1D Mark II is falling apart...

ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
edited March 10, 2011 in Cameras
OK, it's safe to say my face is pretty white now... at least on the inside:rolleyes

First, I need to know what Error 99 is. I couldn't find it in the manual. I think it's the shutter. I know it's not the contacts, because it occurs with or without a lens. Here's the deal: I press the shutter, it goes normal for a few frames at 8fps, and then one cycle ends with a high, not-good sounding... scrape? Shriek? Not sure how to describe it, but it doesn't sound good. So, turn off the camera, wait a few seconds, turn it back on and the shutter fires (it's more of a second-half, release fire; doesn't sound like a full one). And the image is from before I turned the camera off (I'm pretty sure, I'll have to do more testing). This usually happens lately when the camera is cold. I had it out tonite, but it was above 40 F.

And neither my old Canon NP-E3 nor my Impact battery is holding a charge. I'll need to pay Adorama $100 for a real Canon that actually works :(

O the dangers of buying used... oh well, I hope I'll be able to get lots more good images out of this, but I need these two things fixed.

Comments

  • JimKarczewskiJimKarczewski Registered Users Posts: 969 Major grins
    edited March 9, 2011
    Yuck. I'm always worried about random issues. From what I found on the 1D2 and Error 99, sounds like a whole lot of different issues can be going on there...

    From Photo.net:
    Err99 is just a general communications error. I work in a repair facility and see this every day. Top causes for error 99 are as follows:

    1-Bad Shutter, 2-Bad Aperture control assembly in the camera, 3-Bad aperture assembly in the lens, 4-Bent pins in CF card slot, 5-Bad Battery (third party usually), 6-Corrosion 7-Lens Contacts.

    From your description i'm inclined to say a bad shutter, although a bad battery could easily do this because when the battery can't provide the camera enough power to fire the shutter, the shutter fails and therefore err99 is displayed.

    The worst scenario is the corrosion one, which could make the camera unrepaireable. I would lift up the mirror and look at the shutter to see if you see any scratch marks on the shutter blades, or if any of them are dangling out of position - this is a sign of shutter failure.
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,129 moderator
    edited March 9, 2011
    If neither battery is holding a charge it could be just a bad battery or even a bad charger (not charging the batteries properly).

    I believe that a battery that is low on power can cause that error with those symptoms.

    See if you can find another local Canon user with a 1D MKII/MKIIN or 1Ds MKII with a good battery and changer to help diagnose the problem.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • HelenOsterHelenOster Registered Users Posts: 173 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2011
    OK, it's safe to say my face is pretty white now... at least on the insiderolleyes1.gif


    Have you checked here?


    http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/eos_slr_camera_systems/eos_digital_slr_cameras/eos_1d#ServiceAndSupport
    Helen Oster
    Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
    http://twitter.com/HelenOster
    Helen@adorama.com
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  • ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2011
    HelenOster wrote:

    From the page:
    Issue: Camera displays an "Err 99" error code.

    <HR SIZE=1>
    <!-- Display Solution name -->Solution: Remove the 3rd party accessory.

    <!-- Display Solution Long Description--><META name=generator content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org">Please remove the 3rd party accessory and replace it with a genuine Canon accessory.

    Well, it happens with your battery, Canon.
    Yuck. I'm always worried about random issues. From what I found on the 1D2 and Error 99, sounds like a whole lot of different issues can be going on there...

    From Photo.net:
    Err99 is just a general communications error. I work in a repair facility and see this every day. Top causes for error 99 are as follows:

    1-Bad Shutter, 2-Bad Aperture control assembly in the camera, 3-Bad aperture assembly in the lens, 4-Bent pins in CF card slot, 5-Bad Battery (third party usually), 6-Corrosion 7-Lens Contacts.

    From your description i'm inclined to say a bad shutter, although a bad battery could easily do this because when the battery can't provide the camera enough power to fire the shutter, the shutter fails and therefore err99 is displayed.

    The worst scenario is the corrosion one, which could make the camera unrepaireable. I would lift up the mirror and look at the shutter to see if you see any scratch marks on the shutter blades, or if any of them are dangling out of position - this is a sign of shutter failure.

    1- Could be bad shutter:uhoh 2- No idea. 3- This happens without a lens too. 4- Nope, happens with SDs too. 5- This is my guess. 6- Probably not. 7- No.

    I looked, didn't see any scratches or dangling things. I think it's the battery. I charged mine, oh, not much, but enough to get some power into it... now it's fine. Of course, it's not cold anymore. Hopefully just a new battery will fix this--something I need anyway.
  • ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2011
    ziggy53 wrote: »
    If neither battery is holding a charge it could be just a bad battery or even a bad charger (not charging the batteries properly).

    I believe that a battery that is low on power can cause that error with those symptoms.

    See if you can find another local Canon user with a 1D MKII/MKIIN or 1Ds MKII with a good battery and changer to help diagnose the problem.

    I'll try, though currently I don't know any Mark II users... hmm.
  • dbvetodbveto Registered Users Posts: 660 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2011
    I don't shoot Canon but with your comment that is happens when it's cold that most likely will be the battery.
    Dennis
    http://www.realphotoman.com/
    Work in progress
    http://www.realphotoman.net/ Zenfolio 10% off Referral Code: 1KH-5HX-5HU
  • ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2011
    I recharged the batt al the way, and now the camera is at normal temp. It's working fine. No error 99. I've decided that I'm just gonna get a new battery. Thanks for all the help.

    About batteries, I was looking around and (I know, my 3rd party Impact was no good, it won't hold a charge) this looks pretty interesting. It's tempting, that 30 day money back and 1 year warranty...
    http://www.lithium-batteries.net/camcorder/canon/np-e3-battery.html

    I know, my camera is a "compatible camcorder model." Just thinking...
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,129 moderator
    edited March 10, 2011
    While it's not currently in stock, Lenmar is a fairly well respected name and it's a 3-year warranty:

    http://www.adorama.com/LRDMCE3.html

    P.S. I see that last year you were going to buy the Lenmar but got the Impact on my recommendation. If you got the Impact from B&H there may still be an applicable warranty.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2011
    ziggy53 wrote: »
    While it's not currently in stock, Lenmar is a fairly well respected name and it's a 3-year warranty:

    http://www.adorama.com/LRDMCE3.html

    P.S. I see that last year you were going to buy the Lenmar but got the Impact on my recommendation. If you got the Impact from B&H there may still be an applicable warranty.

    Yes, the Impact does not hold much of a charge nowadays... I charged it fully on Mon or Tues and used it last night. It hardly gave me any shots. I would say that I might even trust my old Canon more than this... I will look into the warranty.

    I remember that the Impact was $10 less than the Lenmar, both had ok reviews, so I went with the Impact.

    Edit: I should mention that the contacts on the Impact would occasionally come loose and the camera would go off... I didn't miss any shots, but I could have. This does not bother me much, as a good push back and it will usually stay. I must say, I would have been very happy with this if it would hold a charge. I will refresh this, charge it again, and do some testing on Saturday to see just how many shots a full charge will hold.
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