# Camera wont start - am I doing something wrong?



## RadioPath (May 26, 2013)

Hi everyone, 

my lovely new 6D arrived and I have a problem: I charged the battery and I think the charger showed a continuos green light at some point. I couldn't take the battery out then* and when I took it out several hours later the charger was blinking (i.e. almost charged?). I took the battery out put it in the camera, unlocked the camera and..... nothing 
Did I do something wrong? I leave other batteries, e.g. the one of my old 400d in the charger often and nothing happens. Is that wrong? 
What would the most likely problem be? Battery or charger? (Or camera?) Unfortunately I don't have another battery to try it out. Am sooooo disappointed, I had looked forward to using it this weekend 
Amazon doesn't have it in stock anymore, so they can't even exchange.

My main question is: Is there any easy stupid thing that I am overlooking? Anything at all? Some magic switch I have to hit somewhere, some plastic wrap hidden somewhere? How can that be in a perfectly new camera/battery/whatevev?

Thanks
RadioPath

* my toddler would have noticed the shiny new toy and would not have been willing to go to bed


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## neuroanatomist (May 26, 2013)

Blinking orange? Unplug the charger, remove and reinsert the battery, wait 2-3 minutes, then plug the charger back in. If it's still blinking orange, call Canon.


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## crbox (May 26, 2013)

That could be the SD card. Try to remove it and check if it works without it. If so, format the card on a computer. 

That happened to me the other day. The camera looked like it was dead with no info on the screen but if I tried to take a shot there was some activity on the lens autofocus motor.


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## RadioPath (May 26, 2013)

Thanks for the quick replies, I sooo much want to use this camera, feels perfect in my hands and that Viewfinder is breath-taking (wasn't even a reason to upgrade for me as I didn't know it was so relevant, but after seeing it...wow)!



neuroanatomist said:


> Blinking orange? Unplug the charger, remove and reinsert the battery, wait 2-3 minutes, then plug the charger back in. If it's still blinking orange, call Canon.



That's what I did, several times. Still blinking. Wasn't sure if maybe it's because it doesn't want to charge because it's almost full? Or should it go green if I put in a charged battery? In that case it would be very likely to be charger/battery, no?



crbox said:


> That could be the SD card. Try to remove it and check if it works without it. If so, format the card on a computer.
> 
> That happened to me the other day. The camera looked like it was dead with no info on the screen but if I tried to take a shot there was some activity on the lens autofocus motor.



I did not insert the SD-card, yet. Didn't even unpack it as I suffer from mild OCD and wanted to make sure that the camera works before I unpack other accessories that I might want to ship back if the camera is broken. It should power up without an SD-card installed, right? 

Looks like I'll have to contact Canon. Maybe they can just exchange the charger and battery without me having to send it in first. Otherwise I would probably go for a refund from amazon and order somewhere else. 

Thanks a bunch
RadioPath


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## Vivid Color (May 26, 2013)

Blinking orange is a feature of the 6D charger that tells you, depending on how many blinks per second, how much/little the battery is charged. (See the manual for details.) I found it annoying at first, but now I kind of like it. It can sometimes take a long time to charge a 6D battery. Still, if it goes much beyond the time stated in the manual, call Canon. Also, I just checked my 6D and it powers up just fine without a card. It even tells you it has no card.


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## RadioPath (May 26, 2013)

Vivid Color said:


> Blinking orange is a feature of the 6D charger that tells you, depending on how many blinks per second, how much/little the battery is charged. (See the manual for details.) I found it annoying at first, but now I kind of like it. It can sometimes take a long time to charge a 6D battery. Still, if it goes much beyond the time stated in the manual, call Canon. Also, I just checked my 6D and it powers up just fine without a card. It even tells you it has no card.



Hi,

I had found out about this (pretty cool) feature. It was blinking at I guess 3x/s. I charged it for a really long time (a day) and then again (after trying it out for the first time) over last night. The camera doesn't even start  The charger keeps blinking. I guess I'll just call Canon tomorrow, maybe they can help me out quickly.

Thanks again guys, this is an AMAZING forum, the only problem is seeing such fantastic pictures posted and realizing how much I have to learn!

RadioPath


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 26, 2013)

RadioPath said:


> Vivid Color said:
> 
> 
> > Blinking orange is a feature of the 6D charger that tells you, depending on how many blinks per second, how much/little the battery is charged. (See the manual for details.) I found it annoying at first, but now I kind of like it. It can sometimes take a long time to charge a 6D battery. Still, if it goes much beyond the time stated in the manual, call Canon. Also, I just checked my 6D and it powers up just fine without a card. It even tells you it has no card.
> ...


You have a bad battery. This does happen. It is not always the battery cell itself, there is a electronic circuit in the battery that can shut it off and not allow it to charge.

Unfortunately, you may need to exchange the entire camera, that's what others have had to do. Its probably your safest option, in any event.


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## brett b (May 26, 2013)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> RadioPath said:
> 
> 
> > Vivid Color said:
> ...



If Mt. Spokane is right and it's the battery, you could always find a local store and buy a battery. This would give you the ability find out if it really is the battery and, since you were wanting to shoot this weekend, you could enjoy the camera then deal with Amazon on Tuesday. You'll want a 2nd battery anyway, so that would not be a waste of money.


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## unfocused (May 26, 2013)

brett b said:


> If Mt. Spokane is right and it's the battery, you could always find a local store and buy a battery. This would give you the ability find out if it really is the battery and, since you were wanting to shoot this weekend, you could enjoy the camera then deal with Amazon on Tuesday. You'll want a 2nd battery anyway, so that would not be a waste of money.



That's what I would do. 

Zip over to the nearest Best Buy and pick up a second battery. Unfortunately, they won't have Canon brand, but since it's only your spare and this is an emergency, it's okay. Put the battery in the camera immediately, without trying to charge it. Usually they have a little juice in them to begin with. Should be enough to power the camera up. 

If it doesn't, then stick it in the charger for about an hour. You should be able to tell from the indicators on the charger after an hour if the battery is charging (You should get two or three fast blinks, a little pause and then two or three more. Or, if fully charged a solid green.)

If the indicators aren't showing any progress, it's probably your charger that is bad. If they are showing some progress, then take the battery out and put it in the camera again. An hour of charging should be plenty to give it enough juice to power the camera on. If it doesn't power on, it's probably the camera. 

If it does, then use the battery check on the camera to see how much juice is in the battery. If it shows 50% or more, go ahead and use it like that, until the battery drops to like 10-20% or so and then charge it up fully. 

You'll then know that you have a bad battery and, as Brett says, you can deal with it on Tuesday. I would think they would just send you a replacement battery. At least that's what I would expect of Adorama or B&H. I don't know about Amazon. I avoid them whenever I can.


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## RadioPath (May 26, 2013)

Hi!



Mt Spokane Photography said:


> You have a bad battery. This does happen. It is not always the battery cell itself, there is a electronic circuit in the battery that can shut it off and not allow it to charge.
> 
> Unfortunately, you may need to exchange the entire camera, that's what others have had to do. Its probably your safest option, in any event.



Why would I have to change the whole camera? Could the battery have damaged the camera?


unfocused said:


> brett b said:
> 
> 
> > If Mt. Spokane is right and it's the battery, you could always find a local store and buy a battery. This would give you the ability find out if it really is the battery and, since you were wanting to shoot this weekend, you could enjoy the camera then deal with Amazon on Tuesday. You'll want a 2nd battery anyway, so that would not be a waste of money.
> ...



That's a good idea! The only problem would be: If it's the charger, I would damage my (new) replacement battery... Weekend is over anyways. 

Why do you avoid amazon? Is it not that good in the states? Here (Germany) they have in my humble experience by FAR the best service. Wish we had B&H over here, though. Bought some stuff there on vacation - amazing.

Thanks again!
RadioPath


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## unfocused (May 26, 2013)

RadioPath said:


> Hi!
> 
> That's a good idea! The only problem would be: If it's the charger, I would damage my (new) replacement battery... Weekend is over anyways.
> 
> ...



Sorry, didn't realize you were in Germany. Hard to know with the internet. 

I don't think the battery charger would damage the battery. More likely, it just wouldn't charge it. I was just trying to help diagnose the problem. It's probably a battery or charger issue, since from what you've said, it doesn't sound like the battery is getting charged at all. But, I wanted to rule out a camera problem. 

As for Amazon, my bias is just based on the company's policies. They have built their business model on tax avoidance, avoiding making any concrete investment in facilities and minimizing the number of persons they employ. I prefer to spend my dollars with stores that actually pay taxes and employ people. So, it's a personal/political decision, having nothing to do with service or quality of product. And, I'm not pure, there are times when I buy from them if I can't get the product or competitive price elsewhere. 

Good luck on the 6D. So disappointing to have it there and be unable to use it. But, keep in mind that in a week or so, everything should be resolved and you'll be happily taking pictures.


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## RadioPath (May 26, 2013)

unfocused said:


> RadioPath said:
> 
> 
> > Hi!
> ...



Thanks, I know 
I hear you about amazon. From what I've gathered unfortunately other big companies don't seem to be much better in this regard. And with the little store around the corner: tried several of those (for computer stuff, though) and was screwed each and every time with customer support. Won't go there again


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## RadioPath (May 28, 2013)

Shipped the camera back to amazon, since they don't have it in stock for a refund. It's probably for the best, though, as Canon is now starting to include Lightroom and PS Elements with the 6D and 5DIII, so I will hopefully find a newer box that includes the download code. Saves both money and nerves trying to figure out whether to buy LR or Aperture


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## RadioPath (Jun 7, 2013)

Got a working 6D - amazing camera! Just love everything about it. The big Viewfinder, IQ, handling - wow!


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## J.R. (Jun 7, 2013)

RadioPath said:


> Got a working 6D - amazing camera! Just love everything about it. The big Viewfinder, IQ, handling - wow!



Nice to know that the situation was successfully resolved ... congratulations on your purchase.


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