Remember the first batch of white MacBooks? Their top panels would react with the grease from your hands and turn a disgusting, smoker’s-hair yellowish brown. Not only that, but the trim on the edges of the computer was prone to flaking off like mature plastic scabs.
Apple seems to have gotten on top of this kind of first-gen hardware problem, but Canon’s new Rebel T4i (EOS 650D) is doing a similar thing, only in the opposite direction: Its rubber coating is turning white, and leaking irritating substances as it does so.
The left and right grips, as seen in the diagram above, are turning white “after a short period of time.” This is caused by a substance called zinc bis (N,N’-dimethyldithiocarbamate), used in the process of “rubber acceleration.” It seems that in this case, the manufacturer of the grips went a little over the top when “accelerating” the rubber, just like a noob splashing too much hot sauce onto his burger.
The resulting white rubber might cause allergic reactions, although Canon says no cases have been reported so far. To see if your camera is affected (apart form just looking at it to see what color the grips are) you can check the serial number. If the sixth digit is a “1,” you’re infected and Canon will do the right thing.
Or, if you don’t care, you could just keep the new-two-tone body and pretend that it’s a Pentax, a company famous for splashing hideous color schemes all over its cameras.
Source: Canon U.S.A
