Lens error

macmassey

Hi folks. I received a lens error first on my Canon 17-55 and then later on my Canon 28-135. It states "Err 01 Communications between the camera and lens is faulty. Clean the lens contacts. My understanding is that this is a pretty common error that lots of folks have received. I Googled how to resolve it and found that most of the advice was to clean the contacts on the lens itself. I have done that with a soft cloth as I was shown in several Youtube Videos. I even cleaned the actual camera contacts the same way. The lens will work for several shots then I get the error again. One thing that may or may not be a factor, it seemed to occur again when I dialed down to F8 from a larger aperture. It's quite frustrating as I'm not in a position to buy new lenses. Another video I saw on Youtube said to take several pictures with the lens off the camera. I have not done that because that just sounded strange to me. I hate to have to send these lenses into Canon and spend $200+ to have them "repaired" but not sure what else to do. Any other suggestions? Both lenses are several years old. They were used initially on a Canon 40D and then later (and currently) on a Canon 7DMarkII. Thanks in advance!

ziggy53

Try cleaning both the contacts on the lens (again) and the contacts in the camera, using a fresh, white facial tissue. (Not the kind with lotion and not a colored facial tissue; it has to be a plain old white version.).

If that doesn't work, try cleaning with a red eraser from a new pencil. Make sure not to get any eraser dust in the body of the camera or down into the lens.

Buy a new, genuine Canon LP-E6N battery. Both the Canon EF-S 17-55mm, f2.8 IS USM and the EF 28-135mm,f/3.5-5.6 IS USM have IS, and that stabilization mechanism is known to draw a fair amount of power. An older battery can be weak enough to not properly power an IS lens. The LP-E6N also has a bit more power than the older LP-E6, and the Canon 7D Mark II is designed to use the newer battery. A new battery alone can often solve the problem.

macmassey

Oh wow, thank you so much!!! I really appreciate the direction on this. I will definitely give these things a shot. Have a great day!