Help with broken 7d, loyalty program, and more

[applecider]

With all the talk about the 7dii, I grabbed my previously trusty 7d only to find it won't boot. Tried multiple otherwise good batteries (tested in 5diii also) and replaced the clock battery, so it is not the battery. Also tried to reboot by holding down the shutter button while empty of battery and cards. Also tried cycling all the door buttons, no joy.
My summary is that I've done all I can and it needs a trip to repair, for out of warranty repair, unless anyone else has a shining idea.

So these thoughts come to mind: Is there a current loyalty program to trade broken bodies towards new? I could not find one but it may be a well kept secret. Or rephrased should I plan to use this body to apply to loyalty program.

Is it worth it to fix this body given a guesstimate that it will run $350 + even with CPS or should I save toward a future new body?

If there was only one axis of decision fix or not it would be an easy decision. The other considerations make it interesting as a decision.

 

[rpt]

When this happened to my 300D, it was a bent CF card pin that had shorted the power bus and had blown a device. The cost of repair was not much. Check in the CF slot if you can see a bent pin...

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Yes, there is a Canon loyalty program. You can trade in broken cameras such as a old 35mm film body, a canon power shot, or a DSLR.

However, it makes little sense to trade in a 7D when you get the same deal as with a $2 broken 35mm SLR or power shot.

Since Canon is offering 30% off refurbished 7D's right now(was 40% a couple of weeks back), the loyalty program would need to beat that.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-eos-digital-slr-cameras/eos-7d-body-refurbished

Just Google "Canon Loyalty Program" Call and ask what a 7d would cost under the program.

I believe that Canon has switched to fixed price repair levels, so even a minor repair is going to hit you for $200 or $300.

It might be best to sell the camera on ebay, some buy them and fix them for resale, so they do sell for quite a bit. First ask Canon what their minimum repair cost is. A bent CF pin is something that many fix themselves, but a blown fuse on the power usually involves swapping it out for a refurbished one. There again, some people replace the fuse themselves, assuming they are able to first fix the short.

 

[dgatwood]

When this happened to my 300D, it was a bent CF card pin that had shorted the power bus and had blown a device. The cost of repair was not much. Check in the CF slot if you can see a bent pin...

How in heck do you bend a pin on a CF slot? There are all multiple guards in there to prevent incorrect insertion.... the only way I can think of for a pin to get bent (other than sticking something else down into the slot) is for the pin to be slightly bent from the factory, so that it misses its hole with certain cards. That or a defective CF card with a missing hole.... Sheesh.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

When this happened to my 300D, it was a bent CF card pin that had shorted the power bus and had blown a device. The cost of repair was not much. Check in the CF slot if you can see a bent pin...

How in heck do you bend a pin on a CF slot? There are all multiple guards in there to prevent incorrect insertion.... the only way I can think of for a pin to get bent (other than sticking something else down into the slot) is for the pin to be slightly bent from the factory, so that it misses its hole with certain cards. That or a defective CF card with a missing hole.... Sheesh.

As a interconnect designer, and having spent 30+ years working with manufacturers, users, and as a SAE member creating standards, In my opinion, the CF design is really poor from a reliability standpoint, and bent pins are common. I've had two DSLR's with bent pins as well as a couple of card readers. The Canon design is reverse to accepted practice of putting socket contacts on the side with power. The contacts should be on the flash card side where they can be tossed if bent, rather than blowing fuses and incurring a $250-$300 repair bill. Other common designs included shrouded pins which keeps them from bending over. The SD card eliminates the pin/socket issue nicely, but has other issues that make it less suitable for high speed work. We do need a new replacement for CF cards, but the volume is likely too low to spark much interest.

Scooping (inserting the card at a angle) can bend a pin if tolerances add up, or if a card is not perfect (they are molded parts that warp, shrink, etc. I've seen such parts change dimensionally after installation due to stress relieving in the plastic. There are almost no ordinary design precautions taken. The reason is that the CF card was first, and digital cameras were new and unknown when introduced. They became a defacto standard.

 

[rpt]

When this happened to my 300D, it was a bent CF card pin that had shorted the power bus and had blown a device. The cost of repair was not much. Check in the CF slot if you can see a bent pin...

How in heck do you bend a pin on a CF slot? There are all multiple guards in there to prevent incorrect insertion.... the only way I can think of for a pin to get bent (other than sticking something else down into the slot) is for the pin to be slightly bent from the factory, so that it misses its hole with certain cards. That or a defective CF card with a missing hole.... Sheesh.

Like Mt Spokane mentioned, I think it was a CF card that must have been inserted at an angle. Mind you, the 300D was over 7 years old then and the CF slot had seen a fair amount of push and pull and so tolerances were worse...
The rule today for the 300D is not to take out the CF card unless absolutely mandatory.

 

[Tugela]

Since this is the rumors section of the forum, not the gear talk section, is this a rumor? Or have you just posted in the wrong part of the forum?

 

[pablo]

Do you have a grip? It appears that my grip went tonto and fried all my lp-e6's and nearly my camera...

my research at the time suggested there were two production revisions of the 7d, with an altered battery contact design on later models... as usual with canon, I found lots of people with the same fault on line, but no acceptance of any problem by canon.

(see '7d fw1 with udma cards' and 'mass sony sourced ccd failure')

Canon wont admit there is a problem until the mob arrives at their door with pitchforks and torches.