1DMKIII: A Study in Human Behavior?

It's quite interesting to see how this camera's AF problems were adamantly considered a thing of the past, only affecting early batches and well resolved in later ones but, as soon as Canon announces a recall (allegedly for a very specific AF issue) threads start popping everywhere with people saying they're sending theirs in "...just in case."

Denial is, indeed, a five letter word...

PK

--
“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my skills”
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http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(PBase Supporter)

If I had one I would send it in regardless, because when it comes time to sell it the first thing any buyer is gonna want to know is whether it was fixed by Canon.

PhotoKhan said:

It's quite interesting to see how this camera's AF problems were
adamantly considered a thing of the past, only affecting early
batches and well resolved in later ones but, as soon as Canon
announces a recall (allegedly for a very specific AF issue) threads
start popping everywhere with people saying they're sending theirs in
"...just in case."

Denial is, indeed, a five letter word...

PK

--
“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my
skills”
************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(PBase Supporter)
-------------------------------------------------

Click to expand...

Jay Bean said:

If I had one I would send it in regardless, because when it comes
time to sell it the first thing any buyer is gonna want to know is
whether it was fixed by Canon.

Click to expand...

Well, if one has confidence in the system, feel his/hers camera is performing well and already went through any (...or none) of the previous campaigns (fix and firmware), as required, one can always reply truthfully and confidently with "Yes" to that question.

PK

--
“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my skills”
************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(PBase Supporter)

Hmm. I own a camera that costs $4k and Canon tells me they'll inspect it to ensure it meets specs, clean it, and upgrade the calibration of the outer af focus points if it needs it along with the latest firmware all for free and you think it's a study in human behavior that people actually send it in? I don't care that it's had zero focusing issues in AF Servo or the outer focus points. When it came back with no repairs, great. If it came back with repairs, great. When I sell it, great. What's there to study. Well done and thank you Canon.

if you've got the time to be able to send it in, or a couple of back up bodies, why not?! Whats the worst that can happen? (apart from it getting lost in the post, which is easily preventable in the UK)

--
Gear in profile

1JB said:

Hmm. I own a camera that costs $4k and Canon tells me they'll
inspect it to ensure it meets specs, clean it, and upgrade the
calibration of the outer af focus points if it needs it along with
the latest firmware all for free and you think it's a study in human
behavior that people actually send it in? I don't care that it's had
zero focusing issues in AF Servo or the outer focus points. When it
came back with no repairs, great. If it came back with repairs,
great. When I sell it, great. What's there to study. Well done and
thank you Canon.

Click to expand...

...You're going to be a very busy bee if every manufacturer for every single consummer electronics goods you own comes up with a similar action.

Unless, of course, there's is another, more subliminal, reason for doing it in just this particular case...

You see, there has to be another triggering factor for you to incur in the trouble and risk of sending it in (you DO know there is always a risk, no matter how small, of it coming back with another, totally unrelated problem simply because it was intervened, don't you?)

PK

--
“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my skills”
************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(PBase Supporter)

Is it really that different from taking your car in for preventative maintenance?

Or for that matter, applying Windows Updates to your computer (wait, maybe that's a bad example

PhotoKhan said:

1JB said:

Hmm. I own a camera that costs $4k and Canon tells me they'll
inspect it to ensure it meets specs, clean it, and upgrade the
calibration of the outer af focus points if it needs it along with
the latest firmware all for free and you think it's a study in human
behavior that people actually send it in? I don't care that it's had
zero focusing issues in AF Servo or the outer focus points. When it
came back with no repairs, great. If it came back with repairs,
great. When I sell it, great. What's there to study. Well done and
thank you Canon.

Click to expand...

...You're going to be a very busy bee if every manufacturer for every
single consummer electronics goods you own comes up with a similar
action.

Unless, of course, there's is another, more subliminal, reason for
doing it in just this particular case...

You see, there has to be another triggering factor for you to incur
in the trouble and risk of sending it in (you DO know there is always
a risk, no matter how small, of it coming back with another, totally
unrelated problem simply because it was intervened, don't you?)

PK

--
“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my
skills”
************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(PBase Supporter)
-------------------------------------------------

Click to expand...

PhotoKhan said:

You see, there has to be another triggering factor for you to incur
in the trouble and risk of sending it in (you DO know there is always
a risk, no matter how small, of it coming back with another, totally
unrelated problem simply because it was intervened, don't you?)

Click to expand...

In your mind, maybe...but not everyone thinks alike, reasons alike, or operates out of the same motives. I have to agree with the previous poster...I see it akin to maintenance on a car, Windows updates, etc. I have my OS set to notify me of an auto-update when the patches are available...I choose when they are and if they are. I usually wait a few days, see if anyone is experiencing major issues, and then go head and update - even if the patch may be addressing an issue I haven't experienced to date. The same with my 1D Mark III...folks reported the focus tack on and snappier after the update and fix...why WOULDN'T I have it applied to mine if mine is eligible? It was...I did..for no reason other than it didn't make sense not to.

--
Keep chasing the light!

John

De Nile is a river in Egypt

But seriously folks, I have a 1d Mark III, blue dot edition and it's fine. I was happy with it when I got it during the midst of the first round of recalls and I am totally satisfied with it now. After getting the recall notice from Canon I did a quick check using the outer focusing points and the pics I took were just as sharp as those taken with the center point. If it ain't broke I don't see a need to fix it or rather give Canon an opportunity to get something out of tune or introduce dust into my camera or scratch it, etc.

But you're right. What's happening is a classic example of the herd mentality we have in this country. And oh, by the way, the Emperor has no clothes.

John Storjohann said:

In your mind, maybe...but not everyone thinks alike, reasons alike,
or operates out of the same motives. I have to agree with the
previous poster...I see it akin to maintenance on a car, Windows
updates, etc. I have my OS set to notify me of an auto-update when
the patches are available...I choose when they are and if they are.
I usually wait a few days, see if anyone is experiencing major
issues, and then go head and update - even if the patch may be
addressing an issue I haven't experienced to date. The same with my
1D Mark III...folks reported the focus tack on and snappier after the
update and fix...why WOULDN'T I have it applied to mine if mine is
eligible? It was...I did..for no reason other than it didn't make
sense not to.

Click to expand...

Yes, that's for sure...to each his/hers own.

Myself, if I had no perceived problems with my camera's AF I would certainly not send it in.

In the last intervention (post "submirror-fix", because of still poor performance) the focusing screen come back with tiny scratches clearly made by some tool.

It's minor but still a bit annoying and clearly demonstrates that there is no such thing as a "good only" "risk free" intervention, something that, "per se", should be enough to prevent sending stuff in just for the sake of a free cleaning/check ride

PK

--
“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my skills”
************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(PBase Supporter)

--I send my 1DsM3 by UPS to Canon Germany last tuesday, not because great problems, but because there was litte front focus at every lenses.

My camera was back 4 days later with checking focus, adjustment und firmware update withour any payment and costs for me.
I am happy about the service and the camera is a little more top.
Greetings
Werner

passat161 said:

--I send my 1DsM3 by UPS to Canon Germany last tuesday, not because
great problems, but because there was litte front focus at every
lenses.
My camera was back 4 days later with checking focus, adjustment und
firmware update withour any payment and costs for me.
I am happy about the service and the camera is a little more top.
Greetings
Werner

Click to expand...

OK, good for you !



PK

--
“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my skills”
************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(PBase Supporter)

PK, I agree with you on all fronts. Does denial fall under the catogory of buyers remorse? I know for a fact ,their are some mkiii,s from the first day of ownership. That work as advertised, with surgical precision ,and stunning images. It took myself 10 months of D.D. to opt not to select. For myself the risk was to high to the ratio of reward. Trust me I was going to pull the trigger many times. I have the 24-105f4 IS lens that ,I simply love. I respect Canon ,that regardless of the age of the lens if one wishes to have it checked or serviced. Do to past issues Canon does it free of charge, no questions asked. That was a quick fix , and short lived issue to boot. I have your prospective, if it ain,t broke don,t fix it! Also ,its like some doctors if you are not not haveing a health issue why bother . Some just might find a problem ya never know !. Ya know what ,Im saying ! Yes, I do have a yearly check up. A plethora, preponderance, of lets say issues for a long time for some. A large ticket item for some, no tx.-Craig

i think your post & dimebook psych is silly.

$3800 camera.... if a recall is issued you're sorta forced to send it regardless of how it works. If for anything future value. nevermind the other value added services (calibrate, clean, firmware, etc.)

it's ignorant to post DENIAL and other psych babble.

some bodies had trouble. some people had trouble with bad bodies. some people had trouble with perfectly working bodies.

PhotoKhan said:

It's quite interesting to see how this camera's AF problems were
adamantly considered a thing of the past, only affecting early
batches and well resolved in later ones but, as soon as Canon
announces a recall (allegedly for a very specific AF issue) threads
start popping everywhere with people saying they're sending theirs in
"...just in case."

Denial is, indeed, a five letter word...

PK

Click to expand...

ps - sometimes a cigar is just a cigar

Congrads,. Canon is second to none in the service field dept and tech support in my experences. All the best with that sweet machine. Craig

I really do hate to have my car serviced. They usually screw up something that was right and besides it takes me a week to adjust my seat and get my mirrors back to my liking. Ha.
Cheers everyone.
--
Sid Horn

--I have never had any of the problems with my 1DMKIII that others have experienced.

I recently checked the outer focussing squares myself in servo mode and they were spot on.
I will not be sending mine in 'just in case'.

Mine is a 545XXX...but was in the 'exclusion' list which was first posted when the sub mirror issue was announced.

If you have not experienced any problems with the camera and still feel you need to send it in,it does appear that people have lost general confidence in the camera.

Jay Bean said:

Is it really that different from taking your car in for preventative
maintenance?

Click to expand...

Not really. I have had preventative maintenance go fine on cars, I have also had the maintenance induce problems. New firmware for the engine control module caused the engine to loose power. Automatic Transmission filter and fluid change resulted in a car that won't initially go into reverse when cold. A radiator flush and new fluid resulted in the water pump going out on the car the next day.

Jay Bean said:

Or for that matter, applying Windows Updates to your computer (wait,
maybe that's a bad example

Click to expand...

Bad example. I have had two Windows Updates cause the system to fail to boot after the updates were installed. I always make a backup before allowing Windows to update itself.

So yes, there is a slight risk in sending a camera into Canon. Keep in mind Canon is the same company who was saying there was nothing wrong the AF system in the 1D-Mk3 and 1Ds-Mk3 cameras over a year ago. Even when the camera was accompanied by images documenting the AF OoF problem Canon was sending the cameras back with NTF or "Performing to Factory Specs" or "Cleaned".

The point PhotoKhan made is valid. All the people who insisted there was nothing wrong with the AF system's ability to focus and are now sending their cameras in to have them inspected and/or calibrated for AF or potential AF problems were blowing-smoke before.

shearwater2002 said:

--I have never had any of the problems with my 1DMKIII that others
have experienced.
I recently checked the outer focussing squares myself in servo mode
and they were spot on.
I will not be sending mine in 'just in case'.

Click to expand...

That is the smart/safe choice. If you are not having problems with the camera then I would not send it in. Your camera can always be checked in the future should it need to be sent in for some other service reason. For now, be glad it is working for you and enjoy using it.