Peenie Wallie

Boy, am I sick of this.
I bought a 300D last week. It was a second hand one in very good nick. But after about 30 shots, that's it! Err99! I have to switch it off and back on after every shot. I can't believe it.

And no matter what I've tried - including all the recommended remedies, it won't go away.

Can anyone help?
Please?

Are you using a Canon lens or an after-market? The after-markets (especially Sigma) give this error most commonly. If it's a Sigma, contact their service department to see whether you can have your older lens "rechipped" to work with the new digitals.

I'm using a Canon 17-85 mm zoom lens that came with the camera. The Error 99 problem is frustrating. It cropped up again last night. Basically, I can't take pictures with a flash. I've alread sent this piece of garbage camera frame back to Canon once. I guess I'll have to send it back again. This is not what I expected from a $2,100.00 camera/lens setup.

If it happens after each shot it's the shutter, I paid around $300 CAD for repair - they replaced the shutter which fixed the problem.

I agree with you Peenie, a camera that costs this much should take a farken picture! Heck, we may as well get a disposable, that does the job without fail!

I just got a brand new 20D less than 2 weeks ago, and after only SIX DAYS I got the damn Err 99.I am using the Canon EF-S17-85mm lens and experiencing the same Flash problem as Peenie - I can't take pictures with the Flash.

I used to shoot with the first digital rebel in highschool and both of our cameras ended up with error 99. I just got a 20D and to my horror, I got the error 99. Usually, its a general electrical contact error. Take off the lense, take out the battery and use the eraser from a pencil to clean all of the contacts on the camera, lense and battery. This fixed my problem, and I hope it can help with yours.

We've been using our 20D for over a year. Not a single problem until today. Err 99. Taking everyting out doesn't fix it. When you turn it on it just keeps flipping the shutter and won't stop. If you turn the switch off it stops until you do anything that makes the camera react. I.E. open the battery door, open the memory door, switch the lens from manual to auto or back and the shutter flips.

Bad news is, of course, that if you've been using it for "over a year", then it's out of warranty. So, send it in, get it fixed, and pray they don't ream you too bad.

I've been using the 20D now for almost one and a half year without any problems, till today. While going ou for a photoshoot: err99. It kept on blinking even while in Off-mode. I Use only Canon L-glasswork so that can't be the problem (can it?). I solved the problem (so far) by replacing the batteries in the batterrygrip by others, and oh wonder: it works again!

When I sent mine back to Canon the second time, they fixed it, so I don't get this error any more. No clue what they did. This frame is nice, but it is fickle, and I don't trust it in the field. Basically, if you're shooting with a Canon EOS-20D, then you'd better have a good backup camera. That's the lesson learned, I think.

Flash door on my EOS 20D refuses to open when the button is pushed. This happened just after using an accessory flash. Everything else on the camera works fine. Batteries fully charged. Held menu mutton for 8 seconds to reset. Still no work..... any suggestions ? Oh, after-market flash work fine when pushed onto the shoe.

Yeah. Actually, I had exactly the same problem with my EOS 20D. It would click about 3 times like it was trying to open, but wouldn’t open.

Try switching it to manual mode, and then push the little flash(lightning) button and see if it opens then. Mine would open sporadically. Occasionally, what I did, was pull it up, by force. (I’m not necessarily advocating this, as in don’t sue me if it breaks your camera, but it worked for me.)

And, believe it or not, this problem actually got better over time.

Hope this helps.

Oh. And if you get it working, my suggestion is to eBay it and upgrade to the EOS 40D. You’ll like it much better.

Has anyone had battery problems with the 20D. I have usually been able to take hundreds of shots without changing batteries but now they seem to fail after only a few. Ok both might have reached the end of their life, but were bought at different times so it seems unlikely they would fail together!

My guess is that your batteries are just failing. Buy some new ones on ebay and see if that doesn't fix it. Alternately, you could buy the ACK-E2 AC adapter and see if that works.

I bought a 20D from B&H about a year and half ago for my girlfriend.

She's shot maybe 250 pictures through it and when she went to use it the other day - error99.

I went online to find a remedy and tried every voodoo variation (cleaning/battery in & out/new card/etc...... Nothing.

We sent the POS into Canon and they want $300 to 'fix' this thing. Absolutely insane.

This is a widespread - ongoing manufacturing issue and I've got a mind to hire an attorney to write Canon a nasty letter (that would certainly cost more than $300).

Suggestions?

Chris - I'm with you on this one. It really sucks. I would suggest suing Canon and try to get it certified as a class action suit.

Just got the same error 99 message with the shutter auto shooting when it is even off. I think I know why it happened to me. I used it for over 3 years and shot near 1 million shots since it was used for time lapsed high def video of nature. Sorry you got the lemons guys, don't know why mine lasted so long when the shutter was only rated for 100,000 shots. But yeah, auto shooting is most likely a broken shutter.