# Mode dial plaque fell off 6d. Should I glue it back on?



## ScottyP (Jun 8, 2015)

Hi,

The little metal cap with the settings (TV, Av, M, etc) printed on it fell off the top of my mode selector dial. It still works ok. I can even live without it if need be since you can tell what mode it is in from the LCD though it is awkward. 

It has tiny drops of glue residue on it so I guess it was glued on to begin with? Is there any reason I should not just glue it back on? I don't want to ship off for service, as I need it for a couple of personal trips over the next few weeks.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jun 8, 2015)

Just carefully glue it back on. Fortunately you did not lose it.  It happens occasionally, and you can't get a new dial, a whole assembly must be replaced. Since thermal expansion is one of the big factors in breaking glue bonds, use a glue that flexes a little. Super glue is not a good choice, since it is very hard. A drop of Gorilla glue should work. Contact cement will work too, but if you need to adjust the dial position a little, too bad.


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## ScottyP (Jun 8, 2015)

Thanks Mt Spokane. I will hit the hardware store glue aisle and glue it. 

Out of curiosity, how long would a camera be gone for something like this? I have never sent one away and I live nowhere any center.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jun 8, 2015)

It depends on the workload of the shop. Usually, it spends more time in shipping than in the shop. So figure 3-5 days or less getting repaired plus time in transit.

You can always come up against a part shortage, or a sudden rush of Pros who will have priority.

I'd call ahead. June is wedding month, so all bets are off. Between equipment failures at weddings and people repairing cameras for vacation, it may be hectic. August and September can be pretty slow.


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## Chisox2335 (Jun 8, 2015)

Mine fell off in Africa. Stuck it on with medical tape then gorilla glued it on when I got home. Been good for 8 months


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## degos (Jun 8, 2015)

Now there's one improvement I _would_ like to see on the 6D2; eliminate the silly big mode-selector dial and replace it with a neat little button to cycle through the modes. Perhaps even located on the grip, or somewhere else actually usable when shooting!


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## Marsu42 (Jun 8, 2015)

ScottyP said:


> It has tiny drops of glue residue on it so I guess it was glued on to begin with? Is there any reason I should not just glue it back on? I don't want to ship off for service, as I need it for a couple of personal trips over the next few weeks.



This is a standard problem with the 6d (talking about "cheap"), it happened to me, too. I left it off until it had to be serviced anyway, and - as cps doesn't "repair" but "exchange" put a whole new mode dial in on warranty. But I imagine a tiny glue drop does the job as it's obvious that that's what holds it together in the first place.


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 8, 2015)

degos said:


> Now there's one improvement I _would_ like to see on the 6D2; eliminate the silly big mode-selector dial and replace it with a neat little button to cycle through the modes.



They did, it's called the 1-series bodies.


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## Otara (Jun 8, 2015)

Fell off for me too, but had no problem just getting a new plate to glue on myself, no need for entire dial. No problems since. Australia based might be the difference.


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## HankMD (Jun 8, 2015)

Fell off mine within months of receiving it (a refurbished one). Glued it back myself and hope it'll stay on. I'd hate to lose it.


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## Marsu42 (Jun 8, 2015)

HankMD said:


> Glued it back myself and hope it'll stay on. I'd hate to lose it.



But shooting w/o the mode dial letters teaches you to know your gear blindly :->



degos said:


> Now there's one improvement I _would_ like to see on the 6D2; eliminate the silly big mode-selector dial and replace it with a neat little button to cycle through the modes.



Fyi Magic Lantern used to do this (override/change modes with a button press), but after some quirks they disabled this functionality. Pity, quickly switching between Av and Tv mode is really useful, and Canon probably knows this as they've reserved this for the 1d. 

Personally, my top annoyance with the mode dial on my 60d and 6d is the lack of c modes as Canon uses this to separate their joe sixpack and pro user models.


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## ScottyP (Jun 8, 2015)

Two expert level questions:

1.). Would the plastic control knob itself be either PE or PP plastic? Some of the glues for metal to plastic say they are not suitable for those two substances.

2.). If I use a permanent glue that won't prevent replacing the knob later? They don't need to pry that little plate off to access something to remove the knob do they?

Also,
I am torn between silicone glue and contact cement (pending answers on the PP and PE thing). I believe silicone glue is what Canon used, as the residue is kind of soft and rubbery. Contact cement is apparently also a bit rubbery but more permanent. 
I worried about Gorilla Glue because it expands as it dries and I would not want the plate to wise up out of the recess it is supposed to sit in.


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## mdmphoto (Jun 8, 2015)

Mine fell off too some 4 months ago, but luckily I found the dial about a month later down in my backpack. I carefully positioned and glued it back on, and have had no problems since--though I did use a gorilla crazy-type glue. I'll know better should it fall off again...


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## rocksubculture (Jun 8, 2015)

I had the metal plaque fall off of one of my Canon 5D IIIs while I was shooting a concert in December. I had permission to shoot from all over the venue as well as the stage, so I had no idea where it fell off, so didn't have the part to glue back on myself.

I sent it in to Canon for repair. The rubber part of the dial (the grippy part) was torn where it touches the dial plaque, so I assumed they'd replace the entire dial.

It ended up costing $183.91 (after my CPS Gold discount). But the base cost was:

Out of warranty labor charge: $219.00
Part: $10.12

Except when I got it back, they didn't replace the whole dial, just the plaque (even though the rubber part was torn, leave the edge of the new plaque exposed and prone to getting knocked off again).

To Canon's credit, I sent it back again and they replaced the entire mode dial for free, and they also found a problem with the sensor and fixed that for free, and also replaced the LCD on the top for free because it was scratched. So all in all they did some extras for no added cost.

Anyway, my point is, if you send it in to Canon to glue back on, it will probably cost you over $200, based on my experience. The part cost itself is negligible.

Jason


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## rocketride (Jun 8, 2015)

How stupid an idea would it be to prophylactically pry the plate off and re-glue it with something better?


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## mnclayshooter (Jun 8, 2015)

ScottyP said:


> Thanks Mt Spokane. I will hit the hardware store glue aisle and glue it.
> 
> Out of curiosity, how long would a camera be gone for something like this? I have never sent one away and I live nowhere any center.



One of my 6D's had a problem after about a week and a half of owning it - the power switch cracked and broke off... it's installed under the mode dial (as I'm sure you can see on yours). They had to replace the entire top panel of the camera. Obviously a week and a half should be under warranty but I spent the better part of 2-3 weeks arguing with them about warranty definitions and coverage. Ultimately, it took about one day in the repair bench and a few days of shipping. 

I would read the glue bottles carefully to understand how they work - some may not bond to plastic - I'm assuming the mode knob is probably ABS... Some may actually partially melt the plastic in order to make a stronger bond. In any case - you should try to very carefully remove the existing glue ... possibly using a flat exacto blade or something very similar - again stressing - carefully. Glue often doesn't stick well to other glue.... IT may also be of use to take a hole punch to some 300 grit wet-dry paper and then glue the punched dots onto the eraser end of a pencil to make a sort of "Sanding stylus"... then you can roughen up the surface a little bit to get the glue to get better bond to the plastic.


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## Marsu42 (Jun 8, 2015)

ScottyP said:


> 2.). If I use a permanent glue that won't prevent replacing the knob later? They don't need to pry that little plate off to access something to remove the knob do they?



Well, if you ever get it serviced and your warranty is void b/c you tampred with unlicensed glue, be sure to tell us :->



rocksubculture said:


> Anyway, my point is, if you send it in to Canon to glue back on, it will probably cost you over $200, based on my experience. The part cost itself is negligible.



Unfortunately, the labor cost (at least with my country's cps) is so high minor repairs are moot and you simply can buy a completely new part, all shiny and complete with warranty :-(

But as written above, for me the missing dial cap was a warranty case (inside the warranty period, of course). Obviously they know that it's not glued on correctly with the 6d and don't try it to put it down to user mis-handling.



rocketride said:


> How stupid an idea would it be to prophylactically pry the plate off and re-glue it with something better?



It might depend on the age of the 6d - maybe they fixed the issue in newer versions. But if yours is as old as mine (~2+ years) and the plate (already) appears a bit wobbly if you try to lift it a bit, it probably is ok to pry it off and re-glue it more safely. There are two glue points on mine.

But really, it's not like *every* 6d has this issue and it probably depends on environment how long the glue points last, so if you ask about "stupid" I wouldn't outright deny this assessment


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## ihendy (Jun 8, 2015)

I'm not sure if this applies but this is what I found out when something similar happened to me with my 5d mk II.

I lost the little metal piece that sits on top of the dial on my 5d MKII. Turns out you can't just get that piece. In fact you can not easily just get the knob. You have to get the whole top plate. So for me to get the knob fixed it would require the whole top plate and a lot of money. Of note - my camera was out of warranty.

So I looked around and found a replacement knob on eBay out of China - ordered it, took a hair dryer, heated up the old knob, pried off the plate on the spare part and attached the metal plate to my camera with a couple drops of super glue applied to the exact existing glue spots. 

I guess I figured if I ever need work on the button in the future, they will just replace the whole assembly anyway. I was already out of warranty so I thought - screw it. My knob has remained on for a couple of years now, with no issue and it only cost me 15 dollars to fix.

Hope this helps. I hated not having the metal top so I understand your frustration.

ps Just be sure you don't use too much glue so it does not ooze into anywhere it should not.


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## retroreflection (Jun 8, 2015)

I really doubt the dials are PE or PP because Canon knew they were going to need to glue things on. My first guess was PU, but ABS might be more likely. I recommend applying the glue to the metal at a safe distance from the camera, when satisfied with the amount place it on the dial. An accidental overrun would be bad.
As far as prophylaxis, if you KNOW what the material is, and KNOW you can make a better adhesive choice than Canon (because of less economic or production rate constraints) then have at it. Otherwise, you might be (insert verb commonly associated with prophylactic devices)ing yourself.


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## Robert Welch (Jun 8, 2015)

Well, mine fell off and I re-glued it with super glue (original brand) before ever reading this thread. Maybe there will be some issue with using that glue eventually, but so far it's been fine. However, it hasn't been very long ago, so time will tell.


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## TeT (Jun 9, 2015)

photo mount adhesive


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## scottkinfw (Jun 9, 2015)

I had a tumble in the Grand Canyon due to icy conditions. Fortunately, only my dial plaque of my 5D III took a hit, like yours, and fell off.

I think I used gorilla glue or something like that. Except for a slight nick, good as new.

sek


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## mdmphoto (Jun 9, 2015)

rocketride said:


> How stupid an idea would it be to prophylactically pry the plate off and re-glue it with something better?



I mostly follow the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. I think this issue is not necessarily inherent in EOS bodies, but dependent on usage conditions, and probably manufacturing batch...


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## ScottyP (Jun 10, 2015)

Mine fell off in a temperature change. I had been at the pool on a warm day but then set the camera down on the car cold ole in front of the cold AC. It just dropped off onto the console.

There was surprisingly little glue. Just two tiny, tiny bits. Also, the glue stuck to the metal disk and retained a negative imprint of the knob below, but completely let go of the plastic knob body, leaving not a trace of glue on it.

I bought a flexible quick setting contact cement called "GOOP". I will give it a try later in the week and report back.


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## Frodo (Jun 10, 2015)

Marsu42 said:


> Personally, my top annoyance with the mode dial on my 60d and 6d is the lack of c modes as Canon uses this to separate their joe sixpack and pro user models.


The 6D has two custom modes ("C"), or do you mean something else?


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## docsavage123 (Jun 10, 2015)

I was in Alaska in 2012 and dropped my 7D off a bench when changing to a 5D body the housing round the flash shoe splintered slightly and thought I would have to live with that. Then Canon introduced the locked mode dial for the 7D, I sent it off paid £125 and got it back looking like new all housing round flash replaced. Not bad considering it was out of warranty as well.


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## GaabNZ (Jun 10, 2015)

mine fell off last week while holiday in Las Vegas.

Luckily I found it on the floor. I have just stuck it back into place with super glue. Minimum amount, put on with a cocktail stick.

Mode dial is moving as normal and its sticking well so far. I was very concious of getting too much glue on it and stopping the mode dial turning, so used the absolute smallest bit of glue.


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## bholliman (Jun 10, 2015)

The mode dial cap fell off my 6D last winter after 2+ years of hard use. I first tried to glue it back on with super glue, but that only lasted a few days and I tried again with contact cement and its stayed on since. Fortunately, both times it came off in the camera bag, so I didn't lose it.


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## Marsu42 (Jun 10, 2015)

Frodo said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > Personally, my top annoyance with the mode dial on my 60d and 6d is the lack of c modes as Canon uses this to separate their joe sixpack and pro user models.
> ...



Yes, that's it - Canon's "pro" models have 3 C moves and I definitely could use at least one more than the 6d is graced with.


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## Valvebounce (Jun 10, 2015)

Hi Marsu. 
Wow they were subtle with that then, 40D 3x C, 50D 2x C, 60D 1x C! And the 6 D only got two as well, that must save so much in production! :
On topic all my dial caps are on original glue. 

Cheers, Graham. 



Marsu42 said:


> Frodo said:
> 
> 
> > Marsu42 said:
> ...


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