Regular Maintenance?

[Alina]

I have had my 5D Mark IV, 50mm/f1.2L and 35mm/f1.4L for about 2 years. I photograph almost daily and put a lot of wear&tear on them. I also often photograph on the beach. All my gear is functioning fine, but I am wondering if I should send them off for general (preventative) maintenance? Is there merit to that, or should I "not fix what ain't broken"?

[Brian]

4 hours ago, Alina said:

not fix what ain't broken"?

Hmm...good question. Since things are working fine, and I'm guessing it focuses well, I'd leave it alone. Changing lenses on the beach is your main concern. Sand is evil so there is some merit to having things checked and cleaned.

Now I'm thinking maybe you should send it in. LOL!! That said, if this is your only camera body then do not send it in. Just because you send it to Canon doesn't mean that the human doing the cleaning won't screw it up. I sent my D3s to Nikon to have it repaired, they broke it and couldn't fix it. I ended up with a refurbished camera from them. Thank God I have a backup body as I had Gigs coming up a few weeks after sending it in. 

Bottom Line: If you have sessions lined up? Do not send it in. If you do not have a second / backup body and it's working...DO NOT SEND IT IN. If you can afford being without your camera for a few months, or at the very worst they break it and you can handle that issue by using a backup body, THEN send it in.

Clear as Mud?

[Alina]

Thank you for answering! I have about a month without any sessions, then will start my season with almost daily sessions. So I thought I'd use the quiet time to prep for the busy time. I have my old Mark II and a few other lenses (135L and 24-70L) but I don't use them any more because I do not like them :). My old gear is fine but I wouldn't want to use it for client sessions on a regular basis, only in an emergency. I guess I can wait till I have a problem to send anything in (hopefully will never happen until I'm ready to upgrade).

[Brian]

When you upgrade, send it in.