00 aperture - help please

[jessiper]

So, a '00' aperture happens when the lens is not corrrectly communicating w/the body, but what does that mean? Is it broken? Just a fluke? (it happened once last weekend for only a few minutes or so, but my gear is pretty new). At the time, I thought it was because the room I was in was very, very dark, because I had never seen that before. Should I send in my lens &/or body to get checked (before the warranty is up)? Or, should I just wait and see if it happens again? I think it was my 30D/50 1.4 combo. I only bought my 30D this month, and my 50mm a couple months ago. EEK! :cry: Thanks for your advice.

[Pekka]

Lens communication error.

Try cleaning the lens contacts with microfibre cloth or q-tip and alcohol (not Cognac or Valpolicella, try isopropyl).

Also check your battery contacts, too and see if it happens with specific battery unit only.

[jessiper]

Is it strange, though, to have that happen w/only having them both for, at most, 2 months? It was only the second wedding I've shot w/the 30D, and the 4th w/the 50 1.4.

[CMJrFan8]

That happened to me when I changed lenses while the camera was still turned on. I had to turn it off and re-mount the lens and turn it back on.

[jessiper]

hmmm...good tip, thanks. Sometimes I forget to turn it off before switching lenses.

[Jon]

hmmm...good tip, thanks. Sometimes I forget to turn it off before switching lenses.
Per a Canon rep I asked about this specifically, you don't need to turn the camera off before changing lenses. I've done probably thousands of lens changes on my various EOSes without turning the camera off and not experienced any kind of error. If you had a problem with mounting a new lens it was probably something with the lens, like cruddy contacts, that removing and remounting it rubbed through, or that got it properly seated the second time.

[Tee Why]

OO means that it's not communicating with the lens as previously mentioned. One advice I've heard poster mention here given by Canon tech's is to hold the body with the mirror facing down and use an erasor from a pencil to clean the surface of the electrical contacts for the lens and to do the same for the contacts on the lens.

Make sure the camera is facing down so you don't get eraser bits into the sensor though.

[jessiper]

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully it doesn't happen again.