# Canon 5D MK II repair cost quote from Canon, seems expensive.



## RobinCard

Hi All,

The pins in the CF card slot in my Canon 5D MK II recently became bent so I sent the camera off to Canon Germany for repair and today I got a quote for the repair back at &#8364;500 ($700).

This seems kind of expensive to me, especially considering if I was to order a third party CF assembly myself from eBay it would cost around $20.

They are saying the PCB assembly needs to be replaced, which seems weird to me, especially as the camera is functioning.

Are Canon just trying their luck to see how much I will pay or is could it really be necessary for both the PCB and CF assembly to be replaced?

I have included the bill on this post, which is in German.

-Robin


*[link to bill]*


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## Overread

Its not unusual for repairs on items today to require replacement of a whole component in order to fix one broken part rather than just to replace the part itself. So it might well be that the whole section has to be replaced just to fix the CF pins - or that damage to the pins resulted in further damage to that section of the camera electronics/board. 

Also remember that whilst the components are cheap you're also paying for a trained technician to disassemble - repair and re-assemble your camera as well as clean and test it in a dust free environment. That is where a big lump of the cost is going to increase in the man-hours.

edit - if you want an alternative quote you could always try one of the registered independent canon repair shops


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## RobinCard

Hi there,

I see your point, especially as labour costs are expensive, especially in Europe!

I've just seen there is a guy on eBay in the UK who repairs Canon 5D MK IIs with bent CF pins for £60 ($100), that leads me to think that it could be possible to replace just the card assembly in order to fix it. The plot thickens!


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## Big Mike

Just a wild guess here, but is the card slot assembly soldered onto the PCB?  

If so, it would be much easier and faster for the technician to just replace the whole thing...but of course, the price for the parts & materials is going to much more than just the card slot/pins.

I've heard of some people just bending the pin back into place (very carefully).  Since the part is damaged anyway, what is there to lose in trying it?


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## Derrel

Take it to a jeweler...somebody familiar with the type of fine, precision work needed to straighten a CF pin without messing it up. See if he'd be willing to do the pin straightening task for a reasonable, fair fee.


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## RobinCard

>Just a wild guess here, but is the card slot assembly soldered onto the PCB?

I don't know for sure. There are services who offer to replace the card slot assembly separately for around $100 (which I may well end up doing). Judging by [this picture](http://www.cameraspareparts.co.uk/e...lot-assembley-pins-for-canon-eos-5d-464-p.jpg), it looks like it would slot in, though it could be soldiered in also.


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## RobinCard

Derrel said:


> Take it to a jeweler...somebody familiar with the type of fine, precision work needed to straighten a CF pin without messing it up. See if he'd be willing to do the pin straightening task for a reasonable, fair fee.



Good call!


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## David23Kipp

I was just browsing for relevant posts about PCB and I happened to stumble upon yours. Thanks for the useful information!


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## SamSpade1941

Derrel said:


> Take it to a jeweler...somebody familiar with the type of fine, precision work needed to straighten a CF pin without messing it up. See if he'd be willing to do the pin straightening task for a reasonable, fair fee.




I do this all the time at work and direct my technicians to do it as well if it is feasible on PCMCIA slots as well as express slots on laptops to save the wait time of having involved in ordering a new cage and or daughter card from DELL. It can be done easily if you have a long set of tweezers or forceps and a good magnifying glass and a bright light so you can see what you are doing. You have to be careful and take your time. But it can be done its not brain surgery and you don't have to have an A+ or an ACMT certified. The CF slot is smaller but will have pins that are similar in size to those used by PC Express card slots or PCMICA slots.  Not that big of an operation.


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