1DC: Dead Pixels, random errors, terrible support... anyone else?

G

Geko

Active member
This is my first post in the forums, and it is not a troll post. I want to find out if what we are experiencing is common.

We are shooting a documentary in Mexico with a 1DC which was bought for the purpose last April, and is still under warranty. After no more than 20 hours of shooting it developed several dead pixels, some in the middle of the frame. The camera also displays randomly "Movie recording has been stopped automatically" in the middle of shooting (we use very good fast cards and this is not preceded by card speed warning or overheating indication). We wrote Canon cinema division support and the exchange has been terrible. First they reacted as the dead pixel "phenomenon" was a normal thing and just told us to use lower ISO. However we have never shot above 4000 ISO, and this is used only rarely, so this of course is not a solution. Then they told us to get a second camera and to switch cameras every 15 minutes!!! That was beyond absurd, especially since we have no overheating issues and this is supposed to be a cinema camera. They told us that the 1DC has no hot pixels remapping function whatsoever and that we should send the camera to them, but explained that we can not really send it because their Mexico service center can not fix it and the US one (the camera was bought from the US) could not receive shipments from abroad. This situation stayed unresolved for more than two weeks and now we started getting some cryptic messages from their Mexican division. Not a word of courtesy. We got clearly the impression that they know about the issues we have been experiencing and can currently do nothing about them. Anyway, it was a terrible experience from start to finish and the camera is still here with us and we decided to live with the errors and to fix the hot pixels in the studio in post.

I am posting this to find out if anyone else has had a similar experience with the 1DC and with support. For a 12K camera (yes, we bought it before they dropped prices) all this is really, really bad. The 1DC captures stunning images in Log, but with such issues and with such support it is not really a professional cinema product. We can not even update ourselves the stupid firmware, and as it turns out we do not have the option to update it at all. So... anyone else in a similar situation?
 
Sounds like you may have gotten a lemon. I haven't heard of any such issues, but Mexico isn't that far from the US. Why not just hop a quick flight, then send to the service center, and fly back? Seems like if it's under warranty, Canon will turn around a fix pretty quickly.

Seems strange to wait 2 weeks for an answer from the Mexico division (especially when you purchased in the US) rather than quickly fly to Texas or California, no?
 
Geko said:
This is my first post in the forums, and it is not a troll post. I want to find out if what we are experiencing is common.
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Of course it's not common. You would have heard about it long ago.

I wrote a response to you on dpreview as well. The whole things sounds kind of crazy. I've had my camera since its initial launch and I've followed this forum since then (well, before that) and there is no story that is similar to yours.

Bottom line is, if the camera is under warranty—get it fixed. It's unfortunate if you are in an exotic location and have to wait till you get back, but that is how things are. People pay lots more for RED cameras and there are NUMEROUS stories about those having to be sent around the world for RED to deal with issues.

Sometime it's a relief just venting, but with your problems, the help you can get from a forum is limited. I hope they replace/fully fix the camera for you in the US so that you can get to experience it the way it was meant to.
 
Canon Hollywood Professional Technology & Support Center

Canon Hollywood Professional Technology & Support Center

I'd be surprised if Canon Mexico honors a Canon USA warranty.

Contact a Canon USA Cinema EOS service center, or call your original dealer for help with Canon service.

Since you are in Mexico, the Hollywood Service Center is probably your best best.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/standard_display/support_ceos

Phone 1-855-CINE-EOS

cinemaeos@cits.canon.com

Canon Hollywood Professional Technology & Support Center
6060 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

cinema_eos_servicesupport_062612.gif
 
Terry Nixon said:
I'd be surprised if Canon Mexico honors a Canon USA warranty.

Contact a Canon USA Cinema EOS service center, or call your original dealer for help with Canon service.

Since you are in Mexico, the Hollywood Service Center is probably your best best.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/standard_display/support_ceos

Phone 1-855-CINE-EOS

cinemaeos@cits.canon.com

Canon Hollywood Professional Technology & Support Center
6060 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

View attachment 97112
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone,

Tony, everything which I quoted above is from correspondence with Canon USA. Canon Mexico contacted us only yesterday and I am still not sure what they offer, since Canon USA told us that they can not fix the camera. All in all, it is a total mess.
 
Just to put in context the thread for anyone else who may experience similar issues I attach a capture from a 4K clip made with the 1DC with the lens cap on at ISO 800. There are three groups of hot pixels, they are quite visible in normal footage over a darker background, especially the ones in the center. They appeared after about 20 hours of use of the camera with no overheating or other issues and from then on have been there all the time at all ISO settings.

You have to view at full magnification:

http://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2015/02/06/EOS1DC-Hot-Pixels.jpg
 
You have a defect in your camera and you're in a different country, it's not something that will be fixed with an email.

So, get the Camera to a Canon service center and they'll fix any problems you have and treat you in a top-notch manner. Only after this you can complain if they didn't fix your problem...
 
Ebrahim Saadawi said:
You have a defect in your camera and you're in a different country, it's not something that will be fixed with an email.

So, get the Camera to a Canon service center and they'll fix any problems you have and treat you in a top-notch manner. Only after this you can complain if they didn't fix your problem...
Click to expand...

You don't seem to have read my first post. I hope you never get a defect in a 12K camera in the middle of production, and I hope that if you do, you do not get a suggestion from the manufacturer to buy a second substitute camera instead. But in case you do experience this, I am sure you will understand the reason for the existence of such threads.
 
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I guess I'm wrong, but I thought that Canon cameras would compensate for dead pixels if you set the camera to manually clean for an extended length of time. Is this not true? Or is it just not true for the 1DC?
 
cpreston said:
I guess I'm wrong, but I thought that Canon cameras would compensate for dead pixels if you set the camera to manually clean for an extended length of time. Is this not true? Or is it just not true for the 1DC?
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We thought the same. Unfortunately, the 1DC doesn't do that. We tried the procedure multiple times with no results, then Canon confirmed that it doesn't work with the 1DC.
 
I don't recall having to do a manual clean on the 1DC, but its worth a try if you ever run into hot pixels:

 
Canon Cinema line - a total disgrace!

Canon Cinema line - a total disgrace!

I want to update this story, because what happened just can not be left at that.

After Canon offered no logistics solution to receiving the camera for servicing it was finally sent to them through the dealer in the USA we bought it from. The hot pixels were acknowledged at the service center in their report, THEN suddenly the camera was returned as 'serviced' with the resolution that.... "a foreign object" has been causing the issue, the sensor has been cleaned and the firmware updated!!! That's it. The sensor has been cleaned ?!? We had to travel to the US to bring it back and guess what - nothing has been fixed! NOTHING! The same hot pixels in the exact same places, at all ISO's. They did not even try to replicate the problem, they dod not even look at our captures and description, they did absolutely nothing. And this took us a month and a half and many thousands of dollars of expenses, for airplane tickets, express shipment and because our filming has been put on hold in the middle of production with all the complexities involved.

I can not express how disgusted we feel from this whole affair. We would NEVER, EVER recommend Canon's cinema line to anyone - inside the industry or not. This is a total disgrace.
 
Feel your pain too, I had to send a camera in 4 times!!! 4 TIMES!! they kept sending me back the camera with same issues, like you said it feels like they didnt even bothered to look. It was a display issue i had to stick post its with red arrows pointing towards the problem and they still sent me the camera with the same issue!! I really dont know what they were doing, i was very disappointed but i just persisted and kept sending it back making them pay for the shipping. Unfortunately you don't have luxury so i feel your pain.
 
I don't know who you purchased it from(if you posted it, I missed it), but any reputable, authorized dealer(who cares about their customers) really should be going to bat for you if you're having this much trouble. And Canon service seems to be a funny thing, sometimes. I think overall, from my experience and the majority of what I've heard from others, it's good. But I have heard enough stories similar to yours, cameras going in and being returned unfixed and/or with new problems, to see that it's not just an anomaly.

These aren't $100 point-n-shoot cameras being sold to the mass consumer market. They're multi-thousand dollar specialized pieces of equipment designed and intended for professional use.

I've spoken many times at length with my sales rep and a few times briefly with some Canon reps in the field, and I don't think that Canon, with their Cine line, still fully understands the market that they have (attempted to) entered into.
 
Run&Gun said:
I don't know who you purchased it from(if you posted it, I missed it), but any reputable, authorized dealer(who cares about their customers) really should be going to bat for you if you're having this much trouble. And Canon service seems to be a funny thing, sometimes. I think overall, from my experience and the majority of what I've heard from others, it's good. But I have heard enough stories similar to yours, cameras going in and being returned unfixed and/or with new problems, to see that it's not just an anomaly.

These aren't $100 point-n-shoot cameras being sold to the mass consumer market. They're multi-thousand dollar specialized pieces of equipment designed and intended for professional use.

I've spoken many times at length with my sales rep and a few times briefly with some Canon reps in the field, and I don't think that Canon, with their Cine line, still fully understands the market that they have (attempted to) entered into.
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They definitely do not understand the market, as is evidently obvious by this little episode. I did not put the name of the dealer, because at this stage they are still somewhat helpful, although there is much to be desired there too.

As for Canon, while the camera was there at their NJ service center, I called them on the phone, trying to find out what was being done to it. The result - 45 minutes international call - after speaking to a person who barely spoke any English, I spoke with two supervisors, and they flatly refused to give me any information whatsoever. They said that they would only tell that to the dealer, despite the fact that this camera is registered on my name and they had this information in front of them. Afterwards they didn't say anything to the dealer. The camera was returned dirty, with new small bumps and scratches, with the same old problem and with the most ridiculous service sheet which I am attaching below:


EOS-1DC-Service-Sheet.jpg

There was no foreign object at all, the hot pixels are still there, ruining every shot. If anyone can make sense of the things in red, it's not me. It shows exactly what has happened - total incompetence in "servicing" a 12 000$ cinema camera.

Please guys, circulate this within the community, not only to help us (we are actually at loss at what to do now), but also so that everyone knows what to expect in the (hopefully rare) case that these cinema line cameras exhibit defects. They obviously do. Canon has to change the way they are treating professional customers, or else it will be game over for them, and there is a lot of good to be said about the 1DC if and when it works.
 
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Canon contacted us again today. They practically acknowledged that the person who did the 'repairs' had no clue. The camera is going again to the US, to a different service center at Costa Mesa. We really hope that they do change the sensor this time. I will keep this topic updated (sorry about that).
 
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That's good to hear! Do you know why they contacted you? Was it from your forum postings, or because they realized their mistake, or did you confront them again?
 
iamlance said:
That's good to hear! Do you know why they contacted you? Was it from your forum postings, or because they realized their mistake, or did you confront them again?
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We did confront them again, and I have the suspicion that this forum also may have helped. But what became very clear was that someone there realized that they screwed up. Although it remains to be seen if this will matter. And the other very interesting piece of information was, that this was obviously the first cinema camera the NJ center had seen (or at leas the first 1DC), because Canon wrote us that they "had sent instructions to the service center on how to handle this type of camera"... That was beyond weird. It s just unbelievably unprofessional - you get a pro cinema camera with a description of a hot pixel problem. You don't bother to check that at all, you open it, you clean a sensor which was perfectly clean (because obviously that's the only thing you know how to do), you close it, write on the sheet "sensor cleaned, problem solved" and return it. That's Canon for you... and me, regretfully.

Now the camera is specifically sent to a supervisor at the Costa Mesa facility, accompanied with print outs of our whole correspondence with Canon - on the insistence of Canon - and the weirdness continues, because ALL they have to do is heat the goddamn sensor for fu*#n 5 minutes and all the hot pixels will be bright and shiny on the image. But no, they have to read 20 pages of e-mails first, and then who knows what they are going to do. A person from our crew even suggested that they may not even be able to replace a sensor in these cameras, as they are basically assembled by robots these days and they may not even be serviceable at that level. That is a strange thought but it is certainly a possibility.

I guess we will have the camera back sometime next week. Whatever I know I will post here. It deserves to be known. Sorry guys for not posting pleasant stuff.
 
Based on my experiences, the 1DC has no active support from Canon and the user base must be so small that Canon feels they can ignore the camera without a big hit to their marketing and sales. I found an error in their firmware last year and called tech support to discuss it. The first person I talked to had almost no knowledge of the camera. Also, the 1DC they had onsite did not have updated firmware on it so they couldn't check the issue anyway. With some help from Texas Media Systems (thanks guys!) I was able to talk to a much higher level Canon rep who never admitted a problem, but did begrudgingly pass my complaint onto Japan who ultimately fixed the firmware error. Based on that experience, I am convinced that Canon USA has almost no experience or knowledge about the 1DC. The camera is basically unsupported in America. All decisions and knowledge on the camera exists with the cinema team in Japan and I would guess that they have just decided to cut their losses and push the 1DC under the rug so to speak.
 
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