1st Black Frame - No repairs anymore!

[santiclaws #349139]

I sent my 7D in last week after experiencing the 1st frame black
problem 3x.

Precision received it on 3/9, it went into repair on 3/12 and its
already on its way back to me!

I'm thinking they didn't do a damn thing with it and I'll see "No
trouble found" on the paperwork. I have sample black files I could
have sent but no one asked. I thought I would get an email or a
phone call from Precision but nothing. UPS says I'll have it back
on Friday so I'll fire it up and see if I get the dreaded ERR.

If I do, I won't be hesitant about sending it right back to them.
My camera is under warranty for another month.

I really feel as thought there is a 'sword of Damocles' hanging
over our heads with this situation.

Will they have parts? Will they refund money? Will they offer an
Alpha? Will they just keep sending them back saying No Trouble
Found?

That plus all the in-transit time is a pain in the neck. At his
point I believe I would take an Alpha just to out from under the 7D
and its end of life problems.

While Sony seemed to 'step up' on this one, actions don't seem to
match the words.

I'll know more on Friday when I see the paperwork.

You can call PC and they'll tell you what's on the repair order.

 

[Craig Gillette]

If they'd offered full refund - wonder what's going on. Seems all over the map. They fixed mine right after the "announcement" by KM. Seems like they still don't know what to do.

 

[peterduce]

They aren't replacing anything.

My 7D went in on the 7th of Feb after it just stopped working.

My third phone call to Precision today told me the matter was in Sony's hands. They gave me a phone number and an "event" number.

Sony said no parts available and they have written to me offering; buy back, lower model replacement (A100?), or I can have the old defunct body back!

Shame I loved the camera, and it was always a revelation to be able to use my 20 year old Minolta glass.

I'm still going to punt for one of the new Sonys when they are released, or 6 months after (not going to be an early adopter).

In the meantime if an A100 is offered, I'll just put up with it.

Peter

 

[Craig Gillette]

But I'd already begun converting to Nikon. That would have been almost a wash body to body - now still in the selling mode after my cousin decides if they do or don't want it. Can't afford 2 systems and love the Nikon speed but also the KM ergonomics, etc.

 

[FR_fanatic]

I would assume that they are not making any parts for this repair
anymore, however, there are probably parts available in some parts
of the world yet.

Thanks. I'll keep watching the issue.

--
from Japan
FR_fanatic

 

[Cope]

In the USA, Precison Camera/Sony are not offering parts down the roas, they are simply stating no parts availabe.
--
Loving my 7D and Beercan©

 

[George75149]

Keith, Just wondering in your camera was still under warranty? I can't help but wonder if all of us with 5D's or 7D's for that matter that are no longer under warranty will be covered in the same way.. I kind a think sooner or latter we will just be sh-t out of luck. Thanks !George

After being optimistic that this would be fixed it now appears that
Precision/Sony do not have the repair parts. I send mine in in
mid-Feb and was hopeful on the repair...instead

I received a letter today giving 3 options...
-Exchange for a Sony A100
-Prorated buy back of old camera
-Return camera WITHOUT repair

Any comments on the A100 vs the 7D? I'm just starting the research....

What % of original purchase are they offering for the buy-back?

keith

--
George
5D
Gear is listed under my Profile.

 

[jimb100]

I called Precision this morning and much to my surprise they tell me they replaced the shutter assembly and related parts.

After hearing all the talk here about no parts being available and no repairs being done I don't know what to believe.

The camera will be back on Friday and it will be interesting to see it exhibits the 1st frame black problem. I believe they replaced parts as I don't believe they would out and out lie about that.

Whether they replaced the right parts to solve the problem, isn't that the real question.

 

[sbn27]

I wonder if Precision is having difficulty getting parts only for the cameras that they are fixing for free or for those who are willing to pay to get their cameras repaired .. any comment?
--
Susan
NAPLES FLA

 

[digitalshooter]

From my professional experience I cannot imagine that a reputable
company as KM/Sony would offer free repair for the first frame
black problem (FFB), knowing that there will not be parts.
Thinking about possible explanations, I am only guessing.
Possibility 1:
Since Sony announced the free repair of the FFB problem,
undoubtedly many KM users must have jumped the gun and sent in
their camera. Therefore there could be a temporary shortage of
parts; but the drawings of the redesigned part are still available,
so these can be ordered, but judging on what in our business is
normal, a lead-time of 4-8 weeks is pretty much standard.
In order not to have the customer have to wait so long,
Sony/Precision would offer exchange or buy back.

Km announced and Sony has stated that they are not going to manufacture parts. Why should they, they now have 3 cameras on the block.

Possibility 2:
There may be more than one technical reason for FFB, only one for
the err 58 problem, there is a root cause analysis and the
redesigned parts should be available. Other technical problems
causing the FFB possibly cannot be repaired, lack identified root
cause or lack of parts or other reasons.
In such a case Sony may have no other options.

Only one explained and acknowledged in the KM service manual for the 7d and 5D that, by the way, was discovered and rectified during the 5D production.

Possibility 3:
Sony does not want the KM cameras out in the market, they fear
reputation damage and thus they are "offering free repair", but
actually have the intention to take the defective camera's back,
wherever possible.

Not out of fear of reputation damage but because they are a continued liability and they have now launched their intentions.

There may be more options, but the above seem the most likely to me.

My personal situation is a less promising.
I sent my FFB defective camera to MBS (the repair agent in
Holland), but they claim it never arrived, although I have proof of
delivery (by TNT, Dutch post).
I am going through the bureaucracy of getting Sony to take their
responsibility, before I will be able to find out whether they can
repair or refund.

To me it seems that if you have FFB, keep your camera until the new
bodies are out and try to exchange for those (even if you have to
pay a bit yourself).

Will be interesting to see if they are so generous and will allow that, I kinda doubt it though.

Will keep you posted on what happens to my "lost" camera.

regards,

Peter

--
Thanks,

Digitalshooter!

Member of the 7D and Beercan Cult! ©
Looking for a muffler for my 7D!

Proud owner of a Konica Minolta 7D, Father to the A100! others suffer with Camera Envy!

The light at the end of the tunnel is becoming clearer and its calling me to the darkside, oh wait, is there something pulling me back?

 

[ctransj]

I called Sony Rep yesterday and he walked me through all the steps before sending the camera to Precision Camera. I bought my camera in Sep/05 and he told me that Sony will fix it as no charge.

--
http://pbase.com/ttransj

 

[digitalshooter]

--
Thanks,

Digitalshooter!

Member of the 7D and Beercan Cult! ©
Looking for a muffler for my 7D!

Proud owner of a Konica Minolta 7D, Father to the A100! others suffer with Camera Envy!

The light at the end of the tunnel is becoming clearer and its calling me to the darkside, oh wait, is there something pulling me back?

 

[Rambler358]

I called Precision this morning and much to my surprise they tell
me they replaced the shutter assembly and related parts.

That's good news! Was this for a 5D or 7D? I'm hoping they can replace the parts on my 7D for this issue.

 

[keith100]

Possibility 2:
There may be more than one technical reason for FFB, only one for
the err 58 problem, there is a root cause analysis and the
redesigned parts should be available. Other technical problems
causing the FFB possibly cannot be repaired, lack identified root
cause or lack of parts or other reasons.
In such a case Sony may have no other options.

Only one explained and acknowledged in the KM service manual for
the 7d and 5D that, by the way, was discovered and rectified during
the 5D production.

In my case, when the repair parts were back ordered, I called Precision and they told me that the back ordered parts were (not exact quote) the AF assembly and the Charge Assembly.

These are 2 of the key parts mentioned in other posts necessary to fix the problem and would not appear to be some other cause....even if their are many other possible causes.

keith

 

[keith100]

Keith, Just wondering in your camera was still under warranty? I
can't help but wonder if all of us with 5D's or 7D's for that
matter that are no longer under warranty will be covered in the
same way.. I kind a think sooner or latter we will just be sh-t out
of luck. Thanks !George

My camera is not under warranty. I sent it in under the free repair option mentioned in this forum for the first black frame.

keith

 

[pvelz]

As I mentioned before, there may be more reasons for having a problem that looks like the FFB problem. It would not mean that these different problems are fixed with the same part. Apparently from the information in this post, some camera's with a FBB are repaired, some cannot be repaired.

A bit of trust in KM/Sony would help. They may have parts to solve err 58 diagnosed FFB, but not a number of other problems.

If this is so, it makes you wonder how many failure modes a 7D can die off.

If you have your camera repaired or are offered a refund or A100, you are still better off than me, Sony Holland lost my camera and they now want me to prove I owned one and sent it to them.

regards,

Peter

 

[gspointerohio]

OK, I will throw my story in...

My 5D is back at Precision for FFB problem for the third time. They have had it now for about two weeks this time in. From what I am hearing, I am concerned that they will not have the parts to fix it.

The first time I sent it the camera was still under warranty. When I got it back, it was still doing FFB, pretty much every time right away. Sent it in again, got it back (now the warranty is passed) and it was good for about three weeks. Then FFB again, not every time, but after about the third time I contacted SONY directly. They stated that they talked to Precision and I was told to send it in a third time as now KM made the announcement and they now knew how to fix the problem for sure. So, that is where I am at currently. It is at Precision and after a few phone calls to them, I am told that they are waiting for parts. I am concerned and getting tired of this. I have been positive up until now. All I want now is a working camera. I look forward to hearing how this has gone for others and am anxiously awaiting my camera repaired or the offer letter from SONY. But I have a bad feeling that it is going to take a lot more time before I see any resolution. And of course, Spring is now upon us and photo ops are all around, just no camera.

--
Tom

KM 5D

 

[jimbofoxman]

My 7d is heading back to Precision for the second time, but I ain't expecting much. Maybe they'll just reconnect whatever AGAIN and call it good. Atleast they are sending me a pre-paid sticker for UPS.

I hope they can fix it, but in some ways, after seeing the Canon 30D today at the local camera shop.............I am very tempted to jump ship. But we shall see.

--
Visit my slowly growing gallery:
http://planesnsuch.com/modules/myalbum/

 

[gspointerohio]

Just following up on my earlier post....

I just got off the phone with SONY. I too got the offer (new A100, buyout at prorated price, or send back unrepaired). My assumption is that they will be doing a lot of this going forward. Which did I choose????

Well, I am sure that this will be the unpopular choice, but I chose the new A100 (with a fresh 1 year warranty). I ran the numbers and I simply cannot afford a new rig right now, meaning starting over with a new outfit. This way I can use my existing glass and wait to see what else SONY has to offer in the future. It seemed to make the most sense for me.

Thanks -

--
Tom

KM 5D err... uhh..... soon to be A100

 

[Shercando]

You should have taken the money. You can buy a brand new A-100 for far less than the moeny they would give you. You might have gotten, say at least $1100, for your 7D and new A-100 bodiess can be bought for ~$600 to $700 with the full warranty too. I guess you took the easy way out
--Shercando