Canon acknowledges Rebel T6 sensor issue and release product advisory

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Update: see also Roger Cicala’s comment on Canon’s definitely quick reaction to the issue. R. Cicala of Lenrentals was the first to observe the issue and post about it. Regarding Canon, Cicala says:

I can’t say enough about how impressed I am with the speed with which Canon has addressed the issue. We’ve seen problems like this ignored for months, or denied until the next version of the camera is released. Mistakes in manufacturing complex devices are inevitable. How the manufacturer handles them is the variable.

Original post:

Canon released a product advisory for the Rebel T6 sensor flecks issue.

Thank you for using Canon products.

This notice is to proactively inform our customers of the phenomenon described below along with Canon’s support actions. We value the trust our customers have placed in us, and we are dedicated to continuously improving product quality as well as delivering industry-leading service and support. We offer our sincerest apologies to any customer who may be inconvenienced.

Phenomenon
In some units of the models listed below, the following phenomenon may occur due to irregularities on an optical layer located in front of the image sensor:

White spots may exist on the optical layer which may result in the appearance of dark circular patterns on the captured image under certain shooting conditions.

Affected Products
The phenomenon described above may occur in cameras whose first and second digits of the serial number are as set forth below.

Identification Procedure:
Serial Number: [XXnnnnnnnnnn] EOS Rebel T6s: If “XX” is “01” or “02”, the phenomenon described above may occur.
EOS Rebel T6i: If “XX” is “01” or “02”, the phenomenon described above may occur.
“n” represents any digit.

NOTE: If the battery cover contains the marking illustrated below, the camera is NOT affected by the phenomenon described above even if the first and second digits of the serial number are of the numbers mentioned above.

dot
Image credit: Canon

Support
Potentially affected cameras will be inspected and affected units will be repaired free of charge.
We are developing a solution and will inform you as soon as it is available.

Canon EOS Rebel T6s: tbd
Canon EOS Rebel T6i: tbd

This information is for residents of the United States and Puerto Rico only. If you do not reside in the USA or Puerto Rico, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.
If you have not already done so, please register your Canon EOS Rebel T6s or your Canon EOS Rebel T6i. By registering, we will be able to notify you via email about future announcements.

Thank you,
Customer Support Operations
Canon U.S.A., Inc

Contact Information for Inquiries
Canon Customer Support Center
Phone: 1-800-OK-CANON
1-800-652-2666
TDD: 1-866-251-3752
Email: [email protected]
For additional support options: usa.canon.com/support

More about Canon Rebel T6i and T6s sensor issue

Weird dots on the sensor – image courtesy of lensrentals.com

More tests and information about the sensor issue observed on some Rebel T6i and T6s samples. If you still didn’t hear it: the sensors of some Rebel T6 models have a visible pattern of dots on the sensor. The issue was first observed by Roger Cicala of Lensrentals.

Imaging Resource got an affected camera and did some tests to see where the dots are on the optical plane, how much the issue affects photos (not much it seems), and why the dots are where they are.

The good news is, the issue doesn’t appear to affect photos that much.

Probably the first question to answer is how much these flecks will affect your photos. The answer seems to be not a whole lot, and if you’re shooting at f/8 or f/11 and below, you probably won’t see them at all.

It is not clear where exactly the dots are located. IR found…

[…] that the white flecks were in fact somewhere inside the optical stack; the shifts in focal distance mentioned above showed the flecks to be about 1.7mm behind the front surface of the stack, and about 2.5mm above the surface of the sensor itself.

While this is obviously a miss in quality control, everything concerning how it happened is unknown. We have to wait for Canon to discover what happened.

Should you be worried? Not really. The percentage of affected Rebel T6 may be around 30%, and it doesn’t appear to affect pictures too much. You can easily see if your Rebel T6 sensor has the problem. Shine a bright lights into the mirror box, on your sensor (see pic on top). Turn around the light to try different angles. If the dots are there you’ll see them easily. If you do not see them, your T6 is not affected. Should you have one of the Rebel T6 with the sensor issue return it to Canon for replacement. Canon is actually investigating the issue.

Head over to Imaging Resource for more details and test shots. Do you have a Rebel T6? Do you have the issue?

Some Canon Rebel T6i and Rebel T6s sensors have a serious issue

Weird dots on the sensor – image courtesy of lensrentals.com

Lensrentals’ Roger Cicala noticed a serious issue with the sensors of some of the Rebel T6i and Rebel T6s they in store for rental. See the dots on the sensor in the picture above? Read on.

Some of the sensors show a clear pattern of dots all over the sensor surface. Using a 10x microscope, the lab guys at Lensrentals found out that those dots are “within the stack and under the top layer of glass“. They speculate it may due to a “defect in the adhesives used to put the layers of glass together” (maybe some dust that made on the glass before the adhesive was applied?). These are just speculation. For the time being it is not clear what causes the defect in the sensor stack.

Lensrentals writes that the issue affects 4 T6s sensors out of 10, and 2 T6i sensors out of 10. These cameras all have early serial numbers, though Lensrentals states that there is no direct correlation with the serial numbers.  Canon was already contacted, and answered they will “aggressively looking into” the issue.

Well, this appears to be a problem due to a quality control miss. Is there a bad batch of sensors? Hopefully Canon will soon identify the affected cameras and recall them.

The whole story has to be read, so head over to Lensrentals for more details, information, and test shots that show how the issue affects photos. A bigger image of the sensor with the dots is also provided.

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Product Advisory: Some Sigma Lenses have problems with Canon EOS Rebel T6s Live View Mode

Sigma APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM

Sigma released a product advisory for some of their lenses. Issues with Canon’s new EOS 760D/Rebel T6i live view mode have been observed. A free firmware update is on its way.

Notice to our Canon mount lens users

Thank you for purchasing and using our products.
We have found that Live View Mode cannot be used on the EOS8000D (RebelT6s /760D) and EOS KissX8i (RebelT6i /750D) released on April 17th 2015 by Canon Inc. with some of SIGMA’s Canon mount interchangeable lenses. For those who own the lenses, we are going toprovide a firmware update free of charge.

[Phenomenon]
When the Live View Mode button on the camera body is pressed, the operation stops without displaying images on the rear LCD monitor.

[Products and Serial Numbers that require the firmware update]

Current models

17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM      No. 12651501 or later
18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM      No. 13044001 or later
APO 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM      No. 12713001 or later
APO 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM      No. 12902001 or later
120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports      No. 50064494~ 50347793
APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM      No. 12669751 or later

Discontinued models

17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM      No. 12665001 or later
18-200mm F3.5-6.3ⅡDC OS HSM      No. 12851001 or later
18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM      No. 12656101 or later
APO 50-150mmF2.8 EX DC OS HSM      No. 12839001 or later
APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM      No. 12676440 or later
APO 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM      No. 12971601 or later

[via Sigma Rumors]
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