1DX lock up?

[MarkWebbPhoto]

That's what I was afraid would happen. While it's possible it's the cards, you and I use different brands and different speeds. Moreover, between us we cover the two major brands I suspect others are using (SanDisk and Lexar).

I've been toying with returning my camera, but while I suspect we're the first to see/report this issue, it's possible that we won't be the last.

It could be a mismatch somewhere between camera settings (ala the "orientation specific AF" and AFMA issue reported earlier). I'm wondering if we have any "unique" settings in common:

* Before I started my shoot, I changed C.Fn3 so that "Low Speed" was 6 shots/sec. I then shot at that speed. After the lock-up, this value was reset to 3, but other values I had set at the same time retained their new values (e.g., changes to the custom menu).

* I had "orientation linked AF points" set -- I always have this set as the only lens I've used with the 1DX (a 70-200 L IS II) doesn't need AFMA

* I was constantly switching back and forth between portrait and layout shots

* I was also switching between "spot" metering (which I have linked to AF) and "evaluative"

* the camera had been on for longer than ever before (probably about 15 minutes or so)

Other than those, I didn't do anything different than normal. As for humidity/heat, I'm in the SF bay area, the day was dry and cool(ish).

Shawn L.

I keep my low speed set to 6 as well, however, I don't think I have seen any difference with the camera set to low or high. I'll try it out though.

I also use orientation linked AF points, none of my lenses need AFMA so I keep this turned off.

I also only use spot meter and the evaluative metering when I shoot in AV. Most of the time I use manual exposure.

I had been using my camera for about 3-4 hours before it locked up (671 photos before lock up). I was inside an air conditioned venue. Actually the only time I see issues with my camera seem to be when I'm in an air conditioned room. It always seems to perform flawlessly when shooting out under the sun.

I have changed just about every custom setting on this camera so it would be hard to pinpoint anything.
I doubt custom settings have much to do with it except the AFMA bug might possibly be related but here's some of the major changes I have made: Multi function lock, Custom Controls, Lock/record, shutter release time lag, spot meter linked to Af point, restrict shooting mode and drive modes, Record photos to separate cards, selectable AF points (eliminated non-cross type), orientation linked AF point (separate), optimizer off, long exp noise reduction off, high iso NR off, highlight tone priority off.....

 

[Loswr]

... here's some of the major changes I have made: Multi function lock, Custom Controls, Lock/record, shutter release time lag, spot meter linked to Af point, restrict shooting mode and drive modes, Record photos to separate cards, selectable AF points (eliminated non-cross type), orientation linked AF point (separate), optimizer off, long exp noise reduction off, high iso NR off, highlight tone priority off.....

Sounds almost exactly like what I've changed, except the orientation-linked AF, since I have AFMA applied (generally 4 units or less, so perhaps not really 'required'). I've used only SanDisk Extreme Pro 16 GB 60 Mb/s and 32 GB 90 Mb/s cards. No lockup, I've shot >5000 frames.

 

[Richard Lane]

Next time it locks up, can you take off the lens with camera still on to see if the mirror or shutter is locked in the up position?

Rich

 

[Shawn L]

Richard:

Are you suspecting something or just curious?

Shawn L.

 

[Virgil Quick]

Thanks to all of you who are trying to isolate this problem. Your efforts will certainly help all of us 1D X owners.

Just wondering if there is something going on between the mode dial and the pop-up flash unit?

 

[Richard Lane]

Richard:

Are you suspecting something or just curious?

Shawn L.

I'm just to trying to help separate a Mechanical Lock-up from an electrical or firmware "freeze-up." For example Error 20 is sometimes a Mirror Assembly or Shutter Lock-up and if the camera didn't report the error properly, then I think it should be checked for to help rule it out.

 

[Shawn L]

Ah.

I will say that when mine occurred, I felt it in the camera body. The shutter was humming along nicely, then "click" and everything was dead.

Shawn L.

 

[Shawn L]

I was wondering if this could be a more extreme case of the err80 issue previously mentioned. That one (and the AFMA bug) were both linked to the AF linked to orientation setting.

Mark and I both have that set.

I could unset that, but since I have no way of reproducing the error, I'd really never know if this worked or not...

Shawn L.

 

[Richard Lane]

Shawn,

If it helps you at all. I have the AF point linked to orientation set on my 1DX, and luckily I haven't had any problems so far. However, I may have to do an AFMA on one of my lenses, so I will probably have to turn that function off.

Rich

 

[Shawn L]

Thanks, Rich.

Shawn L.

 

[Shawn L]

Mark:

Do you have any update on your end? Any luck with Canon?

Just curious.

Thanks.

Shawn L.

 

[Shawn L]

For those who might be interested, I decided to exchange my camera for another. While it's possible I just tickled it in a way others had not (I think that's unlikely as I've only taken 2,600 photos over 6 time separate sessions), it's also possible that the issue was something like a cracked board or another similarly hard to reproduce and/or track down error.

So, for my own peace of mind, I decided to try my hand with another one.

Shawn L.

 

[MarkWebbPhoto]

Mark:

Do you have any update on your end? Any luck with Canon?

Just curious.

Thanks.

Shawn L.

I shot several thousand photos over the week with a Lexar 128gb 1000x UDMA 7 card in slot one and moved my Sandisk 64GB extreme pro UDMA 6 card over to slot two while keeping all the settings the same and the camera performed well. No hiccups this week but I still see the flashing memory card light from time to time.

How's the new camera? Any different? I'm up to about 25,000 photos already and the issues haven't been serious enough to exchange it.

 

[Shawn L]

Haven't yet gotten the new one, the old one is just on the way out the door. I'll let you know.

Cheers.

Shawn L.

 

[donkom]

I've been having this lock-up issue too - it has happened on two separate occasions.

Both times it occurred was on the 2nd or 3rd photograph in a bracketed set of 7. Turning the camera off and back on resolves the problem and I can shoot the bracketed set again without troubles.

I'm using Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB and 32GB cards. I've yet to contact Canon about the issue, though I am thinking it might be worth the call instead of waiting to see what a firmware fix may offer.

 

[Shawn L]

Given that mine occurred during an extended set of quickly taken photos, I wonder if maybe the card and the camera somehow lose sync with one another, leaving the camera waiting for a reply that never happens.

I've tested my card pretty thoroughly: ran chkdsk on it several times and then wrote a small Perl program that copies large volumes of data to it quickly to stress it. The card (which was being handled through a usb reader) didn't have any issues.

If it is failing due to a missed handshake, it could be a simple matter of changing the firmware to more gracefully handle this case.

Or maybe it's not this at all. Given the relative low frequency with which it's occurring (you'd think a systemic issue of poorly handling a protocol exchange would be more pervasive), maybe some units have a manufacturing defect -- this is my worst fear and the one I used to justify exchanging the camera.

I'd love to hear what you find out, though.

Shawn L.

 

[Wilmark]

The only review on Amazon for the 1Dx has a similar incident, and canon changed the camera. He describes shutter lock up after trying to full up the buffer. Unless this is a post from one of you guys

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-1D-18-1MP-Digital-Camera/product-reviews/B005Y3T1AI/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

[Shawn L]

The only review on Amazon for the 1Dx has a similar incident, and canon changed the camera. He describes shutter lock up after trying to full up the buffer. Unless this is a post from one of you guys

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-1D-18-1MP-Digital-Camera/product-reviews/B005Y3T1AI/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Interesting. That issue sounds nearly identical, though I didn't actually get an error code at all. Mine just completely locked up. And when I checked the error log on the camera, it was empty.

Thanks for posting this, Wilmark.

Shawn L.

 

[John]

i have been using the 1dx for about 2 months. i have had it lock up several times. i'm not able to duplicate the lock up because i don't remember the exact sequence of events that causes it to happen, but i know that the sequence has probably been somewhat different each time it occurred. it seems to happen when i am firing off a sequence of shots while shooting sports. i often review at least some of the photos that i have taken. all of this would result in a lot of processing by the camera and read/write to the memory card (lexar 32gb pro 600x).

none of the buttons work when the camera locks up. i can't display images to look at and i can't display the menus either. i can't take shots. i turn the camera off, then turn it back on and everything works just fine. it feels like i am "rebooting" my system after some sort of "software" failure. i got an ERR 80 code once, but only once. the locks ups have only occurred several times in the past couple of months and i shoot a lot each week.

i've never experienced a lock up while doing portrait work.

all of my images seem to look just fine when i view them after the lock up and i've never noticed any effect on the camera at all. once i reboot after the lock up everything works as expected.

i absolutely love the 1dx and the pictures that it takes, but the several lock ups that i have experienced bother me. i'm not sure what to do about it. i am wondering if a firmware upgrade by canon will resolve the problem since it seems more like a software glitch to me then anything having to do with the hardware.

i would love to hear from folks experiencing similar lock ups. it appears as though the problem occurs with others which again suggests that it might be a software problem since folks agree that the camera seems to be taking great pictures and it is possible to "reboot" and start shooting again. i know this sounds weird but i was actually relieved to find that others had this issue since it meant that i wasn't the only one and this will likely get the attention of canon that it is being discussed on this forum.

 

[DarkKnightNine]

The pro shop that I buy all of my gear from doesn't sell Lexar Cards and has warned me against buying them for Canon cameras suggesting that Canon and Lexar have had issues in the past and that Canon doesn't officially support them. I have no idea what any of that means but I just buy SanDisk Extreme cards to be safe. I would love to hear if your problems stemmed from the cards as I'm extremely interested in the new Lexar 1000x cards. They seem like a better fit for the fast frame rates of my 1DX, but at ¥70,000 a pop in Japan, that's a huge investment to be wrong about.