how prevalent are problems with the 20D

[thomas_krueger]

With the recent drop in price and rebates, I decided that I would

really like to upgrade from my 10D to a 20D. Why? My 10D is fine

except I do like to do a low light photography and the lower noise

ISO 800 and 1600 would be great, and 10D is slow to start up, and a

bigger buffer would be nice, and 8.2MP would allow some more

cropping, etc. So, once again I started to review the experience of

others with the 20D and over and over again, I am reading about

Err99, or a shutter problem, or freezing up, or problems with the new

firmware, etc. And, I know people that are having problems are

usually the ones to write whereas the happy majority (hopefully) are

silent. Does anyone know or have a source or perhaps just an

impression about how frequent these problems with the 20D are? I

don't want to buy a headache. By the way I have tried the DRebel XT

and I didn't like the feel, the controls, and when I compared the ISO

noise levels (I took a Compact Flash card with me to the store one

day and shot similar scenes - not very scientifically - and found

that the ISO noise IS slightly better on the 20D.) Thanks in advance

for your thoughts.

[shambrick007]

"And, I know people that are having problems are usually the ones to write whereas the happy majority (hopefully) are silent."<p>nuff said.

[KenPapai]

The 20D has fewer "problems" than the 10D. Quit worrying and get yourself a nice new camera! My ONLY problem with the 20D is that it is a little smaller than the 10D, other than that it is more excellent in many ways, said here in this forum, more than a thousand times, and you will not increase your headaches or anxiety. So enjoy something new. Your 10D will continue to be an excellent 2nd or backup camera.

[ed_kubacki]

Pop Photo would have named it Camera of the Year, except the 5D came out and trumped it.

 

What's not to love, more rugged than the DRebels, smaller, lighter and a whole lot less expensive than the 5D, 1Ds MkII, 1Ds etc.

 

I am really happy with mine.

[jon_austin]

I've had my 20D for nearly a year now (I also upgraded from a 10D), and I've had problems with it on precisely two occasions.

 

The day after I received it, I experienced an Err99 ONCE, with an EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro mounted. Firmware version 1.1.0. Pulled and reinstalled the battery, no recurrence.

 

About 6 months ago, I experienced the "rapid shutter fire" phenomenon ONCE, with an EF 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 mounted. Firmware version 2.something.something. Pulled and reinstalled the battery, no recurrence.

 

Despite these two minor hiccups, I consider my 20D -- now loaded with the most recent firmware available -- essentially trouble-free, and I have never regretted my decision to upgrade.

[loren_cain]

I've had my 20D for about 14 months and it's only locked up (Err 99) maybe half a dozen times, and not at all in the last six months or so. The built-in flash usually refuses to pop up without a little "help" (Err 05), but since I almost never use the flash that's not really a problem (and when I attempted to demonstrate the problem to someone today, it worked properly every time...go figure). Other than that, everything works as advertised.

[icd55]

I've been a 20D owner for only 3 months now. Not one problem to report. I moved over to the 20d from the 300d. The 300d flashed Err codes many times. The 300d took good pictures but moving to the 20d has been a great experience. Go for it. It's a great camera. You won't be dissapointed.

[peter_white2]

Ours is 6 months old with not one problem.

[frederic_french]

After 4 months and 5500 pictures taken I experienced only one problem with the 50mm f/1.8 if I switch between MF/AF sometimes it stops the AF but if I turn the camera OFF and restart it one or two time it comes back... I never experienced any error99 and I don't have any bad comments to tell, the only issue is that it's too good for my lenses, I realized how crappy they are and I need to change them (and with the 1.6 factor I need to upgrade my wide angle to a ultra-wide angle to have the same result..).

[dk.]

I have had my 20D for almost a year now, and the only problem I have had is that at times it has locked up/freezed up about 6 times so far, and only with my 300mm, 400mm, and my new 70-200mm but I just pop the battery out and put it back in and all is well again. I am very happy with my 20D, be nice if it did not do this from time to time but I still like it very much.

 

DK.

[conraderb]

Have had two since June of this year. Sometimes it will freeze up a bit, and a quick turn off and turn back on solves the problem.

[jim_g2]

I've had my 20D since Nov/Dec 2004, with the default firmware, and not a problem or a lockup at all. I regularly change between the 18-55, 50mm II and 28-105 II with no ill effects. If it weren't for reading the forums I'd have guessed this was the perfect camera ;-)

[PuppyDigs]

"The 20D has fewer "problems" than the 10D."

 

I don't have a 20D, but my 2.5 year old 10D works perfectly and hasn't had a single

problem. AF, metering and flash all work fine. Heck even the battery grip works perfectly

with heavy glass. Well, there is one problem: it wishes to someday growup and become a

5D.

[mormegil]

If you're shooting Raw, I think the 10D has a larger buffer.

[steve santikarn]

I have had the 20D since it was released and have taken about 15,000 photos. I have not had any problems at all. I've always upgraded to the latest version of the firmware. Never seen any error message yet.

[afanifitafa]

I've had my 20D for about a year & can't think of one problem. Nary a one.

[adam_pw_smith]

My experiences with the 20D have been generally extremely favourable. First the bad

news...

 

I have had Err99's like everyone else. They have been rare and fixed by pulling the battery.

 

I picked up a on older Sigma lens for a song and it just would not play nice with the 20D. I

was warned and it didn't surprise me. Returned the lens for a refund - no harm, no foul.

 

My biggest problem is actually happening right now. The shutter got stuck about five

weeks ago and nothing would resurrect it. As soon as you put a battery in the camera the

mirror starts flipping repeatedly but the shutter doesn't open. And that's before you even

turn the power on. So into Canon it went. It's been five weeks, and no one can even tell me

whether anyone has looked at it or not. Reports are that a 6-8 week wait time is not

unusual. Even those with CPS priority service are waiting 3-4 weeks to get a lens looked

at. The rental fees for the body are killing me.

 

Now that said, the camera has been a constant companion and has easily shot 80 000

frames in the year that I've had it. My biggest annoyance is that if I'd known it was going

to be this long in the shop I simply would have bought a second body to have as a spare/

second camera. If I had the extra cash I'd happily buy another one.

 

When this one first went in for service I decided to look at the other models and see if I

needed to upgrade to a "pro" model. But when I checked out the >5000$ models I found

that most people said the 20D was actually better at low light, which is what I mostly

shoot.

 

I recommend the 20D. Just watch out if you need to send it in for repair. It's the weakest

link in the chain.

 

adam

[jimstrutz]

My 20D works great too, but Canon is likely to announce a replacement in February, with delivery in April. If you already have a 10D, I'd wait to see what's going to be offered. You'd miss the tripple rebates that are going on now, but the price is likely to drop shortly after the replacement hits the street.

[borek_lupomesky]

I've had my deal of Err99's and one or two complete freezes, but my main gripe is with banding noise. This is more apparent at higher ISOs, but with close examination you can often see it at lower ISOs as well. Luckily, new versions of Adobe Camera Raw seems to be specifically be filtering out the banding noise, so the result is quite good.

 

Borek

[pjmeade]

I've had my 20D for about 6 months. I've probably shot 15k images, with no Err99's or any other problem. I wish I had a better lens than the kit but otherwise it's excellent.

 

Hope this helps. Pete

[x]

Had my 20D for about a year and had a handful of error 99. Annoying but not a major problem. Noise banding on the darkest areas of 3200 ISO pics is a problem. I found that by converting the raw image in the Canon software instead of Adobe ACR the banding was reduced but still very noisy. Even so, the results were far better then with any film at that speed. The focussing problems that were much talked about with the 10D (and I saw quite a lot of) have gone on the 20D.

[davidmccracken]

It could be argued that the 20D was never an upgrade for the 10D. The 20D is well over a year old now and the 5D is on the market. If you were asking whether to upgrade to the 5D, I would say YES. However if you are considering upgrading to the 20D, I would say NO.

 

I realise this is NOT what you were asking but I do feel it relavant.

[waynelittle]

Only had the Err99 prob when used with one of the Lexar 'Problem' CF cards. got rid of it and now no probs (Latest Firmware too)

[thomas_sullivan]

have had my 20D for a year now. Had 2 or 3 err 99 problems in the first 3 months I had the camera. All were on cold (at or slighly below freezing) days, when taking a quick succession of pictures...but not multi shot mode. All were fixed by removing only the main battery and re installing. Upgraded my firmware around March 2005. Have not had a single problem since. don't know if the warm weather cured it or the new firmware. However, judging by the lack of problems with anybody in the past 6 months (above), I'm betting it was firmware. guess I'll find out soon.....getting near freezing again around my way.

 

Never had a problem with firmware upgrades.

 

you will be amazingly impressed with the 20D at ISO 1600 with a RAW capture. Absolutely unreal. Film was never this good at 1600.

[spencer_buchanan]

have had a 20d for 10 months and love it! I had one problem where the camera would not shoot. it was not a big deal and lasted for 30 seconds, but it was the 30 seconds a bride was walking down the aisle... then the camera magically started working as soon as she was standing next to the groom. then a month later Firmware came out to address this issue.

Canon seems good at addressing problems if they do come up. just keep updated on firmware if you get it. But if they are coming out with a new camera in a few months then sit tight. The 10d is a decent camera.