Problem of EF adapter
 

Yesterday I found my EF is not working with 70~200 IS 2.8L. While I was taking Oriental Pratincole, suddenly there's warning in the view finder "LENS not mounted properly" in red letter & the aperture is not functioning in M mode. I took out the lens after switching off the cam. & again mounted the lens, same warning appeared. I even tried my friends 600mm (a great lens one must have)the same story, but one thing I noticed the cranking sound continued. When switched on the battery indicator of EF adapter glowed. I tried with A Tv Av & M modes no changes. I can shoot the video in fixed aperture, only by changing shutter speed.& no display of lightmeter.
Can any body help me in this regard. I checked the voltage of the battery it's 6v on multimetre. No problem with 20X XL lens.
Ashok Mansur
One more thing how much the life of EF battery last long

Hi Ashok,

I don't have any experience with the EF Adaptor but anyway: did you try to clean the electrical contacts on the lens and the adaptor?

Hallo Rainer, I cleaned every contact points. Still same problem continues, Immediately after switching on " CHECK THE LENS " script displays in EVF. And continuous cranking sound comes in the lens.
Ashok Mansur

Hi Ashok, in that case change the battery. If it still doesn't work then, I'm afraid the adaptor has to go to the Canon service.

But may be someone else has a brilliant idea?

Ashok. Have you gotten it fixed and what was the remedy?
I'm looking into the EF Adapter as well. TIA.

Hallo Carl........
 

Negative as the Canon service people said the PCB is gone, they got the spare from Japan, but that was for latest EF adapter. And it couldn't replaced, they asked for extra time to get the proper spare part. But I said enough people,you took h... of time. As I bought brand new from B&H. it covered 1 year warranty. So I am sending it back to US.
Ashok
If anybody has a better idea, plz respond

Warranty replacement via the dealer is definitely the best way to resolve this.

Ashok,
I had a similar problem once. The source was the contacts in the EF Adapter. For some reason, the weight of the battery wasn't sufficient to make good contact, and I had to shove a piece of plastic into the battery compartment to push the battery tighter onto the contacts. Worked fine after that. For what it's worth...

Steve Siegel

There was no alternative left for me, so I already sent it. Steve my EF adapter was only 2 months old & tried all possible means, so I was not having any choice.
I have one question for you Chris, may be this is not proper topic in this catogory. Yet I dare to ask you, this is my wish to have 200~400mm f4 IS / may be upto 500mm from Canon. can you just pass on to Canon to make this lens? As the watchdog has influenced Canon, to improve XL 1.
Ashok

Hi Ashok, while it is true that the Watchdog has influenced Canon, that is a result of a lot of people joining together here and definitely not a result of just me alone.

A lens such as you describe would come from the Canon Photo division and unfortunately the Watchdog doesn't have any established communications with that part of Canon. There is however the EOS 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM lens which is an excellent choice for the XL series. The only drawback is that it cannot be used with either 1.6x or 2x EOS tele-extenders. Hope this helps,

Hallo Chris.....
 

I do agree, but your are the main person, who is the cause for that, at least you can pass on the message to their counter part. Well the problem with 100~400 is, doesn't have fixed aperture, more than that the zoom is pull push type. Which creats vacuum & attracts fungus, main problem in our area. As I live in the temperate zone.
Ashok

Chris need your help...........
 

After facing problem from 1st EF adaptor I bought another EF adapter, which was working good for a month now that one is also giving the same problem.
like "CHECK LENS" & continuous humming sound comes within lens. I switch off the IS, set manual focus for my 70-200 2.8 IS. use 519/525 manfrotto, I put the new 6V battery. still no changes. don't know what to do,here in India Canon service is like novice because they don't know the cause of the problem. as for my 1st adapter these people told to pay Rs8000/ for the faulty PCB next moment they couldn't get the proper PCB asking for more time. when sent back to Canon US , they said no problem with EF adapter.
Is there any alternative for the problem like the contact links of the adapter like AF,IS, Diaphragm link to be insulated or something like that.

Please help me.

Ashok

Hi Ashok..............
 

Probably not the Chris you were expecting but hey, I'll give it a shot..........

That this has happened a second time makes me think there is a common factor at work (assuming it is exactly the same problem). I'm also going to assume this is not operator error or mis - handling (not at those prices). I am also going to assume from the weather reports I've seen from Asia that the weather has been more than a tad humid of late.

Now, I know this is going to sound loopy but humour me. Ashock, take the EF adaptor and lens off the camera, get an airtight sealable plastic box about twice the size of both units together and as much silical gel as you can stuff in with them. Make sure the silica gel has been "refreshed" in an oven beforehand.

Load 'em up, shut the box and leave somewhere nice and warm for a few days. Take em out, move anything and everything that can move (pump the lens etc) and stick back in the box with refreshed gel.

It could take a week or more to get the humidity out of that system but it's got to be worth a try. If this turns out to be the problem you may have to invest in a permanent "dry system box".

Here's hoping.

CS

Thanks CS........
 

You are always a guardian angel, I will do that & hope it works fine, let you know all.

Ashok

Hi Ashok (again)........
 

Have had a chat to the Canon Support manager here in NZ about the EF and learnt it ain't just a bit of plumbing to join two disparate bits of hardware together.

Seems there's actually a processor in that thing as well as some other pretty sophisticated electronics (much to my amazement - but hey, you learn something new every day).

Been pondering your situation and cannot come up with a scenario other than "humidity overload" (or, perhaps, winning the world lottery, same sort of odds) to explain what's happening.

Give the "silica gel" idea a decent go and keep in touch. Got my fingers crossed for you.

Chris

Hello Chris S ..........
 

You people are so lucky; you have access to Canon & get response positively. Here Canon Indian staff not yet responding to my querry, I'm ashamed of Canon because of these people.
I wrote a mail to Canon Support - XL Club USA. they respond positively eager to help, but it's not possible for me to send my cam there. Here we too have Canon service center, but god only can help. Is there any thing that I can approach Canon HQ?

Ashok

Hi Ashok.......
 

OK, well, I can understand your frustration, been there, done that and know the feeling well.

Before I say anything else, can I just clarify one or two points?

1. Both your lens and another borrowed EOS lens exhibit the same fault symptoms when used on your camera with your EF adapter?

2. Your EOS lens and borrowed EOS lens work fine on an EOS still camera?

3. You do not have access to another camera with EF adapter?

4. Your standard lens works fine on your camera without the EF adaptor?

Assuming the answer to all the above is "Yes", I think we can agree the EF adaptor is highly suspect.

OK. Now, just a word in defence of Canon Service (no, I don't work for Canon, but I do have an idea how the Service Centres function).

Ashok, it is almost a dead cert that wherever you sent you previous EF adaptor for repair, had never seen an EF adaptor in their lives. It is even less likely (in fact you'd have more chance of winning the lottery) that in attempting to repair it they had either a XL1/s/ 2 OR an EOS still lens "just lying about" to test it with.

The fact that the EF adaptor is only testable as part of a much more complex "system" would have put them well behind the 8 ball right from the start.

[Just a small detour at this point - I did have a bad moment thinking this through that maybe, just maybe, this component if bought in India or elsewhere in SE Asia, MAY have been "tropicalised" for the prevailing conditions and that the fact that this was purchased from the States meant it was not - then I thought, naaaah!]

Does that excuse what subsequently happened? No, but it does offer some mitigation, in my humble opinion.

Now, as for the new EF adapter, assuming for one terrible moment the problem IS NOT humidity related (or was, but has resulted in secondary damage not recoveable by simply drying it out) you are going to have to get it in front of a service tech who:


a. Knows what they are doing
b. Has access to the necessary components to effect a repair.
c. Has access to the other system components with which to test it.

[You should be able to work out where I'm going with this, but I'll continue.]

Right, I suggest you get on the blower, first to Narsimha Shastry in Bangalore (080 - 412 80150/ 151/ 153). Tell the story and see how they respond. What you are trying to acheive is a personal visit, by yourself with camera, adapter and lens to Bangalore and park yourself in front of a tech and don't leave till it's fixed (could take a while).

If that fails, try either Priyanka or Monninder Sharma (0124 416 0067 - 8) at the Canon Master Service Centre in Delhi. No, I'm not suggestion a jolly to Delhi but if you can't get what you want in Bangalore you're going to have to send the whole kit and kaboodle off SOMEWHERE. There are other Master Service Centres all over the place but I think Delhi is at the top of the food chain.

If Delhi refer you straight back to Bangalore, you're stuck, but I suggest you cross that bridge when you get there.

Anyway, whilst you are waiting for this adaptor to right itself (or not) I suggest you start your phone marathon and think about packing a bag for a trip to Bangalore (lovely place, wish I could go myself).

Oh, and do not lose your temper! Excited, yes, very excited even (this is India, after all) but leave it at that. Sooner or later you WILL find someone prepared to let the buck stop there.


Oh, one other thing. Canon India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon Singapore (bet you didn't know that!). If you strike out in India, get a phone card and try Singapore.

Keep us posted with the next exciting episode.

Chris

Hi Ashok

If I understand correctly, this is the second EF adapter which is now exhibiting the same problem as the first one you had. I hate to say it, but there may be some issue with the camera head itself which might be causing this. Unfortunately the only sure way to find out is to send the entire system, the camera, the adapter and the lens, so that the service department can experience this problem for themselves. This is not what you wanted to hear but it is the only solution I can think of.

Hello Chris S ......
 

You are right, for your 4 questions the answer is "yes". Your guess is correct Bangalore Service people never heard EF adapter & it's function. According to Gurgaon HQ of Canon India, the service facility is with Mumbai (Bombay) service center. So the EF adapter was sent to Mumbai from B'lore center. Those people suggesting the PCB failed & they have to procure it from Singapore & I have to bear the cost of the PCB, which will be aprox Rs8000/-. I agreed their condition, and they started telling cock & bull stories. They got new version, which was not fitting to the EF adapter & asked for extra time to get proper one & blab blab.......... I said its enough send back the adapter; will send it Canon US, as it covered US warranty.
The Canon US is telling nothing wrong with EF, now I am totally confused with this. I mailed to Canon India to get clarification, still they are not responding about it.
The EF adapter is still in US with my friend. I just contacted Mr. Narsimha, he doesn't have the facility to check the system. At Delhi nobody is responding at the moment.
I mailed to Canon Singapore yesterday, yet to receive message.
I will let you know the progress of Canon India.

Ashok

Hello Chris Hurd......
 

Thank you, the main problem with Canon India is they don't have knowledge on XL2 system. May be it's because of very few systems. It's difficult for me to send the whole system to US, where Canon Support - XL Club US are eager to help.
The XL2 with stock lens XL 20X is giving me a very good service, only with EF adapter the problem.
One thought why don't you people suggest the Canon to introduce XL 100-400mm lens. So there won't be any trouble at all. When we are on assignment for days out, if the problem occurs with EF, then god only can save us from the clients.

Ashok

Oh Dear................
 

What can I say.....Ashok, you seem to have done everything a sane person would do in the circumstances, and one heck of a lot more. No wonder you are biting chunks out of the carpet!

What to suggest?

Chris Hurd (or anybody who can help), if you're flying by, give this some input as I'm running low on fuel, and seriously have to return to base. My ideas box is about empty.

One thing (I think) I can say, Ashok, I seriously don't think Canon are going to introduce a lens just for you, so better forget that bit.

As for the rest of this sorry saga, I think I'm going to have to sleep on it.

Heck, if it was in my power, I'd fly over there, grab the kit, head back to wherever, get it sorted and fly back again. Give me such a wonderfull excuse to spend another couple of months in India doing what I love best (being in India) and just chill out. Unfortunately, at this point in time, it isn't in my power to do so. Bugger.

Give me some time, I'll come up with something.

Ashok, hang in there, believe me, there are a lot of people watching what's going on and rooting for you, we just need to find a solution. We will (I hope), if you don't first.

All external input welcome.

CS

You are so Kind....
 

Chris, I am really grateful to you. I call upon others to contribute something to this issue. 100-400XL lens is not only my need; if it is there others will also consider it.
Ashok

Hang on a minute.......
 

There's been something bothering me about this problem ever since I read it the other day. Having slept on it, I do believe I know what it is.

This is not the first incidence of this problem I've read about. I'm going to need some help finding out just where, exactly it was but I think a very good place to start is with the..............XL1 Owners Club!

Now, my knowledge of DVinfo's history is almost non existant but every time I go looking for The XL1 Owners Club I keep ending up back @ DVinfo.

Anyway, back to the problem. From memory (and this must be at least 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 years ago) some poor bod had this exact same problem but with, I think, an XL1. Kept (apparently) trashing EF adapters but was/ wasn't. I remember vaguely it ran and ran and ran ad nauseum. Turned out to be (ooh, this is reaching) something with the camera head itself (as you suggested Chris H).

Not that tripping over the details is necessarily going to help get this sorted but in this instance I don't think we can have too much info.

There must be someone out there with a better memory than me who remembers this or knows where the body is buried.

I've already trawled through the back issues of DVinfo and not found it, so I suppose the Big Q is: What happened to the club and more importantly, it's files?


Does this ring any bells with anyone? Is my memory playing tricks on me?

PS.
Further web trawling has me wondering if it was indeed the XL1 Owners Club. I do not remember the site I was looking at being
set up by Canon (not to say it wasn't). Anybody remember any other sites devoted to Canon XL1's that have died/ morphed ? I'm convinced that at the time it was not called DVinfo but it could just be memory failure on my part.


CS

Hi Ashok......
 

OK, refueled and back into action...........

I'm trawling through every single post concerning XL1/ XL1s/ XL2 etc since the beginning of DVinfo (and it is slow going indeed). I'm hoping the previous post will also elicit further dark corners to look into.

In the meantime, something for you to ponder. It seems pretty clear that it is the EF adaptors presence in this that is causing so much mayhem. Why not try to eliminate it from our enquiries, whatever it takes?

Do you know if the EF adapters functionality is the same with a XL1/ s or in fact any other Canon X series camcorder?

If it is and you can get access to one for just 3 minutes, no matter how far you have to go, it shouldn't take longer than that to prove the lens/adapter works on camera A and doesn't work on camera B (please don't tell me this is intermittant!).

If you can prove it is the camera that has the fault (even tho' it only shows with the EF on board) then at least the EF is off the hook and it's a camera fix.

Quite how you're going to track a camera down I'm going to have to leave to you, but if it will "do the biz" with a EF adapter/ EOS lens then it's got to be found, somewhere. There must be more XL1/ s about than XL2's. Hey, why don't you check with Bangalore and see if they have a test camera (doesn't seem likely but worth a shot).

I'm heartened in this by you saying Canon USA could find no fault with the other EF adapter. If this is truly the case then it just strengthens my belief it is a camera problem.

In case you're wondering, the reason for going back over all the ancient posts is that I'm convinced the actual cause of this problem was identified at the end, and it was a pretty esoteric fault that took Canon an aeon to fix even in either the USA or the UK (can't remember which). The reason it was so memorable is the owner (quite understandably) was not only tearing his/ her hair out but it went on for what seemed months.

Anyway, back to my trawling.


CS

Yes that's right Chris -- I'm a dullard for not thinking of that myself.

Ashok needs to test his EF adapter and lens on some other XL camera body. Preferably an XL2. If the problem is duplicated on that other XL body, then the issue is indeed with that EF adapter. If the problem cannot be reproduced, then the issue is with Ashok's XL camera body, and it will need to be serviced.

That is the simple explanation -- in reality a bit more complex. But it's a good test to run.

Chris you're going to have a hard time finding that thread... there are thousands... plus don't forget the old XL Watchdog articles located at http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles.php

Thanks Chris........
 

Tell me about it - I'm going cross eyed here. One things for sure - seems the actual questions never seem to change.

You got any input on where else this may have been posted? Could be a site long gone but I'm convinced it was very popular at the time. Guess I'll eliminate DVinfo from the suspect list and take it from there.

CS

Chris H ...
 

Is there any Indians regisrtered at DV info having XL2 & residing in Karanatak state or even at Maharashtra India. please let me know that, so that I can try my lens & EF adapter.
Still no response from Canon India.

Ashok

Hey Ashok...........
 

Settle for a Canon camera that will host the thing, XL2 or not. But yes, if you had access to registered owners etc it would make life a lot easier.

I'm still trawling.


CS

Well............
 

That's the entire XL1 / XL1s forum trawled from start to finish. Nada. Zilch.

Brain having been reduced to guacamole, shall call it a day at this point

If anyone has a brilliant idea I (we) would really like to hear it.

Catch everyone later.


CS

Hi Chris......
 

I just contacted Mr. Vinod of canon stationed at Mumbai; he has XL1s & XLH1, I will be going to Mumbai in a couple of days along with XL2 kit.
There is one more version, EF adapter I sent to US. Might have been repaired & since it is in warranty period canon in no way has to charge for repairs. Might have bluffed that it is in good condition as to save the Canon name. This is from Delhi Canon employee told & he wished to be anonymous.
God only knows!

Ashok

This an Appeal to all forum members "Please put presure on Canon to introduce XL 100-400 zoom".

do you need this ef adapter if you're using the panasonic wide angle lens converter ?

Scott, I don't understand your question. You're talking about two completely different kinds of tools. A wide angle lens converter is one option for getting a wider field of view. The EF adapter, however, is an option for getting an extreme telephoto field of view. So there is no direct relation between these two pieces of equipment, since they work only on opposition to each other, at either end of focal length (wide vs. extreme telephoto).

I'm asking if the angle lens needs an adapter... I wasn't aware that the EF adapter was only for telephoto. Hence me asking the question.

Scott,
the ef-adapter will magnify any lens attached to it by 7.8x, so a 24mm will be a huge 187mm (in 16x9 wide mode) on the XL2!
In other words the ef-adapter is only suitable if you want extreme telephoto as for sport or wildlife filming

Also, read this exellent article by Chris Hurd about different kind of lenses:
http://dvinfo.net/canonxl2/articles/article04.php

Well I'm un-educated in terms of using the MM not sure what MM is or even about, lol. So I ask a lot of questions.

Edit:

In terms of optical zoom how many x would the zoom be? 100x? Also how much would these lenses cost? :)

Scott, please don't hijack this thread!
If you have any question about XL-2 lenses, you can start a new thread about this topic!
For prices, please look at DVInet sponsors:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=22

Scott -- MM stands for millimeters, which is the unit of measure used to describe the focal length of a lens (technically, it's a measure of the distance from the rear nodal point of the lens to the focal plane). In very general terms, the lower that number is, the wider the field of view. The higher that number is, the more narrow (or telephoto) it is.

Zoom is simply the ratio of lens that has the capability to change focal length, from one end of its range to another. However you can't tell anything about the focal length of a lens just from its zoom ratio. For example, you can have a telephoto zoom lens that's 100mm to 400mm, which is a 3x zoom ratio, and you can have a wide zoom lens that's 15mm to 45mm which is also a 3x zoom ratio.

However at this point we've hijacked Ashok's thread. Let's please keep the discussions on topic. You can learn an awful lot here by simply searching for what you want to learn, and reading those threads.

edit: Oops, I wrote this while Per Johan posted above. We now return to Ashok's EF adapter issue.

Ashok, I have a dumb question for you. This 70~200 IS 2.8L lens, is a genuine Canon EOS lens, correct? And not a Tamron or Sigma copy?

Hi Ashok.........
 

Hey, that's great news about the trip to Mumbai. Hopefully that light at the end of the tunnel is the exit and not an express train coming the other way.

A general Q to all, as I'm a bit out of my comfort zone on the subject - what Canon camcorders can this EF adapter be used with? The XL1/s and XL2 I'm up with (tho' have yet to trawl the XL2 forum, oh joy). I need to know so I can trawl the threads.

Ashok, I will get around to addressing the issue of the 100 - 400mm lens and why I don't think you'll ever see one with an X series mount, but it's going to have to wait whilst I shift this enormous pile of stuff that's built up on my desk over the last week or so.

Catch you as and when.


CS

Oh.........
 

Have trawled XL2 Forum from one extreme to the other - nope! Zero.

Seriously having my doubts this was on DVinfo, which brings me back to my Q of the other day - where could it have been?

With a bit of luck the Mumbai trip will render it irrelevant anyway.

Going away to see if I can get this frontal lobotomy reversed.

CS