Canon Error 99

[kcbrecks]

My much loved Canon EOS 40D is now showing the Error99 message whenever I press the shutter release. I started yesterday afternoon but went away after I switched it off and back again. It came up again today after the 3rd shot and now is permanent. I had tried the Battery out, switch off and wait routing and also changed both the button battery and the main battery but to no avail. It is not lens or card related. I expect this is a case of recycling it and perhaps replacing it secondhand. I understand this error code could related to almost anything but it the first time I have seen it. It could indicate a shutter problem but I would have expected more than 20K activations without problems. Any comments or suggestions, practical would be appreciated.

[Clicker]

Sounds  a bit obvious but I presume you have tried a different lens.. ...

[fuzzyedges]

This is the google for the 99 error

http://improvephotography.com/10372/error-99-canon-camera-fix-repair/

 

[kev7d]

Thats a shame. The 40d is a nice camera. Just been messing around with mine for the first time in a few months.

[fuzzyedges]

Have you solved the problem?

[kcbrecks]

On 29/03/2017 at 17:56, Clicker said:

Sounds  a bit obvious but I presume you have tried a different lens.. ...

I tried all of the common bits of Voodoo Clicker, it was fine the first time the error message popped up when I switched off and back on again then when it appeared the next day that didn't work. I looked it up and then changed the battery, and the button cell, put on two different lenses, trying it again at each alteration. Still Error 99. I have not had chance to get to grips with it yet but I am aiming to see is the shutter curtain has jammed and can be gently coaxed back to operation. There are some reasonable replacements on offer as well so I will most likely do that.

[kcbrecks]

On 29/03/2017 at 18:10, fuzzyedges said:

This is the google for the 99 error

http://improvephotography.com/10372/error-99-canon-camera-fix-repair/

 

I found that one fuzzyedges and tried it, with the exception of the pencil rubber trick, which as a long time IT manager I have used many times in the past on all sorts of contacts. I didn't have one to hand on holiday and since coming back have not really been able or have had the time. Now getting back to normal so I will give it a try.

I do still have my 1000d though and the lenses all work very well on that one, it just a nuisance having to keep swapping between them as I use one with the 50mm prime or short zoom and the other with the 300 zoom, usually the 40D as the balance is better. The lack of the 6fps burst mode is very noticeable as well. I had been thinking about getting a S/H 5D but I think that will now have to wait and I will get a replacement 40D instead.

[kcbrecks]

Latest is I have tried the contacts cleaning and still no joy. I have also tried, as was suggested in one internet post, using a soft brush to gently persuade the shutter to work, again with no success, it is staying firmly closed. There is no way it is going to Canon as their charge for repairing it will be rather high and although that would give me a virtually new 40D it is much more than I can get a S/H replacement for. What is concerning me though is I know this one has only somewhere in the region of 20K shutter operations which is about 20% of the shutter life Canon are suggesting, so that does tend to make me very cautious about a replacement is there  is a possibility of this problem rearing its head so soon in the life of one.

Thanks for the interest.

[kcbrecks]

That latest on this is I can get a replacement shutter for £40 from a UK source and for them to supply and fit it is £130 + p&p. I can also get a S/H replacement body with a shutter count of 5.5K for £146 + p&p with a 12 months warranty from a reputable UK company.

I am thinking I am going for the replacement Body and then as a project take the old one to bits and eventually get the shutter and replace that when there is nothing much to do. It will be an interesting little job I think. (I have repaired damaged cameras before.)

[Clicker]

that sounds like a good idea from where I am standing Kc... not that i would be attempting to repair it myself  but if you have some prior experience .. it could turn out to be a profitable way of  getting a bonus once you've bought the s/h replacement body  to   ensure  you have a working camera ... Good luck with that  ... Keep us updated ...

[JamesT]

Might be worth trying an independent repairer, I had my Minolta fixed by Dave Boyle at http://www.camerarepairworkshop.co.uk -- he does also do digital cameras, but is closed for refurbishment until May.

[kcbrecks]

On 11/04/2017 at 18:31, Clicker said:

that sounds like a good idea from where I am standing Kc... not that i would be attempting to repair it myself  but if you have some prior experience .. it could turn out to be a profitable way of  getting a bonus once you've bought the s/h replacement body  to   ensure  you have a working camera ... Good luck with that  ... Keep us updated ...

After due consideration I have decided to postpone the sorting out of the 40D body. I still have the 1000D which produces the same quality of images and is much lighter. We are going to Toronto and Niagara at the end of July and the Chief Accountant is being rather tight with the spare cash until then as it is her life's wish to go visit where her parents used to live and their firstborn in buried. I have a Kodak DX6490 which has a 10x zoom Schneider Kreuznach lens so that can play second fiddle and my daughter, who we are going with, has a 100D as well.

So far I have tried all of the ideas I can find suggested and it certainly looks like a duff shutter as the curtain is down very firmly over the sensor and not moving when the release is pressed or when controlled by a computer. I even resorted to Voodoo type stuff, like banging it on the desk and dropping it, just in case that released the jam without success. It is not working. Although the camera body is a few years old it is rather disconcerting for the shutter to pack up when having used only about 30% of it's projected life. It tends to suggest the shutter life projection of Canon is not to be trusted as they say 100,000 unless of course it is an average when anything is possible. I think I would be a bit more pissed off if I had bought this camera new, paying £800 or so and found it would only run for a third of the projected life. Me and Canon would have been exchanging less than polite emails by now with me questioning it's fitness for purpose.

[Clicker]

Ah well .... Looks like it shouldn't stop you getting  a record of your  pending trips.... Irritating and annoying it may well be  but sounds like you have a trip of a lifetime ahead  of you  to compensate ... Thanks for  telling us ... Maybe you'll get back to this later  when you return .. ... Course we will still want to see your pics... 

[fuzzyedges]

Hi Kc 

have you tried the second battery in the camera ?

http://improvephotography.com/10372/error-99-canon-camera-fix-repair/

99 prevents the shutter from operating so it will be in the closed position all the time  Not that I know a lot about cameras but you never know 

[kcbrecks]

On 18/04/2017 at 16:31, fuzzyedges said:

Hi Kc 

have you tried the second battery in the camera ?

http://improvephotography.com/10372/error-99-canon-camera-fix-repair/

99 prevents the shutter from operating so it will be in the closed position all the time  Not that I know a lot about cameras but you never know 

Yep! Tried this, changed the 2016 coin battery for a new one, taken them in and out and left them out for 30 minutes, as suggested on various forum sites dedicated to these problems all to no avail.

Also, the Err 99 message is not there until after the shutter release has been pressed. When the mechanism is observed working the mirror flips up and back but the shutter curtain does not move. I have also tried this with the mirror up and the shutter set to Bulb in Manual and again the curtain does not move. To my mind that tends to suggest the spirit (mirror etc) is willing but the flesh (shutter) is weak. I have also tried operating the camera in Live View mode through the computer with exactly the same results.

One thing which happened this afternoon, just before I am writing this, is that Canon responded by telephone to my complaint to them about it. I had maintained the camera, despite it's age, is in fact, in terms of it's usage, still quite young as the shutter count is merely 20,382 which is 20% of the projected shutter life. I said this showed the item is not fit for purpose if it cannot achieve it's expected life cycle. This, of course, was tongue in cheek but if have found the not fit for purpose suggestion usually stirs even the most soundly sleeping dog into action and it did. A very peasant guy rang and we had a good chat - luckily I was in a good mood, and he was attempting to get me to go through the witchcraft as I call it yet again as he said the Err 99 is a general error and not necessarily related to the shutter so it could well be anything. He added in one more bit of voodoo, switching off the Sensor Cleaning. I pointed out to him that I had done as I said I would and sent the camera to an authorised repair company in yesterday's post. As the 40D is obsolete Canon do not maintain a spares inventory. We will have now to see what the outcome is and I have promised to let him know.

I will also keep this forum informed as it appears Error 99 is something which can strike anyone at anytime.

[fuzzyedges]

It is indeed likely to strike 

I have had it when I bought a second hand lens, a communication error that didnt clear with that lens but was okay with my other lens I have also had it with my extension tubes, the tube release is just where my hand catches it so when I manually focus I turn the whole lot away from the contacts, on more than one occasion 

Unfortunately your problem looks deeper 
Good luck with the canon men they can be human at times if a little slow 

[Clicker]

Yeah ... good luck with this ... Thanks for keeping us in the picture ...

[kcbrecks]

Here is the latest info and I hope the end of the story. During my conversation with the Canon rep he suggested the Err 99 may not refer to a duff shutter, we disagreed, as did one of their approved repairers who offered a replacement shutter, cleaning of the sensor, general cleaning of the camera, and recalibration  for £129.99 + p&p.

I sent the camera off last Thursday, got an acknowledgement and request for £139 payment and a delivery projection of 5 to 7 working days for return. It arrived back this morning, nice and clean and working with a shutter count of just 361. no doubt for testing purposes. And guaranteed for 6 montths. So we are back in action, no more swapping lenses on walkabout.

The people who fixed the camera offer the same service for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic and many more - their quote. Should anyone else need them then they are

EuroHiTech, 13 Quad Road, East Lane Business Park, East Lane, North Wembley, HA9 7NE, www.eurohitech.com, 020 8904 0900

They have been in business since 1991

I have to thank you all who have replied to this thread. Perhaps we have all learned something.

 

 

 

[kev7d]

Great result.

[Clicker]

Nice to get a happy ending... I'll  take note of the repairers ... Always good to have a recommended  company for repairs.. Thanks  for all the info ...