New Canon 5D Mk II Bodies – Black Dots on Sensors

Ten days ago, after pondering for weeks I upgraded from my 5D to the 5D MkII. Initially I used it with my 24-105 and 100-400mm lenses and was mighty pleased with the performance and extra features. However (you just knew a however was coming…), when I tried-out my new 100mm f2.8 Macro on a subject against a plain background then on my PC zoomed in to 100% to check the focus/resolution, I was horrified to see numerous black dots that looked just like the proverbial ‘dust bunnies’. I just could not believe that a six-day old camera could have gathered so much dust, particularly as the 5D MkII goes through a sensor-clean procedure every time the camera is turned on or off.

I then photographed a section of plain blue sky with the other lenses and had the same result when viewed at 100%. To try to determine if it was dust or a defective sensor, I went through the ‘dust-delete-data’ sequence. Uploading into DPP and clicking on dust-delete made no difference, so it seems that the camera was not recognising the dots as dust.

Describing the situation to the dealer, (T4 Cameras, Swindon) they agreed I should come in and exchange the body for another new one in stock. At the shop, I showed them the files with the black dots and they said that the problem is NOT the same as that that affected earlier MkII’s and they had not seen the problem before. Prior to taking the the replacement body, we tried it out and found it had a similar problem – unbelievable! The dealer then physically cleaned the sensor on the first body but this made no difference – the dots were still evident.

This morning I tried the 3rd brand new body at T4’s Swindon shop. First with my new EF100mm f2.8 Macro and then with a new (T4) EF70-300mm. Both lenses set to 100mm, f22 and min focus distance. Result? Black dots could be seen on the shop’s computer screen without even zooming in! I despair, indeed T4 staff also despair. The attached shot is a slightly enlarged section of the centre bottom third of the image. this example is by no means the worst – the first two bodies exhibited a great profusion of black dots.

Result From 3rd Body

Latest update: Fourth body delivered and this one is by far the worst!

If I did not have so much invested in Canon equipment, I would seriously consider jumping to the ‘dark side’.