Canon UK admit Mark III fault, recall and halt sales.

[Diego Garcia]

Hot of the press, see here.

25th October, 2007

Dear Business Partner,

Re: EOS-1D Mark III – Quality Issue

We would like to make you aware that we have concluded that there is a quality issue with some EOS-1D
Mark III units in the market. The problem can be linked to the adjustment of the AF Sub Mirror, and we
believe that this affects only a minority of units in the market at this time.
The phenomenon resulting from this problem (especially in high temperature) is that the optimal focus
point is uncertain in AI servo mode, or that the tracking performance of AI Servo is not accurate.
Regarding the products that have been sold to consumers, we are currently preparing a resolution for this
issue and will inform you of further detailed information and required steps through our official website at
the end of October or the beginning of November. Canon will accept these units for repair, but we will not
be offering an exchange or return.
In order to ensure that the customer experience is not damaged, and as a responsible company, Canon has
decided to stop the shipment of all EOS-1D Mark III. We would therefore like to collect all unsold EOS-1D
Mark III units from your stock. Please kindly contact Customer Administration on --------------- to
arrange a collection and a refund at your purchase price. We will inform you of the date that shipping will
recommence as soon as it is confirmed.
As of today we are taking end-user inquiries with the above information through our Technical Help Desk
on ----------------------- If you get an inquiry from an end-user, please advise them to contact this number until
such time that the official website announcement has been published.
Canon wishes to ensure a clear and concise message to the market and we ask for your understanding,
cooperation and support in this matter.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience resulting from this matter and please do not hesitate to
contact your account manager with any questions that you may have.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and support.
Yours sincerely,
Lee Bonniface
Channel Director, Special Retail.

 

[theMusicMan]

Crikey, don't let Diddy see this for gawds sake, he'll be all over it...hehe

 

[Marcel]

So they've finally admitted it eh? Thanks for letting us know

 

[mho]

As usual Canon UK are behind everywhere else i the world, but they get there in the end.

Well that finally puts an end to the does it or does it not have a fault, Ironically the 2 I have tested have both been faulty.

 

[CT]

Thank goodness they've finally admitted it. Canon being in denial over this in the face of so many users encountering problems wasn't doing their image any good. As it is it leaves you wondering about the field testing which went into a camera largely aimed at pro users. If I understand the problem it's likely to be encountered when using long lenses and large apertures in hot conditions, which means pretty well all the wildlife, sports and news togs it's largely aimed at. How the Hell didn't they find the problem in testing? :shrug:

Let's hope it gets properly sorted, I'm sure it's the great camera that the 1 Series has always been.

 

[IanC_UK]

Its a relief they have acknowledged it, even if it isnt a public admission ! I for one will be getting mine checked out anyway, as i havent seen the issue but havent shot in the certain circumstances that seem to be causing it. Have had a few strange tracking focus issues but have always put them down to me being a muppet, maybe that isnt the case ?

 

[busterboy]

Let's hope it gets properly sorted, I'm sure it's the great camera that the 1 Series has always been.

Amen to that.

 

[DiddyDave]

Crikey, don't let Diddy see this for gawds sake, he'll be all over it...hehe

With 2 new Nikons being launched presently I daren't comment for fear of a 'Pot calling kettle' moment brewing

It is amazing that such an 'obvious' fault as a focussing issue has slipped through though. I have no doubts it'll be sorted swiftly so Canon's rep as the 2nd best camera maker isn't diminished

 

[CT]

Its a relief they have acknowledged it, even if it isnt a public admission ! I for one will be getting mine checked out anyway, as i havent seen the issue but havent shot in the certain circumstances that seem to be causing it. Have had a few strange tracking focus issues but have always put them down to me being a muppet, maybe that isnt the case ?

I'm sure Canon will sort it Ian -they can't afford not to or it will do them untold damage.

As you know on our visit to the Red Kites at Gigrin Farm I shot over 2 gig of images with the 1DMK2n with all 45 AF points enabled -some single shot, some hi speed sequence, all in Servo mode and I don't think there's an unsharp shot among them despite the lousy light on the day.

It makes you wonder how Canon have got in this pickle - if it aint broke....

 

[DiddyDave]

I'm sure Canon will sort it Ian -they can't afford not to or it will do them untold damage.

As you know on our visit to the Red Kites at Gigrin Farm I shot over 2 gig of images with the 1DMK2n with all 45 AF points enabled -some single shot, some hi speed sequence, all in Servo mode and I don't think there's an unsharp shot among them despite the lousy light on the day.

It makes you wonder how Canon have got in this pickle - if it aint broke....

Interesting CT, if it works most of the time but not all of the time, doesn't that suggest a quality control issue in production rather than a design fault as such? If so, that must be easier to fix? :shrug:

 

[mho]

For those interested

Q. What is the fix that Canon has developed?

A hardware fix. Specifically, a component in the camera called the sub-mirror must be adjusted. The sub-mirror - also called the secondary mirror - is a tiny mirror behind the main mirror that passes light down to the autofocus module in the base of the mirror box. The adjustment procedure may include the swapping of one or more parts that make up the sub-mirror mechanism, though the sub-mirror component itself will not be replaced.

Canon's EOS-1D Mark III White Paper describes the light path from the lens to the autofocus module this way:

As with previous EOS cameras, the TTL-SIR (Through-the-Lens Secondary Image Registration) focusing principle is employed. The light flux passes through the camera lens and passes through the half mirror at the center of the main mirror. The light flux proceeds downward by reflecting off the oblong, concave secondary mirror to a fully reflective mirror in the base of the camera’s mirror chamber. Then it passes through an infrared-absorption glass, a secondary image-forming lens, and a cover glass before reaching the AF sensor.

And includes these graphics:

The above is from Rob Galbraith's site, and all rights belong to him.

 

[CT]

Interesting CT, if it works most of the time but not all of the time, doesn't that suggest a quality control issue in production rather than a design fault as such? If so, that must be easier to fix? :shrug:

I believe Canon intend to fix the problem by replacing the secondary mirror as outlined in Mark's post Dave, so I can only assume the mirror is a different animal to the one in the preceeding model? Bear in mind my camera is the preceeding model to this new version.

 

[IanC_UK]

Looks like its more of an adjustment than replacement, i guess with the number of units sold something happened during the final inspections and it was missed, i guess they cant possibly test for all conditions before shipment, but lets hope their inspection dept check the installation of the secondary mirror before signing off the unit before shipment.

 

[mho]

From what I was told,

Its components in the sub mirror assembly that are heated up with the concentration of light from the telephoto / super telephoto lens's, (with bright / direct sunlight / hot conditions) causing the sub mirror assembly to move/expand with the heat '000's of a millimetre and this in turn through s out the predictive autofocus algorithms used in AIservo mode, but it only shows itself up at certain speeds / angles of a target advancing towards you, a slower / faster object would change the interval at which the algorithm is recalculating the focus point.

And this is why only a few people (out of all the mk3 owners) have seen the effect when out shooting, you may have an affected camera but not have shot in those exact conditions) also an effect similar can be produced if you don't set up the custom functions correctly for your shooting situation, this has led to a lot of people saying its user error.

 

[CT]

Curious. Then you get the likes of Andy Rouse who's as respected a wildlife tog as you're likely to get, maintaining there's nowt wrong with the MK3 and his hit rate of sharp shots has gone up appreciably. :shrug:

 

[Joe T]

All very interesting!

 

[antc]

Curious. Then you get the likes of Andy Rouse who's as respected a wildlife tog as you're likely to get, maintaining there's nowt wrong with the MK3 and his hit rate of sharp shots has gone up appreciably. :shrug:

Yeah that is wierd isnt it :shrug:

Maybe he just had a good example.

 

[WeddingHack]

Four out of five pros I know that own the MKiii have had AF issues, two of them were getting soft vertical shots - again a problem with the mirror assembly apparently.

I've been holding off until the 'service pack 2' version arrived, hopefuly this will sort out the problems now.

 

[pxl8]

From the reports I've read the focusing issues were usually seen in bright sun/high contrast situations which might explain why some users are seeing the issue whilst others aren't.