580EX II - discoloration on LCD display

[jvolkman]

Hey all,
I received a 580EX II for Christmas (yay!). Today I was outdoors shooting a parade and I noticed an area of discoloration on the LCD along the bottom towards the left side. The area is irregular in shape and appears either lighter or darker than the rest of the display depending on the viewing angle. At first I was worried that I had damaged the display, but I later realized that the spot is practically invisible under normal indoor lighting. However, once outside, it is plainly visible, and I assume this is why I haven't noticed it until today.

I contacted Amazon about exchanging it for a new one, but unfortunately they're now out of stock for 1-3 months. So, before I go through the hassle of returning the item to Amazon for a full refund and getting a new one elsewhere, I figured I'd post here and see if anyone else had similar issues with their displays.

I tried to take a picture of the spot, but since it's dark outside and I can't see the thing inside, I've thus far failed to do so.

Thanks.

[Sancho]

ok, really dumb question but were you wearing polarised glasses when your saw it?

[jvolkman]

Hah. Nope, unless my contact lenses are polarized!

[GSansoucie]

Is this a temperature thing? How cold was it outside today for you?

[jvolkman]

It was quite cold today. Around freezing. I did think about that, however the spot was still there after the flash had been sitting indoors for about a half hour (I took it outside real quick to check). I'll check again tomorrow after it's had a full night to sit in the warmth.

[chestercopperpot]

Sancho - I was going to ask the same thing!! I freaked out one afternoon cause I thought I broke the LCD on the flash only to realize my sunglasses were playing a trick on me!

[freebird]

Yep both my flashes have the same thing. Freaked me out first time too with sunglasses.

[trailblazer]

Same here.
I thought I damaged the lcd or the batteries leaked or something.
I can only see it when wearing sunglasses that are polarized though.

[jvolkman]

I've seen the effects that polarized glasses have on LCD displays before -- I don't think this mark was the same thing (and I wasn't wearing glasses when I saw it). Anyway, I shipped it back to Amazon today for a refund. I wanted to just request a replacement but at the time that I setup the return they out of stock for 1 to 3 months (!!). Anyway, I have a new one coming from B&H this time. I'll post back with how I make out.

[freebird]

I happened to see the burn out mark once without glasses also. Some kind of wierd type lighting reflected off the display.

Good Luck

[F4 Cyborg]

crystal refraction

[Blackey Cole]

Was the sun hitting the LCD directly. I have had several LCD go dark or discolor from direct sunlight and it took a while before it corrected itself. But it did correct itself. What happened was the sun or heat warmed the LCD up so that wasn't functioning correctly. Also, as it wasn't out there in direct sun light all day it will repair itself. I did have one LCD item that was out oin the sun or in the truck during a day or two in the New Mexico summer that never did work again. That is when I began to watch for this.

[garycoleman]

yes I have the same slight discoloration if I look at an angle. It still works fine so I ignored it.

[FlyingPhotog]

Mine has the exact same discoloration...

Probably from the backlighting in some way. Isn't a big deal IMO.

[GSansoucie]

I get that discoloration on my 40D (the top LCD) in the cold. I'd forgotten about it until this afternoon when I was outside shooting my kids sledding. At first I started grabbing for my sunglasses until I realized they were not on.