Canon 40D - Error 99

salazar

Hmm... Error 99 on a new Canon 40D. :scratch

The 40D set on a tripod, in portrait orientation, using the self timer at 10 seconds, using mirror lockup (because I don't have a remote release for it yet), and manual focus.

I push the shutter for a shot, the mirror locks up (as it should as I've got it set for that for these shots), the timer counts down (beeping as it goes), the shutter trips and instead of getting a preview of the photo on the LCD I get a message on the LCD screen saying:

"Error Err99 Shooting is not possible. Turn the power switch to <OFF> and <ON> again or re-install the battery."

I'm getting intermittent Error 99's, some shots work some result in Err99. I'm clearing them by powering off and on again as I'm set on the tripod and can't easily get at the battery and am almost finished what I'm doing so don't want to mess up the setup. Then I get a steady string of them. Power off, remove battery and charge it. The charger says it's half charged when I put it in and it is recharged fully in about 15 min. Pop the battery back in and it's back to normal. :dunno

This is a new Canon battery, as I don't have any spares yet (two on order from one source, one from another). I'm using an old Canon lens, an EF 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 from 1989 but it's been fine (500 shots so far on this lens on this 40D), and it spent the summer in England on "thegreenegg's" Rebel XT and she didn't mention any problems. I'll emailed her and she replied "no it didn't give me any trouble."

The sun just came out (after some rain) so I'll go shoot some more and see what happens.

Any of the 40D users having any error 99's yet or is it just me? :help

Be happy if you've never seen them before. It may simply be dirt on the lens contacts, or whatever. Just checking.

David_S85

My first stab at guessing would be the older-style lens can't communicate to the 40D, resulting in a read error. Any problem when using other newer lenses?

salazar

David_S85 wrote:

My first stab at guessing would be the older-style lens can't communicate to the 40D, resulting in a read error. Any problem when using other newer lenses?

Thanks David, it may be the lens but its been fine for 500 shots or so on this 40D and its been fine on "thegreenegg's" Rebel XT for the last four months. I don't have any other lenses here to try it with just now but if it has stopped acting up, well, that's the way these things go sometimes.

I'm going out shortly to shoot some more and see what happens. I'll report back later.

Edit: I'm back. 44 more shots, same lens, same battery, same everything. No problem this time. I even shot a few at the end with mirror lockup and a 10 second timer, some of those in portrait, no problem. Hmmm.

kdog

I remember my 20D did this a few days after I got it as well. I reset it a few times, and then it never did it again. Weird.

I wonder if some excess lubrication grease somehow makes it onto the electrical connections on the lens mount. You might try cleaning them with a dry rag, or maybe dampen the rag with a bit of contact cleaner. Erasers aren't good for contacts, so don't use that.

Cheers,
-joel

brydon

My 40D err99 solution
I had this problem a month or so ago and haven't seen it since. Try doing a full format of the card using the camera - don't just delete all images. Then re-zero the shot count. See if that helps.

salazar

Thank you for the suggestion Brydon. I do normally use the camera to delete the images on the card and then reformat in camera each time I clear the card. Oddly enough my 40D hasn't given me an ER99 this since this one day. Recharging the battery (or at least removing and reinstalling the battery after about 15 minutes) seemed to have fixed the problem... for now...

cdonovan

I had this error with my xt and it was a read problem from my lens. I sent the lens off for repair...not sure what was done, but when it came back I never had the same problem

The lens was a tamron 70-300 f4.5

It happened the same way, not all the time, but frequently but enough to worry if It was going to be the next shot that I was going to miss out on. I was shooting barrell racing at the time and one misfire ended up missing the whole run....lining and missing the shot, turn off, taking out the batter, replacing and turning the camera back on always took longer than 16 seconds!!!!

forrwhat

I am at my wits end. I am in Brazil on a shoot. I am a professional shooter and i use the 40d for a couple of uses. 1 for my telephoto lenses I like the magnification of the smaller sensor, and 2 for the non-professional look it has with out the battery grip.

I am in Brazil shooting some very important things in poverty stricken areas. I do not want to pull out my 1D mark II for obvious reasons.

Now my relatively new 40D has a perpetual error 99 message. I am relegated to my back 30D.

I have cleaned my lens and battery contacts. I have no after market anything. I use only L lenses.

I need help!

Frank

1D mark II, 40D, 30D, 5D, 24-70 2.8L, 16-35 2.8L, 70-200 2.8L. 300 2.8 L

ziggy53

forrwhat wrote:

I am at my wits end. I am in Brazil on a shoot. I am a professional shooter and i use the 40d for a couple of uses. 1 for my telephoto lenses I like the magnification of the smaller sensor, and 2 for the non-professional look it has with out the battery grip.

I am in Brazil shooting some very important things in poverty stricken areas. I do not want to pull out my 1D mark II for obvious reasons.

Now my relatively new 40D has a perpetual error 99 message. I am relegated to my back 30D.

I have cleaned my lens and battery contacts. I have no after market anything. I use only L lenses.

I need help!

Frank

1D mark II, 40D, 30D, 5D, 24-70 2.8L, 16-35 2.8L, 70-200 2.8L. 300 2.8 L

Frank,

I wish I could give you a better welcome here.

Does the camera issue the error immediately after startup or only after you press the shutter?

Can you raise the mirror on the 40D with mirror lockup? If you can see the shutter, compare the 40D shutter with the 30D shutter. If there is a difference you can see that might give a better indication of the problem.

Can you use Live View?

I'm glad you are prepared and have the 30D as a backup.

Best,

Vijjy

Hello everyone,

I also join the bandwagon of Canon 40D "Err 99" rather unhappily. I bought this new camera in December 2007 along with a brand new 24-70 L series lens. Three months ago I started getting this error intermittently. I checked the lens and camera contacts, removed battery, reinstalled it, formatted the card but of no use. Local service center in Hyderabad (India) checked and suggested that it be sent back to Canon USA as I bought the camera there and it is still under warranty. I am thoroughly disappointed now and trying ways to get it repaired by Canon USA.
Any fixes are highly appreciated.

Thanks
Vijjy

ziggy53

Vijjy,

Welcome to the Digital Grin and I'm sorry your first post has to be concerning the dreaded "error 99".

I'm afraid that if your local service says to the return the camera to the USA, they probably mean that it is covered under a USA warranty. You may be able to get local repairs, but they may be very expensive outside of the warranty.

You can contact Canon Service through e-mail, and that might be the way to start:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=SupportDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=215&modelid=15653

Then look under "Tech Support" and click on "Support by E-Mail".

Vijjy

Thank You Ziggy53!

Yes! The camera is on its way to USA for repairs -most probably a shutter failure as suspected by Indian Canon Service center. BTW I fail to understand why Canon does not extend warranty worldwide. It is real pain to send it across continents.

Anyhow will have to live without my Canon 40 D for some time. For the time being I am falling back on my Minolta X-700!

Thanks
Vijjy

marklaing

err99 in canon EOS 40D
I've just started having the same
err99 in canon EOS 40D
problem. I'm in London with a US bought camera. sometimes it happens on flash, other times is seems to work.

Vijjy wrote:

Thank You Ziggy53!

Yes! The camera is on its way to USA for repairs -most probably a shutter failure as suspected by Indian Canon Service center. BTW I fail to understand why Canon does not extend warranty worldwide. It is real pain to send it across continents.

Anyhow will have to live without my Canon 40 D for some time. For the time being I am falling back on my Minolta X-700!

Thanks
Vijjy

ziggy53

marklaing wrote:

I've just started having the same
err99 in canon EOS 40D
problem. I'm in London with a US bought camera. sometimes it happens on flash, other times is seems to work.

Marklaing, welcome to the Digital Grin.

Good luck with the 40D. Have you tried cleaning all the contacts of the lens and batteries?

Are you using a vertical/battery grip?

Are you using third-party batteries?

Robinivich

Best article I've ever read on the subject, not sure how much specific help it may be, but worthwhile if you're having these problems.

http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.12.31/canon-err99

vinx2o2o

Quick Help!

ziggy53 wrote:

Can you use Live View?

YES! is the only thing that work!
Ziggy, i've just also send you an email 'cause i hope to have a very quick asnwer if you (or other!) can help me.

This is the body of my email. If other have any advise suggest me plese!
"[snap] Tomorrow will be my last day in India and i have the most important picture to take!
So i've read your real interesting answer about the evil ERR 99. I'm a 40D with a Canon 1.4 50mm lens and obviously i've tried all the tricks that i've find all over the web:
It's not the CF 'cause i receive ERR 99 also without CF inserted
It's not the lens 'cause with a Tamron lens i receive ERR 99
It's not the battery 'cause i receive ERR 99 also with another Canon battery
It's not the firmware. I've tried to upgrade to 1.1.1 but i i receive ERR 99 yet
Ultimately the shutter seems to be correctly working
I've read your interesting question to other user with the same problem: "the Live View works?" YES It works!!!
I've tried also to take picture in Live View mode without lens and without CF and it works fine. WHY!? The problem is the mirror? You know other "tricks"?
I'm in an hotel at Calcutta and i dont have any professional tool to open or to do difficult things.
Unfortunately i cant take my shots in Live View mode 'cause i must take really fast shots in a dangerous situation probably without sufficient lights. In this situation without autofocus (not possible in Live View) I'm lost!!
[snap]"

Thank you all in advance!

ziggy53

Vinx2o2o, welcome to the Digital Grin.

Sorry to hear of your problems with the Canon 40D camera. If you experience the same problem with multiple lenses, it's likely to be with the body itself. I recommend a very careful cleaning of all contacts between camera and lens. It takes very little to cause an electrical fault in the contacts.

A clean red pencil eraser is pretty good to burnish the contacts. Don't use much pressure and make sure that any eraser dust falls away from the camera or lens openings. You only need to work on the surfaces that touch.

If that does not work I'm afraid there is likely something seriously wrong with the camera. You would need to take it into a shop or send it back to Canon.

I do wonder if whatever you are doing that is so dangerous has affected the camera?

Be safe,

vinx2o2o

ziggy53 wrote:

A clean red pencil eraser is pretty good to burnish the contacts.

I do wonder if whatever you are doing that is so dangerous has affected the camera?

Thanks Ziggy for advice and greetings
Tomorrow (local time) i'll buy the red pencil and i will try to clean the contact!
I hope this resolve the problem but i've tried to shot without lens and i still have ERR 99. I can only use the camera with Live View...mah

What i'm doing here is dangerous only for my life i take shot about indian social problem, tomorrow I (white man foreigner with a reflex) will try to take picture of children prostitutes in the red light area. But i think i'll must use my IXUS...groan...

ziggy53

vinx2o2o wrote:

Thanks Ziggy for advice and greetings
Tomorrow (local time) i'll buy the red pencil and i will try to clean the contact!
I hope this resolve the problem but i've tried to shot without lens and i still have ERR 99. I can only use the camera with Live View...mah

What i'm doing here is dangerous only for my life i take shot about indian social problem, tomorrow I (white man foreigner with a reflex) will try to take picture of children prostitutes in the red light area. But i think i'll must use my IXUS...groan...

To be clear, I mean the red eraser commonly found on the end of a common wooden pencil. Any eraser could do and there are some plastic erasers that will also work fine.

brettdnlsn

It looks like this thread has been inactive for a while, but I wanted to see if anyone could access my problem?

I have had my 40D for a little bit over 2 years. Have never had any problems before, and yesterday when shooting my partner's graduation ceremony, I received the infamous "err 99". I was shooting with my kit lens, 18-55, and have since tried my Canon 1.8 50mm, and my Sigma 10-20mm, clean the contact points with cotton Q-tips, removed and replaced the battery (swapped batteries as well) and removed, replaced and clean my CF card (along with a replacement as well). I was using the pop up flash for a few shots, however I never really use it other times. Every time I shoot it gives the error and have not been able to shoot one shot yet.

I know that this is sort of a cover all error, but does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do, or what it may be? Or even better does anyone know what it costs to address and fix this problem?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

ziggy53

If this error occurred just after you switched the CF card, check the pins at the bottom of the CF card bay to see if a pin got bent.

TJDIV

brettdnlsn wrote: »

It looks like this thread has been inactive for a while, but I wanted to see if anyone could access my problem?

I have had my 40D for a little bit over 2 years. Have never had any problems before, and yesterday when shooting my partner's graduation ceremony, I received the infamous "err 99". I was shooting with my kit lens, 18-55, and have since tried my Canon 1.8 50mm, and my Sigma 10-20mm, clean the contact points with cotton Q-tips, removed and replaced the battery (swapped batteries as well) and removed, replaced and clean my CF card (along with a replacement as well). I was using the pop up flash for a few shots, however I never really use it other times. Every time I shoot it gives the error and have not been able to shoot one shot yet.

I know that this is sort of a cover all error, but does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do, or what it may be? Or even better does anyone know what it costs to address and fix this problem?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Wow. Annoying Dgrin. Just typed a 3 paragraph response and got wiped out.

I'm dealing with the same thing right now. Sent in for repairs, got it back, still Err99. Canon has been great, actually, but my issue didn't get fixed. Sending back in (they're even paying shipping) tomorrow.

I tried ALL troubleshooting, talked to 3 friends who shoot Canon professionally and ALL 3 of them said to trade up and not bother. Sad to think a 40d is now a disposable unit.

I very well may trade up to the 7d through the Loyalty Program, keep the 40d as a backup if they get it fixed.

Will post back on my experience, but I recommend at a minimum sending it in. Here is the Canon Repair Form.


Also, FYI, my costs were $202 for the Camera and $94 for the lens. I couldn't justify NOT trying to see if that would fix this camera since I really do like shooting with it. The 7d, with the CMOS sensor will be my next because I too like the crop for tele-shooting, plus I want HD Video.

chrisjohnson

I had Err 99 on my 40D a couple of years ago after stressing it with rapid fire flash with a 430. The problem fixed itself after reformatting the memory card and removing the main battery for 30 minutes. Fortunately it has not happened again since.

Good luck.

Cuong

My 3-yrs-old 40D just joins the Err 99 Club recently. It functions fine in Live View mode, but throws Err 99 in other modes despite having tried all locally available remedies. It's time to upgrade with the Canon Loyalty Program.

Cuong

NeilL

brettdnlsn wrote: »

It looks like this thread has been inactive for a while, but I wanted to see if anyone could access my problem?

I have had my 40D for a little bit over 2 years. Have never had any problems before, and yesterday when shooting my partner's graduation ceremony, I received the infamous "err 99". I was shooting with my kit lens, 18-55, and have since tried my Canon 1.8 50mm, and my Sigma 10-20mm, clean the contact points with cotton Q-tips, removed and replaced the battery (swapped batteries as well) and removed, replaced and clean my CF card (along with a replacement as well). I was using the pop up flash for a few shots, however I never really use it other times. Every time I shoot it gives the error and have not been able to shoot one shot yet.

I know that this is sort of a cover all error, but does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do, or what it may be? Or even better does anyone know what it costs to address and fix this problem?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Sorry to hear about the problems. Seems like you did all the recommended stuff (did you also remove the small battery for date etc - leave all batteries out for 30min?).

Does it work in live view?

Do you notice any different sounds, eg mirror or shutter sounds? Does it sound normal when you turn off?

Most likely cause, after the body-lens communication thing, is shutter failure/ mirror lock up problem.

I would contact Canon as below. Shipping cost will be ~ $100 return, you will get an assessment and a quote for repair, which I think is $40, plus the cost of repair - possible replacement shutter, mirror - maybe $500.

P: 13 13 83
F: (02) 9888 3314
E: cameraservice@canon.com.au

You could possibly track down a good independent repairer in Melb who would do it cheaper. Please let me know if you do!

And keep us informed here!

All the best.

Neil

Cuong

Cuong wrote: »

My 3-yrs-old 40D just joins the Err 99 Club recently. It functions fine in Live View mode, but throws Err 99 in other modes despite having tried all locally available remedies. It's time to upgrade with the Canon Loyalty Program.

Cuong

This is a follow-up on my 40D with Err 99 problem. Canon Factory Service Center replaced the shutter assembly for $209 so now I have another backup body. The camera had 61,130 actuation when the error occurred which is way below the 100,000 cycle rating.

Cuong

NeilL

Yeah, it's not very sporting of Canon, really, considering it hasn't quite met what are their own expectations of service. Still, the price is just within being affordable to keep the body going as a backup. Do Canon guarantee this part?

Neil

Cuong

NeilL wrote: »

Yeah, it's not very sporting of Canon, really, considering it hasn't quite met what are their own expectations of service. Still, the price is just within being affordable to keep the body going as a backup. Do Canon guarantee this part?

Neil

Quoting Canon's repair warranty info: "This repair is warranted to be free from defects in workmanship and materials under normal use for 6 months from such repair..."

Cuong

NeilL

Cuong wrote: »

Quoting Canon's repair warranty info: "This repair is warranted to be free from defects in workmanship and materials under normal use for 6 months from such repair..."

Cuong

!!! 6mo is somewhat underwhelming! What are they scared of? That their customers will send them broke?!

Neil