Just in time for my next trip my Canon 30D has begun to exhibit the dreaded Error 99 again. Error 99 is the catch-all error that appears if the Canon body fails to recognize something electronic or, more seriously, if there is a problem with the shutter.

Error 99 trouble-shooting

Usually my advice for people who get the dreaded Error 99 is to take the lens off the body and to clean the electronic contacts on the lens mount and on the body-side (using a soft, non-abrasive, dry cloth or clean pencil eraser). Then to try a different lens. Or if they got that error when they were using an electronic accessory (flash, remote) to remove that accessory and try again (and to try different copies of that accessory). If it is the flash, clean the flash contacts as well. Another possibility is the battery, which you can test by swapping it out for a different one.

After eliminating any of these possibilities it then narrows it down to the body itself and unfortunately, unless you are an electronics expert or licensed camera technician, this is out of your hands. When my 30D last exhibited the Error 99 I tried all of these things and nothing would work. The body ended up requiring a whole new shutter assembly -- a more than $200 repair cost (labour / Canon replaced the assembly part). If you were reading my blog then you know the pain that induced.

Update

In running down this problem this weekend I found a very comprehensive article on troubleshooting error 99 written by a service center. It included one thing I never thought of which was to swap out the date / time battery. I did and unfortunately was not the issue.

Perfect .... just in time for my trip

To finish this long story, I've tried all of this and it remains that the 30D will cough up an Error 99 after several shutter actuations but will clear up if I restart the camera. This does not give me confidence going into my trip, though I think I will try the contact cleaning fix again to see if it makes a difference. Fortunately, I have a backup camera that I will bring on my trip and a backup for that (film).

The future of the 30D and its replacement

At this point it looks like a replacement for my 30D is in the cards but unfortunately my main goal of getting a new full-frame body is far away. Paying for another shutter replacement (if the Error 99 becomes more than an annoyance) would be just throwing more money into an old body. Not an ideal situation but I may just have to grit my teeth and make a hard decision.