crazy day - error messages on 5D and 20D!!!

[islandphoto]

I've owned both cameras for about a year. I just bought the 85mm 1.8 and it was the 2nd time I used it. Right in the middle of the ceremony I got an error 99 on my 20D with the 85. I turned it off and back on - nothing changed. I turned it off, took out the battery and memory card and nothing. I then changed lenses to the 50mm - STILL NOTHING!!! Then I put in a new battery and wala - it was working.

Everything was fine until a very IMPORTANT part of the reception. I had my 5D and 24-70 lens on and the shutter froze up on me and I got an error 00!!!! I then tried to remove battery and it was still giving me error 00. I tried a bunch of things and then gave up so I wanted to put my 24-70 on my 20D and keep on shooting. I did that and then both cameras were working fine.

It was very frustrating and scary! I have been cleaning the lenses and contacts pretty frequenlty. Do I need a 3rd backup camera??? I pratically had a heart attack! Anyone else have similar problems?

[Tobster001]

Your in Maui ? How old is the gear, lenses camera cards ? what were the weather conditions (cold hot humid ?? ) I work in the tropics and every summer i get those unexplaind unaccounted for errors, I let my gear adjust outdoors for 2hours prior , stopping condensation and the works and i have a huge supply of dry bags to keep all gear moisture free...Still im dreading summer, hope you work it out :)T

Oh yeah i service my lenses after every summer, and i buy i new body every year(sometimes 2), I get it back on tax, depreciate it over 2-3 years anyway .

[picturecrazy]

...
It was very frustrating and scary! I have been cleaning the lenses and contacts pretty frequenlty. Do I need a 3rd backup camera??? I pratically had a heart attack! Anyone else have similar problems?

Everyone I know who cleans their contacts has had problems.
I haven't touched the contacts once this year and I've had ZERO lockups! Unlike last year.... which was nightmarish at times. Don't know if this is plausible or not, but it just seems like a trend...

[islandphoto]

so you think it's from cleaning the contacts?

[picturecrazy]

I dunno, I'm no expert. Just a theory.

[drogos]

well it can only be called bad luck ....regarding cleaning...i have never cleaned anything, inluding sensor ..and never had any kind of problems ...just a rocket blower every now and then..that's it :)

[tim]

Cleaning the contacts with eclipse is what probably caused my problems.

[SuzyView]

I never clean my contacts. But I don't use my gear as much as you guys who shoot all the time do. I think the error messages during a crucial shoot would give me a heart attack for real. I dropped my 430 in the parking lot and almost killed it and I was almost in tears.

I have been hearing a lot about cleaning the contacts not working, the battery switch is the better bet. I think it's important to bring extra fully charged batteries and extra CF cards and extra lenses just for this reason, to have alternatives in case the set up isn't working properly. And a 3rd body, whether it's an old DSLR or a film body, is well worth the investment. I carry my EOS 3 in my camera bag most of the time at crucial shoots and even m y A530, just in case. Hey, better safe than sorry.

Are you sending the cameras into Canon if this happens again?

[CyberPet]

That's a nightmare!! I have never cleaned my contacts, but now I'm more convinced I shouldn't. Scary! :eek:

[Wedding Shooter]

I don't clean mine - just make sure I don't make them dirty in the first place. Only had one error 99 on my 20D and nothing on my 30D, 5D or 1D3.

This probably doesn't make a difference, but the only time I got the error 99 was when I changed the lens without turning off the camera. I usually always turn off the camera before changing lenses.

[cosworth]

I get 00 sometimes. It's happened with two different bodies AND two different 70-200 2.8 IS lenses. Not sure why...

00 being zero zero aperture. I must remove the battery for it to go away. It's not he body, it's not the lens. It's something odd. You may be in the same boat.

[highway0691]

This could well be the reason why cameras are failing us, ie cleaning contacts etc. I used to have regular lock-ups with both cameras. Since I've stopped cleaning the contacts it's only happened once, but I attribute this also to not changing lenses. With my two camera bodies I rarely change a lens and if so not at a wedding.

Cheers

damian

[mkuriger]

are you cleaning lenses and contacts too much maybe? I've never cleaned contacts on mine and it's been a couple of years.

[islandphoto]

Hey thanks for all of the replies. No, I don't clean them that often - just after a really salty day at the beach. I just clean the outer rim of the lens and camera if there's dust or dirt. That was a few weeks ago. I think it is bad luck :( But the good news is the problem was easily resolved in both instances so I'm not too worried. It's weird that different things solved the problem but at least I do have backup everything.