# Repair or replace 7D



## knkedlaya (Jan 30, 2014)

Hello Folks,

My 7D broke recently, symptom was, all of sudden camera hangs and only way to make it work is to take out the battery and reinsert. Gave it in Canon service center for checkup. They said the mother board and one more item(dont remember exactly what was it) are gone bad. The parts together would cost around 500$. Now I am confused whether to repair or buy a new one. 
I shoot macros and closeups predominantly and photography is a pure hobby. I shoot Very few land scape and portraits. 90% of the time canon 100mm 2.8 L is on the body, remaining 10% tamron 17-50 2.8VC.

If I go for repair, I am not sure problem will be fixed permanently. But will save lots of money .
If replacement, should I wait for 7DMKII or 6D or even go for 70D? I do not want to shell out more money for 5DMKIII.

What you all suggest? 
Thanks for all your help
Naveena


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## unfocused (Jan 30, 2014)

I was going to say pick up a refurbished 60D for the time being, but I see you are in India, so that's probably not an option. 

If it were me, I'd probably buy something like the T3i that has the same sensor and use it until either a new 7DII comes out or you have the money for something else. You can always keep the T3i as a second body even if you end up buying another body eventually.

Switching to a 6D or 5D presents one problem, if you are used to using the 100 mm macro on a crop sensor, you'll lose the reach, which means you'll have to move in more closely for macro shots, which isn't always convenient. 

Alternatively, if you really want a 6D or a 5D, you can certainly rationalize that purchase now.


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## gigabellone (Jan 30, 2014)

The 7D is certainly a good camera, and it's worth repairing. Just be sure to check the shutter count. It's not pure math, but a shutter with a very high count is expected to break earlier than one that's hardly been used. Compute the cost of an eventual shutter system replacement in the near future, and check if the sum equals or exceedes the cost of a new camera of comparable quality (Canon 70D, for example).


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## jdramirez (Jan 30, 2014)

Fox it for 500, sell it for 700. If the eagle value was less than the repair... then no... but it is still valuable acc should either be used it sold.


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## unfocused (Jan 30, 2014)

Upon further reflection I think JD and Giga are right. Repair it.

I think I misread your original post and thought it was $500 for parts plus the cost of repair. JD makes a good point, if you get it repaired for $500 you will almost certainly be able to recoup the repair costs when a 7DII comes out.


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## jdramirez (Jan 30, 2014)

jdramirez said:


> Fox it for 500, sell it for 700. If the eagle value was less than the repair... then no... but it is still valuable acc should either be used it sold.



I hate my phone. maybe I just hate swype. Ughhh... I sound like I am a foreigner with a limited vocabulary.


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## Marsu42 (Jan 30, 2014)

knkedlaya said:


> If I go for repair, I am not sure problem will be fixed permanently. But will save lots of money .



This is really unfortunate, and of course you don't know if the next part like the shutter (how many shots do you have) breaks next :-o ... 



knkedlaya said:


> I shoot macros and closeups predominantly and photography is a pure hobby. I shoot Very few land scape and portraits. 90% of the time canon 100mm 2.8 L is on the body, remaining 10% tamron 17-50 2.8VC.



... but in this case, my advice would be to bite the bullet and stay with crop.

For what you shoot, you don't even need the af system of the 7d, a 60d or 550d would be sufficient, they all have got about the same sensor, the 70d isn't much better. If you shoot a lot of handheld @iso 1600 and above a ff could be a consideration, but for a hobbyist on a budget I don't think it's necessary and could even hurt: you'll lose working distance and gain a shallower depth of field which you *don't* want for macro ... and the 100L is very good on crop and equal to ff unless you shoot @f2.8.


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## mwh1964 (Jan 30, 2014)

5D3 for sure or a used 60D if money counts.


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## Halfrack (Jan 31, 2014)

http://www.canon.co.in/personal/web/yourcanon/professionalservices

Get signed up and see if you get a bit of a discount. It's worth fixing, even if you were to sell it and buy a new one.


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## jdramirez (Jan 31, 2014)

Halfrack said:


> http://www.canon.co.in/personal/web/yourcanon/professionalservices
> 
> Get signed up and see if you get a bit of a discount. It's worth fixing, even if you were to sell it and buy a new one.



Good idea... and I'd be happy to take the neck strap they send you off your hands... too help get some of the clutter out of your house.


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## Albi86 (Jan 31, 2014)

knkedlaya said:


> Hello Folks,
> 
> My 7D broke recently, symptom was, all of sudden camera hangs and only way to make it work is to take out the battery and reinsert. Gave it in Canon service center for checkup. They said the mother board and one more item(dont remember exactly what was it) are gone bad. The parts together would cost around 500$. Now I am confused whether to repair or buy a new one.
> I shoot macros and closeups predominantly and photography is a pure hobby. I shoot Very few land scape and portraits. 90% of the time canon 100mm 2.8 L is on the body, remaining 10% tamron 17-50 2.8VC.
> ...



EOS-M? For tripod work it's as good as any Canon crop and much cheaper


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## knkedlaya (Jan 31, 2014)

Thank you all for all your suggestions. The primary reason for going to 7D was weather sealing and burst mode. When I had XSi, every time I was back from tropical weather, it used to malfunction. Exposing to little bit of rain was causing rusting of internal parts. 7D never had any issues in that regard. While hand holding, burst mode is a big plus. 7D fits nicely in my hands and going back to xxD or xxxD means loosing that "feel good" factor. Least used feature of 7D is AF system 
I am still undecided at the moment. 

Thanks once again for all your help.
Naveena


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## Halfrack (Jan 31, 2014)

knkedlaya said:


> Thank you all for all your suggestions. The primary reason for going to 7D was weather sealing and burst mode. When I had XSi, every time I was back from tropical weather, it used to malfunction. Exposing to little bit of rain was causing rusting of internal parts. 7D never had any issues in that regard. While hand holding, burst mode is a big plus. 7D fits nicely in my hands and going back to xxD or xxxD means loosing that "feel good" factor. Least used feature of 7D is AF system
> I am still undecided at the moment.
> 
> Thanks once again for all your help.
> Naveena



Ah, so there is the issue. The 7D doesn't really have weather seals. It has a few, but there are bodies that are much better for use in wet conditions. 

Get the 7D fixed, sell it, and get a 1d mk3 - it's actually designed to be wet.


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## jdramirez (Jan 31, 2014)

Halfrack said:


> knkedlaya said:
> 
> 
> > Thank you all for all your suggestions. The primary reason for going to 7D was weather sealing and burst mode. When I had XSi, every time I was back from tropical weather, it used to malfunction. Exposing to little bit of rain was causing rusting of internal parts. 7D never had any issues in that regard. While hand holding, burst mode is a big plus. 7D fits nicely in my hands and going back to xxD or xxxD means loosing that "feel good" factor. Least used feature of 7D is AF system
> ...


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## alexturton (Jan 31, 2014)

sell it. The 7d is over 3 year old tech now.


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## Skilsaw (Feb 2, 2014)

Pawn your wife's engagement ring, then go for the 5DIII.
Tell your wife you took the ring to the jewelers to be cleaned.


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## jdramirez (Feb 2, 2014)

Skilsaw said:


> Pawn your wife's engagement ring, then go for the 5DIII.
> Tell your wife you took the ring to the jewelers to be cleaned.



In that case... why doesn't he just go full Lovelace and start selling his wife?


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## kegressy (Feb 2, 2014)

70D could be a good option. IQ is pretty much the same for still images as the 7D, and the video is much better if you might be interested in that.
7D M II may or may not come. If it does, it'll be towards the end of this year.
For landscape, 6D supposed to be one of the best options right now.
Check out this:
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Ratings


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## Marsu42 (Feb 2, 2014)

kegressy said:


> 7D M II may or may not come. If it does, it'll be towards the end of this year.



... and if it arrives, it'll be with a large price premium looking at the crowds gathering over the years for an updated good-af-crop-machinegun type camera.


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## greger (Feb 3, 2014)

If it costs $500.00 for parts and labor is added to that, I would not get it repaired. Trade it in on a 70D and wait till 7Dll is out later this year if the latest posts are correct. 
We bought my wife a 70D when it came out she loves it. She may not shoot raw but does like how it shoots jpegs. I would like to shoot with it but would change her settings and that might not be a good idea. :-[


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## awinphoto (Feb 3, 2014)

My 7D had something just like that happen to mine... same description, however when i sent my camera in, they tied it with the board that deals with the USB board saying that board was fried and caused my shorting out... even with my CPS discount, they quoted me nearly $600... You can call me an early adopter, but i bought that camera within the first month of it's release and it's given me many years of loyal work, but it's aging and not getting any younger. If it was my primary body or i really intended to use it for several years to come, i would have OK'd the replacement... BUT, alas, I said thanks but no thanks to the repair and letting it retire with dignity...


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## dgatwood (Feb 8, 2014)

Considering that you can buy a brand new 7D (grey-market) for under a grand, a $600 repair bill is rather obscene.

http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=CNEOS7D&id=CNEOS7D&l=PLA&gclid=CNn2k_-evbwCFYeEfgodYRUAag

I think if I were in your position, I'd disassemble it and sell all the working parts on eBay to other people that Canon wants to overcharge for repairs, then buy a new camera....


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## jdramirez (Feb 8, 2014)

dgatwood said:


> Considering that you can buy a brand new 7D (grey-market) for under a grand, a $600 repair bill is rather obscene.
> 
> http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=CNEOS7D&id=CNEOS7D&l=PLA&gclid=CNn2k_-evbwCFYeEfgodYRUAag
> 
> I think if I were in your position, I'd disassemble it and sell all the working parts on eBay to other people that Canon wants to overcharge for repairs, then buy a new camera....



That's true... maybe you can get more than the $200 you would get making the repair and selling it.


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## dgatwood (Feb 9, 2014)

Used 7Ds on eBay are only going for about $700 ± $20. So you'd be lucky to get $100 out of it if you repaired it and sold it. It shouldn't be hard to make that much off of parts. The eyecup and neck strap ought to get you almost a third of the way there by themselves.

As an added bonus, by parting it out on eBay, you're helping break Canon's parts monopoly, which can only be a good thing for everybody (including, ironically, Canon).


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## Zv (Feb 9, 2014)

Don't waste money on expensive repairs. Ditch it and go for a 70D. You'll be getting an updated camera with similar features and only slightly lower fps. Also the touchscreen and liveview focusing will benefit your macro work. The 7D is a great camera but lets face it, it's getting old now. 

Sell the 7D for parts on ebay. Also see if Canon will take it off your hands.


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## Halfrack (Feb 9, 2014)

Based on the OP's profile saying he's in India, eBay/Abes/Amazon may not really be options, and we don't know what the local used market is like. The tropical locations getting wet is a concern, things like the M aren't gonna do well - there isn't a seal on the EF-M/EF adapter.


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## Marsu42 (Feb 9, 2014)

Zv said:


> Also the touchscreen and liveview focusing will benefit your macro work.



Nice features, but imho not useful for macro. For non-handheld macro, you're much better of with manual focus & Magic Lantern's focus peaking (and stacking of course). The dof is so thin that tipping the touchscreen with your finger will hardly do the trick, and this is the one situation where speed doesn't matter so the faster lv focusing doesn't help much.


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## Zv (Feb 9, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> Zv said:
> 
> 
> > Also the touchscreen and liveview focusing will benefit your macro work.
> ...



Sorry, where did the OP mention handheld macro shooting? I was under the impression that it would have been using a tripod. I'm sure the OP does at least some tripod work so in those cases the flippy up screen, wifi and touchscreen could all benefit him. 

And the OP also mentioned he wanted a higher fps camera, for whatever reason. That was my reasoning behind a 70D. Otherwise yeah I think any crop sensor camera would work. 

But then again, he lives in a humid or tropical environment and needs the weathersealing. A rebel isn't going to cut it. And after owning a 7D, trust me you do not wanna go back to a rebel! 

OP could get a refurbished 7D but I don't know if thats an option.


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## Marsu42 (Feb 9, 2014)

Zv said:


> Sorry, where did the OP mention handheld macro shooting? I was under the impression that it would have been using a tripod. I'm sure the OP does at least some tripod work so in those cases the flippy up screen, wifi and touchscreen could all benefit him.



+1 for the swivel screen, it's invaluable for tripod work and a reason for 60d/70d over 7d. As for wifi, well, imo it's just a crutch for the missing swivel screen on 6d (wifi remote), but ymmv. -1 for the touchscreen, again, I'm positive focus peaking and manual focus is much more precise and quicker than touchscreen af when on tripod.


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## knkedlaya (Feb 9, 2014)

I use tripod heavily for my work. Hand holding only when tripod is not an option. Spareparts business as far as I know never heard of here. The seconds market is around 700$ for 7D. 
Many times I felt the need of swivel screen, definitely going to to be a big plus. Few times I felt the need of touch screen as well - especially when I keep the camera on the ground and I have to view the image on live view, pressing the buttons or the wheels, feels bit awkward. Looks like 70D has most of what I need, need to visit showroom and check how it feels in my hands.

Naveena


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## jeffa4444 (Feb 12, 2014)

The Canon 6d may not have the sophisticated AF system of the 7d (I have both) but the picture quality from its Sensor & Digic 5+ processor is far superior. 
In low light the 6d excels and Ive yet to encounter any real world problems with the 11 point AF system (the 7d having 19 which are all cross type whereas the 6d only has a centre cross type) 

Im sure Canon will replace the 7d in 2014 and at this stage no one knows its specification but if it were me I would not bother repairing the camera if its expensive.


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