Thank You Canon - For Not Repairing My Camera

I just got my 20D back from Canon's Repair Department (in Jamesburg, NJ), "unrepaired".

However, the camera works again! Here's what transpired...

On April 25th autofocus mysteriously failed on this camera. I had been shooting macros that morning, which while I mostly focused manually, I did also use AF. Later in the afternoon I connected the 20D to my Mac (via USB) and for the first time tried to control it remotely using Canon's CameraWindow utility. While I've occasionally connected this camera to this computer via USB before to download photos via Aperture, I usually take the CF card out and just put it in a card reader. In the 2.5 years since I've owned this camera, this is the first time I tried to run CameraWindow with it. Although I did use the EOS Utility about a year or so ago to set the "owner string" in the camera (both utilities were updated to the latest versions available from Canon's web site). From that moment forward, the camera would no longer auto-focus. I tried 5 different lenses. I tried cleaning the contacts. I called Canon Technical Support.

Alas, that same day I decided to send it into Canon for repair. Canon will provide a free estimate, and if you turn it down they will return your camera and not charge you.

FedEx picked up the camera on April 28th and on May 5th I received a "Repair Estimate" email from Canon for a total of $306.20. The breakdown was $290 for labor, $1.20 for tax, and $15 for shipping.

Upon noticing my Tweet about this, HamWIthCam was kind enough to give me his very strong opinion that I should not have this repaired. Primarily due to the shutter life (100,000 cycles) and that I'm probably very close to that (initially I thought I was way over that), but also that I should instead put the money towards something with less use. A used 20D or 5D was his recommendation. The thinking being that I would want to buy the new replacement for the 5D when it's announced (I'm expecting September). While his logic made sense, the idea of putting money into another used camera (with condition not really known) did not appeal to me.

I gave it a lot of thought. One thing that struck me was that Canon's repair estimate did not contain any parts, only labor. HamWithCam suspected that it was only an initial estimate. I called Canon and they confirmed that it was a final estimate to repair AF, although if they would find something else wrong during the course of repairing AF they would contact me again for approval to fix whatever that might be at a higher cost. He was also adamant that a technician or engineer had not actually looked at my camera before that estimate was made. This I agreed with. However, the "labor only" aspect bothered me. If there was nothing to replace, then could I fix it? This lead me to retrace in my mind what lead to its apparent failure and the possibility that perhaps connecting it over USB and trying to control it with CameraWindow caused some sort of state or software error in the camera that could be rest.

So on May 7th I declined the repair. My plan was to reset the camera to factory default and see if that would clear up the problem. If not I could re-install the firmware. A helpful sales person at Showcase (local camera store) also recommended taking out both batteries (the main BP-511A and the secondary CR-2016) and letting it sit for a few minutes, thus also inducing a reset (presumably).

I waited in great anticipation for the camera to return. Canon took their sweet time returning it. They only shipped it back on May 17th, 10 days after I declined the repair.

So today I have the camera back. I put in a battery, CF card and a 50mm f/1.4 lens. Autofocus Works!
I try the 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens that the problem first occurred with. AF works!

So what happened?

I doubt that Canon actually repaired anything. The settings in the camera appear unchanged. The first thing that I would expect them to have done is reset the settings.

I suspect the problem cleared itself after a while. Note that when I sent the body back to Canon, it had with it only the body cap and eye cup. No battery (BP-511), although the secondary CR-2016 did remain. Perhaps they removed the CR-2016 just to check if it was there? But wouldn't that reset the settings?

I'm not entirely sure, but I like the fact that it works again, and that I saved myself a tad over $300 for what would most likely have been a useless repair. And thanks to HamWithCam for insisting that it wasn't worth throwing $300 at anyway. It seems like I have the best of both worlds now. :)

In the mean time, I did a lot of shopping and ordered a 5D which arrives tomorrow (Canon has a $300 instant rebate now). More on why I still chose to buy one, despite rumors of an imminent 5D mk II soon in another post.

And finally, it's a bit early to tell that the problem has gone away completely. While the camera does auto focus now, I'm hoping that I do not begin to see an intermittent problem develop over the near future.