Repairing my 5D Mark II

On a trip in the mountains of California I dropped my 5D camera. So, on 9-23-2013 I am packing it up to go to CPS for service:

I am sending it to: 

Canon Factory Service Center
15955 ALTON PARKWAY
IRVINE, CA 92618

866-510-1335
The first step is to go to the Canon repair website and fill out their form. This will give you a repair number, a label you can print out, and a slip of paper you include with the camera when you ship it in. The form asks when you purchased the camera. This is so they can determine whether the repair is covered under warranty or not. My camera was purchased in February of 2011, so it is clearly out of warranty in September of 2013 (the warranty goes for a year), and damage due to a drop would not be covered under warranty anyway.

I shipped it FedEx, Second day (one day was $80, two day was $40), mid afternoon on Monday, 9-23-2013.

It was received early Wednesday morning, 9-25-2013 according to FedEx tracking.

I received a quote for $329, mid afternoon of Thursday, 9-26-2013. I accepted the quote and paid by credit card online.

Monday, 9-30-2013 at about 5 PM, I got the email notification that the work was done, my camera was ready to ship, and a FedEx tracking number was provided. Fedex predicts it will arrive sometime Wednesday 10-2-2013.

And it did arrive! Shortly after noon on Wednesday 10-2-1013, the FedEx man walked into my shop with a box in his hand. Inside was my 5dii, wonderfully repaired, and with a new LCD rear cover installed. So for a total of $369 my camera was as good as new. And they cleaned the sensor for me too.

Comments on the accident and the damage

The camera fell out of a backpack I was carrying that I had neglected to secure by yanking the drawstring before putting it on my back. It fell onto hard rock from a height of 5 or 6 feet impacting on the corner where the battery and flash card are inserted. The doors for both the battery and flash card were sprung open and with the battery door open, the camera would not run. I later found I could force the door almost shut and the camera was then perfectly usable.

The 24-70 f/2.8 L lens was on the camera (with its lens hood mounted) at the time of the accident, and seems entirely unscathed. Having the lens hood on probably saved it from damage.

The mistake was rooted in simply being in a hurry. I was trying to assist and move with a group of people in a wilderness setting, while also taking photographs. The group moved and I quickly grabbed my pack. I am lucky the camera bounced only once, another bounce would have taken it to a 50 foot drop into a lake.

Feedback? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's Digital Photography Info / tom@mmto.org