C500 Mk II stuck ND filter wheel

[RodrigoLizana]

Hello,

   I'm having a weird issue with my new c500 Mk2 internal ND filter.  Sometimes it gets stuck in the 4 or 6 stop position and the -/+ buttons stop responding.   Also it makes a different sound when settling in the 4 stops and 10 stops position.   Another strange thing is that while I never use the extended ND range feature, at one time the camera started up with the ND in the ND 10 stops position.   On the LCD screen I get a "ND - - stops" in red letters.   Please find attached a photo of the LCD screen when the filter gets stuck and a link to a short Youtube video with the sound it makes when settling at the 4 stops position.

Thanks

https://youtube.com/shorts/J8aWuVX_vP0?feature=share

     

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

C500 mkII.  I'd contact Canon support ASAP.  If you purchased this device retail (recently) I'd visit the store and see what they want to do.

[RodrigoLizana]

Already did.   It is a a mechanical issue in the ND filter assembly.  Got to send the camera for repair with less than 15 hours on it.   Can describe how frustrated I feel.   

Thanks for the advice.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Don't let this discourage you.  Canon will take good care of you. 

[RodrigoLizana]

Thanks for the kind words but this is rapidly becoming a nightmare.    My local Canon representative just confirmed me they will not honor the warranty and the Canon US service center does not accept packages from outside the US.   So for me the only way to repair the camera is by buying a plane ticket to the US, ship the camera from there to the Canon service center and stay at a hotel while they do the repair.   Probably more expensive than a brand new camera.    Now I'm trying fo find the spare parts diagram of the camera body to try to repair it myself.   It´s almost ironic to think I might void the warranty in the process... 

[martijnw]

Hi Rodrigo Lizana,

Very sorry to hear you have this issue! I have had the same thing happen a few weeks ago, the ND filter made a weird noise and would be "stuck", showing the ND -- message in red.

After a while I turned the camera back on and the issue seemed to have disappeared, and the camera has been working normal. I browsed the web, checked with canon, but no one seemed to have the same problem.

I'm hesitant to ship the camera to canon now, since I'm afraid they wont find any "issue" when they inspect the camera now.

How is your situation at the moment? Is the ND filter still working sometimes, or always on the red ND-- message?

[RodrigoLizana]

Hello Marti,

I'm Sorry for you too !    Is you camera still under warranty ?   If so and you live in the US I'd definitely send it for repair.   Being a mechanical issue, the problem is probably going to show up again sooner or later.    If it´s not under warranty, and you don´t work on events like weddings where failure is not an option, I'd wait to see what happens.    If you decide to send it, the least they should do is pull out the complete ND filter in order to inspect it and put it back in the camera.    And as the Canon service center told me, the issue it´s most likely due to a bad assembled/mounted ND filter body.  

My camera situation is still the same.   The weird sound of the ND 4 and 10 stops trying the settle in position is still there,   All the time (please look at the link to a Youtube video at the bottom of this post showing the ND trying to settle in place and making the weird sound).  Most of the time the ND 4 ends up settling in position OK but other times it gets stuck, the -/+ ND buttons stop responding and get the dreaded red "ND -- stops" message.   Turning the camera off and then back on multiple times solves the problem, but not always.  No matter what the weird sound when selecting the ND 4 stops is always there reminding me it can get stuck again at any given moment.  

Does your camera makes the weird sound all the time too ?    Is it with the ND 4 too ?    

With luck with your camera and if you send it for repair please tell me how it goes.

regards Rodrigo

https://youtu.be/U6virDpk_oQ

[martijnw]

Hi Rodrigo,

Thanks for taking the time to answer! So when my issue happend when I turned the camera on and noticed it sounded different than normal, as if some extra fan was spinning. I think this was the sound of the ND motor spinning/trying to move the ND.

When I would press ND+ or ND- button no filter would move, but I would hear the exact same sound you can hear in your video when you go to ND4. After a while the red ND-- would show. I tried to reboot the camera a few times and keep pressing the ND buttons, but nothing happend. I turned the camera off, look on the web and tried to get in touch with Canon support. After a few hours I decided to give it another go, and all of a sudden the filer moved when I pressed the ND+ button. 

For me i was unsure which filter it was, I remember the screen being dark and not changing, so it would make sense that it was ND4 or ND6. Strange thing is that the camera was working fine when I put it away, didn't touch/transport the camera, and when I picked it up to do a lens test all of a sudden the filter was stuck. Also never dropped the camera or suffered any other kind of knock/impact.

I really want to send in the camera to Canon, but I am afraid they will find no issue when they inspect the camera, as it seems to be fine at the moment and I can't reproduce the problem. But just like you, it's in the back of my mind now that it would be a big issue if this happens during a film production and I feel I can't completely trust the reliability anymore.

I was wondering, when you cycle through ND2 - ND4 - ND6, apart from the extra noise when you hit ND3, do the motors sound different when it moves ND2 ND4 ND6 ?

With my camera there is a distinct difference, some of the motors have a higher volume/make more sound than the other. I think this has always been the case since I bought it brand new, but not sure. Curious how yours sound!

I am from Europe by the way, and there is a Canon service centre in my country that I can ship it to. Is this not the same for you? Hope my experience is in someway helpful, hope that you are able to find a solution for your issue.

Regards,

Martijn

[RodrigoLizana]

Hi Martijn,

Yes there's a Canon service center in here but they won´t honor the warranty.   Wish I knew that when I bought the camera.   

All the filters in the non extended ND mode works fine except for the ND4.   As for the sound, they all sound pretty much the same, except for the ND4 and only at the end of the movement when its trying to settle in position.  And it doesn't matter if coming from the ND2 or ND6 filter.    

If you have a service center in your country and the camera is still under warranty, I'd definitely have it serviced.     

You described the situation perfectly when you said "I feel I can't completely trust the reliability anymore".    

Please let me know hot it goes !

Regards

Rodrigo