A Photographer in need... Advice would be helpful

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PhotoFloyd

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Floyd
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Hello, Firstly i want to apologise for two things.
1. If this is not the right place to post this then im sorry i have no ideas about forums
2. My grammar is shocking so hopefully some of you can work it out.

Okay, So quickly i want to introduce myself.. Im Floyd, im a 31 year old photographer from South east Kent. 37 weddings under my belt over the years i done photography up until 2016/17, i been told by a couple of friends to pop on here and get some help and advice by you guys and girls.

In 2017 i was in London on location with a few other photographers doing a workshop to do with landscapes etc.. When i got back home that day my home was completely ransacked from top to bottom. most of my gear had been taken from my iMac to a large portion of my photography equipment... When i say a large portion, i mean all my lenses, 3 of my 4 bodys and they left the lighting and backdrops etc..

At that point i had a Canon 7d and 2xCanon 5d Mkii
The Lenses that where stolen was my beloved Canon 24 - 105 F4 L
i had a canon 70-200 f2.8 is ii
a Canon 50mm F1.2
the Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro lens
and a couple other less expensive ones.

Anyway, thats not purely the reason why im here, Im here to share my absolute bad luck ive had since then.

Okay, so my gear above was meant to be insured with a company that has now coincidentally gone bust. no matter how much i pushed and pushed with courts and kept spilling my own money towards this case it finally finished in June of last year as "insufficient evidence" because the Insurance company did not disclose to the courts the exact items that where insured. which as you can guess ended with me leaving the courts empty handed...

Anyway, So a year or so down the line and i bought myself another 7D with what money i have, and just about scraped my money together to get another 24-105 L lens off of some guy on Ebay... (this is where the next chapter begins)

I spoke to this guy on Ebay for a couple days speaking about the lens and decided to go for it.. but with items like this i like to try before i buy, or at least know the person before hand before i take the item from them.. So considering i only lived about 40 mins drive from the seller.. we arranged that i was to go round his home and pick the item up instead..

So i got round to his house.. took my camera with me to try it out and all seemed dandy.. he did look a little shifty but i guess i was more focused on the fact im finally buying another lens again...
So i tested it out, gave it a good burst and then paid him there and then and shook hands..

Moving on, a week or so down the line.... i started getting some hesitation on the AF.. didnt think much of it, i thought it was just having a minor brain fart... Switch off, Switch on done the trick... and then...

I finally got my first gig... nothing big, just a small Equestrian shoot (trying to get myself back in the game after a pretty brutal couple years out of photography)..

20 mins into the shoot.... and the Error message started popping up... "The communication between the camera and lens is faulty " Err 01.

This is NOT what i wanted to see.. So i packed up the shoot and went home to explore the situation on the internet and find some solutions..

"wipe contacts with a cloth and try again" DONE it didnt work
"software updates" DONE it, all up to date

after going through different stages i finally resorted to the last possible solution that was recommended "electrical tape over the contacts"

HOORAY!! No more error messages.... HOWEVER...

As you photographers know.... Not everyone shoots Auto.. meaning now considering i have had to cover up the contacts between body and lens.. i do not have NO AF and no Aperture settings to play with.

The worst thing about this aswell, his account has been removed from Ebay and on Returning to his house.. hes moved out WITHIN a WEEK and a half..


So does anyone have any ideas what i can do?? Has this Error happened to anyone else??

i mean ive lost out on thousands of pounds worth of gear over the years, court costs and now this melon has screwed with me..


My little cousin posted me his Canon 40d with the basic 18-55mm Lens bless him without me even asking him.. but i feel rude in telling him it just wont do.. (hes not photography clued up)


I wish this thunderstorm could just go away..and there be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel..

Thanks for reading everyone.. Sorry for the lengthy essay i thought i would share my story aswell.

A photographer in need....
 
Well. The way forward is... to not look back. No seriously. Nothing is going to get your old kit back. As for the faulty lens; it is entirely possible that it functioned perfectly right up until the moment you experienced problems with it. Pot luck. As for the seller moving house; pure coincidence. What you've got into, is a state of paranoia that everyone's out to get you, which is more than understandable given what you've gone through. Normal, healthy caution becomes utter mistrust of others. Don't let that eat away at you. Sure, there are some bad people, but most people are ok.

Move on. Let from now on, be a new chapter. You can't change the past, but you can affect how the future pans out. The lens, perhaps that can be fixed by asking around, maybe someone on here can offer advice. As for the 40D and kit lens; well, you're a competent photographer, aren't you? You don't need fancy gear to take good pics; get that 40D and kit lens, and go out and take some good photos. See those 'limitations' as a challenge, not a hindrance.
 
If you payed by PayPal you may try contacting them or just doing a PayPal claim. Just because the account disappears doesn’t mean you lose PayPal guarantees.
Did the PayPal come off a credit card, contact them and explain the situation ?

i think at the end of the day AZ6 is right. Start again, buy from MPB or Wex , eBay is just a minefield these days. You’ll get a reasonable deal from them with some comeback if it goes wrong.

last year I lost everything in a house fire, I was lucky and was insured but I know your pain. I lost £23k in cameras and computers. Some irreplaceable as they were gifts from my family who have all gone now.

life is sometimes shizzly you just have to pick up your pants and get back running.
 
Thanks guys, i guess i am paranoid that everyone is out to get me..

Unfortunately Chris, i paid with a bank transfer when i met him in person to buy it... i guess im too nice that i didnt want him taking paypal charges with such a pricey item.

Though with all the loss of my goods, money ive already paid already and with this unfortunate pandemic... moneys become tight..

So with playing with numbers i dont think im going to be getting back to business for some time...

Its just horrible.. but thank you guys for some outsider points of views
 
That's a horrible thing to happen, well things. I don't think there's much you can do other than get the camera and lens sent away to Fixation or Canon and you might find it's not so expensive to repair. If you buy replacement gear use a well-known reputable retailer who offers warranty, or don't ever skip eBay or Paypal rules again as you have no comeback.
 
PhotoFloyd said:
Thanks guys, i guess i am paranoid that everyone is out to get me..
Click to expand...

They're really not. Well, not everyone... ;)


PhotoFloyd said:
Its just horrible..
Click to expand...

I can empathise. But here, empathy is the key to getting to grips with things. It's only money lost. Yeah, that is s***, but... there are always others suffering much worse. That's a mantra that has got me through life, pretty well.

See this as a new start; why not venture in a different direction? Get something like some extension tubes, and do some real close up photography? But a cheap flash, and experiment. With digital, you have so much more flexibility to try different things.
 
PhotoFloyd said:
Thanks guys, i guess i am paranoid that everyone is out to get me..

Unfortunately Chris, i paid with a bank transfer when i met him in person to buy it... i guess im too nice that i didnt want him taking paypal charges with such a pricey item.

Though with all the loss of my goods, money ive already paid already and with this unfortunate pandemic... moneys become tight..

So with playing with numbers i dont think im going to be getting back to business for some time...

Its just horrible.. but thank you guys for some outsider points of views
Click to expand...

Unfortunate luck, not really sure you can do anything about the seller at this point as you paid by bank transfer you have no protection, other than going down the route of a small claims through the courts.

Have you tried contacting fixation to get a quote for repair? It might be less expensive than you think.
 
Very sorry to hear your story. Lots of hard lessons learned too. What to do now? I wouldn’t snub the 40D for a start, I would use it. For wide aperture a nifty fifty is always a bargain so I would probably save up for that next and get from a reputable seller or dealer offering warranty. Next investigate getting the L lens repaired. Good luck building back up.
 
First thing is you have the 40d stick the lens on that to ensure If it’s the lens playing up or camera . There. Are plenty of reputable repair services about that will give you a repair quote before fixing . It’s possibly just the ribbon in the lens .. .

Most will know if it’s a common fault and should give a rough idea on costs based on that .

Life does serve up some crap at times ,but I’m sure you can rise above it .
 
Hi all,, so done a little digging and playing about with the lens, So, It IS in fact the lens.. at F4 i can shoot all day long, as soon as i start moving it up to say F8 it starts fluttering through the viewfinder and then Errors out.

From a few places ive looked with these symptoms there saying is likley to be the "Aperture Module" in the lens that needs replacing.

So as some of you have have suggested "fixation" ive contacted them on the phone and they are giving me ball park figures of around £160-£200 to get the job done as its quite common in that model apparently.. Thus they will give it a basic "MOT" aswell which is always a bonus.
 
Well that's a positive at least, no? If you are confident with taking things apart, and dealing with really, really tiny parts and screws etc, and have a lot of patience, you could even try it yourself, and save a fair few quid. I did this with a dodgy Canon 50mm f1.4 EF lens I bought (cheaply, fortunately) off Ebay. Actually, the seller was an a-hole over it tbh; what can you do? I got to gain experience of fixing summat, and he remains an a-hole. Such is life. It can be very satisfying fixing stuff (apart from our TV aerial which has suddenly decided to be a right **** and go on the blink, but only intermittently, and only when we actually want to watch summat...); many a thing I've rescued, that was destined for landfill. And even if you do have to fork out £200, it's still not the end of the world. You'll have a lens working like new, at least. Every cloud...
 
Everything that has happened in the past is gone. Forget it. Unless there is some appeals process or insurance ombudsman scheme, then you are throwing good money after bad, and it will just make you ill.

Right now you have a 7D and a dodgy 24-105 L. You'll probably need to get it fixed. Send it to Canon Elstree or Fixation. I've always been satisfied with Elstree and it may fall under a fixed price repair category.

Your cousins 40D and 18-55 could be used. Its not ideal but don't forget back when they were current, many a aspiring wedding photographer would have used them and in the right hands give decent results.

Advice for the future. Buy from trusted vendors using methods with buyer protection. Paypal offers buyer protection as do credit card transactions. Not friends and family paypal or funding paypal via credit card.. Plenty of secondhand dealers who offer warranties on their kit - Wex, MPB etc., Ebay from really trusted vendors, and if something feels fishy - back out of it. He did look a little shifty ... Has he really moved out or is someone covering for him? Ebay has its place, but it can be a wretched hive of scum and villany.
 
AZ6 said:
It can be very satisfying fixing stuff (apart from our TV aerial which has suddenly decided to be a right **** and go on the blink, but only intermittently, and only when we actually want to watch summat...)
Click to expand...


HAHA thats funny.. Yeah funnily you should say that.. i have looked at a couple "dismantling" videos on youtube and im pretty confident with small parts etc as i used to repair phone screens and phone motherboards etc.. but i dont feel confident messing up any optics etc.. besides , with my luck .. id end up dropping it or something .. LOL
 
eBay listing 233338680777

Get in touch with this guy. Did a perfect job for me. May be able to help.
 
AndrewC - Thanks for the words of wisdom my friend.. ive made massive mistakes in life with purchases but i have certainly learned my lesson for sure.

TrevorBray - Il contact that guy as well and see what he says.. always sceptical now these days
 
Just a quick question, in case a missed it, have you registered all the missing serial numbers with Canon UK. I believe they share the information widely with used retailers and repairers
 
i've merge your two threads together for you... please don't cross post to more than one area of the forum.

thanks
 
As mentioned above it will be the board inside the lens about £10 for the board..they only last for so many years then pack in dependant on heavy use etc.. then you need to take the thing apart to fit not an easy job to do if your squeamish with screwdrivers etc as it's the labour they are charging you for..shop around for a fix..I had a lens with a similar fault £90.00 for new board and repaired and serviced.. but that was in Scotland.. prices always double the minute you cross the border into Carlisle heading south :(..sorry to hear of all your troubles.. hopefully you'll be on the up shortly..
 
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