# 5D2 over exposes by ~7 stops



## Hannes (Jul 16, 2016)

Today my 5D2 started over exposing quite consistently at +7 when using the view fiender. Live view works perfectly fine and the over exposure is the same no matter what setting the camera is in. Given this I assume the light meter has packed in our something has gotten dislodged in there since it can tell the difference between light and dark. It is however completely wrong. I've found some references to this fenomenen on the Internet but only one who has had it fixed (shutter assembly). Any ideas what this might cost as I imagine it'll be a canon repair centre fix. Also since I'm not a cps member does it make more sense to contact a third party repair centre hoping it'll be cheaper given the age of the camera?


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## Larsskv (Jul 16, 2016)

If you're lucky, you have changed the settings for which matte screen you're using. You might want to look into that.


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## Hannes (Jul 16, 2016)

Larsskv said:


> If you're lucky, you have changed the settings for which matte screen you're using. You might want to look into that.



Sadly not, even tried a full reset. Didn't make any difference


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jul 16, 2016)

I'd expect a shutter issue, I think you will have to have it repaired.


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## ksgal (Jul 16, 2016)

Have you tried a different lens yet? or re-seated the current lens? or cleaned the contacts? could be an aperture not stopping down. Go manual and choose a setting to expose properly wide open, and then stopped down. Shutter problems often show up has half frames, but lens problems can be aperture sticking open.


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## Hannes (Jul 16, 2016)

ksgal said:


> Have you tried a different lens yet? or re-seated the current lens? or cleaned the contacts? could be an aperture not stopping down. Go manual and choose a setting to expose properly wide open, and then stopped down. Shutter problems often show up has half frames, but lens problems can be aperture sticking open.



It doesn't seem to be a lens problem. It exposes perfectly when using live view but not the vf. Think bright sunlight at iso 100, f1.2 and shutter speed of 1/15 when letting the camera set the exposure. The picture also comes out fine dialing in correct settings in manual (correct shutter speed 1/5000).The exposure isn't the problem but the camera seems to think it is really dark.


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## Orangutan (Jul 17, 2016)

Hannes said:


> ksgal said:
> 
> 
> > Have you tried a different lens yet? or re-seated the current lens? or cleaned the contacts? could be an aperture not stopping down. Go manual and choose a setting to expose properly wide open, and then stopped down. Shutter problems often show up has half frames, but lens problems can be aperture sticking open.
> ...



Have you tried different metering modes? If the error varies between modes, but is consistent within a mode, it could suggest that one of the sensors is obscured.


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## Hannes (Jul 17, 2016)

Orangutan said:


> Hannes said:
> 
> 
> > ksgal said:
> ...



Just tried, it changes at most 1/3 stops


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## 3kramd5 (Jul 17, 2016)

I'd take even money you need to replace the shutter assembly.


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## AUGS (Jul 17, 2016)

So if I understand correctly:
1. When using an automatic mode (Av, Tv, etc) it over-exposes.
2. When using Manual exposure (you over-ride the sensor) you get a correct exposure.
3. When using Live View, you get a correct exposure.

Based off (2) and (3), the shutter is working okay - it gives you what the camera is set to do.

The problem occurs when you let the camera set the exposure using the meter in the pentaprism (1). I'd expect the sensor is either obscured, misaligned, defective;
OR
The mirror has become misaligned (so the light isn't being transferred to the meter) - wasn't this an issue in the 5D2? Have you checked the mirror without a lens attached to the camera? A colleague just had his 5D2 repaired for a defective mirror assembly recently as one side became detached, and the symptoms are very similar.

Either way, the camera will need repair.


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## 3kramd5 (Jul 17, 2016)

The same thing happened to one of my 5D2s. Same symptoms (although it wasn't 7-stops difference). It affected manual mode, however (I missed the post above stating that this does not). Canon replaced the shutter assembly and it fixed it. Maybe there is something on that board which affects metering.


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## Hannes (Jul 17, 2016)

3kramd5 said:


> The same thing happened to one of my 5D2s. Same symptoms (although it wasn't 7-stops difference). It affected manual mode, however (I missed the post above stating that this does not). Canon replaced the shutter assembly and it fixed it. Maybe there is something on that board which affects metering.



It affects manual in the sense that the light meter is useless. The picture comes out fine but only if I manually work out the correct exposure based of the live view exposure which is correct


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## ajfotofilmagem (Jul 17, 2016)

Hannes said:


> 3kramd5 said:
> 
> 
> > The same thing happened to one of my 5D2s. Same symptoms (although it wasn't 7-stops difference). It affected manual mode, however (I missed the post above stating that this does not). Canon replaced the shutter assembly and it fixed it. Maybe there is something on that board which affects metering.
> ...


In this case, the suspect is the camera's photometer, which mainly seemed "disjointed" and do not see the light levels as it should.


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## Hannes (Jul 27, 2016)

I dropped it off with canon yesterda . The tech thought something was broken but he had no idea what. Maybe the motherboard, maybe the sensor was misaligned, maybe something else. Oh dear


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## jolyonralph (Jul 27, 2016)

I had a similar problem with my 500D a few years ago, the odd thing was that only certain lenses were affected, the EF-S 18-55 had little or no problems, the 50mm f/1.8 II was mildly affected and the 28-135mm was the worst affected. All three lenses worked perfectly on a 20D and 40D so I knew it was a problem with the body.

Sent it back to Canon for repair - they managed to fix it (on the second attempt) without a shutter replacement.


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## AUGS (Jul 27, 2016)

Hannes said:


> I dropped it off with canon yesterda . The tech thought something was broken but he had no idea what. Maybe the motherboard, maybe the sensor was misaligned, maybe something else. Oh dear


Sorry to hear that. Hope it gets resolved quickly.


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## romanr74 (Jul 27, 2016)

the sonikons believe underexposing by 5+ steps is cool. 
your camera is starting a counter-initiative it seems...


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## Hannes (Aug 2, 2016)

Just got the verdict back and it wasn't bad. Turns out it was just a faulty flex cable so they did a service, clean and fixed the cable for £84 including UPS shipping home. Not too bad to be honest.


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## Valvebounce (Aug 3, 2016)

Hi Hannes. 
That's good news, glad to hear it was reasonably priced to fix it. 

Cheers, Graham. 



Hannes said:


> Just got the verdict back and it wasn't bad. Turns out it was just a faulty flex cable so they did a service, clean and fixed the cable for £84 including UPS shipping home. Not too bad to be honest.


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