Accidental Lens Release

[michaelgirman]

  My 24-105L just fell off my 5D mkIII and rolled into the Seine.  The lens release button is way too sensitive and it is so easy to accidentally unlock without realizing it.  I went to twist the zoom ring and the lens rotated and dropped off.  Blogs are full of compaints of this occurance on mkii's.  

  This is definitely a design flaw.  It's not user error.  The button should be relocated or made to require more force to release  or have a detent position.  

  It's a shame that you have to gaffer tape a $2300 lens to a $2000 camera.  Be forewarned.  

[JoeDavid]

I've also been shooting with Canon EOS, film and digital, since they started making the EF mount back in the mid 80's.  I've never had a lens come unlatched much less come off the body.  RIght now I'm using two 5D Mark III bodes, a 1D X, and the new 7D Mark II.  There of course is variation and the occasional faulty part.  Is the lens really clicking in and properly latching in the first place?  The only issue I have with one of the two 5DM3 bodies is that one of them has a "hair trigger" compared to the other one.  One takes the normal half press of the shutter button to engage AF and metering while the other one will fire the shutter with similar pressure.  The funny thing is that the push-back from both buttons feel about the same so no weak spring in the hair trigger one.  It just seems like the margin between what is supposed to be a half press versus what is considered a full press is very thin on that body.  I've used it enough though that I usually accidentally fire it one time and then not again during the shoot.  My trigger finger just has to realize which body I'm using.  It wasn't worth sending it back to Canon and I've had both of the bodies since that model was first released. 

[michaelgirman]

" ... because the blame is solidly on the person using the camera and not on the camera nor on it's designers.  This is one of those "Hey!  You're doing it wrong, dummy!" conversations."

Tim - Wow!

I'm in my late sixties.  I started with twin lens reflexes until I bought a $500 Canon FTb in 1972 that had the old FD and FL breechlock lens mounts.  In the 45 or so intervening years, I never, ever had a lens come loose until I got the 5D Mark III.  For all these years, I never even gave it a thought.  I made it a habit to develop good habits about how to hold the camera and never had a problem and took lots of great shots (in all modesty).  Now you're telling me I'm a dummy and I've been doing it wrong for all these years?

And, apparently, it ain't just me.  This is a way too common complaint on other blogs.  5D's are expensive ... way too expensive to have the equally expensive lenses accidentally come off in your hands.

The lens is locked only with a 1/16" long pin that retracts when the release is pushed.  On my body, it takes only a very slight pressure to unlock the lens.  When you lock the lens, there's a solid click.  There's nothing when it's unlocked.  If the lens rotates the slightest amount when the release is pushed, it's not locked and you don't know it.  Be advised that after I lost the lens, I sent the body back to Canon Service to have the release looked at and they told me it was just fine (after I paid about $270).  

Just because it hasn't happened to you, doesn't make the rest of us dummies.

[schmegg]

Hi Joe.

Definitely certain that the lens is 'clicked in' and correctly mounted. But a fair question. 🙂

I haven't had this problem with my 7D, which has a similar feel regarding spring resistance - but a slightly smaller button.

Anyway - I just posted here because I noticed someone else had experienced the same issue. And since then I have read of other occurances.

I can see Tim's point about the button needing to be usfully large for gloved use in cold conditions - something that had not occurred to me as I'm rarely shooting in climates that are that cold. And that makes a lot of sense to me.

I know it's not a huge problem - and I'm really not trying to overstate it here. But it has occurred on three seperate occasions to me and it's a concern that is big enough to make me continually check the mounting to ensure I don't have another nasty experience that, next time, will almost certainly be more expensive and destructive.

I have just been playing with both bodies here and, to be honest, it's my 7D that feels like it has the slightly weaker spring - and the button is not much different in size - just a bit smaller and less exposed.

Anyway - my post was meant to be useful feedback for Canon. I know they field test all their cameras very well before they reach our hands, so it's obviously not a huge problem and I'm very glad that not too many people have experienced it.

However, a number have, and I'd like to think that this feedback will perhaps have some bearing on future designs. Nothing would be worse than for them to release a body that suddenly, out in the real world in thousands of users hands, has a habit of accidentially releasing lenses! 

[RobertTheFat]

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@michaelgirman wrote:

" ... because the blame is solidly on the person using the camera and not on the camera nor on it's designers.  This is one of those "Hey!  You're doing it wrong, dummy!" conversations."

Tim - Wow!

I'm in my late sixties.  I started with twin lens reflexes until I bought a $500 Canon FTb in 1972 that had the old FD and FL breechlock lens mounts.  In the 45 or so intervening years, I never, ever had a lens come loose until I got the 5D Mark III.  For all these years, I never even gave it a thought.  I made it a habit to develop good habits about how to hold the camera and never had a problem and took lots of great shots (in all modesty).  Now you're telling me I'm a dummy and I've been doing it wrong for all these years?

And, apparently, it ain't just me.  This is a way too common complaint on other blogs.  5D's are expensive ... way too expensive to have the equally expensive lenses accidentally come off in your hands.

The lens is locked only with a 1/16" long pin that retracts when the release is pushed.  On my body, it takes only a very slight pressure to unlock the lens.  When you lock the lens, there's a solid click.  There's nothing when it's unlocked.  If the lens rotates the slightest amount when the release is pushed, it's not locked and you don't know it.  Be advised that after I lost the lens, I sent the body back to Canon Service to have the release looked at and they told me it was just fine (after I paid about $270).  

Just because it hasn't happened to you, doesn't make the rest of us dummies.

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Just to keep the record straight ...

It was I, not Tim, who first suggested that hand position might be implicated in the problem and related to its solution. I'm in my late seventies, and I didn't call anybody a dummy. All I said was that the way I hold my camera, my thumb doesn't come anywhere near the release button, but that with a different hand position, which I don't use, it does. (Though I didn't emphasize the point, this was with a lens that's used by a majority of Canon FF camera owners and whose zoom ring is fairly close to the front of the camera.)  So I suggested that there is a choice of hand position that may help avoid the problem. I didn't venture any opinion about whether the button is intelligently designed and positioned or about whether Canon should or shouldn't change it.

FWIW, I'm going to keep holding my camera the same way I do now, and I'll be surprised if any of my lenses ever come loose when I don't mean them to.

[michaelgirman]

I just find it curious that if the reason that Canon engineers designed the lens release button to be so large was because they set out to design a camera that you could operate with gloves on, then why did they make the buttons that everyone uses so much more for shooting - like the menu, playback, quick control, AF point selection, M-Fn, etc. so very small and flush?   

[ebiggs1]

Bob from Boston and others,

As Bob knows I already sold my 5D Mk III so I don't have it here to try but I do have five 1 series cameras. I don't see how anybody is doing this either.  Not only do you have to press the button but you have to twist the lens at the same time!   On a 1 series, anyhow, that takes a bit of effort.  I doubt a Black Rapid is doing it.  Which I use quite regularly, BTW.

I am going to submit, if your 5D is guility, it needs to be checked out. 

PS, BTW, this isn't the place ot suggest changes or updatesd to Canon products.

PSS, I would be aginst anything that makes it harder to change lenses.  But this from a professional point of view and not a hobbists.  Hobbists generally have plenty of time and fingers!

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Bob from Boston and others,

As Bob knows I already sold my 5D Mk III so I don't have it here to try but I do have five 1 series cameras. I don't see how anybody is doing this either.  Not only do you have to press the button but you have to twist the lens at the same time!   On a 1 series, anyhow, that takes a bit of effort.  I doubt a Black Rapid is doing it.  Which I use quite regularly, BTW.

I am going to submit, if your 5D is guility, it needs to be checked out. 

PS, BTW, this isn't the place ot suggest changes or updatesd to Canon products.

PSS, I would be aginst anything that makes it harder to change lenses.  But this from a professional point of view and not a hobbists.  Hobbists generally have plenty of time and fingers!

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I don't like changing lenses on the fly. It's a good way to get them dirty or broken. I'd rather just carry two cameras. So the size and stiffness of the release button isn't much of an issue for me.

[ebiggs1]

Bob from Boston,

On a job I, normally carry 4 cameras.  In the past I have had as many as six, when I had second shooters (they had my Rebels).  All 1 series, now, however.  But changing a lens on the fly is a way of life, plus batteries, plus CF cards, plus .......

On the Chicago job I only took two cameras and three lenses so I didn't change very often.

[schmegg]

How many 5D3's?

[ebiggs1]

Are you asking me?

I had only one of each a 5D Mk II and a 5D Mk III.  Never had the original 5D.  They are both fine cameras but I got a 1Ds Mk III not too long ago (about a year or so) and sold everything that wasn't a 1 series.