Curse of Canon..

Curse of Canon..

Huayna Picchu, Peru. 8,920 ft above sea level, about 1,180 ft higher than Machu Picchu. Long hot vertical slog. Canon 7D 'Error 44'. Thanks. Changed batteries and CF cards - nothing.

Fortunately it was toward the end of the second day at Machu and a few days from the end of our 16 day tour. I had bagged a small Nikon as a back up and a Fujifilm (and a Ziess Ikonta) for fun so threw the 7D in the suitcase and carried on.

So far the Canon 70-300 lens, Canon 18-55 lens, the twin battery pack and now the 7D itself have all suffered faults - all within 4 years.

The 70-300 lens fault was a manufacturing defect - known by Canon at the time I bought the lens off the Jessops shelf but not subject to any 'recall' or warning to customers. Customer service? Jessops were probably aware of the fault as they must have had some returned to them for (free) repair, but either chose not to check their stocks or couldn't care. By the time I found out a repair was needed the warranty had expired.

The Canon 18-55 lens also had a known defect, in as much as the wiring from the front to the rear of the lens would kink and break after a few years (if you were lucky). Again no assistance from Canon forthcoming - no discount against a new Canon lens for example.

Battery grip wiring to camera failure.

The camera fault has been diagnosed as a PCB (printed circuit board) failure. Repair Cost £300.

Total repair costs:

70-300 £150.00
18/55 £120.00 (replacement)
BG7 Battery Pack/Grip £150.00 (replacement)
7D Repair £300.00

Total: £720.00

....and I self insure.

ebay will be getting a new entry soon.