Mark III - Ocassional Err99

I am getting an ocassional Err99 on my MarkIII. I turn the camera off and then back on and it works okay. I can't tell what is causing this unless it is a change of lens or installing the flash. I can try to make it happen but it will not, then a few days later, it happens again.

A few months ago this happened but the camera would not work. I sent it in and they replaced a cleaning magnet. Same code but seems to be a different but undetermined issue.

Any thoughts or experiences like this?

Looks like another trip back to Canon is on the cards, you'd hate for it to give the ERR99 when you have that crucial important shot in the viewfinder.
Perhaps clean all the battery and lens contacts to see if that works, but I'd send it back.

I got an error 99 when I took the batteries out of the attached 430ex flash, while both were turned on. Took the camera battery out, put it back in, and it was fine.

May not apply but I had an error 99 code on my 400D that I needed for a wedding shoot. I sent it back to canon and they replaced the sensor. Got it home and it was ok until I put a sigma lens on and then it did the same thing. Haven't put the sigma lens back on it and it has been fine, so I would say that it is, for the 400D, down to an accessory compatability issue.

i had occassional err99 on my 1d3 then it eventually turned in to perm err99 then i sent it into canon canada and they returned the cam back to me after 1 month and they told me they changed the entire mirror box assembly. it's been working fine now so far.

I nearly had a heart attack when I got ERR99 on my 400D today. It seems ok again now, after removing the battery & lens, thanfully. I'm hoping it doesn't become a regular thing.

I just talked with Canon about my Err99. They said it would probably not be useful to send it in unless I could determine some kind of consistency as to what is causing it. It does not give the Err99 consistently and i cannot determine what makes it decide to give it. They said if I send it in to repair, it will be gone for 10-14 days and if they can't get it to do it, it will get sent back without anything being done to it. The only thing that bugs me about this is when I turn it on, it acts fine until I try to release the shutter. This means I now have to release the shutter each time I turn it on to make sure it isn't going to give me an Err99 when I am trying to get that first shot off. Probably one time in ten times I get the Err99 and usually a day has passed.

err 99 is a catchall message for all the errors that don't have their own messages, so it could be anything (that doesn't have its own message that is). If its consistent but sporadic make note of things like lens changes, swapping CF, whatever else you may be doing as any of those could be the cause.

Possible lens, battery, cf card etc... Does it do it with more than one lens or just one lens.??

my mark III Err99 was due to the mirror box. It steadily got worse and worse and worse until it was a permanent Err99.

One thing I found that made it appear was putting it in the fridge for an hour. It was very sensitive to temperature swings and the Err99 always seemed to appear going from warm to cold or cold to warm shooting environments. If your Err99 is a similar case to mine, then give that a shot. Maybe even the freezer. Don't worry, the camera is rated to work in much colder temps than your freezer.

I had a sudden and permanent Err99 that is being fixed right now. I dont know what caused it but when I tried to take a picture, the mirror would operate but the shutter would remain still and it would throw an Err99 and not work until I pulled the battery and put it back in (turning it off and on would not fix it). I dont know what caused it but I do know that prior to this happening, I had an Err14 (I think?..) when I tried to turn on the camera and it said that the sensor cleaner couldnt operate. When I get the camera back, Im disabling that thing for good.

Here's my take on it, and a little story on my one and only ERR99 on my MKIII.

I was careful w/ the lens (24-70) and how it has a little wiggle (very minor, less than a millimeter) when it's attached to my MKIII. I constantly played w/ the wiggle, being the OCD that I am, and finally during once in Portland I finally got a ERR99. I reattached the lens, restarted the camera, everything is fine.

Yesterday I was using my MKIII from 2pm to 10pm on assignment. I don't treat it like a baby when I have a job to do. I actually never turned the flash or camera off the whole time. I did the following w/ everything turned on.

Swap lenses w/ the 5D.
Change batteries, CF card, flash batteries.

Both the 5D and MKIII just keeps on working, no ERR99s.

Story learned = Just use it, don't fuss with it. If it breaks under fussing, it's your fault. if it breaks under stress, it's Canon's.

Argh, I went out on the field today to do some test pictures, and low and behold, an error 99 for the first time popped up on the upper LCD. I tried to turn it off, but I couldn't hear the mirror back in place, so I had to take out the battery and put it back in, and thats when the mirror come back into place. This is frustrating, as I just sent it to Canon a month ago, and received it back a couple days ago. The error 99 won't go away, it seems permanent - even liveview doesn't work. Last I used it was a couple days ago at the zoo with the 70-200. Today was using a 24-70 with a pocketwizard.

I've been getting Err99 too.

Only happens on my first shot of the day. I dont' know if it's the contacts or what. But after that things go back to normal.

Happens without fail, every time I take the thing out.

WAF wrote in post #5723394
I am getting an ocassional Err99 on my MarkIII. I turn the camera off and then back on and it works okay. I can't tell what is causing this unless it is a change of lens or installing the flash. I can try to make it happen but it will not, then a few days later, it happens again.

A few months ago this happened but the camera would not work. I sent it in and they replaced a cleaning magnet. Same code but seems to be a different but undetermined issue.

Any thoughts or experiences like this?

On which lens this is happening?