# 7D - Weird black pictures problem



## NHK (Jul 14, 2014)

hi guys, i'm having a weird issue with my 7D.
I was covering a festival those last 3 days, and i have some really weird "black pictures" *(no flash used)* , almost like if i was shooting with the cap.
On 3 days and 33 gigs i only have 5 pics like this, but i never had this before.
Anyone have an idea? or already had this problem?

I uploaded the raw file here:
http://we.tl/xyPOMEKZSI

Thanks


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## bsb03 (Jul 14, 2014)

Were you using a flash?


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## bseitz234 (Jul 14, 2014)

Although I've seen "black" pictures when a flash failed to fire, there's usually some detail when you push exposure a few stops in post, they're just dramatically underexposed. This is uniformly black, turning to gray when I push it. I'm wondering if it's an early sign of shutter failure- how many activations does this camera have? Do you ever get any that are partially black, but not completely?


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## NHK (Jul 14, 2014)

Hi, thanks for your answers.

*No flash.*
Here is a picture from the same series with the same lights, just 20sec after the black one.
(Singer: GARLAND JEFFREYS)

I hope it's not a shutter failure... i tried to use the old EOSInfo software to read my shutter count, but its not working anymore, i only have "no camera connected". (you have another software?)
The problem is really new, this happened for the first time 3 days ago.
And it's only pics like the one from the link, always the same type of black, and almost the same histogram, (not exactly the same).


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## Valvebounce (Jul 15, 2014)

Hi NHK. 
I think you are supposed to be able to get shutter count from Magic Lantern. 7D miles from me at present, 20D not supported. 
I have not had black shots like this from 7D, but have plenty from using old slow recycle TTL flash on 20D I use in my workshop! 
Due to it firing full power the speed is up and aperture above f11, when I forget to wait for the flash they are dark, really dark, couldn't find any detail! 

Cheers Graham



NHK said:


> Hi, thanks for your answers.
> 
> I hope it's not a shutter failure... i tried to use the old EOSInfo software to read my shutter count, but its not working anymore, i only have "no camera connected". (you have another software?)


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jul 15, 2014)

You can easily check for shutter failure, fire off several shots at 1/8000 sec shutter speed. Thats where it becomes apparent.


If you are using a flash (you did not say) its possible, but not likely to be totally black.


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## NHK (Jul 15, 2014)

Thanks guys.


Valvebounce said:


> Hi NHK.
> I think you are supposed to be able to get shutter count from Magic Lantern.
> Cheers Graham


I will put back magic lantern and check my shutter count, good idea.



Mt Spokane Photography said:


> You can easily check for shutter failure, fire off several shots at 1/8000 sec shutter speed. Thats where it becomes apparent.
> If you are using a flash (you did not say) its possible, but not likely to be totally black.


I did not used a flash (it's in my second post, but i have edited the first one to be clearer in my description)
I will try to take pictures like you said and see if i have the same or other problems with high speed.

i'll keep you posted, thanks.

*EDIT: i just fire off several shots at 1/8000 like you told me, and no problem, everything is fine.*


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## Orangutan (Jul 15, 2014)

NHK said:


> hi guys, i'm having a weird issue with my 7D.
> I was covering a festival those last 3 days, and i have some really weird "black pictures" *(no flash used)* , almost like if i was shooting with the cap.
> On 3 days and 33 gigs i only have 5 pics like this, but i never had this before.
> Anyone have an idea? or already had this problem?
> ...



What were the exposure settings of a nearby "good" photo? Are they comparable in aperture, shutter speed and ISO?


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## NHK (Jul 15, 2014)

Hi, 
the picture just before the black one has almost the same settings:
good one: iso 400 F/4,5 1/400s 200mm
black one: iso 320 F/4,5 1/400s 200mm
And the one you can see on this page, is just 20sec after the black one, with the exact same light conditions: iso 320 F/4,5 1/400s 200mm

I have sometimes some almost black picture, because of a fast change of light on the stage, but if i push it on lightroom, i can see the picture, with a lot of noise of course. But here, if i push the raw, i only have something almost white, but without any details of anything and not much noise.


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## unfocused (Jul 15, 2014)

Maybe the film didn't latch onto the take up spool?

(Just kidding, of course. But, that was what used to cause blank frames)

Seriously, this sounds like a camera – rather than user – issue. I'd try shooting a bunch of shots around the house with a variety of settings and conditions to see if you can get it to malfunction again.

The problem, I think, is going to be that if you can't reproduce the effect, it might be hard for Canon service to diagnose the problem. Regardless though, it definitely sounds like a service call to me. But, I will defer to others who might have more knowledge.


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## Atonegro (Jul 15, 2014)

The only time I have seen this, is when I had a failing shutter.
One of the leafs of the last shutter curtain was loose and sometimes it came down with the first, giving only a very small amount of light to the sensor. (compairable to about 1/12000 sec I guess)

But I had also some pictures with only a dark part, and a part that was ok.
It got worse over time pretty fast, and the camera needed a new shutter.

Looks to me it is a good idea to have it repaired and take your spare camera if you have one.
(if you shoot professionaly you should always have one)


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## NHK (Jul 16, 2014)

I checked my shutter count with ML and i only have 39K.
I tried to shoot yesterday but i couldn't reproduce the issue.
I will maybe shoot a small gig tonight, so i may have the problem again.

I was telling me is it my fault? no way, this is not a shot with the cap on. i take off the cap when i go in the pit and put it back only when i leave it.

To be sure, even if i'm really sure of me, i fired with the cap on and edited the picture with camera raw. 

a.jpg (first one) is my weird black picture with +5 exposure on camera raw
b2.jpg (second one) is the picture with the cap on the camera (no lens), also with +5 exposure on camera raw

You can see that this is really not the same kind of pictures.


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## skoobey (Jul 20, 2014)

This happens sometimes when your buffer is constantly full. It's a writing problem more than a capture problem. Get a faster memory card?

If it were a failing shutter, there would be some "shutter lag" aka, a half curtain. I am not saying it's not a failing shutter, just in my experience, you would get some half=black images, rather then completely black ones.

Also, there might be a little thing called interference!  Someone might have lifted their arm, or passed by. Super fast for you, but enough to block all the light, especially at that length.


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## KeithBreazeal (Jul 20, 2014)

Had a friend with the same issue, but Nikon. I think it was due to communications between the lens and body.(contacts) I had him send me the black frame. When in Lightroom, I ran the brightness all the way up and could see part of an image. There was also some strange pixels.


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## NHK (Jul 20, 2014)

Thanks for your answers. 
I'm using a Sandisk 16GB UDMA 60MB/s 400x card.
I don't think it's a buffer problem, because the gig was very slow and i had fired picture by picture and not continuous shooting.

I'm agree with you for the shutter problem and for the half black images.
And if someone had blocked the light, my file would have been more like my second sample and not the weird first one. (i think so)

What i find weird on those files, it's if i put the brightness at max, i don't have any details at all, and really not much noise.


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## Steve Todd (Jul 21, 2014)

Having used digital SLRs since 2005 (5D, 5D Mk II, two 1D Mk IVs, and a 1D X), I had never experienced a completely black image until late last year. In November, while shooting at Mission San Diego, I experienced one! It was on my 1D X, with a reliable flash card and in very good available light. 

The image contained all of the shooting data as if it had been one of the images of the same subject both before and after the blank one? There was no fault/error code at all! So, I feel your pain! That happened at around 800 shutter actuations and has not occurred in the 3,000+ shots since. 

I spoke with Canon Irvine about the experience when they performed a clean and check on my 1D X in February. Nothing was noted during the check and all has been well since. I guess the old saying "Truth is stranger than fiction" might actually apply here!


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