canon 30 d shutter problem, pleeeeeeeese haaaaaalp!

Hi

I bought a brand new canon 30 D a couple of months ago. Its been working fine. Today, as I was leaving to go out shoot some stuff, I did the prep work, checking the battery, putting in the card and everything. Then I tried a test shot in AV mode and the shutter button pressed half way and went down the other half after at least 10 seconds. I was in AV mode f 5.6. Then I tried lots of different settings and discovered that it is working fine in auto modes but not in the creative zone. The shutter goes halfway and then takes a few seconds to go down and I am not getting any images. I am not getting any error message either. What's wrong? Please help.

Thanks

There are several ways to interpret your description. Please help us understand what is actually happening.

For example: (Then I tried a test shot in AV mode and the shutter button pressed half way and went down the other half after at least 10 seconds.) You essentially said the same thing in another sentence as well. Does this mean that the shutter button was sticking or something else?

What is (or is not) happening in the "creative" modes that is (or is not) happening in the "green box" or "picture" modes? You need to be aware of whether or not the autofocus is working, whether or not there is enough light for a proper exposure within the boundaries of your settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and any filter(s) you may have on the lens that could be cutting down light), and other similar issues. Do you have something set wrong on the camera that is possible preventing the camera from "being happy" so that it will make an exposure.

If all else fails, remove the main battery AND the disc-shaped memory battery for a few minutes and then reinstall them and test the camera. This process will change all the custom settings back to factory-original. It's much like cold-booting a computer.

If you're taking shots indoors without the flash, then you might well come up with a shutter speed of 10 seconds or over (particulalry if you happen to leave the lens cap on).

Could it be that it's just dark indoors at the time?

I think it's mirror lock up.

If enabled, the first shutter press would lock the mirror up. After 10 seconds without the second shutter press, the mirror will return, and there will be no photo. That also explains it not happening in the basic modes. Check CF 12. I'd place money on this being the problem. You accidentally enabled mirror lock up (or forgot to reset it). (With MLU enabled, the second shutter press should take the photo)

Thanks for the replies guys. Its working fine in auto mode and everything below it, portrait, macro etc.. Its giving me trouble in the P mode and the creative zone. I have cleared all camera settings and tried several shots. Indoors, the flash pops up and the shutter button is working fine. Outdoors, its working fine in the auto zone. For the creative zone, its not working indoors or outdoors. I've tried changing lenses (I'm past the stage when you leave your lens cap on and wonder what's going wrong?) I've removed the battery and memory card and put them in again like the manual tells you to do. When I press the shutter button, it goes down a little bit, not half way really like it normally does and then it takes around 10 to 15 seconds to hear the shutter and there is no image being captured. Its a blackout. No error message, no nothing. When I play back, it gives me the last image that was taken with the autofoucs on. I hope this helps.

Thanks so much

Check Mirror lock up - I can almost guarantee that's the problem. In your custom functions menu, Custom function 12 is probably set to enable. I'd bet money, as mirror lock up without a second shutter press will give EXACTLY the situation you're describing.

Hey guys its fixed, I never thought you have to clear the custom functions seperately, I cleared the camera settings but not the custom functions settings. Thanks Jordan, Thanks all. Thanks, thanks, thanks. I'm outta here.

kolorkapture wrote in post #2411818
I've removed the battery and memory card and put them in again like the manual tells you to do.

You need to remove TWO DIFFERENT TYPES of batteries to do a full reset. One is the main battery, and the other is a disk-shaped battery that holds setup memory and the clock/calendar. Look for both in the manual and you will know what to take out to reset the camera in the future.

Jman13 wrote in post #2411823
Check Mirror lock up - I can almost guarantee that's the problem. In your custom functions menu, Custom function 12 is probably set to enable. I'd bet money, as mirror lock up without a second shutter press will give EXACTLY the situation you're describing.

the second sounds more like he left it on auto timer than mirror lockup. with mirror lockup, you can take the photo within 1 second. with auto timer, you have exactly 10 seconds of "lag time"

however, the blackout is almost 100% caused by mirror lockup... this is why canon provided a manual

basroil wrote in post #2411890
the second sounds more like he left it on auto timer than mirror lockup. with mirror lockup, you can take the photo within 1 second. with auto timer, you have exactly 10 seconds of "lag time"

True, but if you don't press the shutter a second time after you lock up the mirror, the mirror will return to its home position after about 10-15 seconds, without taking a photo. This is exactly what he described.