1DXMKII - Soft Focus & Freezing

[GoldWing]

My magazine had me with the Los Angeles Angels for a team profile and only a few photographers were there from different press services to keep the shoot intimate. During a break two of us were using 1DXMKII's, One had a new D5 and the other a 645Z and we sat together while everyone changed.

Both of us using the 1DXMKII's were having similar problems with focus and having to pull our LP-E19's. We both laughed as we thought it was us, until we compared notes and our experience with the 1DX.

We both have soft or OOF SHOTS where we were clearly spot on in AISERVO with easy shots in ZONE and SINGLE POINT EXPANDED.

During batting shots where we caught the balls coming off the bats we both had to pull our LP-E19's and our 1DX MK II's were completely frozen. I had a 1DX as a backup and Henry went to a 5DIII.

The odds of both of us having the same issues or defects with the 1DXMKII can't be random. My magazine has in-house techs but the 1DXMKII is new and they are getting in touch with Canon. We should all keep a close eye on focus and freezing issues especially if you shoot in situations where you must not miss frames.

 

[R1-7D]

Really sorry to hear about your issues. Have you posted this on the DPReview and the FredMiranda boards by any chance?

There's a few people on there - TVstaff, Wetoldboot, and Sportsmagazine - who are having similar issues. I'm just try to get a feel for how many people are actually experiencing problems with this camera, as I'm due to pick up mine on the 20th.

I've arranged a sale for my current 1DX but I'm wondering if I should hold off on getting rid of it because of all these issues coming up with the new cameras -- focus issues, lockups, and file corruption.

I'd say to anyone who does buy one of these things to go thoroughly test it as soon as possible, and if it's not working properly to return it immediately. Canon had quite a few 1DX issues that they never publicly acknowledged, so I hope this will not be a repeat.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Eldar]

I have had mine for 1.5 months now and I cannot say that I have seen any weird behaviour from the AF system. But having seen your problems, I´ll pay more attention to the out of focus shots I get. So far it appears to have been my fault every time.

 

[R1-7D]

I have had mine for 1.5 months now and I cannot say that I have seen any weird behaviour from the AF system. But having seen your problems, I´ll pay more attention to the out of focus shots I get. So far it appears to have been my fault every time.

I'm thinking this isn't a hugely widespread problem. Obviously there are some members and people who are affected - by my count around 5 or 6 on the various forums - but these issues don't seem to be affecting everyone, thankfully.

I feel for these people who are struggling though. After having struggled with my own original 1DX problems and getting Canon to give me a replacement after weeks of battling, it's not something I'd ever want to go through again. I hope Canon steps up and helps these people, or at least acknowledges that there are problems that are occurring in rare instances.

 

[JMZawodny]

During batting shots where we caught the balls coming off the bats we both had to pull our LP-E19's and our 1DX MK II's were completely frozen. I had a 1DX as a backup and Henry went to a 5DIII.

The odds of both of us having the same issues or defects with the 1DXMKII can't be random. My magazine has in-house techs but the 1DXMKII is new and they are getting in touch with Canon. We should all keep a close eye on focus and freezing issues especially if you shoot in situations where you must not miss frames.

Do you recall whether the little red "writing to cards" LED was still lit? The only time I've seen a canon camera frozen and unresponsive was when the write failed. I had to pull the battery to get it to come back to life.

 

[R1-7D]

During batting shots where we caught the balls coming off the bats we both had to pull our LP-E19's and our 1DX MK II's were completely frozen. I had a 1DX as a backup and Henry went to a 5DIII.

The odds of both of us having the same issues or defects with the 1DXMKII can't be random. My magazine has in-house techs but the 1DXMKII is new and they are getting in touch with Canon. We should all keep a close eye on focus and freezing issues especially if you shoot in situations where you must not miss frames.

Do you recall whether the little red "writing to cards" LED was still lit? The only time I've seen a canon camera frozen and unresponsive was when the write failed. I had to pull the battery to get it to come back to life.

This exact thing happened to me the other week while I was photographing Stonehenge with my 1DX 'original'.

 

[GoldWing]

Really sorry to hear about your issues. Have you posted this on the DPReview and the FredMiranda boards by any chance?

There's a few people on there - TVstaff, Wetoldboot, and Sportsmagazine - who are having similar issues. I'm just try to get a feel for how many people are actually experiencing problems with this camera, as I'm due to pick up mine on the 20th.

I've arranged a sale for my current 1DX but I'm wondering if I should hold off on getting rid of it because of all these issues coming up with the new cameras -- focus issues, lockups, and file corruption.

I'd say to anyone who does buy one of these things to go thoroughly test it as soon as possible, and if it's not working properly to return it immediately. Canon had quite a few 1DX issues that they never publicly acknowledged, so I hope this will not be a repeat.

Best of luck to you.

Not posted anywhere else yet until we can find out what the issues are. I did see others having the same issue outside of the photographers I personally work with and a few boards. We also saw a video somewhere of 1DXMKII freezing but our cameras could not be turned on or off at all; the video showed a different problem than the one we had where the camera just locks. with so the editor pulled us from using the cameras.

 

[scottkinfw]

Not what I want to hear!

I had to send my 1XII back because the CF slot didn't work. I can't imagine that the freezing and soft focus issues would be limited to just a few units. When I get my replacement, I will certainly keep a close eye on it. I also hope Canon knows about it and are on a fix.

sek

 

[rfdesigner]

During batting shots where we caught the balls coming off the bats we both had to pull our LP-E19's and our 1DX MK II's were completely frozen. I had a 1DX as a backup and Henry went to a 5DIII.

The odds of both of us having the same issues or defects with the 1DXMKII can't be random. My magazine has in-house techs but the 1DXMKII is new and they are getting in touch with Canon. We should all keep a close eye on focus and freezing issues especially if you shoot in situations where you must not miss frames.

Do you recall whether the little red "writing to cards" LED was still lit? The only time I've seen a canon camera frozen and unresponsive was when the write failed. I had to pull the battery to get it to come back to life.

I had a look around the net and found what seem to be a few problems with some CFast cards

Are we sure the cards are definitely 100%?

EDIT: second thought: in the OPs case did both cameras threw problems under the same conditions?, i.e. not just same subject but also same temperature (same battery level too?)

Question for OP, what were all the enviromental condtions: Humidity, Temperature, Battery level, lens being used, CFast card brand and size?..

 

[East Wind Photography]

I have not experienced any issues with my 1dx mark ii. Im at about 8000 shots since i first got it. Shooting mostly soccer. No weird OOF and no wierd Cfast issues. Im usig a lexar 256gb 3500x. Ive also shot about 4 hours of 4k30 filling the card up each time. Never had a heat or overheating issue. I would figure 4k recording would be the biggest stress on the electronics that i could throw at it.

I have heard on other models that a bad memory card, one out of spec, or ones that are counterfit can cause the cameras to just stop until the batteries are removed. That being said, it is a new camera and some issues are bound to come up. They always do.

Somewhere in the firmware i recall there is an error log that can be displayed on the rear screen. Is there anything there that might shed some light on this?

 

[Pookie]

With two of you next to each other and shooting the same cam, experiencing the same issue, the first thing that would come to my mind is to check your serial numbers. You might have better luck explaining this issue to Canon rather than Canon Rumors if you can show it's not a one off issue. Never understood the threads with... "My camera makes a weird sound" or "My new camera does this....", here you'll just get placation and wild goose chases. It's like going to a car forum and asking people to diagnose a issue with you car... pointless as eventually you'll have to take it to a mechanic or the dealer.

This is what CPS is for, not amateurs... working professionals. If you or your company own many copies of this body Canon will respond and quickly.

 

[YuengLinger]

When the scenario and the behavior seem unlikely, baffling, and I feel like we are being played, I go back in time. Same OP (GoldWing) in 2013!

"EOS Bodies / Canon EOS 1DX defective Mirror Boxes - Screen Splash - AF Lock-up
« on: October 19, 2013, 11:58:52 AM »
I work for a newspaper and we bought two Canon 1DX's to replace older equipment.

Both IDX's were defective. We returned one and sent the other to Canon. This will be the third time we're sending the 1DX back to Canon for the same reasons.

1. The mirror / screen gets small black specs in it. Some are clear others look like random shaped dark pieces of broken black glass.

2. The Auto Focus stops working. First we notice a lack of focus, then the lenses hunts a lot, then it does not focus at all.

The Canon 1DX we bought had a white "A" in the battery compartment. We were told it was adjusted by Canon after it was made so all of the above would not happen.

When we sent it in the first time it was returned with a white dot next to the "A" but the same thing happened again. And again, splash in the screen and a lack of focus all the same things happend after only a few shots.

We sent the 1DX back to Canon again and it was returned saying the "MIRROR BOX" was replaced. After a few 100 shots, we were all amazed that this happened again the very same way.

The Camera has been to Canon so much time that we can't return it to the retailer and now it's back with Canon for a 3rd time. If Canon fixed this after is was manufactured, this is really the 4th time Canon is fixing the same issue not the third.

We did some research and now we see there are many people all over the world with the same issues with the 1DX having defects or defective AF and this oil splash.

Are there others out there with this same issue? Have you had to have your new 1DX fixed 3 or 4 times?

Canon cannot seem to fix this issue and based on a Google we did, the 1DX seems to be defective in design itself. One note I read said something about oil being the issue and another about broken plastic.

This seems never ending

Martin"

I refuse to speculate on motivation or mental state!

 

[R1-7D]

When the scenario and the behavior seem unlikely, baffling, and I feel like we are being played, I go back in time. Same OP in 2013!

"EOS Bodies / Canon EOS 1DX defective Mirror Boxes - Screen Splash - AF Lock-up
« on: October 19, 2013, 11:58:52 AM »
I work for a newspaper and we bought two Canon 1DX's to replace older equipment.

Both IDX's were defective. We returned one and sent the other to Canon. This will be the third time we're sending the 1DX back to Canon for the same reasons.

1. The mirror / screen gets small black specs in it. Some are clear others look like random shaped dark pieces of broken black glass.

2. The Auto Focus stops working. First we notice a lack of focus, then the lenses hunts a lot, then it does not focus at all.

The Canon 1DX we bought had a white "A" in the battery compartment. We were told it was adjusted by Canon after it was made so all of the above would not happen.

When we sent it in the first time it was returned with a white dot next to the "A" but the same thing happened again. And again, splash in the screen and a lack of focus all the same things happend after only a few shots.

We sent the 1DX back to Canon again and it was returned saying the "MIRROR BOX" was replaced. After a few 100 shots, we were all amazed that this happened again the very same way.

The Camera has been to Canon so much time that we can't return it to the retailer and now it's back with Canon for a 3rd time. If Canon fixed this after is was manufactured, this is really the 4th time Canon is fixing the same issue not the third.

We did some research and now we see there are many people all over the world with the same issues with the 1DX having defects or defective AF and this oil splash.

Are there others out there with this same issue? Have you had to have your new 1DX fixed 3 or 4 times?

Canon cannot seem to fix this issue and based on a Google we did, the 1DX seems to be defective in design itself. One note I read said something about oil being the issue and another about broken plastic.

This seems never ending

Martin"

I refuse to speculate on motivation or mental state!

Well this is surely interesting. I now remember looking at his thread two years ago when I was having all the trouble with my 1DX - basically doing what's described above with the viewfinder filling with debris/oil.

The OP very well might be extremely unlucky. I can attest to the first 1DX issue. I hope it's a bad case of luck and not a widespread problem for this new model camera now.

So, who knows? I have postponed sale of my current 1DX to a friend until I make sure the 1DX II I have scheduled to pick up on the 20th is working properly. I'm certainly not going through a battle with Canon again to get a working camera. Once was enough of that...

I don't worry too much about the CFast corruption issues, as I suspect that will be corrected with software or is a CFast card issue with a particular brand, but the autofocus issues and camera lock ups do concern me quite a bit.

 

[YuengLinger]

"Might well be very unlucky"??? :

You are an extremely polite and generous sort...The least cynical person alive?

I've attached a screenshot of that older post before the original "disappears."

 

[Loswr]

When the scenario and the behavior seem unlikely, baffling, and I feel like we are being played, I go back in time. Same OP (GoldWing) in 2013!

Perhaps if the OP's luck were equal in magnitude but opposite in direction, he could buy a lottery ticket and become an instant multi-millionaire.

 

[R1-7D]

When the scenario and the behavior seem unlikely, baffling, and I feel like we are being played, I go back in time. Same OP (GoldWing) in 2013!

Perhaps if the OP's luck were equal in magnitude but opposite in direction, he could buy a lottery ticket and become an instant multi-millionaire.

Alas, as it currently stands, his luck would have him poor and destitute if he went that route.

 

[R1-7D]

"Might well be very unlucky"??? :

You are an extremely polite and generous sort...The least cynical person alive?

I've attached a screenshot of that older post before the original "disappears."

I doubt the original post will disappear; it's been here for so long. Hell, I might have even posted in it too at one point while seeking advice.

I'm being generous because I know how much issues such as these suck, and if the person does have a legitimate complaint, well, I hope he gets the issue resolved satisfactorily in the end. I posted on a ton of photography forums when I had my issue - only one, however, accused me of being a troll. My intention wasn't to seek advice on how to resolve the issue at that point, however; it was to show as many people as possible how CPS in my country had damaged my camera repeatedly while in for repair of a defect (the debris/oil in the viewfinder).

It's not that I don't raise an eye-brow when I happen to see similar threads popup all over various camera forums; in fact, that's why I asked if the OP had been active on any other forums such as DPR and PON espousing his woes. He has indicated that he has not. What I find particularly suspicious is the fact that several other posters all came out of the woodwork at the same time claiming the same issue; these people seemingly remained silent beforehand. Coincidence? Who knows. A mod or admin could check the IP addresses of the posters...

I'd like to see a video of the purported locking up issue. I've seen plenty examples of the CFast issue from multiple users, and one or two examples of soft focus from the same poster on DPR, but no such examples of this lock-up problem from any of the claimants.

I'd be more inclined at this point to fully back the OP with some video evidence, which should not be hard to produce given the frequency with which the OP says this problem is occurring.

 

[Neutral]

Regarding focus softness - what are AF priority settings - for focus or release ?

AF menu section ->Tabs 2 for AI Servo and Tab 3 for One-shot AF release priority.
I have set all 3 for focus priority, it can slow down frame rate but get most of the shorts sharp.

I was doing some shots with EF85 f/1.2 L II USM at f.12 and without AFMA practically all shots are totally in focus.
I've seen many posts from different users that it is difficult to get sharp shots at 1.2 with AF but I never had such issue. I have though some small tricks how to do that - I thing long time back I mentioned that in on of my posts.

 

[bgateb]

My 1DX2 has been having some focusing issues/missed focus, even with single point

haven't experienced any freezing yet, though.

 

[R1-7D]

My 1DX2 has been having some focusing issues/missed focus, even with single point

haven't experienced any freezing yet, though.

Can you elaborate more on what you're shooting, the focus mode used, the lens used, and possibly provide some examples?

I think you're about the fifth or sixth person now whose come forward with issues.