Workhorse 5D Mark III needs some small repairs, looking for advice

[DO_NOT_PRESS_6]

I have a 5D Mark III I bought in 2013. I've had a great time with it and it's held up to a lot of travel.

After the most recent trip, some issues are manifesting that I'd like to get fixed. These things are:

- Mode dial cover missing (fell off while horseback riding with the camera in a blackrapid sling)

- Thumb stick seems to stick (ha ha) and generally not function reliably

- Thumb wheel has a 'dead spot' where it turns poorly if pressure is applied there; I assume it's a worn bearing

- Some dust in the viewfinder and focusing screen

It sounds like I can order a replacement mode dial cover, and I could probably find some way to blow the gunk out of the viewfinder, but I daren't mess with the focusing screen and the thumb stick/wheel issues almost certainly involve opening up the camera.

I can't teel if I'm best off sending the camera to Canon for  the 'maintenance' package or if I should request other specific service. None of these things really stop it from being possible to take photos, but they can slow me down and be frustrating.

[RobertTheFat]

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@DO_NOT_PRESS_6 wrote:

I just wanted reply and comment about what a great experience the repair was. I mailed the package on a Monday and the camera was returned on the following Saturday!

The issues were fixed and the camera cleaned, and there was close communication with the repair staff all the while.

Great job, Canon and the repair team!

*The only minor annoyance is that my custom settings were all reset, which has led to some work getting the camera to behave the way I expect.

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I agree that Canon's service is excellent and amazingly fast. But your final point is right on. In fact on two occasions my lack of attention to that inevitable reset caused me to go into a photo shoot with a camera set to JPEG instead of RAW. I admit that was my bad ...

But, Canon, that brings up a related point: Surely the 5D series is high-end enough that you should provide us a way (via EOS Utility, presumably) to capture and restore the camera settings. I think the 1DX series has that, but at least the 5D and R series should have it too.