p.1 #1 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
Recently got my first ever Canon camera, a 1DS Mark II. Everything seems to work great, except for the shutter button on the vertical grip. The other vertical controls work, and I made sure the vertical control switch was set to ON.
Is this a common issue with the camera? Is it an easy fix or even worth trying to fix it? I still have time to return it for a full refund, but if it's a known common issue then I might just keep it and figure out a way to fix it if possible.
It was listed as 'Excellent' condition so was a little surprised. In great shape otherwise and has a cool shutter sound!
p.1 #2 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
If it can still be serviced by an independent service center, it's unlikely that it will be economical to service. I think you'd be better to just exchange it.
p.1 #3 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
I owned a pair of 1Ds Mark IIs back in the day. It is a lovely camera. However, it lacks the ability to apply micro-focus adjustments for specific lenses. For this reason, I would probably consider something newer as an entry point into the Canon EF system (an EOS-1D X perhaps, if you want an affordable full-frame pro body).
If you do stick with this model, be sure to carefully test the AF accuracy on any lens that you purchase for use with it.
p.1 #4 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
rscheffler wrote:
If it can still be serviced by an independent service center, it's unlikely that it will be economical to service. I think you'd be better to just exchange it.
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garyvot wrote:
I owned a pair of 1Ds Mark IIs back in the day. It is a lovely camera. However, it lacks the ability to apply micro-focus adjustments for specific lenses. For this reason, I would probably consider something newer as an entry point into the Canon EF system (an EOS-1D X perhaps, if you want an affordable full-frame pro body).
If you do stick with this model, be sure to carefully test the AF accuracy on any lens that you purchase for use with it.
Ok thanks for that info, I'll keep that in mind. All I have now is the EF 50mm f1.8 STM lens and that seems to be focusing just fine.
I'll ask a local camera repair place for a repair quote and based on that I'll decide whether to keep it or return it.
p.1 #5 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
It's been years since I've owned a 1DsII, the 1Dx doesn't have the locking ring on the vertical shutter release. Have you read the manual or scrolled through the menus? If not or you don't have one, they are available online as PDF.
p.1 #6 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
tcphoto wrote:
It's been years since I've owned a 1DsII, the 1Dx doesn't have the locking ring on the vertical shutter release. Have you read the manual or scrolled through the menus? If not or you don't have one, they are available online as PDF.
Yeah, I'll look through the manual more thoroughly to see if I'm missing something, but when the vertical control switch is set to ON the other vertical controls work (like the dial to change aperture). Doesn't hurt to look again though.
The vertical shutter button also doesn't seem to have as much travel as the main shutter button. Feels flatter in a way.
p.1 #7 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
I rarely if ever used that vertical button on my 1Ds IIs. I still have a couple of them, but the batteries are probably long dead. IIRC the vertical buttons were not adjustable like the main one was.
At this point they are quite archaic cameras, 18-21 years old (2004-2007). Of all the 1D sries bodies my 1Ds IIs had no mechancial problems. The 1Ds III was a much improved camera, but with several design/manufacturing issues so I would not recommend a used one now.
The oldest non-pro Canon DSLR I'd suggest at this time is the 5D III. It has the 61-point AF sensor from the 1Dx, AF fine tune, 6FPS, and accepts current batteries among other more modern features.
p.1 #8 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
EB-1 wrote:
I rarely if ever used that vertical button on my 1Ds IIs. I still have a couple of them, but the batteries are probably long dead. IIRC the vertical buttons were not adjustable like the main one was.
At this point they are quite archaic cameras, 18-21 years old (2004-2007). Of all the 1D sries bodies my 1Ds IIs had no mechancial problems. The 1Ds III was a much improved camera, but with several design/manufacturing issues so I would not recommend a used one now.
The oldest non-pro Canon DSLR I'd suggest at this time is the 5D III. It has the 61-point AF sensor from the 1Dx, AF fine tune, 6FPS, and accepts current batteries among other more modern features.
The design, heavy duty build, and unique high pitched shutter sound of the 1DS Mark II is what really drew me to it. Was just able to check the shutter count, and it's at ~31k which is nice. Will definitely look into the 5D series cameras, the images that they produce look great.
p.1 #9 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
I have a bunch of 1D series bodies and did not particularly notice that the 1Ds II was so different from the 1Ds or 1Ds III. Those old cameras sure were built solidly.
EBH
Jan 17, 2026 at 07:23 PM
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.1 #10 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
pvm_glow wrote:
Recently got my first ever Canon camera, a 1DS Mark II. Everything seems to work great, except for the shutter button on the vertical grip. The other vertical controls work, and I made sure the vertical control switch was set to ON.
Is this a common issue with the camera? Is it an easy fix or even worth trying to fix it? I still have time to return it for a full refund, but if it's a known common issue then I might just keep it and figure out a way to fix it if possible.
It was listed as 'Excellent' condition so was a little surprised. In great shape otherwise and has a cool shutter sound!...Show more →
Ive had different more prosumer bodies get so that the shutter release had to be kinda massaged to get it to go. In retrospect it may have gotten junk on the shutter relase and just needed a good cleaning.
Ive dripped a few drops of water in there and cleaned it out, but you're probably supposed to use electronics cleaner. I might try alcohol next time. Also it may have corroded, up to you as to if you 1) need vertical release and 2) are interested in returning it, pretty low mileage
A lot of people really like the colors out of the old 1Ds bodies. Should be a really good body
p.1 #11 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
After some further thought/research, I've decided to return the 1DS Mark II and get a 5D Mark II instead. The images out of the 5D Mk II look great, and the features are a bit more modern (batteries are plentiful and can still be bought new).
The 5D Mk II does have just one card slot though, so I'll have to think about redundancy/backups. Maybe a file transmitter attached to a USB drive or something.
How do professionals deal with single card slot cameras when on a job? Do they always use a file transmitter for wired/wireless backup, or tethering?
p.1 #12 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
If you're working with another camera with dual slots, you put the card in that camera and back it up to another card using the image copy menu options. Or transfer the photos periodically to your laptop, tablet or phone.
Another option was a memory card with built-in wifi transfer capability. For example the now out of business Eye-Fi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye-Fi that was also a mid 2000s solution. But I believe it was SD only, though there were adapters that allowed use an SD card in a CF slot.
Otherwise, if you're concerned about redundancy at time of capture, you're probably better to spend a little more for a camera with dual slots (maybe the 5DIII?). But now you're also getting into newer cameras and might start to question this entire process.
p.1 #13 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
rscheffler wrote:
If you're working with another camera with dual slots, you put the card in that camera and back it up to another card using the image copy menu options. Or transfer the photos periodically to your laptop, tablet or phone.
Another option was a memory card with built-in wifi transfer capability. For example the now out of business Eye-Fi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye-Fi that was also a mid 2000s solution. But I believe it was SD only, though there were adapters that allowed use an SD card in a CF slot.
Otherwise, if you're concerned about redundancy at time of capture, you're probably better to spend a little more for a camera with dual slots (maybe the 5DIII?). But now you're also getting into newer cameras and might start to question this entire process. ...Show more →
Interesting, I will look into those options. Was also thinking of grabbing one of the 5D compatible WFT transmitters used for a good price and using that to send photos to a phone/laptop via WIFI or a USB drive through the USB port. Will also add vertical controls which is nice. Doesn't look too cumbersome.
p.1 #14 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
Dual card slots have become so prevalent on even mid-tier cameras nowadays, that it is probably rare to find anyone shooting a professional gig without this capability now.
Oddly enough, I have never been concerned about in-camera redundancy when shooting professionally. It probably helps that I have never had a card fail (knock on wood).
But I do always make redundant copies of images before erasing any cards for reuse.
I have used dedicated image download devices in the past, but my practice in recent years has been to download images laptop SSD and replicate them to an external Samsung SSD (which conveniently also contains my Lightroom catalog with Smart Previews).
p.1 #15 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
garyvot wrote:
Dual card slots have become so prevalent on even mid-tier cameras nowadays, that it is probably rare to find anyone shooting a professional gig without this capability now.
Oddly enough, I have never been concerned about in-camera redundancy when shooting professionally. It probably helps that I have never had a card fail (knock on wood).
But I do always make redundant copies of images before erasing any cards for reuse.
I have used dedicated image download devices in the past, but my practice in recent years has been to download images laptop SSD and replicate them to an external Samsung SSD (which conveniently also contains my Lightroom catalog with Smart Previews)....Show more →
Cool, I might have to get a dedicated external SSD before prices get even crazier than they already are
Jan 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.1 #16 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
pvm_glow wrote:
After some further thought/research, I've decided to return the 1DS Mark II and get a 5D Mark II instead. The images out of the 5D Mk II look great, and the features are a bit more modern (batteries are plentiful and can still be bought new).
The 5D Mk II does have just one card slot though, so I'll have to think about redundancy/backups. Maybe a file transmitter attached to a USB drive or something.
How do professionals deal with single card slot cameras when on a job? Do they always use a file transmitter for wired/wireless backup, or tethering?
Might be hard to believe, but the 5D II used to be the cool new camera like the R5 II is today. I remember talking to one pro that sold prints for a living, that bought the 1Ds3, probably new, and he regretted not waiting on the 5D2, for the high iso capabilities. They shot part of Saturday night live using video on 5D2 (probably had attachments.)
At some point, I realized none or very few of the no name CF cards I had , hadn't failed, so I just bought name brand. Most of those still work, even today, only a couple have failed (knock on wood lol.) They can even repair themselves to some degree, although it's not 100%
They've been really tough, one got under the foot of the recliner, sat there 2-3+ years, eventually found it, its bent up but still works!!! Another got laundered, couldn't figure out the banging in the dryer, accidentally left one in my pocket!!! You might just buy 2-3 different cards, using different cards throughput the day, unlikely you'd lose more than one in a day, or get a compact laptop putting photos on (without deleting cards,) and maybe external drive, if you're concerned
p.1 #17 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
AmbientMike wrote:
Might be hard to believe, but the 5D II used to be the cool new camera like the R5 II is today. I remember talking to one pro that sold prints for a living, that bought the 1Ds3, probably new, and he regretted not waiting on the 5D2, for the high iso capabilities. They shot part of Saturday night live using video on 5D2 (probably had attachments.)
At some point, I realized none or very few of the no name CF cards I had , hadn't failed, so I just bought name brand. Most of those still work, even today, only a couple have failed (knock on wood lol.) They can even repair themselves to some degree, although it's not 100%
They've been really tough, one got under the foot of the recliner, sat there 2-3+ years, eventually found it, its bent up but still works!!! Another got laundered, couldn't figure out the banging in the dryer, accidentally left one in my pocket!!! You might just buy 2-3 different cards, using different cards throughput the day, unlikely you'd lose more than one in a day, or get a compact laptop putting photos on (without deleting cards,) and maybe external drive, if you're concerned ...Show more →
Good to know! Will be sticking to SanDisk brand CF cards.
p.1 #18 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
AmbientMike wrote:
Might be hard to believe, but the 5D II used to be the cool new camera like the R5 II is today. I remember talking to one pro that sold prints for a living, that bought the 1Ds3, probably new, and he regretted not waiting on the 5D2, for the high iso capabilities. They shot part of Saturday night live using video on 5D2 (probably had attachments.)
The 5D II was the first decent FF camera with videos, but that was about it. AF with the 9-sector diamond was weak to say the least. The subject had to be nearly in the middle for tracking. The 5D II was cheap and smaller than the 1Ds III, which had other problems in the early days.
It looks like I did nto use larger than 32GB in those days, so I'm not sure how large the 5D II can go.
p.1 #19 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
A bad vertical shutter release button was definitely not a common problem on the 1DsII. I don't think it would be an easy or inexpensive fix, so good thing you sent it back.
The 5DII has excellent image quality and a lot more modern features, but unfortunately, Canon really crippled the AF. It's still a fine camera if you don't need to shoot action.
p.1 #20 · EOS 1DS Mark II vertical shutter button doesn't work.
garyvot wrote:
Dual card slots have become so prevalent on even mid-tier cameras nowadays, that it is probably rare to find anyone shooting a professional gig without this capability now.
Oddly enough, I have never been concerned about in-camera redundancy when shooting professionally. It probably helps that I have never had a card fail (knock on wood).
But I do always make redundant copies of images before erasing any cards for reuse.
I have used dedicated image download devices in the past, but my practice in recent years has been to download images laptop SSD and replicate them to an external Samsung SSD (which conveniently also contains my Lightroom catalog with Smart Previews)....Show more →
I had several SD cards fail in about a one year span from 2023-2024. All in the R6II. All the cards were the same make, model and capacity. Yes, perhaps it was foolish to continue using them after the second failure (one could be written off as a fluke, but two within a few months, not so much). But... I always shot mirrored to two cards. After the second failure, if I had to again use that specific make/model card for whatever reason, I used a different make/model in the second slot. With each failure, I immediately removed the second card from the camera to 'safe keep' it.
That said, for a very long time I almost never shot mirrored to a second card and instead used the second card as rollover if the first filled. Often the reason for not shooting to both was due to buffer performance constraints that resulted from the slower performance of the second card type.
