IMPORTANT; First frame black issue

blackworx wrote: (...) Anyway it's fairly academic for me now as I have finally gotten off my butt and sent mine to be fixed.

Is the cam back in UK already?

[[but be careful in the 'vigorous' shaking as it may affect the anti-shake mechanism which, if it breaks, renders a 5 or 7D a bit of a write-off due to the cost of replacing it. ]]

Good point, but my camera was freezing every single time I turned it on, so I was desperate and I had little to lose.

A few shakes and miraculously, it works again. I don't know, but maybe, upside-down (or side) shake is the key (not 'vigorous').

Edited by fpocztatemp - 06 October 2011 at 04:31

Solution/fix for the first blank/black frame:

1. Set camera speed for 30 seconds or so
2. Press shutter-release button
3. Shake the camera vigorously, turn it upside-down and keep shaking.

Conny1 wrote: blackworx wrote: (...) A) find somewhere that still has the parts (if Johnsons don't have them then I'm not holding out much hope)(...) At least you can ship your D7D directly to Runtime/Germany. They still have parts.

Conny1 that is brilliant news, thank you for taking the time to reply and let me know about this.

Do you know of the contact details off-hand? Also do you know if they might be willing to send the parts to me here so that I could have Johnsons do the work?

Posting my beloved 7D abroad for repair is a bit daunting (not least because of the language barrier) but if it is the only way then so be it.

Just off the phone to Johnsons. Apparently they are no longer able to do any KM repairs at all because Sony have now pulled the entire KM spares catalogue.

Curse my procrastination; my 7D has been exhibiting FFB for at least a year and I've had numerous chances to send it off for the free repair. I'd even called Johnsons on two separate occasions to confirm the return process, but just never got round to seeing it through.

Now it seems I have the choice of either A) find somewhere that still has the parts (if Johnsons don't have them then I'm not holding out much hope) or B) bite the bullet, start saving up for a new body and keep my fingers crossed that the 7D doesn't deteriorate in that time.

I'm really going to miss my 7D when she (eventually) goes.

shopgrrrl wrote: Is the total lock-up I'm experiencing known to be related to the FFB issue?

In its final stages yes.

shopgrrrl wrote: Now my 5D has died. Sometimes if I put a fresh battery in, it flicks to life momentarily, then dies again... I contacted Precision Camera and was quoted $250 to have the camera repaired... Does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed?

Whether it's the FFB problem or something else, I think the official repair cost will be the same flat rate. It's not a DIY project for the majority of people, so you would have to find someone who can service the camera even if you source all the necessary parts. And you can't make assumptions about how long it will continue to work correctly afterwards. (The same would be true buying a used 5D currently in good condition.) It might be time to consider a Sony DSLR - even a used one - since they have been statistically more reliable than the 5D/7D.