Need advice on 20D deal

So I went to take a look at a used 20D and Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 today and both appear to be in decent shape and operate properly.

Seems that the 28-75 is a sharp copy and performed well wide open (tested it on my 1D2 and didn't appear to have any front back focus issues from the small amount of time I played with it) and the 20D doesn't have any bumps or marks on it and is in pretty decent shape.

The 20D when I tried popping the flash the first time threw an error 5 (wouldn't pop up) and after turning it on and off it worked without a hitch the rest of the time I tested it.

Supposedly the combo has been sitting on a shelf for quite a while (1-2 years without use, was bought in 05 new and used for 3 semesters for photog school) because the seller prefers shooting film and is selling it to reinvest in more film equipment.

The deal would be $500 (Edit: US Dollars) for the 20D, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, 1 battery, 1 charger, 2GB CF card, and a third party front end lens cap.

I'm on the fence right now whether to get it or not and would love to hear what the masses have to say about it. Have to decide by tomorrow .

Thanks in advanced.

when i bought my old 20d used.. it was a similar circumstance... hadn't been used..sat on a shelf for over a year,and like yours at first the flash would not pop up and i got the error code..
i cleaned the flash hinges and open and closed it 5-10 times and from there the flash has never stock on me since..(there are post around the next on how to fixed a stuck 20d flash) just google it.. but regardless it's not a major problem..

500$ for both is a great deal...

i thought i found the best deal around on my old 20d when i bought it. (270$ Canadian)
i also have the tamron 28-75 lens which i bought used for (350$ Canadian)
and i thought i got great deals on mine............

kompakt wrote in post #8927815
when i bought my old 20d used.. it was a similar circumstance... hadn't been used..sat on a shelf for over a year,and like yours at first the flash would not pop up and i got the error code..
i cleaned the flash hinges and open and closed it 5-10 times and from there the flash has never stock on me since..(there are post around the next on how to fixed a stuck 20d flash) just google it.. but regardless it's not a major problem..

500$ for both is a great deal...

i thought i found the best deal around on my old 20d when i bought it. (270$ Canadian)
i also have the tamron 28-75 lens which i bought used for (350$ Canadian)
and i thought i got great deals on mine............

Ok, that's comforting to know about the flash .

It's almost time and I still haven't decided whether to go for it or not .

The sticky flash/ERR 5 is pretty common, at least on 20D/30D, I don't know about other models.

Personally I never use the built-in flash of my cameras anyway, so it's never been an issue with me at all. The only reason I'm aware of it is that I've accidently opened the flash a few times, and have gotten the same error once or twice with my cameras (it does the same thing if you have an accessory flash or off camera shoe cord fitted to the hot shoe, and it's blocking the built in flash from opening).

It doesn't carry over into other functions of the camera in any way that I'm aware of.

I'm also not familiar with that lens... But to me the price sounds reasonable.

Funny; I'm reading POTN now after I JUST added drops of oil to resolve my 30D's err 5
for me it turned out to be the rear flach mounts where the flash connects to the ody; not the easy to see front pivots.

Well, decided to hold off for now as I just can't financially swing it at this time .