Err-99 Drebel - in the 11th month.

[Hellashot]

I've had my Drebel for just over 11 months and got my first Err-99. I have the hacked firmware installed.

A few shots before the error the mirror sounded very lagged but the images seemed ok on the LCD. Ever since the Er-99 the mirror seems to be locked. When I look through the viewfinder with a lens on, it is black. I had a Sigma lens on when it happened but have tried the kit lens and no lens (just a cover).

I had a battery grip which I've removed and have taken the main battery(s) out with no luck. I've tried searching here for Er-99 but it seems as if there might be too many occurences of that being discussed because it says it found none or too many. I have not tried removing the backup battery as has been suggested on here because I'd rather not start to take it apart since it's barely under warranty. The rest of the camera works aside from the mirror. And I can hear the camera trying to do "something" like electronic switches when I turn the camera on as if it is trying to put the mirror where it should be but can't.

With power off: http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4298510&a=31744488&p=71688252

With power on: http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4298510&a=31744488&p=71688253

I have about 2000 images taken with this camera. Any help aside from sending it to Canon for warranty service?

Thanks.

[Icecamp]

I had a similar experience with my 10D recently. I was out shooting about 10 miles from home and I had forgotten my charged battery at home. My battery meter showed about 1/2 so I started snapping pictures. Suddenly my mirror sounded really slow, and it seemed to take forever to take the picture, naturally I tried it again, and the camera obliged and performed the same way. The third time I tried it the camera just stopped and Err-99 showed in the LCD. All of the pictures showed to be properly exposed on my LCD, but it sure sounded weird when it happened.
When I got home I changed batteries and everything went back to normal, I have probably shot about 200 frames since then with no trouble. My mirror never stuck like yours did.
I would possibly remove the battery and the "button" battery and see if this resets the camera. Also when you remove your lens you should be able to carefully flip the mirror back into place.
I don't know if the firmware hack voids the warranty or not, I am afraid it might. ERR-99 is a generic error code, basically meaning "somethings wrong". The two times I gotten ERR-99 has been due to a low battery, the other time the camera just quit working and displayed ERR-99 a fresh battery fixed that too.

[bauerman]

Sounds to me like the mirror might have fallen off to be honest. It has happened to a number of Drebels and does not seem to be a huge problem to correct. I read a thread on Dpreview not too long ago where a guy repaired this issue himself and gave instructions on how to do so. I purchased my Rebel second hand from a private party and it's mirror had fallen off as well - mine was corrected at Canon. Canon could also correct yours pretty quickly if this actually is the case. Take your lens off and see if the mirror has not fallen off - I think that it might have.

[Hellashot]

And I put back the Canon firmware and I thought I set all the custom settings back to default but apparently I didn't because the red eye reduction icon flashes when I turn it on (I remember reading about that) Some of the settings I had to guess at because I didn't know what default would be and didn't think I had even changed most of them. Same result with the Canon firmware.

[Hellashot]

Any other advice or do I need to start dealing with Canon?

[Jon]

Changing the backup battery should not affect the warranty. If you call Canon, that's gooing to be one of the things they'll tell you to try. It's still under warranty, so call 'em and send it back if needed. If it's not working, they'll fix it - no reason you should go messing around inside at this stage. Don't worry about the firmware; I don't think Canon does. If the mirror had fallen off, you'd see a dimmish diffuse light in the viewfinder; it sounds more like the mirror's stuck in the "Up" position. Maybe Mirror Lockup from the hacked firmware (try re-installing that and setting the MLU CF on)?

[Hellashot]

I never used mirror lockup in the hacked firmware. I'm going to give the batteries a full charge then see what happens.