Canon is offering free cleaning of two of its popular high-end digital cameras to remove excess oil applied during manufacturing to lubricate internal moving parts.
Canon last week said that images taken with its EOS-1D and -1Ds Mark III digital SLR cameras may exhibit large ring-shaped spots. The cameras, with suggested retail prices of $4,500 and $7,999 – accessories are extra – were lubricated too liberally during manufacturing, and oil scattered onto the surface of the low pass filter inside the mirror box during normal camera operation.
Customers whose images are spotted or who notice visible oil on the back side of their cameras mirror are urged to contact Canons customer support center for free cleaning to remove the excess oil.
Measures are being implemented to control the amount of lubricant applied during manufacture in order to reduce the occurrence of oil spots, the company said. However, because this lubricant is required to ensure proper operation of the cameras precision mechanical parts, it is impossible to eliminate all instances of oil scattering.