Canon 5D Mk2. Major firmware issue.

[tonnes]

Was just wondering if anyone else has encountered the same problem I've had upon updating my 5D Mk II's firmware.



I completed the firmware update successfully, following Canons instructions.



I entered into live view and adjusted the aperture and shutter speed in
movie mode as I am now able to do, had a bit of a play recording video
and switched of live view and went to take photos.



This is where the fun starts. My metering is now completely out I am
shooting outside in bright sunlight at ISO 100 in Av at f/4.0 and I am
been given a shutter speed of 3 seconds. Needless to say my photos are
completely overexposed. I switch to Tv, set my shutter speed to 1/5th
of a second and I am given an aperture of 1.4 again... overexposed
images.



I repeat this with various lenses to no avail.



I attach a 580EX and turn it on and obviously my results are fine.



I switch back to live view and my metering is working fine there.



I switch live view off and it is stuffed again.



I try all forms of metering with various subjects to no avail.

[EdN]

Doesn't sound too healthy. I updated my 5D MkII firmware twice without issues at all. The warning they make is to make sure you have a full battery and don't interrupt the process with any button pushing. I believe this is to prevent corruption of the firmware installation by power interruptions or any interference from any button pushes.


If nothing like this happened during your installation, there's always the possibility that your firmware file may have got corrupted during the download or transfer from the CF card (perhaps if it was a card on the "edge").


The first thing I would try is to download a fresh copy of the firmware, load it onto another CF card, and load it again.

[tonnes]

I took precautions.


It looks like it's a hardware fault.

[OiCecil]

I'll second what EdN said. It would be worth re-downloading the firmware, putting it on another CF card, and trying again.


It may work, it may not. At least if it doesn't work you've ruled something out though.

[tonnes]

Done that a few times. Many times when it happened the first time and many times this time.

[OiCecil]

I can only recommend contacting Canon then. If its still under warranty then any necessary repairs should be carried out for free.

[tonnes]

last time it took them four weeks to even look at it, even then it was only after constant nagging.

[OiCecil]

Even so, it could be either 4 weeks without a camera or a lifetime with a faulty camera.


I know which I'd choose

[EdN]

Sorry to hear about the problem. The 5D Mk II is an awesome camera!


Here's another suggestion from a computer perspective. Try download the firmware again with a different computer and repeat the process again. This is a precautionary just in case you may have a virus or some other malware on your computer that is interfering with your download.


Another question, how as the camera running before you updated the firmware? Any problems then? As another suggestion, try downloading your original firmware load, installing that, and seeing what happens.


As I said on the first line, the 5D Mk II is an awesome camera. You have to get it fixed. It only came out in November so it must be under warranty. If you have a faulty one, you got to send it into Canon to get it fixed. Yes, you may have to nag and if you are persistent enough to get their attention, or if you are a pro, I bet you could get a loaner for any extended repair time.