It's a sad day for me

[VVFF]

I shipped my 50D off to the canon service center after having discovered that even with the diopter adjustment to one end of its possible settings, the focus was not accurate.

I thought it was alright before because the focus squares and exposure settings were clear. However, I noticed that if I manually focused through the viewfinder, what looked sharpest was actually a bit off. If I let autofocus do its work it did an excellent job...but it looked somewhat off in the viewfinder.

Here's hoping that they do find its "out of spec" and it's not just me and my eyes that are messed up. For what its worth I tried both eyes and the results were the same.

I miss my camera already

 

[Groucho]

There are usually shims that adjust the focusing screen for accurate focus; I think most DSLRs are fairly sloppy about this since manual focusing is not so common anymore. When I got my Katz Eye split-image focusing screen, I ended up sending the camera to them to have it calibrated just right as it was a little bit off - not enough that you could usually tell with the original screen, but enough that it was just slightly off with a macro, F1.2, or other demanding lens. It is spot-on now.

 

[VVFF]

There are usually shims that adjust the focusing screen for accurate focus; I think most DSLRs are fairly sloppy about this since manual focusing is not so common anymore. When I got my Katz Eye split-image focusing screen, I ended up sending the camera to them to have it calibrated just right as it was a little bit off - not enough that you could usually tell with the original screen, but enough that it was just slightly off with a macro, F1.2, or other demanding lens. It is spot-on now.

Yeah I just feel like I shouldn't have to resort to a new viewfinder replacement right out of the box. So hopefully they agree its out of spec and fix it. I believe I had to push it all the way to the "-" side in order for things to look ok. Even then, the focus is off enough to tell at 55mm @F2.8.

While they're at it I also asked to have the viewfinder assembly cleaned as a hair got stuck above the screen with the focusing squares(note: above the focusing screen that is replaceable).

Has anyone ever called up the canon service center (NJ) after the fact? I'd like to include more details than I originally included with the online form. Are they accomadating for this?

 

[boBQuincy]

My new Rebel Xsi (October 2008) front-focused slightly so I sent it back to Canon for adjustment. When it was returned it focused very accurately *but* the viewfinder was a little out of focus. When the viewfinder is in sharp focus the image is not. Diopter adjustment doesn't help, the viewfinder is definitely off.

I decided to be happy that the images are in sharp focus and leave it alone, figuring if I sent it back things could get worse. I do not use manual focus and if I do I will use LiveView (which I also do not use for now).

 

[Groucho]

I decided to be happy that the images are in sharp focus and leave it alone, figuring if I sent it back things could get worse. I do not use manual focus and if I do I will use LiveView (which I also do not use for now).

Yeah, as resistant as many shooters were to live view, it can be extremely useful for manual focus - even with the Katz Eye, I sometimes switch over to LV when using something particularly demanding like the F1.2 lens (which is very difficult to focus just right otherwise.)