Any ideas what can cause this streak in my pictures?

I have a number of pictures where this visible arc is present (it's almost dead center and in this picture goes over #6).

It is easiest to spot it when the background is all one color (green in this case). I took this picture with my 75-300 lens, but I've seen the same problem with my 17-85 lens.

TIA

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Your shutter is dying.
Time for a trip to Canon.

Thanks Rene, that makes some sense. This picture is number 11708.
The shutter was stuck around frame 9300 and I sent it to canon for repair. Not sure what they did, but it's probable that they didn't replace it.

The problem does seem to be intermittent - and annoying. I took some pictures yesterday in the cold (32 F) and it was visible. Today I took some pictures inside and it's not visible.

The lens replacement button popped out a few weeks ago, too. Maybe it's time to upgrade to a new camera.

mwinmd wrote in post #9560314
Thanks Rene, that makes some sense. This picture is number 11708.

That's far from reaching the life expectancy of a shutter.

IIRC, it'll start showing at faster shutterspeeds.

Gatorboy wrote in post #9560353
That's far from reaching the life expectancy of a shutter.

It's a 300D, which has a shorter expected life. And the quoted shutter life numbers are averages - some shutters last longer; others don't last as long.

11k on a shutter is like 11k on a car, that's nothing...

anyhow I'd say it's time for an upgrade, perhaps look into that canon loyalty program that people talk about..

Doesn't the shutter travel from top to bottom? I thought the line would be horizontal if the shutter malfunctioned.

Jon wrote in post #9562487
It's a 300D, which has a shorter expected life. And the quoted shutter life numbers are averages - some shutters last longer; others don't last as long.

Yes the Drebel had a very poor quality shutter. Mine died after 1500 shots and I had gotten that light arc through some of my photos for a few months before it died - and those arcs were intermittent.

Since the shutter was known to be weak in the Drebel, Canon may offer to do the repair for free or offer you a refurbished XT if there are no more parts for the Drebel. You never know. The Drebel would hardly be worth paying Canon $225 to replace the shutter since that is about the value of a good working Drebel.

If it is the shutter, then for the cost of replacing it, you would be as well upgrading (especially with the Canon loyalty programme).

Probably get a good chunk towards either the current XXXD model or an upgrade to a XXD range body.

The shutter stuck around 4000 frames ago. I sent it to Canon to be repaired.

I recently called Canon regarding a loose lens release button and they recommended an upgrade.

I guess that's the next step.

Thanks for the help.