20D lockups: reality check

[chris clements]

The 20D is the DSLR class leader by a country mile. It is a clear winner on performance, specification and value. Yet these forums are full of people putting off purchase. One even asked recently if Canon would be redesigning the camera.

Why?

Because a very few owners have experienced lock up on a very, very few occasions. A problem that is very simply rectfied, and will be completely eradicated with a firmware upgrade.

Within these forums having a lock-up seems to be a rite of passage or a badge of honour. One sad b*st*rd spent hours taking his lens on and off (dust, dust, dust!) just to try and artificially cause one!

Like any modern kit, the 20D has a zillion electronic cogs, wheels and pulleys that can very occasionally stick. It comes with the territory:- my computer hangs about once a month. Do I complain to Mr Dell and Mr Gates, or do I just hit ctrl/alt/del and get on with it?

Stop this lockup hysteria now- all you waverers; go out and buy one. You won't regret it.

…and if you're in the UK, as a bonus you can even get a handgrip.

[tommykjensen]

Completely agree.

[pcasciola]

Some people just love to knock what they don't have. Some others expect to get the world for $1500. The one thing I'm glad about is that I bought my 20D before everyone started complaining about the lockups, because the way everyone was carrying on I would have thought the problem was much worse than it actually is. It's not like you are out of commission for 5 hours, or even 5 minutes. It's more like 5 seconds. Also, it's not locking up for 5 seconds every time you take a bunch of consecutive pictures like some of the older, slower cameras out there. It happens once in a blue moon. I've had it happen twice so far, and still haven't bothered upgrading my firmware because it's such a minor inconvenience every now and then that I figure, why bother?

I guess we just have to accept the fact that cameras are computers now, and we don't carry on like this every time Windows has a hiccup, or we'd all be on medication by now. Just like Windows needs to ship out updates every week, Canon will now need to release firmware upgrades as bugs in the software/firmware are found. Let's just hope our cameras don't start getting viruses like our computers, which is inevitable now that people are downloading hacked firmwares onto their cameras. :wink:

[DReb-MO]

I agree whole heartedly. As a matter of fact I can think of very, very few digital tools I have used in the past 15 years that have NOT "stuck" at some point and require a fresh "reboot". Come on people, even a pencil can break... :lol:

[SDK^]

The one thing I'm glad about is that I bought my 20D before everyone started complaining about the lockups, because the way everyone was carrying on I would have thought the problem was much worse than it actually is.

Yeah I agree.
MY 20D hasn't even locked yet and because of this i'm still using the old 1.02 firmware.

[tommykjensen]

Yeah I agree.
MY 20D hasn't even locked yet and because of this i'm still using the old 1.02 firmware.

I have not had any lockups either, but I did upgrade to 1.0.4 before the reports about dead cameras. Since I still have not experienced any lockups I have decided not to upgrade to 1.0.5 yet.

[Jon, The Elder]

I feel that the 20D (not just mine) will go down as being the first really practical performing camera in the "35mm" tradition. Sure sensor will get bigger/better and all kinds of things will "improve"

I believe that 10 years from now, someone will say something like "Can you believe the quality that old fashioned 20D could produce?"

Being 65+ does have it's advantages !!

[CyberDyneSystems]

It's all moot now anyways.

The lock up "issue" has been solved with the release of firmware 1.05

New cameras will ship with this firmware,. and early adopters can flash there camreras.

The "lock up" is old news and needs no further discussion really.

[pcasciola]

It's all moot now anyways.

The lock up "issue" has been solved with the release of firmware 1.05

New cameras will ship with this firmware,. and early adopters can flash there camreras.

The "lock up" is old news and needs no further discussion really.

I actually think it's still very important to talk about. I'm willing to bet there are hundreds of people who now have dead cameras who have never had a lockup, just because everyone was blowing the lockup thing out of proportion.

The bottom line is, don't ever rush to install a firmware upgrade unless you absolutely need the upgrade, because there is always a risk there. I've been flash upgrading computers and computer components for years, and every so often something goes wrong and then you are completely hosed. I flash my DVD burners all the time with hacks and upgrades, and I hold my breath and cross my fingers every time.

Ok, CyberDyne, I got my last 2 cents in, you can lock the thread now. :lol:

[CyberDyneSystems]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Nope.. My AI processors were flashed with new Firmware... With Firmware version T-1000,.. no more "Lock ups" here :wink:

[tommykjensen]

I'm willing to bet there are hundreds of people who now have dead cameras who have never had a lockup, just because everyone was blowing the lockup thing out of proportion.


I doubt that. I think the number of cameras that died upgrading to 1.0.4 is less than 20 maybe even less than 10.

[aikidoforever]

Well said people...

I am a new Canon supporter. My Minolta equipment was stolen a few months ago and decided to make the best of a bad scenario and go digital. Rather than waiting for the Minolta Digital M7 and buying Minolta's first attempt at a Digital SLR, I decided to go with the Canon 20D. I ordered my 20D a few weeks ago and haven't received it yet. I hate to admitt it but I was ALMOST sucked into the whole negative bandwagon. Let's be realistic, Canon is a large company and a leader in it's field. They rarely build crap and if something happens to slip... they will fix!

Dang...I can't wait to get it! :D

[Adam Hicks]

Yeah the 20D is a fantastic piece of equipment. The best digital camera on the market in it's price range, and destined to be a reliable classic just like it's predecessors.

I am a little scared of what Nikon is going to do though... they like to wait until Canon does something big so they can one-up it. Either way I couldn't be happier with my Canon glass and the build quality of the equipment. No switching sides for me any time soon!

Adam

BTW... only lockup I had was a memory compatibility problem which is no fixed. Running 1.0.5. Canon was quick enough to get a fix out, so I'm not cross.

[samdring]

Welcome to the Forum Dang.

[tommykjensen]

I am a little scared of what Nikon is going to do though...

Why? I don't understand that? Just because Nikon or any other vendor come out with a better camera it does not render Your existing camera useless it will still be a great camera.

[MarkH]

I have a 10D and have read a lot of posts about its focusing problems (front/back focusing issues). Mine focuses fine and has now had over 10000 shutter activations with no problems.

If 10% of 20D owners have had a lockup and 1% have had several lockups causing a problem in the use of the camera, does that mean that the 20D should be avoided?

I think the internet helps us to hear about the 1% much easier, but we shouldn't assume that the 1% is the majority.

[SENster7]

I haven't had much time to do much shooting with the 20D all of this month since we have been extremely busy packing and dealing with the agony of buying and selling a home at the same time. This weekend I decided to take a break from all of the chaos and take some shots of my kids. Keep in mind I did flash the 20D with the 1.05 firmware as soon as it was released earlier this month. I was shooting with my Canon 28-105, and I experienced the infamous Err 99, camera wouldn't shoot, powering it off did no good, and the old remove the battery trick was what finally ended up working. I can't remember the sequence, but I did change a few lenses before I started shooting with the 28-105, I think I had the 50 on for a few shots, and prior to the 28-105 I was shooting with the 70-200 f/2.8L non IS. The interesting thing was that it was sleeping prior to the lockup, I believe I had it set to 1 minute power off, which I changed to a 4 minute power off after the lockup. After the Err 99, I proceeded to shoot about 300 shots without a lockup. If this happens to me once in awhile I don't mind pulling the battery, yes it is annoying, but I thought the 1.05 firmware was supposed to solve this problem? Do I have time to call Canon support or send in the camera for service for two weeks? Nope...sigh...

[drisley]

I was shooting with my Canon 28-105, and I experienced the infamous Err 99, camera wouldn't shoot, powering it off did no good,
You know, I NEVER had a single lockup with my 20D after using it for 3 weeks with the original 1.0.2 firmware. Awesome. Anyway, I eventually upgraded to the 1.0.4 firmware, then the 1.0.5 firware, and everything continued to work great!
Yesterday, while using my nifty 50F1.8II, I experienced an Err99 lockup.
However, I just turned off the camera, and removed the lens, and then replaced, and everything was fine. I don't blame the 20D or the firmware at all. I experienced 2 similar Err99's with my 85F1.8 on the Rebel in the 8 months I used it. This happens from time to time, but is so infrequent, it's really nothing to worry about.
Now, if only computer hardware/software was this reliable :roll:

[SENster7]

I was shooting with my Canon 28-105, and I experienced the infamous Err 99, camera wouldn't shoot, powering it off did no good,
You know, I NEVER had a single lockup with my 20D after using it for 3 weeks with the original 1.0.2 firmware. Awesome. Anyway, I eventually upgraded to the 1.0.4 firmware, then the 1.0.5 firware, and everything continued to work great!
Yesterday, while using my nifty 50F1.8II, I experienced an Err99 lockup.
However, I just turned off the camera, and removed the lens, and then replaced, and everything was fine. I don't blame the 20D or the firmware at all. I experienced 2 similar Err99's with my 85F1.8 on the Rebel in the 8 months I used it. This happens from time to time, but is so infrequent, it's really nothing to worry about.
Now, if only computer hardware/software was this reliable :roll:

Hey how ya been drisley? I hear ya, I don't mind once in awhile if I get a 20D, I guess we can compare it to rebooting a Windows XP box hehe...

If it happens over and over again then I will get worried, but I've been so busy lately no time to even worry about the 20D hehe...

[CyberDyneSystems]

The 20D "lockup" that others were getting was NOT accompanied by an "Error99"

So if you got "Error99"... this could mean it is a completely unrelated lockup (that is unrelated to the lockup that firmware 1.05 fixed?

Just a theory.

[Belmondo]

The thing that makes this difficult to properly assess is that we still don't know whether the occasional lockup we see is a carryover from the v1.02 bug that wasn't properly addressed, or something new unique to a particular camera/lens combination. It certainly seems like the problem has subsided considerably. Also, error-99 failures have been around long before the 20D, and we didn't have this furor then.

To anyone who has a problem --- any problem --- it's going to be a hard sell trying to convince them the problem isn't chronic. I believe that in balance, however, the bulk of 20D owners are very pleased with their purchase.

[CoolToolGuy]

I think any lockup is undesireable, but the ones that prompted the firmware upgrade were the ones where everything seemed to be normal but you couldn't do anything - all displays active, etc.

As disruptive as it may be, the cause of a lockup accompanied by an ERR code can be identified, and resolved. Hopefully, those are not frequent.

I am still at 1.0.2, having encountered only one 'lockup'. I am waiting to be sure that 1.0.5 is solid (it looks that way), and then I will upgrade mine.

I am loving this camera. I'm sure I would love a 1D MKII or a 1DS MKII more, but I am content with the 20D (until used 1D's come down to $1300 :wink: )

Have Fun,

[drisley]

The 20D "lockup" that others were getting was NOT accompanied by an "Error99"

So if you got "Error99"... this could mean it is a completely unrelated lockup (that is unrelated to the lockup that firmware 1.05 fixed?

Just a theory.
I'm sure that it is a totally unrelated lockup.
I never experienced a "20D type lockup" before. And this is my first "glitch" with the ERR99, but I'm not worried. It happens with even the MKII's. I think it may be time to clean the contacts on the nifty fifty too. :wink: