The Hamster Clinic (or the Repair Advice Thread)

zerohamster

sonya000 wrote: »

Make: Nikon

Item: 18-135 kit lens
Model: d80
Fault: F/stop not working

When/how it happened: My lens when attached to the camera just gives a F- symbol in the little settings window i can change my shutter speed but not the f/stop. it will take images in manual just by setting longer shutter speeds and the focus seems to be working prefect. I have tried the lens on other cameras with no joy and my other lenses work fine on my d80. I have cleaned all the contacts and still nothing. I am hoping it can be fixed at minimal cost as im a photography student and need my gear working. The lens have never been dropped it used to work again once taking lens off and putting back on to body then it just stopped. thanks

It sounds like the lens isn't communicating properly with the camera perhaps (no reporting of F-stop and no AF).
I'd be happy to have a look for you and see what is going on if you would like to PM me?

OniKen

Make: Canon

Item: DSLR Body

Model: 7D

Fault: Wont turn on. Regardless weather the camera switch is turned on or off the empty battery light continuously blinks as empty even though both my batteries are fully charged. It's not the cr1616 battery ether.

When/how it happened: 2 days ago. Turned on my camera and it just turned itself off after a very short time. Been like this since. Has been a few weeks since I used it last. No problems until now.

I have a big photo shoot Saturday too

zerohamster

Heya,

This is a common enoug problem with the 7D where a screw comes loose on the bottom PCB and either causes a short or rattles around the camera until it rests somewhere that causes a fuse to blow in the power board (flashing empty battery light or error 40s).

If you would like to PM me I may be able to help you make your deadline.

OniKen wrote: »

Make: Canon

Item: DSLR Body

Model: 7D

Fault: Wont turn on. Regardless weather the camera switch is turned on or off the empty battery light continuously blinks as empty even though both my batteries are fully charged. It's not the cr1616 battery ether.

When/how it happened: 2 days ago. Turned on my camera and it just turned itself off after a very short time. Been like this since. Has been a few weeks since I used it last. No problems until now.

I have a big photo shoot Saturday too

karenbfitz

Make Tamron lens 18=270mm is
For Canon 550d eos Camera
Fault - Will only work on some settings
Accident - Dog decided to take a few pics and chewed the lens, it is only minimally marked on the outside of the lens but it must have been damaged internally, its is only a new lens, about a year old and I live in Kerry but dont know the best place to send it to see if it can be repaired. any help would be gratefully received

zerohamster

karenbfitz wrote: »

Make Tamron lens 18=270mm is
For Canon 550d eos Camera
Fault - Will only work on some settings
Accident - Dog decided to take a few pics and chewed the lens, it is only minimally marked on the outside of the lens but it must have been damaged internally, its is only a new lens, about a year old and I live in Kerry but dont know the best place to send it to see if it can be repaired. any help would be gratefully received

Hi Karen,

Sounds like you had a rough one (or ruff one) there.
I can't really hazard a guess as to what is stopping it from working without knowing the symptoms but it could be anything from chewing damage to liquid damage.
If you would like PM me I can give you more details.

SPAWKER

Make:Nikon Coolpix L810
Fault :Flash wont work any more
Tried loads of settings to no avail

DriveSkill

Hi,

Have a Tamron 18-270mm which has significant damage to the body and wondering if it is repairable or would it be more economical to just replace.

Pic of the damage

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vbf9rsahug2d4is/Photo%2012-03-2014%2015%2014%2020.jpg

Think the glass and electronics are ok but can't be sure unfortunately :-(

jd2010

Make: Canon
Item: EF-S Lens
Model: Canon EF-S 17-55 f2.8
Fault: Iris getting stuck. Sometimes when I stop down the iris will not open back up. Happens intermittently but will probably soon go completely.

When/how it happened: Just starting to happen, lens is a few years old and gets used quite a bit.

Anyone know of a repair option in Ireland other than the usual send it off to Canon Uk via an agent here?

zerohamster

SPAWKER wrote: »

Make:Nikon Coolpix L810
Fault :Flash wont work any more
Tried loads of settings to no avail

Unfortunately I can't tell you much about this one other than there could be damage to the flash bulb, flash circuit or capacitor.
Does the flash make a popping noise or have any activity when you go to shoot with it on?

zerohamster

DriveSkill wrote: »

Hi,

Have a Tamron 18-270mm which has significant damage to the body and wondering if it is repairable or would it be more economical to just replace.

Pic of the damage

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vbf9rsahug2d4is/Photo%2012-03-2014%2015%2014%2020.jpg

Think the glass and electronics are ok but can't be sure unfortunately :-(

If you would like to PM me I can give you more details but if most of the flexible printed cables are intact (like the small flat orange/gold cable visible) then it should be viable to repair rather than replace as it would need only a small amount of parts.

Normally the way lenses are designed means that they break at a weaker point and saves multiple parts being warped and broken. It looks like the rear barrel has been damaged which is a common part to break as it usually saves having all the electronics ripped off the circuit board which would mean multiple expensive parts would need replacing...or having the inner barrels warping and needing to be replaced.

zerohamster

jd2010 wrote: »

Make: Canon
Item: EF-S Lens
Model: Canon EF-S 17-55 f2.8
Fault: Iris getting stuck. Sometimes when I stop down the iris will not open back up. Happens intermittently but will probably soon go completely.

When/how it happened: Just starting to happen, lens is a few years old and gets used quite a bit.

Anyone know of a repair option in Ireland other than the usual send it off to Canon Uk via an agent here?

Sounds like a classic diaphragm failure.
Try using AV mode, set aperture to something like f/16 (any f/stop that should be visibly closed down really).
Set the lens to 17mm and looking in the front of the lens, press the DOF preview button on your camera.
You should see the diaphragm close down and stay closed as long as you hold the button but with a diaphragm failure you will see no movement or vibrations/jerky movement/inconsistent aperture size).

I do repairs if you would like to PM me I can give you details.

SPAWKER

zerohamster wrote: »

Unfortunately I can't tell you much about this one other than there could be damage to the flash bulb, flash circuit or capacitor.
Does the flash make a popping noise or have any activity when you go to shoot with it on?

Hi,
No the flash makes no sound or anything else when it is raised for shooting.
Would it be worth repairing or as cheap to replace it ?
Thanks for your reply.

nowakd1

Make: Nikon
Item: VR Lens
Model : 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 ED
Fault: jumping image in viewfinder and loud noise comming from lens

Info: i bought used lens, on previous owner camera everything was working fine as he said. When i mounted it on my D300s and turned on camera i noticed loud click sound coming from lens (three loud clicks), when i looked in viewfinder and half pressed shutter button image jumped up same amount times as clicks from lens. I've cleaned lens and camera contacts, and no change. Turned off VR and no change. Turned AF on lens and image jumped only once when halfpressed shutter. Problem recreates when turning on camera even with lens VR and AF off.

Edit: checked with other VR lens 55-200 this time and everything is fine. Noticed also that when you gently shake the lens, something inside is making noise. When lens is attached to camera and VR, lens AF and body AF is turned off, shake and noise occurs only when turning camera on and its a single click and thats all. Also barrel and two zoom extension tubes of the lens are bit loose. And zoom ring after reaching around 100mm is starting to go bit harder.
Amazing is that on previous owners D7000 it wasnt clicking and image was steady. But he took it off camera when it was turned on. Is it possible that this caused problem with that clicks ?

Any ideas, clues ?

Thanks
Damian

zerohamster

SPAWKER wrote: »

Hi,
No the flash makes no sound or anything else when it is raised for shooting.
Would it be worth repairing or as cheap to replace it ?
Thanks for your reply.

I see,
To be honest it is hard to tell as I don't know what is wrong with it but as for replacing they seem to sell on Ebay for about €120 + postage.
Happy to have a look for you if you would like?

zerohamster

nowakd1 wrote: »

Make: Nikon
Item: VR Lens
Model : 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 ED
Fault: jumping image in viewfinder and loud noise comming from lens

Info: i bought used lens, on previous owner camera everything was working fine as he said. When i mounted it on my D300s and turned on camera i noticed loud click sound coming from lens (three loud clicks), when i looked in viewfinder and half pressed shutter button image jumped up same amount times as clicks from lens. I've cleaned lens and camera contacts, and no change. Turned off VR and no change. Turned AF on lens and image jumped only once when halfpressed shutter. Problem recreates when turning on camera even with lens VR and AF off.

Edit: checked with other VR lens 55-200 this time and everything is fine. Noticed also that when you gently shake the lens, something inside is making noise. When lens is attached to camera and VR, lens AF and body AF is turned off, shake and noise occurs only when turning camera on and its a single click and thats all. Also barrel and two zoom extension tubes of the lens are bit loose. And zoom ring after reaching around 100mm is starting to go bit harder.
Amazing is that on previous owners D7000 it wasnt clicking and image was steady. But he took it off camera when it was turned on. Is it possible that this caused problem with that clicks ?

Any ideas, clues ?

Thanks
Damian

Hi Damian,

It sounds like a fault with the VR system (despite that it happens even when turned off).
The rattle when shaking a VR lens is the floating element(s) (more so suspended) moving along it's X & Y axis.
Normally VR works by using either micro motors or electromagnets to move the free floating element in a direction that causes the light to focus on the same spot of the sensor as the camera moves (thus correcting camera shake to a certain level).
By default that element is centred but can be moved with little effort with your fingers or by shaking too.

I can't tell you a reason why it would work on another body but not yours without actually getting to test the lens but I would try the lens on multiple bodies if you can.
You should be able to hear the VR activate and stay on for the duration of half pressing the shutter release and stay on for a few seconds after you remove your finger. It should more so hum when active and should not make jerky clicks.

The viewfinder with VR on should look slightly laggy or delayed when moving the camera intentionally in small adjustments left and right (upon half press).
When VR activates it's normal to see it jerk the image in the viewfinder once but 3 times is an indication it has failed.
Try rotating the camera 90 degrees and 180 degrees before testing and se if there is a change in behaviour at all.

embev2

Make: Nikon
Item: Zoom lens
Model: 80-200 F2.8 ED Af
Fault: Mould on inside of first element along with dust.

Info: I have four lenses in total that were stored for a number of years, I have recently got them back to find mould growing inside the first element on each.

Nikon 80-200 F2.8 EDAf
Nikon 35-70 F2.8 Af
Tokina 20-35 F2.8 ATX Pro Af
Sigma 24mm F2.8 Af

My question is how can I get rid of the mould, can I do it myself or can they be cleaned, if so then at what cost?

nowakd1

zerohamster wrote: »

Hi Damian,

It sounds like a fault with the VR system (despite that it happens even when turned off).
The rattle when shaking a VR lens is the floating element(s) (more so suspended) moving along it's X & Y axis.
Normally VR works by using either micro motors or electromagnets to move the free floating element in a direction that causes the light to focus on the same spot of the sensor as the camera moves (thus correcting camera shake to a certain level).
By default that element is centred but can be moved with little effort with your fingers or by shaking too.

I can't tell you a reason why it would work on another body but not yours without actually getting to test the lens but I would try the lens on multiple bodies if you can.
You should be able to hear the VR activate and stay on for the duration of half pressing the shutter release and stay on for a few seconds after you remove your finger. It should more so hum when active and should not make jerky clicks.

The viewfinder with VR on should look slightly laggy or delayed when moving the camera intentionally in small adjustments left and right (upon half press).
When VR activates it's normal to see it jerk the image in the viewfinder once but 3 times is an indication it has failed.
Try rotating the camera 90 degrees and 180 degrees before testing and se if there is a change in behaviour at all.

Thanks very much for your reply.
I've checked lens today as you suggested, and turning it doesn't fix the problem, but pointing lens straight up or down calms down noise in lens. When i'm pointing lens up, it behaves as it should. No image jumping and clicking occurs, also when pointing down there is silent squeek in lens , but same happens with my other lens.

Could you tell me, how much will it cost me to fix that VR if let's say it needs to be replaced, and how much will it cost me to refurbish that lens? By refurbish i mean tighten every loose part (zoom tubes that are loose) and general tidying the lens?

Thanks once more for reply
Damian

Xenoshane

Make: Canon

Item: DSLR Body

Model: 7D

Fault: Seems completely dead- no power running through it

When/how it happened: I was shooting on it at the weekend, indoors, tripod mounted and a static shot, so no knocks or movement or water damage. Mid shot the screen goes black, without that little click it does before it cleans the sensor and shuts off. Wouldnt turn back on and hasnt since. Ive tried different battereis, cf card removed, lens removed, different lens, replacing clock batter, checked to ensure pins are ok.. nothing.

Any help wit this very much appreciated. I'm aware I may not solve it here, failing that I have to send it for a Canon repair. Any idea how much this will cost, at a guesstimate based on the info above?

zerohamster

Xenoshane wrote: »

Make: Canon

Item: DSLR Body

Model: 7D

Fault: Seems completely dead- no power running through it

When/how it happened: I was shooting on it at the weekend, indoors, tripod mounted and a static shot, so no knocks or movement or water damage. Mid shot the screen goes black, without that little click it does before it cleans the sensor and shuts off. Wouldnt turn back on and hasnt since. Ive tried different battereis, cf card removed, lens removed, different lens, replacing clock batter, checked to ensure pins are ok.. nothing.

Any help wit this very much appreciated. I'm aware I may not solve it here, failing that I have to send it for a Canon repair. Any idea how much this will cost, at a guesstimate based on the info above?

This sounds like a common fault with the 7D but can be caused by a number of things from loose screws blowing a board to simple component failure.
Sometimes the camera will display and empty battery symbol on the top LCD, other times Error 40 and sometimes nothing at all like yours.

If you would like to PM me I can give you more details as I do repairs.

zerohamster

embev2 wrote: »

Make: Nikon
Item: Zoom lens
Model: 80-200 F2.8 ED Af
Fault: Mould on inside of first element along with dust.

Info: I have four lenses in total that were stored for a number of years, I have recently got them back to find mould growing inside the first element on each.

Nikon 80-200 F2.8 EDAf
Nikon 35-70 F2.8 Af
Tokina 20-35 F2.8 ATX Pro Af
Sigma 24mm F2.8 Af

My question is how can I get rid of the mould, can I do it myself or can they be cleaned, if so then at what cost?

Mould can be killed by exposing it to a lot of UV light (more so just a strong UV source).
Depending on if the mould is between a sealed element of just on the back of the front group it can be cleaned or may need a new front element group (if that is what you meant by first element?).

To clean the fungus would require taking the front element out which is normally calibrated and of which removing would unset the calibration.
I'll PM you details.

DisasterIRL

Make: Nikon

Item: DSLR Body

Model: D3100

Fault: Shutter error message shows when I try focus or take a photo

When/how it happened: Dropped the camera inside its case from about two or three foot, once I turned it back on I could hear the shutter wasn't moving properly and gave me the "press shutter and release again. Ive tried a few different lenses and anything else I could think of.

Any help would be great, I've a feeling it could need a new shutter but didn't want to send it directly to Nikon because of the prices quoted for the job.

alexsheridan

Make: Canon

Item: EF Lens

Model: 35mm f/2

Fault: Error 01

When/how it happened: First happened July 2012 when I got a 5D, thought it was the camera but my other lenses worked fine. Then when I got a 5D Mark II the problem was still there, again no problem with other lenses.

Any idea of costs to repair this? Read online from various sites that cost can vary from €100-350. Is it worth repairing vs. buying another?

Bock the Robber

Make: Canon

Model : G11

Item : Compact camera.

Fault: Lens doesn't come out when camera is powered on. Lens error message appears on screen.

When/how it happened: Nothing happened. The camera wasn't dropped, bumped or soaked. It was working fine before it was turned off. When restarted, the lens wouldn't come out.

Any suggestions?

PTO

Make: Canon

Model : EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III USM

Item : lens.

Fault: crack in lens body, just below zoom wheel.

When/how it happened: Not sure... Could be an over stuffed camera bag.

Will this affect the lens? When I push forward on the crack the outer casing begins to pull away from the lens. On my phone and the app won't let me attach photos...
Any suggestions?

target

Make: Canon

Model : 5D Mk1

Item : Mirror Assembly.

Fault: The mirror has detached from the flip up assembly.

Do you think it could be reattached, mirror looks undamaged. Almost as if the glue holding it on perished.

zerohamster

alexsheridan wrote: »

Make: Canon

Item: EF Lens

Model: 35mm f/2

Fault: Error 01

When/how it happened: First happened July 2012 when I got a 5D, thought it was the camera but my other lenses worked fine. Then when I got a 5D Mark II the problem was still there, again no problem with other lenses.

Any idea of costs to repair this? Read online from various sites that cost can vary from €100-350. Is it worth repairing vs. buying another?

Hi Alex,

Sorry for the late reply to this.

Error 01 is not a specific error code that points to a single fault but rather like a blanket error with a sub error code that can be read through diagnostic units and software.

Error 01 can point to a lot of different faults so I would have to be able to test the lens or check the sub error code to find out what it would need.

I would be happy to have a look at the lens and test it using my diagnostic gear if you would like?

Every repair is different but with that lens it is usually worth repairing over buying another.

PM me for details if you would like?

zerohamster

Bock the Robber wrote: »

Make: Canon

Model : G11

Item : Compact camera.

Fault: Lens doesn't come out when camera is powered on. Lens error message appears on screen.

When/how it happened: Nothing happened. The camera wasn't dropped, bumped or soaked. It was working fine before it was turned off. When restarted, the lens wouldn't come out.

Any suggestions?

Sounds like the lens assembly has failed somewhere from a sensor to broken teeth on the gearing. If you would like to PM me I can arrange having a look at it for you to determine what is causing the fault?

zerohamster

PTO wrote: »

Make: Canon

Model : EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III USM

Item : lens.

Fault: crack in lens body, just below zoom wheel.

When/how it happened: Not sure... Could be an over stuffed camera bag.

Will this affect the lens? When I push forward on the crack the outer casing begins to pull away from the lens. On my phone and the app won't let me attach photos...
Any suggestions?

If I'm reading this right it is the plastic outer barrel closest to the mount side that has a crack in it?

This could affect the lens depending on it's flexability, gap for light to enter etc... but it would mean the lens is structurally weak and prone to breaking off at the mount if the camera took a bang or had some force applied to the lens.

If you would like to PM me I could have a look for you?

zerohamster

target wrote: »

Make: Canon

Model : 5D Mk1

Item : Mirror Assembly.

Fault: The mirror has detached from the flip up assembly.

Do you think it could be reattached, mirror looks undamaged. Almost as if the glue holding it on perished.

This is a common one on the 5D MK1, the glue has deteriorated too soon (bad batch) and the mirrors pop off.

If the mirror is undamaged then it can be reattached using the same shock absorbant adhesive as during manufacturing.

If you would like to PM me I can have a look?

couerdelion

Make: Sigma
Item: Lens
Model : 170-500 f/5-6.3 APO
Fault: Auto-focus not working

Got hold of this lens second hand and the bloke before me had only ever used with manual focus as he was using a non-AF adapter for his camera. Read reviews and they all reckon it should work fine in AF mode with DG cameras.

1st camera I tried was my Canon 100d. Doesn't work. Lens emits two whirring noises from motor and there slight movement of the focus ring but it doesn't focus.

Then tried an older 350d in case an update meant more recent cameras weren't working. Exactly the same. Can hear the AF motor making two short whirrs but lens doesn't focus.

No errors displayed on either camera.