Canon Rebel XT "Error 99" at every 5th shot

[charlie_bell2]

Hi Mendel,

 

Just wondering if any further update with your error 99 problem - I am crossing my

fingers something magically worked, as I have exactly the same problem as you! (error

99 appearing on every 5th shot).... Hope you have good news...

[Mark Keefer]

Did Canon say why they would not repair it? Did they charge you $100 and not fix it?

[Mark Keefer]

Kevin!....?

"I know this sounds peculiar, but put the body without batteries into a plastic ziplock bag and freeze for at

least an hour.

Take it out and let the condensation occur onto the baggie for about 20 minutes, reinsert batteries and see if it

works.

 

I am amazed how often this will get results with electronics."

 

LOL! I am amazed it would ever have worked. I was an electronics technician for years before I became an

engineer, freezing the electronics will cause the metal in the camera electronics to contract. Possibly this

could have effected any physical connection of metal to metal or a cold solder joint (if that were the problem)

but in the unlikely event that this somehow worked it would not a permanent fix. A fluke at best and once the

camera was bumped or temperature changed the problem would be back. It may not harm the camera any worse than

leaving it in you car overnight on a cold winter evening.

 

But I would no more suggest this than to suggest putting the camera in a shake and bake bag with barbecue sauce

and baking at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

Has Canon said this camera is unrepairable? They can't put a new board in it? Has Canon decided if it takes the

technician more than 10 minutes to fix the camera it is non reparable? Did you have a lazy bench tech that didn't

want to deal with fixing it? I would like to know more of what they had to say. I have a Digital Rebel XT and it

was not a cheap Camera, I would expect it to be reparable by the manufacturer.

 

I would write a letter to Canon, I would expect that a Camera that sold for $800 new should not be a throw away

Camera and this will greatly influence future purchases. Obviously if the Camera can take 4 photos, it works. It

has the ability to take a photo. The issue is in the electronics handling the files., electronics should be able

to be replaced. More than likely Canon has the cost of the replacement board higher than the $100 repair cost and

they don't want to take a loss.

 

I feel your pain Mendel. Good luck.

[mendel_leisk]

Sorry for not checking back on this thread sooner. We're still in limbo on the 4-shot XT, thwarted by Canon's "standard" charge for camera repair. I suspect it's often the case that near perfect electronic goods get dumped when there is a simple fix available, but the price is too high. Anyway, we bought our son an XSi ;)

[mendel_leisk]

Just to clarify:

 

Canon would not quote a repair price prior to me shipping the camera to them. Upon receipt of the camera they

quoted me a repair price which they described as their standardized camera repair charge. In other words, it doesn't

matter what the problem is, the repair cost is the same. Now why they need the camera in their hands *before* they

tell you this... has me stumped.

 

This is a repeat of a previous experience I had with them involving a lens repair. In that case the charge was fairly

low, and I followed through and got the repair done.

 

But in this case, the price was rougly $100 less than B&H's current price for a new replacement camera. I'm sorry I

can't be more specific, it looks like I've deleted the email. I would hazard it was in the high $200's.

[Mark Keefer]

How does the camera work with the remote shooting software? USB line to the camera. Any limit when you shoot with the Remote Camera software. Using a notebook PC may be an awkward work around, but would enable the camera to be useful in some applications. I would pay the $100 for the repair if it were me.

[mendel_leisk]

I'll give the remote software a try, thanks for the idea.

 

Please note, the repair price was *not* $100 (that I would have gone for), it was around $100 *less* than the price of a new XT through B&H, when I checked. In the high $200's, I've lost the email with the exact quote.