Camera fell. Problem with my 6D, so sad

LCLimages · Jun 23, 2015

Last night I was out shooting the aurora and a HUGE gust of wind came along just as I stepped back for a few seconds and blew the whole damn Manfrotto tripod and camera with my 24-105L over, of course I was JUST far away to be unable to catch it on time. I'm so pissed at myself. It landed on mushy grass lens first. The total height of the fall was maybe 3 feet. It was mid-exposure, not sure how long into the 13 second exposure it was. Nothing is cracked, the lens is dirty but visually it looks fine... except when I went to turn the camera back on I got "err 06". According to Canons website that's a malfunction with the automatic sensor cleaning. I changed batteries, lenses, and SD cards and nothing. So I pulled the battery and charged it up and let the camera sit all night. This morning I'm getting "err 20" - which is the much more ominous "A malfunction with the mechanical mechanism has been detected." Canon's suggestion is to take out and reinsert the battery. No dice.

The mirror looks locked up, if I look in the body I can't see the mirror or sensor, it's closed. I'm a mess. Obviously I feel like I'm missing my 3rd child. It's 18 months old, less than 10,000 shutter actuations. But I bought it refurbished to begin with. I'll be calling Canon's closest service center this morning. Does anyone have any suggestions?

paigew · Jun 23, 2015

no advice just virtual hugs

Dao · Jun 23, 2015

Sorry to hear about your 6D issue. And yes, I believe contacting Canon service center should be your best bet.

JustJazzie · Jun 23, 2015

:,-( Lots and lots of sympathy..... I hope its an inexpensive fix for you.

LCLimages · Jun 23, 2015

Just filled out the repair request, will be shipping today. Ugh. Just sick to my stomach.

runnah · Jun 23, 2015

did you try moving the mirror? It might just be a bit outta whack. I wouldn't suggest yanking it but a gentle pull might free up the mechanism if it's jammed.

LCLimages · Jun 23, 2015

I was too scared to touch anything, afraid of making it worse since I'm mechanically inept. Sigh. Just gonna let Canon handle it, hopefully it's not gonna break the bank too.

curtyoungblood · Jun 23, 2015

Before you send anything to Canon, go look at the CPS website: Canon Professional Services - About CPS

If you have enough points to get a silver level members (you definitely have 13, with the camera and lens you mentioned), it will almost definitely be worth it. You'll get your camera back sooner, save more than the membership costs, and you can send the 24-105 in to get it checked for free.

Derrel · Jun 23, 2015

Ohhhhh, what a bummer deal Laura....I am so sorry to hear this happened to you! Hugs from across the USA go out to you....

LCLimages · Jun 23, 2015

Bryston3bsst said:
From your description of the fall I guess I'm having a hard time understanding why it's damaged at all. Doesn't sound as if it fell far and onto soft, albeit wet, grass. Damn.....that is a bummer.

Now when my 500D with an 18-200 fell out of the back of a Chevy Equinox going a little over 50 and onto the street.........that damage I can understand. Fact is, I was never able to locate all of the camera.

I honestly thought the same damn thing at first. I picked it right back up & thought well this is a tough camera & if anything it's the lens that'll be damaged. I'm surprised and not too happy - and the lens, which took the brunt of the fall, is acting fine. I stuck that baby on my old Rebel & it acted nicely. I'm wondering, if because the camera was shooting when it fell, so the shutter was open when it hit the ground, if that has anything to do with it.

TCampbell · Jun 27, 2015

Sorry to hear about your damaged camera. When most people drop their cameras, the shutter is closed and the mirror is down. In your case the shutter would have been open and the mirror was up. It sounds like you've hit it hard enough to jam the shutter mechanism. Fortunately, shutters are subject to wear so the facilities are used to replacing them (if indeed it needs a full replacement. They may be able to un-jam it but they won't be able to tell you that without inspecting it themselves.)

Check your tripod... there is probably a hook at the bottom of the center column (on some of my tripods the hook is on a spring mechanism and I have to pull it down to use it -- it wouldn't be obvious that it's a "hook" per se.) The point of the hook is to let you hang some weight on the tripod. This can help with vibration damping and and also provide more stability in strong winds. And of course the weight is low -- instead of high -- so in addition to making the tripod "heavier" overall, it also moves the center of gravity lower so that it's even harder to blow it over.

If you carry a camera bag, sometimes you can hang your bag from the hook -- that way you don't have to carry around weights. You can also get bags that you can fill with available material (sand, gravel, etc.) that may be laying around at your location.

LCLimages · Jun 29, 2015

Just got Canon's estimate via email... $486.75

*passes out*

I better sell a sh*tload of prints of this damn Aurora shot, because it's become an expensive picture.