Sports shooters: It's a tough life!

May 16, 2012
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Wadsworth, OH
I bang up and use my 1Dx's pretty consistently. I noticed I had some AF misses which were unusual at a track meet 12/12. So since I'm a Platinum member for CPS I sent them in explaining the problem.

On 1Dx number 1 the following was found: "Your product has been examined and it was found that the part did not operate properly because the mirror did not operate properly. The part was replaced and product functions were confirmed."

On 1Dx number 2: "AF assembly was out of position causing inaccurate auto focus. Electrical adjustments were carried out on the AF assembly. Product functions were confirmed. Adjusted exposure and ffd, basic focus and shutter speed. Updated firmware. Cleaned C-MOS and checked to all factory specs."

Whew!
 
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...
 
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Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.
 
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bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

Wow! It's exactly what I see as well, I had to back and find some of those shots that blew me away when I first got it, just to make sure I wasn't trying to remember it better than it was. I swear I could throw the camera after something and have everything spot on.

And again, 3 years life span, and with major issues along the way, for top of the line camera that costs too much is VERY dissapointing....
 
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It is a concern of mine now. I have spoken with other sports photographers that have noticed the same thing but didn't really think too much of it until I told them about mine. I had the same AF problems last winter and in both cameras Canon said the AF assembly needed electrical adjustments. Same thing this time only the mirror assembly in the first 1Dx didn't function properly. It's not like I don't take care of my gear. I am very careful with it even though it does get a lot of use.

Same problem happens. AFMA is spot on but AF still becomes slowly more and more inconsistent in AI Servo mode and tracking over time because of this "AF assembly out of position" report from Canon. I don't know.
 
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bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

Best evidence yet that the 1Dx II will be released very shortly.
 
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docsmith said:
bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

Best evidence yet that the 1Dx II will be released very shortly.

I'm not really sure how the two are related at all. A 1D or 1Ds series body should last well past 3 years and work flawlessly for many more than that. Past 1D or 1Ds models certainly have. Unless there are hidden, known problems with the 1Dx that Canon is aware of and will be fixed in the 1Dx Mark II, but I highly doubt it.
 
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bdunbar79 said:
docsmith said:
bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

Best evidence yet that the 1Dx II will be released very shortly.

I'm not really sure how the two are related at all. A 1D or 1Ds series body should last well past 3 years and work flawlessly for many more than that. Past 1D or 1Ds models certainly have. Unless there are hidden, known problems with the 1Dx that Canon is aware of and will be fixed in the 1Dx Mark II, but I highly doubt it.

They have a radio inside, and the mothership relayed a message that 1DX2 is soon out, so the existing units start to create failures more and more, until everyone has to buy 1DX2.
 
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bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

Well you know it happens to all of us -- as we get older, our eyes have a harder time focusing...
 
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The last repair was "only" a shutter replacement, but they swapped enough electronics to bring mine back two firmware updates and yes, the mirror box/assembly, and that is the second time in my camera.
 
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MadHungarian said:
bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

Well you know it happens to all of us -- as we get older, our eyes have a harder time focusing...

Oh yeah. Silly me. Duh! I'm SURE that's it. Canon really had no reason to replace all of those parts in my cameras after all. There was really nothing wrong, the service facility was just bored that day.
 
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bdunbar79 said:
MadHungarian said:
bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

Well you know it happens to all of us -- as we get older, our eyes have a harder time focusing...

Oh yeah. Silly me. Duh! I'm SURE that's it. Canon really had no reason to replace all of those parts in my cameras after all. There was really nothing wrong, the service facility was just bored that day.

Sorry, i was being funny. I was referring to the camera having trouble focusing as it got older...
 
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I know, my apologies. Sometimes I lay it on a bit thick. Looking back I see you were joking.

UPDATE: I spoke with Canon CPS on the phone and believe me, I am not the only one noticing this problem. In fact, I was pretty late to the game. Many sports photogs complained of the same thing and the reason why everything was free of charge was because it is a product advisory. If you experience the problems I did, they will adjust the AF sensor and replace the mirror assembly free of charge on a 1Dx. That is frustrating to say the least but at least everything was free. I just hope it continues to operate normally or I'll have to find some other area of photography.
 
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Glad you got it sorted. I haven't had an issue, but I did have my camera serviced for the Product Advisory soon after it was issued. Took it to Jamesburg in person on a business trip to NJ.
 
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neuroanatomist said:
Glad you got it sorted. I haven't had an issue, but I did have my camera serviced for the Product Advisory soon after it was issued. Took it to Jamesburg in person on a business trip to NJ.

Thanks, I've read the advisory and hope that will help. Looking back I don't think I missed any critical shots due to that. If AF was off slightly really no harm no foul because I shoot mainly for the web. It was just particularly nasty at the indoor track meet earlier in the month and it must have been time to have it fixed.

Which brings me to a service point about Canon. I send the cameras in on a Monday and had them back at the local FedEx store I drive by everyday coming home from work, on Wednesday afternoon. And everything was fixed. You just can't beat that.
 
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Agreed. I took mine in because I had a little time to spare and was driving close by the facility. I expected it to be shipped back, but they did it on the spot while I waited, in less than an hour.
 
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bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

It seems that at some point the processing power plus on chip PDAF will add class leading speed , accuracy AND durability to mirror less bodies.
 
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Normalnorm said:
bdunbar79 said:
Viggo said:
Must be the same with mine, it's very inconsistent lately. Since it came back from the previous repair it has been a paperweight. My wife's 6d runs circles around it in regards to AF performance. Hopefully they will fix it and not make it even worse...

Yep, and it seems the longer I have the 1Dx's, the more issues I've been having with the AF. Seems like 2 years ago I just could not miss anything and that is certainly not the case anymore.

It seems that at some point the processing power plus on chip PDAF will add class leading speed , accuracy AND durability to mirror less bodies.

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion already. I had a 1d4 which was highly abused and never skipped a beat. Sony spits out new models so often it's too soon to call.
 
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