Canon EOS 70D takes black pictures through viewfinder

[Jule]

Hello, 

When I try to take pictures with my Canon EOS 70D through the viewfinder they all turn out black.

Taking pictures with live view works fine, and also taking the pictures with the M modus. But with all other settings they turn out black and I really need to fix the problem. 

This problem occured after 2,5 years using the camera without any problems.

Maybe this is just a setting problem or do I have to give it to a repair shop?

[TTMartin]

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@Jule wrote:

Hello, 

When I try to take pictures with my Canon EOS 70D through the viewfinder they all turn out black.

Taking pictures with live view works fine, and also taking the pictures with the M modus. But with all other settings they turn out black and I really need to fix the problem. 

This problem occured after 2,5 years using the camera without any problems.

Maybe this is just a setting problem or do I have to give it to a repair shop?

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If it only happens in M it is a 'settings problem'

Take a picture if a picture taken outdoors in daylight with the camera set to Green Square Mode if it comes out, then you know it is your settings.

If you've been shooting in M mode and suddenly are having problems, I'm guessing your ISO got changed from Auto ISO to ISO 100.

[jrhoffman75]

OP says ONLY M mode takes good photos through viewfinder. 

Using your user manual clear all camera settings and all custom settings and see what that does. 

[TTMartin]

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@jrhoffman75 wrote:

OP says ONLY M mode takes good photos through viewfinder. 

Using your user manual clear all camera settings and all custom settings and see what that does. 

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Actually I reread the post says it is fine in manual and bad in other modes.

Sounds like she dialed in exposure compensation.

As you suggest she should clear the camera settings. That should reset the exposure compensation.

OP while you are looking up in the instruction manual how to clear your cameras settings, also read up on the exposure compensation section. 

[jrhoffman75]

Exposure Compensation error is a good candidate Tim, depending on what OP means by "all" other settings. If all includes Green Square Auto I think that might override EC.

[kvbarkley]

Could be a stuck mirror.

Does the viewfinder go black when you take the picture? It should.

[RobertTheFat]

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@kvbarkley wrote:

Could be a stuck mirror.

Does the viewfinder go black when you take the picture? It should.

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That's an interesting thought, but you'd have to test it at a pretty low shutter speed (e.g., 1/15 or slower). Otherwise you might not notice it go black.

[Jule]

So, I tried to clear all camera settings and it still doesn't work right.

I saw, that the aperture is not changing anymore, it's stuck at 22 when you are inside. If its lighter or you are outside is goes up to 36, but it won't go down.

I asked a repair service and they said that there might be something loose inside, but they are not sure. They also told me it would cost around 250 Euros.

Do you think it would help to update the firmware? Maybe thats the problem, because I never updated anything.

[TCampbell]

This is likely a problem with the lens and not the camera body.  In other words, if you test this with a different lens (do you have another lens) you likely wont have any issues.

If that's the case, then whether or not you should pay to have the lens repaired depends on which lens is having the problem.

The kit lenses are very low price lenses and usually the cost to work on them (the hourly rate for labor... plus the parts) costs more than the lens is worth to just buy a replacement.    But if this is a high end lens then it may be worth the cost of having it repaired.

Normally the aperture blades in any lens (Canon EOS lens) will retract to the "wide open" position when the lens is removed from the camera body.  If your aperture blades stay constricted down to the f/22 setting then it sounds like your aperture blades are jammed.

[Jule]

It's not the lense, I already tried a different one and the aperture stays really high and the pictures come out black.