Internal meter issue

fawkes484 · Apr 26, 2013

So, this is my first post ever on TPF! I recently purchased (about 8 weeks ago) a Canon Rebel T3 EOS 1100D digital camera and I absolutely love it! It's my first breakout from traditional point & shoots and I couldn't be happier with it so far. I have even been taking a basic beginner's photography class to get the fundamentals down.

Now that that's all been said, here's my issue. I noticed just yesterday that the internal meter (the one you see via the viewfinder and adjust the shutter speed to meter the camera) that the shutter speed's numbers are missing pieces. It's hard to explain...it's like certain pieces of the bars that make up each number are actually missing, so I have to guess sometimes what the shutter speed currently reads.

I have all the paperwork for the camera (I bought it second hand, it's approx 2 years old, maybe a little less, excellent condition otherwise).

#1) Does anybody know what might be the reason for this issue and
#2) What's the best way of going about getting it fixed?

Any thoughts or advice would be super appreciated!

SCraig · Apr 26, 2013

I think what you are saying is that some of the segments of the viewfinder LCD have failed. My guess is that it's going to be a Canon (or authorized repair center) repair job.

TCampbell · Apr 26, 2013

As Scott says... it's not like there are settings that cause parts of the information to not display in the viewfinder... either it works correctly or it doesn't.

Here's a link to a page at Imaging Resource which shows what you _should_ see through the viewfinder... you can compare and see if what you actually see is different.

Light Guru · Apr 26, 2013

Make sure the firmware is up to date.

scorpion_tyr · Apr 26, 2013

Probably going to have to send that one in for repairs. Or if you're not in a hurry to nail the shot you can take a test shot and then review it and press the info button and it should show you what shutter speed the last shot was. Don't move the dial and you should be good.

fawkes484 · Apr 27, 2013

Thanks everybody for the quick responses! I actually just figured out what was going on. Being so new to the whole business of photography and dslr cameras, I didn't realize that what I was seeing was actually normal. I didn't realize that as you moved down the meter, slowing the shutter speed, it would start to read 0"5, 3"2, etc. I thought there was something wrong with the reading in the viewfinder until I took at look at it just now via the LCD screen. I nearly slapped myself! Glad to know there is nothing (apparently) wrong with my camera! That being said, who wants to tell me more about firmware, what it's for, and what how/why/where I need to update from? Thanks again!

Overread · Apr 27, 2013

Fawkes I was going to suggest that the slower speeds might have been what you were looking at- it something that confused me as well at first.

AS for firmwire its the software that controls your camera, new cameras generally will have the latest version unless a new update has been released very recently. However updates are not hugely common and a lot of the time are often just touching up translations. Sometimes they do fix problems or improve functions or even add new functions but its rarer. You can get details of your firmwire version from your cameras main menu - whilst the manufacturers website will list the downloads for firmwire versions for your camera so you just compared the two and if you're is older you can choose to update (The website and manual will have details on how to do this)

TCampbell · Apr 27, 2013

You can find the firmware here: Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EOS Rebel T3 18-55mm IS II Kit

Firmware v 1.0.5 is the latest (released back in January of 2012). To install firmware, you download the file, extract files out of the ".zip" that you downloaded, and then copy the "xxxxxx.fir" (firmware) file onto a memory card. You then navigate the menus on the camera and tell it you'd like to do a firmware update and point it at the .fir file. Make sure the batteries are fully charged (it would be _very_ bad if the camera battery died halfway through a firmware update.)

Often the firmware tweaks are _very_ minor (e.g. they found some word misspelled in some specific language version of some menu -- but nothing to do with actual camera functionality.) Sometimes there are bug fixes. But sometimes (very rarely) there are feature improvements in them.