Canon 5D Mark III Discoloration/Pealing; Slowly Growing

[bchernicoff]

Based on the feedback so far, it seems like the wear you are seeing is an extreme case. It's possible there was a manufacturing problem when they applied the finish on that part of your camera.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Based on the feedback so far, it seems like the wear you are seeing is an extreme case. It's possible there was a manufacturing problem when they applied the finish on that part of your camera.

I have read of one other case like this, and I agree that there is some sort of issue with improper painting or they missed on the primer.
I'd ask Canon to replace the worn panels.

 

[Jerome Houyvet]

Hi all,

Just a quick note about this problem I did have on a 5DmarkIII.
I bought two bodies on the same day, use them at the same time, everyday, and really take care of them. One of them was looking normal and the other had the same painting problems.
I sent the body to CPS and get a replacement of the damaged part.
Please note that my body was 5 months old and get much less damage that the one we see on this post.

Thanks Canon for your attention and good service on this.

Jerome

 

[K-amps]

Do you use a neck strap to lug it around?

If so...

Cease wearing Grit 220 T-Shirts.

 

[Wildfire]

This is not an isolated case, someone on the FM wedding boards has the same issue:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1179199

 

[SJ]

its happen with my 5d3 also , i tought my 7d more better

 

[eml58]

That doesn't look too good, I also treat my gear with Less than Tender Loving Care, Cart them through Africa 2 to 3 times a year, don't have anything like this sort of issue.

Love to be able to help, but I don't think Canon Warranty will do much about this after a year, but worth a try, if all else fails it might be time for "Pimp your Camera", cant find a Photo of a Canon so posting an Image of the Dark Sides Equipment, gives you an idea at least. pimpyorcamera.com but not cheap, about 750 +/- per Body, an all Black with some Motif may be cheaper, I honestly don't know, sorry to see though.

 

[SSipple]

I am experiencing the same issue with my 5D Mark III. I owned a 7D prior to this, and there are absolutely no signs of wear on that camera. I have ad my 5D Mark III for 2 months, and the bottom section paint is worn off. Canon said they would replace that piece. Does anyone else have experience with getting this replaced? I am a little leary to let them replace something on a 2 month old camera.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I am experiencing the same issue with my 5D Mark III. I owned a 7D prior to this, and there are absolutely no signs of wear on that camera. I have ad my 5D Mark III for 2 months, and the bottom section paint is worn off. Canon said they would replace that piece. Does anyone else have experience with getting this replaced? I am a little leary to let them replace something on a 2 month old camera.

There were some issues with paint not curing right, let Canon replace the piece. Its a simple job.

 

[gg1904]

Re: Canon 5D Mark III Pain Smearing

HI

I wonder if anyone has experienced this problem. I have a 5D mk III and it's about 2 years old. recently I was in holiday in Vancouver and the weather was warm but not too hot; however the white paint on the Canon logo at the front of the camera has started to run and smudge over the front of the camera. It doesn't affect the camera operation but it looks cheap and nasty.

The camera is going back to Canon next week, however i am curious if anyone else has had this problem.

Thanks

 

[GMCPhotographics]

Re: Canon 5D Mark III Pain Smearing

HI

I wonder if anyone has experienced this problem. I have a 5D mk III and it's about 2 years old. recently I was in holiday in Vancouver and the weather was warm but not too hot; however the white paint on the Canon logo at the front of the camera has started to run and smudge over the front of the camera. It doesn't affect the camera operation but it looks cheap and nasty.

The camera is going back to Canon next week, however i am curious if anyone else has had this problem.

Thanks

I have two 5DIII's and a single 5DII, all bought a year apart. I've used them quite heavily in a professional capacity, shooting a lot of weddings and I've not had this issue. But it wouldn't surprise me if Canon had a rogue batch. Stuff on the production line some times goes out of spec due to suppliers supplying out of spec paint.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Re: Canon 5D Mark III Pain Smearing

I have two 5DIII's and a single 5DII, all bought a year apart. I've used them quite heavily in a professional capacity, shooting a lot of weddings and I've not had this issue. But it wouldn't surprise me if Canon had a rogue batch. Stuff on the production line some times goes out of spec due to suppliers supplying out of spec paint.

The paint issues seem to be more common, I think its because Canon is outsourcing more and more, and has difficulty keeping suppliers from cutting corners. I've seen this happen in my industry, outsource a part, then tell the supplier to cut the cost 25%, and a couple of years later, another 25%. They drive a supplier either into bankruptcy, or to cutting corners. I've seen it happen, a supplier goes bankrupt and it costs much more than was saved to rescue him or to find another.

 

[dgatwood]

Re: Canon 5D Mark III Pain Smearing

The paint issues seem to be more common, I think its because Canon is outsourcing more and more, and has difficulty keeping suppliers from cutting corners. I've seen this happen in my industry, outsource a part, then tell the supplier to cut the cost 25%, and a couple of years later, another 25%. They drive a supplier either into bankruptcy, or to cutting corners. I've seen it happen, a supplier goes bankrupt and it costs much more than was saved to rescue him or to find another.

In my experience, you don't have to drive the suppliers to do it. They'll look for ways to cut corners on their own, even if you aren't demanding lower prices, to increase their profit margin. This is why companies that work with outsourced manufacturers have to constantly be vigilant and randomly inspect those companies' factories to ensure compliance. Otherwise, they'll cut corners and you'll get stuck with the bill. I've seen this happen over and over and over.

Not to overgeneralize, but the problem seems to be worse in developing markets like China—perhaps because the business laws aren't strong enough to ensure actual consequences for contract violations. We did a group buy of products from a Chinese microphone manufacturer a few years back, and out of my batch, some products had a 100% defect rate, and the best of the products still had a double-digit defect rate. And on one product, they substituted an under-specced component, resulting in a nearly 100% failure rate. We had to manually unsolder all the defective components and replace them with the parts originally specified, at significant cost.

So I hold a very dim view of outsourced manufacturing. In theory, it is more efficient, resulting in lower costs, but if you can't trust your suppliers not to screw you, then those savings aren't a bargain.

 

[mackguyver]

No wear like that on any of my many Canon bodies including 5DIII. It does look like you're wearing it around your neck and it's rubbing against your chain mail / Kevlar body armor / sandpaper shirt???

All kidding aside are you using DEET products, getting sand or salt(water) on your clothes, or anything like that? That's some pretty serious wear for such a short timeframe.

 

[gg1904]

Thanks for the feedback and I also have never experienced this on any of my previous Canon bodies. I agree that it's probably a supplier problem and hopefully it can be cleaned up. I will keep you posted when I get Canons feedback in the near future.

Thanks

 

[Ruined]

The second photo in the OP tells me this was a production problem with the paint on the back panel of your camera. This should be covered under warranty, but you may have to fight for it. If it truly were due to the user abusing the camera, the wear would not be uneven like that across the bottom.

Hey everyone,

I have a 5D Mark III which I purchased new, directly from Amazon when they were released early this year.
This summer, around June/July I noticed what appeared to be discoloration or pealing paint under the camera where the metal body meets the plastic. It was initially very minor and I thought I must have scuffed it somehow on a table or while the field. However, it has been consistently 'growing' ever since then. It has grown from pea sized to the entire bottom of the camera within a few months.

Examples of this phenomenon are attached.

I am not one to coddle my equipment; but I also don't throw it around either. I certainly don't drag it around on things which would peal off the paint like this. Usually a tripod mount is on the bottom which would prevent this anyway (I took it off specifically for these pictures).

If you look closely, the discoloration is also along the screw holes and speaker grill. The discoloration is also not uniform. I don't believe it's a result of being dragged or rubbed against anything. Is this some sort of chemical reaction to something? Only the bottom area of the camera is affected. The top, front, and lenses are all flawless.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

 

[dgatwood]

The second photo in the OP tells me this was a production problem with the paint on the back panel of your camera. This should be covered under warranty, but you may have to fight for it. If it truly were due to the user abusing the camera, the wear would not be uneven like that across the bottom.

My guess is that they let the primer dry too long before shooting the top coat. You're supposed to let it dry to the point where it is no longer liquid, but if you go too much longer than that, the paint will peel off in sheets when under moderate stress. This often occurs when a part gets primed at the end of the day on a Friday, but they run out of time and end up painting it on the following Monday.

This happens on cars, too, occasionally. If you've ever seen a Chevrolet with a mostly primer-grey hood, you know what I'm talking about.