Finnish wearing on my 5D Mark III

[Rienzphotoz]

Hello There,

The finnish on my 5D Mark 3 is wearing away around the bottom left edge of the camera.

It looks like it's 5 years old..not 5 months old.

I have no idea what wore the finnish away.

Anyone else have this issue?

Thanks..Arnie

No problems on mine ... I bought it 7 months ago ... most of the time I use it in dusty desert conditions.
You sure you are not using it to hammer nails into wood work 

[dilbert]

Hello There,

The finnish on my 5D Mark 3 is wearing away around the bottom left edge of the camera.

It looks like it's 5 years old..not 5 months old.

I have no idea what wore the finnish away.

Anyone else have this issue?

I've had this issue with every DSLR that I've owned.

On the plus side, at least we know you're not a "trophy" photography that just collects expensive cameras and pretends to take lots of photos.

It can be fixed by having Canon replace the back plate but that's not free.

[dilbert]

Oh, if you want to stop this type of wear, buy some black gaffer tape and tape the bottom edge of the camera.

[Hector1970]

The black gaffer tape is definitely something to consider for the future. I'll be interested over time whether this grows as a problem or whether its just bad luck. I don't know how the camera is made but it looks like metal covered by clear plastic , coated then in black plastic. The black plastic layer seems very thin.
You wouldn't expect the plastic to wear so quickly. In my case the camera has been minded carefully but using the Black Rapid strap might speed up wear (although looking at it is not obvious if would rub that much on that side ).
Maybe people should check for wear at the base or whether its starting to look translucent . If so gaffer tape would be a good protection method.

[dilbert]

The black gaffer tape is definitely something to consider for the future. I'll be interested over time whether this grows as a problem or whether its just bad luck. I don't know how the camera is made but it looks like metal covered by clear plastic , coated then in black plastic. The black plastic layer seems very thin.

The 5D Mark III is a magnesium-alloy body.

That means to make it look black it needs to be painted.

If you rub any metal that has been painted for long enough against clothing, the paint will eventually wear away and show metal underneath.

[J.R.]

The 5D Mark III is a magnesium-alloy body.

That means to make it look black it needs to be painted.

If you rub any metal that has been painted for long enough against clothing, the paint will eventually wear away and show metal underneath.

The pic posted in this thread looks like the camera's been rubbed with sandpaper. Looks like a QC issue - I'll be careful with mine if something similar appears to be developing.

[motorhead]

The 5D Mark III is a magnesium-alloy body.

That means to make it look black it needs to be painted.

If you rub any metal that has been painted for long enough against clothing, the paint will eventually wear away and show metal underneath.
[/quote]

I would expect them to have a black anodised finish which is what all my Canons have had. Certainly a simple painted finish will never last long.

[insanitybeard]

Interestingly Canon's own brochure for the 5D MKIII states that the base plate itself is steel to withstand 'the rigors of professional use' (I thought I read in another source it was infact stainless steel) whereas the rest of the body is mag. alloy, I'm not sure if this differs from other canon DSLRs, but I wonder if the different material has caused issues with the black finish not adhering as well compared to the mag. alloy sections- hence the uneven wear pattern with the base plate worst affected?

[TexPhoto]

That looks bad!  But I'd say it also looks like you are rubbing it somehow when carrying it.

I touch up the black on my cameras with a permanent magic marker.  It's not perfect, but it looks bette than the bare scratch.

In your case i might look into some kind of paint.  maybe even a ruberized paint that would be thick and protective.

You might also consider a vet0cile grip, Canon or 3rd party.  That would take the punishment you seem to be giving it.

[kirispupis]

Try the Swedish version. 

[dilbert]

The 5D Mark III is a magnesium-alloy body.

That means to make it look black it needs to be painted.

If you rub any metal that has been painted for long enough against clothing, the paint will eventually wear away and show metal underneath.

I would expect them to have a black anodised finish which is what all my Canons have had. Certainly a simple painted finish will never last long.

I was going to mention that it wasn't spray painted on but regardless, that doesn't stop it from wearing away.

[Studio1930]

Wow, that does not look good for that young of a camera.  I have used my 1DX for about 1 year and have 150K+ actuations on it and it doesn't have a single mark on the body.  I am not overly careful with my equipment either as the shot is more important to me than insured equipment but I still don't have wear like that. 

Even my well abused Lumedyne battery packs don't look that bad and they get the crap beat out of them swinging wildly on straps, banging on everything and tossed to the ground on every shoot.

[echelonphoto]

I have had at least 14 different Canon professional bodies and I do about 35 weddings a year...never had anything even this close happen...in fact most of my cameras by the time I sell them still look pretty minty..I
use straps and now a spider holster for carry and often set them down in less than pristine surfaces. I would
definitely complain to Canon higher ups...this should not happen this easily...I did have a mark 3 for a short
time and notice the paint is quite delicate compared to other models. You can always get that rubberized
camera armor that covers the whole camer.

[Rienzphotoz]

I have had at least 14 different Canon professional bodies and I do about 35 weddings a year...never had anything even this close happen...in fact most of my cameras by the time I sell them still look pretty minty..I
use straps and now a spider holster for carry and often set them down in less than pristine surfaces. I would
definitely complain to Canon higher ups...this should not happen this easily...I did have a mark 3 for a short
time and notice the paint is quite delicate compared to other models. You can always get that rubberized
camera armor that covers the whole camer.

I agree that Canon cameras still look pretty minty by the time I sell them (while I did not have 14 professional bodies like you, I did have/sell 6 Canon DSLR's and all of them were used in dusty desert conditions but every one of them looked good by the time I sold them).
What I don't agree though is about the MK III's "paint is quite delicate" ... while I agree that it could have been the case in the particular camera you used, but for the vast majority I do not believe that is the case.

[dilbert]

There's every change that the camera is rubbing against a metal stud on your jeans or belt or jacket or ... and that would account for the scratches.