Canon 5dMk2 - Cracking up.. Has anyone else experienced?

cymruchris

cymruchris

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While working earlier today - I was just scanning over my camera body while waiting for the next subject to appear - when I spotted a gaping big crack in the top of my camera body. I've not (knowingly) dropped it or banged it, and can't see any obvious impact marks - has anyone else experienced this?

And of course the big question - is that aside from anything else - it's going to need a new top plate. Has anyone ACTUALLY had one changed (no matter which Canon EOS model it was) and how much were you charged?

I'm a bit surprised that it's happened - but now have to deal with the consequences as it were. I'm a CPS member - so it'll have to go back - but thought I'd pop it here first to see if I'm the only one to experience a crack in this particular location...

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Not seen anything like this before. Looks like it took a hit, but you say it's not banged into anything. Is it still under warranty?
 
No it's out of warranty - from where it's cracked though, I can't see where the impact point would be? There's no marking to suggest a bang? It's confused me..
 
Well you don't see that everyday Chris, made me go and check mine over. If it's not been hit or drop then its a manufacturing fault, and should we all need to start worrying?

Can you keep us posted on this please.

Ian
 
I'm open to suggestions as to how it's happened - or potential explanations.. I bought it UK sourced in November 2009 I think - so it's quite a way out of its one year warranty now.. I will keep everyone updated of course - as I've not seen one crack here before..
 
Looks as if it may be growing a pop-up :D

Did you buy it new? And are you sure it's out of warranty? Have a look at this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jun/05/consumer-rights-returned-goods. You may have some come back up to a couple of years from purchase if it's a manufacturer's fault. And if it's not affecting performance, you may be able to live with it rather than spend millions getting it fixed.
 
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2p
not a Canon Dslr man
but looks like a stress crack caused by the body part underneath pressing up into the corner

the body part 'underneath' appears to contain the lens mount

could be that torquing the lens into the mount has caused a stress upwards of the lens mounting plate..?

you see that in photo#3 the part 'beneath' the crack appears to have move to the left [of the camera] and the crack is not actually in-line with itself
 
Yes bought new in the UK - although I'd have to dig out the receipt - I think it was Warehouse Express from memory... It's still a long way under 2 years old - so there might be some hope there. However I'm not sure how I would 'prove' it was a fault - rather than it being dropped (other than the fact there are no impact marks that I can find anywhere)..
 
From the shots you've posted there don't look to be any other marks. Wouldn't you expect to see some scratches and other evidence of impact damage if that's what it was?

Give your local Trading Standards people a bell and see what they say.
 
Not doubting you for one minute, but if the boot was on the other foot and a customer brought it in would you think it was wear and tear

Mighty strange though and would point to a stress fracture of some description
 
tijuana taxi said:
Not doubting you for one minute, but if the boot was on the other foot and a customer brought it in would you think it was wear and tear

Mighty strange though and would point to a stress fracture of some description
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Exactly - I was in retail for 17 years - and the number of 'stories' I'd hear about how things were damaged - you always knew who was pulling the wool over your eyes - however there were times when you knew your customer was genuine, but you also knew that the manufacturers wouldnt believe it... So it was a bit of a catch 22.

I don't know how it got there - and I don't think Canon could most likely work out how it got there. So it'll be one of those 'which side of the coin do you believe' scenario's I think...
 
jon ryan said:
From the shots you've posted there don't look to be any other marks. Wouldn't you expect to see some scratches and other evidence of impact damage if that's what it was?

Give your local Trading Standards people a bell and see what they say.
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That's what I thought - some scuffs, or a dent - or something that says 'hey look I've been dropped' - but the body is unmarked all over apart from this crack....

I've seen how Warehouse Express have handled a few issues on here (pretty badly) so I'm not going to hold out much hope if I contact them - they're a mass operation of ship it in and ship it out cheaply - customer service doesn't seem to be their priority...
 
Yardbent said:
2p
not a Canon Dslr man
but looks like a stress crack caused by the body part underneath pressing up into the corner
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Just looked at my 5D2. On mine there is no gap between the front of the cowl (directly under the "Canon" name) and the rest of the body. Whilst I can see that there are two pieces to the shell, you couldn't even get a thin sliver of paper into it, let alone the gap that appears to be there
 
arad85 said:
Just looked at my 5D2. On mine there is no gap between the front of the cowl (directly under the "Canon" name) and the rest of the body. Whilst I can see that there are two pieces to the shell, you couldn't even get a thin sliver of paper into it, let alone the gap that appears to be there
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think i get your drift...
could the 'lens mounting body part' have rotated clockwise [viewed from the front]

when you mount a Canon lens - which way does it rotate.?
 
Yardbent said:
think i get your drift...
could the 'lens mounting body part' have rotated clockwise [viewed from the front]

when you mount a Canon lens - which way does it rotate.?
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Clockwise when you mount it...
 
Lets not forget that the 5D2 has a magnesium body so I'm not sure how even handling the camera by the lens would cause that.

I think it's a mystery only Canon can answer and sadly I doubt it will be cheap.
 
Complete stab in the dark here but Could temperature changes causing expansion/contraction cause this?
 
Yardbent said:
grabbing at straws i admit but

mount the lens - hard - and see if the housing moves.....:shrug:
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Just tried - no play in the body at all when the lens is mounted..

Most of my lenses are short 16-35/24-70/50mm etc. My longest lens is the 70-300mm DO (which if you know it you'll know is a very short zoom in physical size) - I don't use long lenses at all... so I don't think it'll be a lens issue as such...
 
ChrisH said:
Lets not forget that the 5D2 has a magnesium body so I'm not sure how even handling the camera by the lens would cause that.

I think it's a mystery only Canon can answer and sadly I doubt it will be cheap.
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Yes - as you rightly say - this is magnesium alloy - not plastic - so another reason how I can't work out how this has happened. Had it been plastic - I could maybe believe it more..
 
How do you pack it in your bag? Any chance something heavy could've thumped it - it wouldn't leave a mark because there would be the bag lining around it, but it would still take the force of it?
 
Good question - I use an 'airline style' rollalong case from Calumet (although it's never been on an airline)... It's well padded - and I keep all my gear in there - nothing else being damaged.. (50d body in there as well - kept in the next compartment) Nothing protrudes upwards as it were... And to do that damage - I'd imagine that the force required would be substantial enough that I'd notice it happening.. Good point though..
 
Or something very pointy could have been knocked against it and it would take less force to cause a crack.
 
srichards said:
Or something very pointy could have been knocked against it and it would take less force to cause a crack.
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Wouldn't that leave some kind of impact mark though? Or if in the bag -I'd see some damage to the stitching if it was that pointy? I know we're all clutching at straws here :) Seems like this isn't a problem anyone else here has experienced? So it looks like I'll have to wait and see what the official Canon line is next...
 
I don't have a5D but that gap under the Canon logo looks very suspect, surely that's not normal? I wonder if the top plate was seated properly in the first place and possibly causing stress from inside the prism?

A strip down and inspection may vindicate you.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Just wondering if the flash may have come in contact with something, forcing it backwards and pulling the top section of the camera upwards, causing a stress crack....
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Would have thought the flash would have just snapped off if there was that much force. The flash gun is
Normally designed to be the weakest part.
 
the 580 is designed with a weakspot in the neck i beleive to stop damage to the camera hot shoe or flash gun internals. the flash would break before the body would!
 
I'm guessing that the camera's been in a car boot in a bag and something heavy has ended up on top of it and has caused the damage. Can't see how it's a warranty issue unless a manufacturing fault can be proven.
 
33L said:
the 580 is designed with a weakspot in the neck i beleive to stop damage to the camera hot shoe or flash gun internals. the flash would break before the body would!
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Yes that would make sense.
 
Nod said:
I'm guessing that the camera's been in a car boot in a bag and something heavy has ended up on top of it and has caused the damage. Can't see how it's a warranty issue unless a manufacturing fault can be proven.
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No - I never have anything in the car when I'm out working other than the roller case and a tripod. And the roller case isn't a 'soft case' as such - so it would need to be something dammed heavy to cause the damage..

I need to finish a couple of jobs this week - and then I'll investigate the next steps in terms of what to do next...

I was really just wondering if this was a one off or whether anyone else had had it, and it seems its pretty much a one off...
 
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