortfalls with reliability, but more than there ought to be.

[PicturePerfect]

Wow, reading this thread l wasnt aware of the issues with the Canon 7D (as was thinking this one or the 5D MKII).
As mentioned you already installed the latest firmware for the Canon 7d,
Also have you contacted Canon directly about this? They should be accessible and Approachable as with any company about the products they produce and support!

If purchased within Aust, l would be contacting the resellers as well, to find out whats going on.

(personal experience, l had an issue with a lens, contacted AUS rep for company, they replaced my lens within 8 days, and that was over the long weekend as well). Unbelievable service.

Hopefully your place can resolve it for you as well

Cheers

[Snix]

I've been looking online and can only find a few reports of any issues. Does anyone have links to the supposes reliability issues?

[Seesee]

I've been looking online and can only find a few reports of any issues. Does anyone have links to the supposes reliability issues?

Without spending too much time on this and worrying too many people I think if you just google Canon 7D error reports you will find page after page of problems, I just did again and it just goes on and on with all kinds of problems, focus, battery recognition , high noise levels and numerous error number types and poor workmanship in build...." cant communicate with battery " is becoming a more common problem as has mine at the momnent.

Must say one thing that has always disappointed me with the 7D is noise compared to many other cameras, it will show more noise even at ISO 100, compared to say a Nikon D300 at ISO 400, but is pretty much equal at high ISO setting to the Nikon, just poor quality at lower ISO compared to other models { lots of info if one googles on 7D noise issues} I use noise suppression software { Neat Image} on almost every 7D shot I take...disappointing.

Anyway, as I said, not every 7D is going to fail, but it's not uncommon from what I read and listen to from other photogs.

[Snix]

Well we'll see, I couldn't really find too many issues, just the odd few. I've just ordered one from our sponsor DigitalRev. I've never had any issues with any major Canon product I currently own (10) except dirt on a S90 sensor which was fixed no questions asked free of charge.