EOS Rebel shutter half opening

I'm a newbie here and strictly photo hobbiest. Have rebelslr - 1st one that came out so 7 yrs old. In the middle of shooting Christmas pictures my shutter is only half opening now. Tried all lenses/replaced battery/replaced card - still nothing.
Coincidentally - I did get a new lense for Christmas 55mm1.8 - surely that didn't have anything to do with it. HELP!!! Could my camera just be worn out. Daughter getting married in 4 days - need my camera to work right.

Does the shutter go completely or does it just throw the mirror up and at that? Does pressing the shutter release again do anything? Any error messages or signs?

Try doing a manual sensor cleaning or use bulb and see how it responds. If it does not work then the shutter/ mirror is bad and needs to be sent back to canon for repairs.

Nick

Throw up a picture to give us an idea of what's happening.

ok - when I depress the shutter button it goes all the way down
looking inside it appears that the mirror is going up and down
but I'm not sure I know what I'm looking at or for
here's a sample image
also - any thoughts on the new lense having anything to do with this - just started using my 50mm 1.8
also when in multiple frame shooting mode - it will click off a couple then that's it even though I still have the shutter button depressed

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what flash are you using and are you using it on or off camera? what you are seeing is the shutter speed being a bit too fast for the flash x-sync

looks like flash sync to me also, kind of

not using any flash

I don't think you can have sync issues with the built-in flash and there's no exif in the image to look at to see if any flash fired or what mode the camera was in.

Dwingard, are all the pics the same, or does the black section change size?

Changing size at identical shutter speeds could indicate a sticky shutter, as the speed it moves could be variable.
Same size on all pics and exposure settings could indicate a broken shutter or something stuck in place over the sensor, or in the body of the camera.

I'd discount the issue being lens specific as you've said you tried different lenses.

Is there anything loose or hanging inside the camera body? I wonder if there some issue with the mirror or focusing screen.

ok - using in camera flash in every mode the black part stays the same size
also when I used my 420ex flash - same size
looking inside don't see anything hanging lose - can't tell if anything is sticking although it does sound like the shutter is opening/closing slower than usual
especially since when I put the camera in multi-frame it will only click off 2 or 3 shots slowly
have never had any problems with this camera - could I have just worn the shutter out
how do I tell how many clicks I've used

What mode were you shooting in? AV, TV, Green Box? Manual?
It looks to me like a sync problem, like maybe you had the shutter speed set at 1/500 sec and it just cut off your image. Any chance of that.

Note: This happens to me, only not that bad. If I accidentally set my shutter speed to 1/320, I get a black section near the bottom of the image, just not as pronounced as the one you posted.

dwingard wrote in post #11514593
could I have just worn the shutter out
how do I tell how many clicks I've used

You haven't mentioned what camera you have. There's a software utility available that works on some cameras - http://www.astrojargon​.net/40DShutterCount.a​spx

Regardless, all Canon DSLRs should be good for 50,000, 100,000 or more, depending on the model.

I'd be surprised if you've worn it out.

Either in sensor cleaning mode (via the menus) or in Bulb mode, look thru the view finder when the shutter is open and mirror swung away - it should be completely dark. If not, you've got a fault.

Try the same with no lens attached and look into the body. Check to see if the shutter is stuck part way or something is caught between the shutter and sensor.

Good luck.

mt - images look pretty much the same no matter what mode I shoot in and with built-in flash or my speedlite
I experienced something like this years ago with film with my off camera flashes
but never since I've gone digital
I'm really stressing - my daughter is getting married in 4 days and would really like to have my camera
maybe Santa just wants me to go by a new one
been looking at the latest canon Ti2 - any advice anyone

do it... the T2i is a great camera and you'll feel right at home coming from an older rebel, you wont be dissapointed

dwingard wrote in post #11514649
been looking at the latest canon Ti2 - any advice anyone

I would be getting all gitty and butterflies in my stomach if I were you...

Cause then I could justify to my Wife that i NEED a new camera!

dwingard wrote in post #11513719
In the middle of shooting Christmas pictures my shutter is only half opening now.

Broken shutter, the weak point of the older Canon 300D. Blades break and the spring for the odd double-jointed shutter cover is prone to fail. You'll either need to spend US $200-300 for the repair or buy another camera body.