Intermittent problem with T2i/550D

[ryoken]

Hi everyone,

I've been following this forum for some time now, and now hoping to draw on the collective wisdom... I have a T2i that's coming up on 3 years of service, purchased brand new in November of 2010. Up until a couple of months ago it worked flawlessly, but now it has this strange intermittent behavior that manifests itself in 2 ways:

Scenario 1
After a shot is taken, LCD blacks out for 10-15 seconds and the camera is not responsive. After that, the preview flashes quickly and the camera returns to normal operation.

Scenario 2
After a shot is taken, the camera is in AF/metering mode as though the shutter button is half-pressed, LCD shows current settings/status. I usually shoot in manual with Av/Tv set to what I want and ISO on auto trying to keep it under 400, so when in this state I can point the camera to different things and hear AF confirmation beeps and see ISO value changing on the LCD. Pressing the shutter button snaps the picture and returns the camera to normal operation.

Additional notes:
1) The number of actuations is ~15K
2) The rate of occurrence is fairly low, perhaps 1-2 per 100 shots taken, and as mentioned above this is a new fenomenon that started a couple of months ago
3) Scenario 1 appears to be more common, and at first I suspected SD card (32GB Sandisk Ultra); however I was still seeing the problem after swapping SD card for another Sandisk Ultra.
4) This happens with different lenses
5) The camera has not been exposed to elements (rain, fog, ocean spray, beach sand, etc) or large temperature variations
6) In both scenarios, the image taken when the issue is triggered is fine; I shoot raw+jpeg and both files are fine, there are no physical (e.g. data corruption) or optical anomalies in the image

My speculation is that the camera has developed a mechanical issue, perhaps with the shutter button, and it will get progressively worse as I continue to use the camera. I am curious to know if anyone has seen such problem.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

About all you can do is to try resetting the camera to its default settings, just for the remote possibility that settings are a issue. If you can establish that its a shutter button contact issue, they can be cleaned by a do it yourself method, or perhaps by a local repair dealer for a low price.

Otherwise, wait until its bad enough that the issue is repeatable and Canon can possibly fix it.

Be aware that the camera is likely not worth any major repair bill, since you can sell it for parts for about $125-$150, and a working one might bring $250 - $350. So a $200 repair bill is about the max you'd want to deal with.

You can buy a refurb T3 body with 1 year warranty for $359, and if you use the CLP and trade in a old broken 35mm slr or powershot, you can get up to 20% off the body, and sometimes extend that discount to refurb lenses that you buy with it. They charge sales tax, but canon must also charge it on repairs.