5d Mark II troubleshooting

[Kconaboy]

This morning at a wedding my 5d II stopped working suddenly (thank god for spares). Specifically when I went to take a picture at 1/250 it sounded more like 1". The shutter also sounded sorta whiny/grinding. The camera then blanks out for about three seconds and no photo is recorded on the card. I've tried the obvious stuff, turned the camera on/off, different battery, card and lenses. I'm going to send it in for repair but i wanted to see if there were any other suggestions for self-repair.

Thanks!

[Waddizzle]

Nope.  You seem to have done everything except poking your fingers around the insides.  Contact service.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Kconaboy wrote:
This morning at a wedding my 5d II stopped working suddenly (thank god for spares). Specifically when I went to take a picture at 1/250 it sounded more like 1". The shutter also sounded sorta whiny/grinding. The camera then blanks out for about three seconds and no photo is recorded on the card. I've tried the obvious stuff, turned the camera on/off, different battery, card and lenses. I'm going to send it in for repair but i wanted to see if there were any other suggestions for self-repair.

Thanks!

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Sounds like a sticky first shutter curtain that took too long to get out of the way, Anything you do to it now is only likely to make things worse. What did it do when you tested it after doing the "obvious stuff"? If the answer is "nothing", that probably means that the shutter is now hopelessly jammed. In any case, the only way to save the camera is to send it in for repair.

At least you had sense enough to bring a spare. It's surprising how many people we hear from, some of them otherwise competent professionals, who didn't.

[cicopo]

Well you can at least watch what does / or doesn't happen when you click the button or better yet use a cable release. Remove the lens & take a photo while watching what does happen by looking into the mirror box. Normal operation will have the mirror flip up & then the shutter go through it's routine. A slow shutter speed will let you observe. Be sure it's in Tv and the timer isn't set to a delay.

[RobertTheFat]

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@cicopo wrote:

Well you can at least watch what does / or doesn't happen when you click the button or better yet use a cable release. Remove the lens & take a photo while watching what does happen by looking into the mirror box. Normal operation will have the mirror flip up & then the shutter go through it's routine. A slow shutter speed will let you observe. Be sure it's in Tv and the timer isn't set to a delay.

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He's already told us that several things he tried didn't fix the problem. I don't see what he'd do with any further information if he had it; and getting it could only make things worse, not better. I don't think he should do anything but call Canon and find out if the camera is likely to be worth fixing.

[ebiggs1]

B from B,

"... call Canon and find out if the camera is likely to be worth fixing."

A 5D Mk II is still a viable camera and still commands a pretty good used price.  Certainly worth a shutter assembly.

[fredr500]

Did you ever resolve this? Mine is now doing the same thing, I’ve heard Canon no longer services these. Thanks. Fred