Error 99

[Rodders]

Hello all,

A few days ago while out taking some shots, my canon 20d displayed a fault code (err 99).

After doing some research on the matter on the net, it turned out that this code can indicate a few different problems including the following:

Camera battery problem
memory card problem
Dirty contacts on the camera or lens

After ruling out the above issues, I've since found out that my kit (18 - 55mm) lens could be the problem. It will not take a photo between 18 - 24mm with out this code appearing. Beyond this setting the lens is fine.
At the end of the day, I'm not worried about the lens because I'm upgrading it any way.

I'm not sure if this issue has been talked about here on CiC before, hovever I thought I would share.

Cheers
Rodney

[Colin Southern]

Hi Rodney,

I had Error 99's about 4 times with my 20D - a quick "pop the battery" always fixed it. If you can repeat it 100% of the time it should be easy to confirm.

For what it's worth, I have heard of similar things in portions of zoom ranges. Off memory, a lens communication error is "01", but (although this appears to be lens related), if the lens encoder disk (if they still use them) has gone bung it could well return an invalid focal length and trip the system up (Error 99 is a "general error").

[Rodders]

Thanks for that Colin, very interesting.

At the time I did pop the battery, in fact I replaced it with my spare. I guess it shows that this code can mean a few things alright.

That reminds me, the other day there was an auction on trademe for a EFs 10 - 22mm going dirt cheap because it was sending out an error code if an aperture of 5 or smaller (eg 6.3) was used. I can not be 100%, however I think from memory it was the same code also. I suppose this could also point to that lens encoder disc.

Cheers

[Amberglass]

If this helps Rodney, make sure your camera's firmware is up to date. You can go to the following link if you're not sure: http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eos20d/e...irmware-e.html.

Next, do the following that Canon recommends in troubleshooting your camera:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Remove the lens, battery, and CF card.
3. Allow the camera to sit without power for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Insert a fully charged battery, and turn on the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.

Does the “ERR 99″ message appear? If it does, then the camera should be serviced. If it does not, then please proceed to the next set of steps:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Insert the CF card.
3. Turn on the camera.
4. Format the CF card in the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.

Does the “ERR 99″ message appear? If so, then the CF card is the most likely source of the issue. Try using a different card.

If the message does not appear, please complete the following steps:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Clean the lens contacts by gently rubbing them with a pencil eraser or soft cloth. Be careful that you do not let any debris fall into the camera body.

*I recommend using a cotton swab dipped in regular isopropyl alcohol (pinching off excess) to clean the camera's and lens' contacts, and allow to dry completely.

3. Reattach your lens.
4. Turn on the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.

If the “ERR 99″ message only appears when one particular lens is attached, then that lens should be examined by a service technician.

If you see the “ERR 99″ with a different Canon lens attached, then the camera should be serviced.

[Colin Southern]

Thanks for that Colin, very interesting.

No worries Rodney,

If it were me, I'd probably beg-borrow-steal another lens and give that a quick try ... then you'd know for sure.

[ALSto]

When I received this error frequently it was a bad memory card. I contacted the manufaturer and they replaced it. Make sure your firmware is up to date as someone mentioned which may give you more detail.

Allen...

[mrrod]

I hope you fixed your err99, if not, here's a link to a site that i used when i had the same problem.

http://www.richardsnotes.org/archive...comment-183330

[Rodders]

Thank you everyone for your help on the matter. It looks although the kit lens is the problem.

I have tested an EF-S 17-55mm on the camera without any issues. Back near the start of this problem I did test my EF 90-300 and it did work fine, however due to the different mm range I could not be 100% certain that it was the 18-55mm at fault.
I had planned on upgrading the kit 18-55 very soon anyway, so this problem has just sped up that process by a few weeks.

Cheers