Error 05 on Canon 20D Flash doesn't pop up

When I push the on-camera Flash popup butten I hear three clicks and then an

Error 05 code in the top LCD appears. The Flash does not pop up as expected.

 

I didn't find anything on this with a Search here so I'm hoping someone knows

what this probelm is. I have recently used the popup flash and there's no

indication of damage ot the camera body so I stumped as to what could be

causing this. I have tried to lift up on the flash (gently) while pushing the

flash popup button, but that doesn't help at all.

Not surprisingly, "Err 05" means: "The flash didn't pop up after three tries". Mine's doing it, too. I haven't taken it in for service yet, but I'll probably pay my local repair shop to fix it instead of the interminable wait for Canon warranty service to do it for free.

 

Cheers,

 

Geoff S.

Wow... exactly the same thing just happened to me last week! I didn't drop the camera of anything just one day this started to happen. I took it to the store where I purchased it from Samy's (big store that has a repair center) they looked it at, and said that it will have to be sent into Canon and since my 20D is no longer on the warranty, Canon charges a flat fee of $196 for any kind of repair - big or small. So the guy pretty much told me to wait until something else goes wrong with it and then send it in, that way I'm paying $196 for something other than a small flash popup problem... :(

Thanks Guys,

 

Not the answer I wanted to hear! :>(

Sorry Lana! I failed to check names before my "Guys" response!

Well, I think I've fixed it. After getting your responses, I decided there wasn't going to be much harm in trying to pull it up while pushing the button with a little more effort. this time I was able to get it to pop up. It sounds a bit gritty when it pops up so i figure there some grit in the hinges that may need to be cleaned a bit. It comes up by itself now so we'll see if it lasts!

Try this fairly easy DIY fix and save the repair bill:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000xmg

Many thanks Mark!

Hi,

I think the flash pop up stick, When you put the pop up flash button and you hear click then you using you finger pull the flash up. afer it up just clean it. May be you pull up sting is broken. But you can using like it. anytime when you want use the flash just put the pop up flash button and use your fingers pull the flash up.

km

The clicks are the latch mechanism. I had this problem and found that if you push quite gently (no prying) to one side or the other as the mechanism clicks that it generally will release. I'm not sure what's out of tolerance, but it's a common and simple problem. It still happens to me intermittently, but not always. It's not something I would bother sending for repair, as it's not actually broken exactly and I really don't use the on-camera flash except for focus-assist in the dark anyway.

it happened to me shortly after i got my 20D. a few months ago i attempted the 'fix' Mark U referenced above. i just wound up bending and scratching the hot shoe. i generally try to avoid using flash. but, it bothers me that i paid for it, but can't be confident it'll be there when it's too dark to shoot without it.

That happens to my 20D as well.

To fix the problem, just nudge the flash (in closed position) to the right a bit with your left hand's finger. Then it'll pop up porperly (at least thats how I fix mine).

 

I used to have to do this every time I want to use the popup in cold weather. About 4 months ago, I noticed it stopped clicking 3 times and just clicked once and opened on the second click.

 

Now, when I try it, it opens on first try 4 out of 5 times. I can make the propblem re-occur by pushing the flash left with my right hand but it still works fine after if you nudge it to the right again.

 

HOpe this helps

Thanks all,

 

I tried a little prying on the hotshoe and gave up after a few minor scratches ( and no success ). The push/pull a little while pressing the release works well enough since I rarely use the on-board flash. It will diminish the value if I ever decide to sell, ut for now it's good enough for my needs.

for future reference, this article may be useful:

<BR><BR>

<a href="http://www.conraderb.com/flashrepair/">How to repair a Canon 20D flash shoe</a>

Easy guys do not panic,just easy,do not look for Canon assistance,they?ll ask you to drop

off your cam. and then charge you whatever,I experienced error 05,it?s just a matter of

dirt,clean it up and it?ll go back to normality.

I also noticed that same pop up problem started occuring after exposing my camera in cold temperatures (2 hours shooting a football game.. low 30s).

With the concern that I would break or bend flash by nudging on the side, I found it easier and simpler to just push on either side of the hinge (right next to the mode dial on the left or next to the left of the lcd panel).

No major problem, but very annoying having to turn off and on camera to reset ER05 code.

Hope this helped.

Alex

I've had this same problem since I first go the camera. It's like the flash got jammed or something. I usually have to grab it and force it to come up....

It happened to me too after I spilled a beer on my camera . Just needed little cleaning and problem solved .

Thanks, Thanks; Thanks.

You are a genius. I did all the steps and my flash is now working.

 

RP

<p>This problem started this morning on my 4-year old Canon 20D. Like other contributors I found that the flash popup did release if, while pressing the release button, I pulled it up with my fingers or levered it up very gently with a blade or a point. If you can't release the flash popup at all, what follows may not help.<br />I followed the thread <a href="http://www.phototakers.com/forum/ftopic61230.html&view=next">http://www.phototakers.com/forum/ftopic61230.html&view=next</a>. This suggested that ERR05 is caused by the front edge of the flash popup sticking even very slightly to the inside of the plastic cover that carries the Canon name. The phototakers thread suggests increasing the clearance between the front edge of the flash popup and the inside edge of the plastic cover (e.g. by scraping with a blade or by rubbing with 300grit sandpaper).<br />On my machine I found that the inside of the plastic cover was visibly whiteish, rather than black and shiny, and very slightly sticky to the touch. Cleaning the edges of both the plastic cover and the flash popup with methylated spirits on a cotton bud has (so far) fixed the problem. I'm glad I didn't have to remove any plastic!</p>

<p>I am having the OPPOSITE problem. My flash pops up, but the "motor" still clicks three times then goes immediately to Error 05. I've cleaned the hot-shoe mount, used pressured air to clean the two small "levers" at the top-right of the flash bed, and used air in any visible openings in and around the flash. Any ideas anyone?</p>

<p>Rebecca - I just had that problem today. Finally, it started working again after I turned it on and off several times leaving the flash up. Now it seems to work fine, so hopefully yours is ok too. It is irritating because even though the flash is up, it won't fire. Additionally, when I put a flash in the hot shoe it wouldn't work in TTL mode, but when I switched to manual it did fire. However, the camera did not recognize that it was there so all the exposure required guessing what flash power to use.<br>

Subsequently the built in flash started working again.</p>

<p>Rebecca and Erik - I have the same problem with my new T1i (only one week old). I got the error 05 message a few days ago and then yesterday it was working but today I am getting the error message again. It is very frustrating! I think I am going to send it back and get a new one.</p>

<p>Sad to say, but this still happens on cameras produced in late 2012 or early 2013. Had the camera for 8 mos., used it significantly the last couple and it just started happening in APR 2014.</p>

<p>The camera is not dirty, so the "fixes" offered of cleaning the mechanism make no sense. </p>