Err99 with a twist - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/30/2006 07:35:02 AM · #1

I was shooting and I started getting the Err99 message. I switched the camera of, unscrewed the lens and put it back on, turned the camera on again and it worked. Shortly after, I got the same message again, repeated the steps mentioned above but nothing happend. I couldn't even get the camera to turn on. I took the battery grip out and put it back in, this solved the problem and I didn't have any more problems that day. This had happened previously but I was always able to fix it by simple turning the camera off and taking the lens off and then putting it on again. This time was different and I am worried. Has this happened to anyone? I'm freaking out a bit.

June

doctornick

Apple iPhone 13 Pro

07/30/2006 07:49:00 AM · #2

Yeah...pulling the battery out usually resets the camera. Clean your lens contacts and make sure your battery grip does not wobble.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/30/2006 08:13:09 AM · #3

Also, there was a batch of 20D grips that Canon recalled. You might do a search on that to see if you have one of them.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Nikon

07/30/2006 08:26:26 AM · #4

Originally posted by dwterry:

Also, there was a batch of 20D grips that Canon recalled. You might do a search on that to see if you have one of them.

I checked, mine isn't one of those.

June

blemt

Nikon D70

07/30/2006 08:32:57 AM · #5

Our Canon rep says it's almost always dust. So it's possible you had a small piece floating around that kept causing the issue. Give the camera a good dedusting before you shoot next.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Nikon

07/30/2006 08:40:51 AM · #6

Originally posted by blemt:

Our Canon rep says it's almost always dust. So it's possible you had a small piece floating around that kept causing the issue. Give the camera a good dedusting before you shoot next.

Dust where? I cleaned the contacts on the lens and the camera with no luck!

June

blemt

Nikon D70

07/30/2006 09:28:24 AM · #7

In the grip area. Blow out the battery area in the camera itself, and the contacts on the grip.

mandyturner

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/20/2006 09:30:03 AM · #8

I was having this problem yesterday. My camera has also started locking up with no error message. It even finds a focus point and beeps, but when I push the shutter, nothing happends?

STEINR

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM

08/20/2006 10:47:59 AM · #9

What kind of lens were you using? Some of the older Sigma lenses are not compatable and can cause that error. This might also be a problem with some other older lenses.

08/20/2006 11:25:25 AM · #10

Which lens is it? Is it heavy and long?

You seem to use your camera a lot. I would almost wonder if there is a metal fatigue issue.

Did you try other lenses?

Now those would help to tell you if there is a lens contact issue (which is usually Err 99), but the error can cause other things.

From your description of things, it sounds a lot more like it's the Battery Grip.

Cleaning the lens contacts probably involves a fair bit of moving around... Maybe those contacts are dirty. It might even be possible that fatigue could be an issue there, particularly if you are using the BG on a tripod...

Just some ideas.

mandyturner

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/20/2006 10:29:06 PM · #11

I was using my kit lens. I am not using my battery grip at the moment. See this thread.

yanko

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

08/20/2006 10:53:12 PM · #12

That only happened to me once. Turning off the camera and removing the lens did nothing. When I physically removed the battery and put it back in it worked. I think it's just a battery issue.

Message edited by author 2006-08-20 22:53:39.

theSaj

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/20/2006 11:10:25 PM · #13

Originally posted by Chiqui:

Sounds very similar to my problems with my 20D. I've had to ship mine back about 5 times in the past year. Canon is finally replacing my body and lens.

What lens were you using? I had most of my problems with the 70-200mm

Also, check your battery grip. Certain ones were defective.

- Jason

mandyturner

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/20/2006 11:13:15 PM · #14

It has happened with both of my lenses.

mandyturner see profile.

OOPS! sorry wrong conversation!!

Message edited by author 2006-08-20 23:14:00.

Telehubbie

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

08/20/2006 11:27:28 PM · #15

This happens to me occasionally with the grip on and mounted on a rotating flash bracket. On my bracket, the camera itself rotates so sometimes rotating the camera around sort of twists the connection enough to cause the error (my guess). Nothing major, I just unscrew the grip just enough to disconnect to grip terminals and then screw it back in.

NstiG8tr

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

08/21/2006 12:18:49 AM · #16

It happens on my XT occassionally but only with my 17-40. I just detach the lens and put it back and all is good. No probs with the heavier lenses.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/21/2006 06:17:18 AM · #17

here's a tip...

i know this sounds like a PITA, but i think rather than looking for an instant fix, take a moment to detach the lens, remove your card(s), completely disconnect your battery grip (or remove your battery, whichever is appropriate), then wait a full 10 seconds before putting things back.

afaik, the time/date battery gives the camera enough power to retain its memory for a bit; if you quickly detach the lens and pop the batteries in and out, the camera will not complete the draining cycle, leaving it thinking it still has a problem. be patient, count to 10, and hopefully, you'll have better results.

08/21/2006 06:41:46 AM · #18

Well, I took the grip off and I haven't had any problems since. My grip was not one of the recall ones though. I am hoping that is all there is to the problem.

June

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/21/2006 10:05:18 AM · #19

You realize that they only recall grips after a large number of complaints. Maybe yours wasn't part of the series that received complaints for some reason...

Talk to Canon Service? Maybe the recall has been updated, but not re-recalled...

EDIT to add:
Skip. I think the battery that is for the time/date has a fairly substantial charge to it. It's a lithium button cell and it should last a few weeks if I can recall correctly. Might be easier to just get her to take it out...

You can find it just next to the ordinary battery. There's a hard to see black slider that is next to the hinge thing that you take out when you add the BG. It is labelled CR2016 3V or something similar (the 30D might be different). just slide it up and out and wait a couple of minutes for the capacitors to leak down. You will know if it worked or not because the date/time is gone. I suspect that even a few seconds should be sufficient for the time circuits, but you never know.

Message edited by author 2006-08-21 10:13:34.

theSaj

Canon EOS-20D

08/21/2006 10:55:18 AM · #20

Originally posted by skiprow:

10 seconds bah...

Maybe I just had a good battery cause there were times I had to wait 10 minutes. Which is unacceptable IMHO. Especially when you're in the middle of a shoot or a wedding etc.

Yeah, I reached the point where I was nearly ready to take a trip to NYC and return my 70-200mm to Canon via their big glass pane window.

Thankfully, the fifth time I finally got some real service. Thanks to Canon's CPS. I found a number and called and he gave me an email address outside of the normal loop.

I am so hoping when the new units arrive shortly that my problems will be over.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/21/2006 10:59:40 AM · #21

Hey the saj. Glad to hear that you finally got taken care of. That's the worst feeling in the world when you put hours of research and masses of money into a purchase and it should be perfect but instead is just a royal PITA. Happens to me all the time :(

Ok, so maybe not the worst feeling in the world, but it sucks...

incidentally, check your manual at the end and you will see where the date/time battery sits. Very easy to remove it. See above post.

theSaj

Canon EOS-20D

08/21/2006 12:05:09 PM · #22

I just got a phone call. They're shipping the camera & lens today. It should arrive tomorrow.

woot

I'll keep note of the date/time battery. (Of course, I am sure that every time I do that I'll wind up forgetting and getting a bunch of DPC entries DQ'd.

*lol*