Canon T4i Mode Dial changing automatically while shooting

[88LGarcia]

Recently my mode dial will change from M to P and then to Interior Mode by itself. It will stay in the correct mode for a few shots then change by itself. Most recently I have been shooting in M, and after a few photos it will have changed to P while the dial is still in M mode. 

I want to know if this is something that I can send in to be repaired? thank you. 

[RobertTheFat]

There's no mechanism for the camera to change the setting of the mode dial. (I say that having never used a T4i, but it's true of every Canon I've ever owned.) What's almost certainly happening is that you're accidentally turning it in the normal course of handling the camera. It's a common complaint among owners of Canon DSLRs, because the dial turns so easily and there's no warning to the user when it does. Oddly, the phenomenon seems independent of whether the mode dial is on the left or right side of the camera. Apparently either hand can be the culprit.

On the 5D Mk 3 you have to hold down a button in order to turn the mode dial; it's a bit of a nuisance, but it solves the problem. Canon also offers an aftermarket installation of a similar dial for the 7D. I've had the problem with my 7Ds, but haven't pulled the trigger on the upgrade, since it's a bit expensive. (Hey, Canon, do CPS members get a break on that price?) Maybe the fix will appear on more cameras eventually.

Sorry I can't come up with a better answer. I suspect you just have to be more careful.

[ebiggs1]

"Sorry I can't come up with a better answer."

Check out a 1 Series.  They don't have either problem.  No secretly moving dial or a little lock to push.  

[RobertTheFat]

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@88LGarcia wrote:

Recently my mode dial will change from M to P and then to Interior Mode by itself. It will stay in the correct mode for a few shots then change by itself. Most recently I have been shooting in M, and after a few photos it will have changed to P while the dial is still in M mode. 

I want to know if this is something that I can send in to be repaired? thank you. 

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One firther thought: When you say "after a few photos it will have changed to P while the dial is still in M mode", that could possibly be a different issue. I have seen one case where the camera can override a setting of the mode dial. If you try to use flash with the shutter speed manually set above the camera's sync speed (e.g., for fill flash on a bright day), the camera will reduce the shutter speed to the sync speed. (The consequent overexposure can be pretty ugly.) Whether the change is reflected in the Exif data as a change in the mode setting (e.g., from M to P) I don't recall; I'm not sure I bothered to look. But it wouldn't physically change the setting of the mode dial.

When I had that happen to me, it was on either a 50D or an XTi, probably the latter.