ERR 01 when cold weather

I have a Sigma 400mm f5.6 APO Tele Macro which is not chipped, so it only works at f5.6, at other apertures it gets ERR 01.

I have it since the summer and I am very happy about it, but when it gets colder (colderthen 10 degrees celcius) I get ERR 01 on my Canon 450D. I have no idea why that is, I have already tried to put it into the oven at 50 degrees if there is water inside, but that didn't help.

try cleaning the contacts on camera and lens.

rick_reno wrote in post #13692025
try cleaning the contacts on camera and lens.

I cleaned it with a microfiber cloth, but this didn't work. Should I do it with some kind of alcohol or another cleaning product? It seems clean to me though, and my other lenses work just fine.

freddyronny wrote in post #13692130
I cleaned it with a microfiber cloth, but this didn't work. Should I do it with some kind of alcohol or another cleaning product? It seems clean to me though, and my other lenses work just fine.

I've read using an eraser works well. It'll give a deeper clean to the contacts without the risk or ruining them like a liquid cleaner would

ZSutton wrote in post #13692548
I've read using an eraser works well. It'll give a deeper clean to the contacts without the risk or ruining them like a liquid cleaner would

Just be careful about the rubbings (rubber bits) that come off don't fall into the body or lens

I just did that, but no effect, it still gives ERR 01 when outside in the cold.

Let me describe the problem a bit closer.
So when it gets cold, the problem occurs. When it is hotter, or inside a house, there is no problem. So when I go outside it works for a while but when the body gets colder, it stops working properly. I turn on the camera and focus the lens, the AF works just fine. It takes the picture and when you look for the preview of the picture, I get ERR 01 but the camera still stores the picture on the SD card.

Any other suggestions?

It might be the case that you have a contact that is only just making contact with it's opposite number. It may be OK normally, but if they contract very slightly in the cold it may just pull them apart enough to break contact. Then as things warm up again, they expand slightly and contact is remade.

Just a theory, but metals do contract as they get colder and it does fit the available evidence.

any play in this lens when on the body?

There is no play when the lens is on the body.

@sandpiper: That might be a good theory, but if that is the case, how do I solve it?

freddyronny wrote in post #13693607
There is no play when the lens is on the body.

@sandpiper: That might be a good theory, but if that is the case, how do I solve it?

No idea

It might be possible to adjust the contacts in either the lens or the body somehow. Putting some foil between the contacts might work, but I seriously wouldn't recommend it. If it got across the adjacent contacts as well it could cause a short and do some permanent damage somewhere.

You could try getting some of the disposable "shipping warmer" heat packs (designed for putting in with live tropical fish or insects etc., when mailing them in winter). These last for various periods starting at 20 hours or so and going up to 5 days, depending on model. They are pretty cheap and a single 20 hour one would easily do a full days shooting, just place it in contact with the lens where the contacts are and hold it in place with some fabric. That should keep the lens from getting cold in the first place.

If it were my problem, I would tend to just accept that it is a problem with that lens and try and use a different one in cold weather. If I did really want to use that lens I would give a shipping warmer a try. Regardless of what the problem actually is, it seems clear that it only occurs when the gear gets cold, so keeping it warm should (hopefully) solve it.