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70D won't turn on

1stSolo
Contributor

This 70D is 9 years old and had been my workhorse all this time. I'm doing daytime nature and astrophotography, timelapses of Milky Way and deep sky photos.
A few days ago decided to record a music video with it. It was on AC/DC power adapter because battieries drain fast when display is always on and an extra light is connected to the accessory shoe.
Noticed the camera and the microSD card had become very hot, and "Err" is displayed on LCD display. No code, just "Err". Turned it off, let it cool, then turned on again. It was showing a frozen frame on the monitor and "Err" on LCD. Cycpled power again and it never turned on again, neither on AC/DC nor Canon battery power.
Talked to a couple of local camera repair shops. One quoted $178 to replace DC-DC converter, the other said I have a dead brick because "70D has a design flaw where heat sink on CPU is inadequate for dissipating heat and shooting video for a long time can fry the CPU. Replacing a motherboard costs more than a used 70D on the market and I'm better off throwing this out and paying $1000 for 80D or 90D".
Also contacted Canon repair and automated system quoted $0.00 to send it in for repair.
I scanned through Canon Community Forums and it seems like a relatively common problem.
So if I send it to Canon, are they going to slap me with the bill later or they are treating it as a recall and replacing burned motherboards?
I was considering switching to Sony for a while, but I've been a Canon guy since 1980s when 36mm EOS-1 came out (still have one in working condition along with 20D) and all my lenses, accessories and printers are Canon. Am I having attachment issues? Help me save my friend!

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

1stSolo
Contributor
Canon confirmed there’s an “advisory” (read “recall”) on mainboards of 70D getting fried by taking videos and if my camera falls under the advisory the repair will be free. So I’m gonna send it in. Thanks, all!

View solution in original post

20 REPLIES 20

1stSolo
Contributor
Just go to Repair & Service link on canon website and select your registered canon product. There’s a repair request form. In a moment you get $0 estimate and instructions. Mail via UPS and they give you 20% discount on shipping. Return shipping is free

The camera came back from repairs by 2-day FedEx today.
It works. They didn't clean or replace anything else, so still has the same dust and body crack from the fall 12 years ago, but it turns on now. $0.00 since it's under the "advisory".

"...still has the same dust and body crack from the fall 12 years ago,.."

 

They would not fix a "crack" form a drop since that would not be covered by warranty or recall. You need to ask for a C&C to get general maintenance done. That isn't free either.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Whooper333
Contributor

I sent mine in, canon repair department has it in hand. Canon has not listed it on the repair page I have acces to yet. There is a note that it takes 1 day after they receive the item for it to show up. Mine has never been dropped it is just doa. Hopefully the service advisory will apply to mine as well. I will post the outcome once i find out what the canon service department determines.

Whooper333
Contributor

Today I received a email notification from canon service department, my canon 70d which would not power up Will be repaired at no cost. The notification states the repair takes about 7 days plus shipping.

 

the moral of the story is, if you have a 70d that just quit on you it is worth the $25 to send it in to canon factory repair service. This is Provided your camera falls within the correct serial number range. A phone call to canon service will determine if your serial is in range, then possibly they will fix it at no cost to you. Thanks to 1stSolo for starting this post.

 

I will post once I receive the camera back. Honestly I thought I had a boat anchor, the way it just quit made me think why continue with canon. I have a Kodak ez-share that is twice as old as the canon and is still going strong. Obviously canon recognized this was a manufacturing issue hence the advisory bulletin. I am glad they did, it raises their stock value with consumers when they  handle short comings like this in a professional manner as is done here. 

if all goes as indicated this service will make me not hesitate to buy another canon down the road when circumstances permit, well done to 1srSolo. I will give canon their thanks once I have camera back in hand.

Might be worth it to ask for a C&C at the same time.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Whooper333
Contributor

By suggestion here on this forum, I contacted canon service to inquire about the 7 point maintenance $49, and the 18 point maintenance $129 for the canon dlsr  cameras. Will in service told me that the technician did not recommend any additional service other that the repair of the power problem. He also stated that cleaning the camera is part of the service that will be provided. 

prior to the phone call I also had a chat room correspondence with Rodney at canon. Rodney suggested the reason for calibration is if there is a problem with the auto focus system. In the chat I mentioned to Rodney that I was not having a issue with the auto focus, the problem was that the camera went dead. I asked Rodney in the chat if I could get the recommendation of the service tech that was working on my camera. If the tech suggested that the camera needed the 7 point or 18 point maintenance I would certainly go along with it because it is in for repair and this would be the time to do any additional maintenance needed. Hence the phone call.

 

Will in the phone call was straight forward and said no, the tech is not recommending any other action beyond the power problem fix. He reiterated that cleaning is part of the service that will be provided for the camera. I also got a email from Gwen in technical support. In her email she reinforced the information I had recieved from Rodney and Will.

 

bottom line, I have no issue in spending a additional $129 especially because it is in for repair, but if canon is telling me the camera does not need the service what can I say, but follow the recommendation of the people that are working on the camera.

Whooper333
Contributor

Got my 70d back from canon service department. All is well, it works as advertised,  canon paid the return shipping.

 

Thanks to this thread I am confident in the canon camera line. When the camera died, the thought of switching brands ran thru my head. After this experience I am happy with the service I recieved. The thought of selling my leneses and replacing them with another brand was numbing. thankfully canon stepped up and did the right thing with this advisory bulletin. Now I won't hesitate to move up to a 90d or 6d when the time is right.

thanks again to the folks here for steering me in the right direction. As I said, all is well. 

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend
Very good.
Switching brand isn’t a real solution because they have issues too.
Canon service is top notch!

Check out the 90D
EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Yes the 90d is a logical option, it will work with all the ef, and ef-s lenses I have, but there is merit in a full frame camera and the 6d fits the bill. I could then use my efs lenses on the 70d, now that it is back in working condition. The ef lenses could be fully utilized on the full frame 6d. Aleast that is the line of thinking. I will have to wait and see when the time is right for the next purchase.

 

on a side note, I used the 70d to do some video work today. Had it going for a couple of hours on and off. I did notice the grip area on the camera where the battery sets inside getting warm. Not so hot that I could not hold the camera, but warm. I went thru 2 battery's during the session. Not something I have noticed before, but usually I use a tripod for video so maybe it has just been something not noticed. 

during still shot work I have never felt the grip area getting warm. I don't know if I am being overly sensitive to the warm grip because of the advisory bulletin or if I should be concerned. 

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