Error 99

[pxrmkr]

coldrain,

I'm not sure what your experience level is in photography, but in reading comprehension you get a "D". I think I was very clear in the fact that I have all Canon equipt. A lot of it - $16,000 to be exact. And AS I SAID, I've sent two different cameras, along with the peripheral gear including FIVE lenses, back to the manufacturer for repair without success.

If you're a professional shooter, particularly in sports and/or wedding photography, then surely you can appreciate that while I am shutting my camera off to get rid of an error code the bride has already kissed the groom, tossed her bouquet, or cut the cake - get the picture? If you're taking snapshots of the faimily pet I guess this might be the minor incovenience you make it out to be, but in my business I DONT GET SECOND CHANCES and "oops, hang on, my camera locked up doesn't cut it!!!

So, my guess is you either work for Canon, or do not do this for a living.

?

[cdifoto]

If it happens a lot, I'd be peeved. If it's a once or twice off thing, I wouldn't worry about it. The startup time of a current dSLR is a fraction of a second. Off, on. The camera is ready before you are.

Like I said before. I had the error99 once. I turned the camera off and back on again and haven't seen it since. That was several months ago and I've shot 2 weddings, many auto races, and quite a few sporting events with my lowly XTs without issue between then and now.

[pxrmkr]

coldrain,

I'll bet a fair amount of money you work in a camera store don't you? That pro-tech, software friendly, geeky stuff blew your cover. I was shooting for a living while you were still in jr. high, skippy.

[coldrain]

Why on earth do you send all your stuff "for repairs" when you should know with what lens your camera gave an error. And again, error 99 is NOT a specific error but it is given when something occurs the camera software can not deal with. So throwing every error 99 event on one heap is stupid to say the least. If you can not tell Canon when it happens, if you can not even tell with what lens it occurs, then you may tell me how Canon can find the flaw.
A nightmare for any service orginization.

Just that Canon gives out an error 99 on software crashes, does not mean that other manufacturers ddon't get a problem with lenses or a camera once in a while. They just do not all get labeled "error 99" on fora and such.

Since you do not have one of the severe hardware damage err99 occurances, just take note with what lens it occurs and either get that one checked out specifically or replace it.

If you can't see how unnuanced your post is that is your problem. I just do not want these err99 rants that lack any insight in what is going on to give the impression you best steer clear from Canon DSLRs (like the error 18 from broken lenses in compact digitals gave the impression canons were all beraking). Just as I do not want certain Nikon D70 failures to get people to steer clear of Nikon Camras, or faulty KM 7D's to make people avoid KM/Sony DSLRs.

The software/computers in these cameras just make them a lot more complex than the SLRs of yesterday, and so problems can arise more often. And besides a (known) faulty lens I have not had a single problem, as have others. That some do have problems is not sympomatic.

And yes, of course i work for Canon. And of course I work in a camera shop. And what amount of money did you actually want to bet?

[pxrmkr]

Coldrain,

You seem to posses a fair amount of technical knowledge, but perhaps to a fault. I really don't have a lot more time to continue this friendly little banter, but I'll leave you with this. I DID in fact spend the better part of last season attempting to find a correlation between lens/camera/flash/teperature/day of the week, planet in the solar system, in an effort to zero in on what factors were conspiring to cause the fault. It was only then that I sent all of this equiptment, along with a detailed explanation of the problem to Canon. By the way - It was Canon that told me to do so!

You should really stop making so many assumptions. It's a sign of overcompesation and it makes you look less intelligent than I suspect you are.

[cdifoto]

Maybe your error 99 was like the 24-105 f/4L flare issue. You had to be standing on your head and rubbing your belly counterclockwise while chanting "Canon fills my moat and floats my boat....Canon fills my moat and floats my boat..."

[pxrmkr]

Hey cdi,

Oh please - do tell. I just bought a new 24-105 4.0 L last week, but I haven't heard about any flaring issues. What's up with that.

[cdifoto]

Hey cdi,

Oh please - do tell. I just bought a new 24-105 4.0 L last week, but I haven't heard about any flaring issues. What's up with that.

No worries. They took care of it late last year.

[pxrmkr]

Cwoool.... thanks.

[MemphisRaines]

I too have got the "Err 99" message with my Digital Rebel. I wasn't sure what caused it at first but I figured out quickly that just popping the battery in and out wasn't the solution as others have already discussed here. I experienced this problem only once with my 12-year old Canon EF 80-200mm lense and all the time with my 11-year old Quantaray 70-300mm. With the Quantaray, it was a fantastic lense with my old 35mm Canon SLR but not with the Digital Rebel. It seems I can get it to work indoors but take it outside to places like Indianapolis Motor Speedway or Mid-Ohio to shoot Formula One or sports cars regardless if it is sunny or overcast, it is useless which can be very frustrating. I'm still able to take fantastic pictures with the 80-200mm (which blows away anything I ever took with the old 35mm) but for things like motorcycle races, a 70-300mm lense, with the Digital Rebel's 1.6X maginification (I believe that is right), where the vehicles are smaller, it nice to have that extra length on your zoom to pick up the stitching on the rider's leathers or the wild graphics on their helmets.

To be honest, I was under the impression that the Digital Rebel would work with all EF lenses, new and old, and I thought that would include generic EF lenses like the Quantaray but I guess I was mistaken. I have had no problems using the lense provided with my Digital Rebel. However, I reached the conclusion prior to reading this that there was something messing with my Digital Rebel's circuitry which made it go haywire when my Quantaray was attached to it. So, I decided it was the lense that was the problem and not the body (in my case). The Quantaray is old and wasn't made for this latest era of cameras and never was intended so. It was outdated technology that can't mesh with the latest and greatest. Such is life. I will buy a new Canon 70-300mm for the motorcycle races later this summer and if the dreaded "Err99" comes up again, then I will definitely change my tune!