Canon 20D melted and smoked mirror !

A friend was shooting his 20D w/ vertical grip, attached to a 600mm f4 IS this past weekend. He noticed after shooting a few frames that the mirror appeared to be fogged (like after you take the camera from an air conditioned building to outside)

However, when he removed the lens and looked, he saw a melted portion of the camera just inside the lens mount to the right of the contacts. Smoke from this melt down (possible short/fire?) fogged the mirror.

The camera continued to operate, but with a decrease view through the fogged (smoked) mirror.

Has anyone else heard of this or seen it?

He may have left it pointed at the sun (or a highly-mirrored surface reflecting it) for too long a time.

I guess someone took the phrase "its all Smoke and Mirrors" a bit to seriously...

I've NEVER heard of anything like this, Any pictures of the meltdown?

-Johnny

He is going to take some pics and I will post them....
Pointed it at the sun may be a possibility.
It was at an airshow and we were pointing near the sun for soem shots.
At some times he was shooting the 600 with a 1.4xTC.

Luckily it did not catch fire and damage the lens!

Whatever the cause, I'd strongly suggest it be taken in for repair. The damage could be minor, or it could affect focusing and exposure.

I second the motion for repair (as I try to stifle a laugh). Sorry for the warped sense of humor, but you have to admit, it gives a whole new meaning to a "burned out image"

who needs photoshop to add some burning to their images? I'd tend to agree with Jon...a lens like that left at the sun or something quite reflective would do a job on whatever was fixed to it. Like a magnifying glass burning an ant...except there's what....15 "magnifying glasses" in that 600?

Lots of magnification there with that lens and teleconverter - could very well be from the sun, but I think you'd have to have it pointed in that direction for more than a couple of seconds. The mirror box is "engineered" plastic, mounted on a stainless steel frame. It will melt, as will the focus screen (which is hopefully all that was damaged).

Another possibility is that the battery overheated - there are a few off-brand batteries out there that aren't quite right.

At any rate, I'd get it into Canon for repair.

You mean someone said "dodge" and he "burned"?
Sorry - just making light of things.

Mega big tip for such problems (and this came from my local camera technician) - whenever you encounter any such problem with a camera (especially a digital) - immediately remove the batteries to prevent any further internal damage to the electronics before you can get it to the tech.

All this mirror talk, I think you're being just a little flip - but that's okay, its no reflection on you.

Have Fun,

To hell with 20D!

I'd be worried about the smoked element on the back of the 600!

I vote for the sun. The camera could have been inadvertently slung over a shoulder or put down pointing towards the sun without anyone even looking through it. You'd only need 15-20 seconds to smoke plastic with a 600 mm lens under these conditions.

Good he didn't look through the viewfinder at the time

I once was out on a sunny day taking pictures of my 2-year-old with my 20D and 50/1.4 .... must have had the sun somewhere in the frame at one point. I suddenly didn't see much on my right eye any more. About 5 minutes later, it got a little better, but I still had the impression as if a part of my cornea was somehow warped ... like looking through an old window where the glass is thicker in one place, bending the image. This condition lasted about half an hour for my normal vision to come back ... needless to say I was scared sh*tless.

Something to pay attention to...

Best regards,
Andy

I don't see how a 600/4 lens is putting any more sunlight into the body of the camera than a 50/4.

My money's on an electrical failure of some kind, maybe related to the IS system in the lens (which is, of course, powered by the camera body).
-harry