My new Canon Rebel SL1 just arrived. I normally shoot a 5DM3 but picked this up for a light weight travel camera (and as a crop body for extending my long glass; at least until the 7DM2 comes out).
Package arrived, I immediately charged the battery, and then set out to a local heron rookery for a test shoot. Once there I mounted the SL1 to my Sigma 300-800mm telephoto (yes, I know this seems like an odd coupling but I have been longing for a 1.6x crop factor body ever since I sold my 7D). Spent a few minutes in the menu system setting up clock and basic settings. Focused (with good speed and accuracy) on a heron tending to its nest and pressed the shutter release. Normal SLR sounds were followed by a message on the rear screen (Err 20) and a suggestion to turn camera off, remove and reinsert battery, and try again. I followed the instructions but no joy (same error message). I then re-seated the camera on the lens and tried the power cycle sequence again. Still no joy. I then turned the camera off again and noticed the memory card activity lamp flashing which seemed very odd. After a few minutes of watching this flashing, I decided to remove the battery. At this point I realized that I would be better served troubleshooting the problem when I returned home. Having hiked this 18 pound rig a half mile into the forest, I decided to make the best of the situation and use my lens as a spotting scope. When I went to do this I discovered that the mirror was locked up. That's a pretty nifty feat with no battery installed and convinced me that this was a hard failure and not something I was going to be able to work out myself.
I will be shipping back to Adorama in the morning for an exchange. Hope others have better luck and that this was a one off problem and not the beginning of a trend. I should add that I have owned more than ten different Canon DSLRs and never had a single failure with any of them.
Photonic wrote:
That would be a little tricky with the mirror permanently locked up.
I have used the Sigma 300-800 with the 5DM1, 5DM2, 5DM3, and the 7D with no problems.
However the Rebel is the latest and the greatest and perhaps the Sigma needs a ROM flash to work with it. Happened to me on multiple occasions when I bought a new EOS.
I sold my 7D because I was anticipating the imminent arrival of the 7DM2 (my fault for putting too much stock in what I read at Canon Rumors). Body prices seem to plummet after a new model comes out so I thought I would try and stay ahead of the curve. When the SL1 was announced I knew it would be part of my kit. I do a lot of trekking (100 miles through Patagonia last December) and during such outings weight is a primary consideration. The SL1 fits the bill nicely.
The 7DM2 will eventually come out and I will buy it as a backup for my 5DM3, main sports and wildlife body, and as a super high quality 1.6x teleconverter :-)
The SL1 will still have a place in my kit for trekking and climbing or whenever a one pound weight saving seems like a good idea. I was also hoping it would tide me over until the 7DM2 is out.
hans98ko wrote:
+1
I moment I read about using a Sigma lens on the SL1 my thoughts was with the lens, because the SL1 is the first Canon body that is able to accept both the EF lenses as well as the EF-S lenses.
So some coding might have changed that the Sigma lens need to be updated to flip up the mirror to prevent the inner element hitting the shorter flange to sensor plane distance.
Try a Canon lens like Austin here has suggested.
.
Does not compute Will Robinson
SL1 is a 1.6x crop camera so by default accepts EF and EF-S lenses, nothing has changed whatsoever from any previous 1.6 crop camera.
I generally test cameras and lenses before heading into the field. Yesterday, however, was a perfect day in New England and the golden hour was approaching. My wife and I were already planning to head to the rookery and there was just enough time to charge the battery. Call my crazy, but I also like to make my first shots with a given camera or lens relatively nice ones. Helps me feel good about my investment.
I think it is highly unlikely that my SL1 failure is related to my Sigma lens (although it is an avenue of investigation worth pursuing).
Here is my logic (I am an electrical engineer, BTW).
On that infamous very first shot, I pressed the shutter half way to focus first. In fact, I did this a couple of times to test autofocus speed and accuracy (as best I could tell through the viewfinder). No problems so far. This tells me that the camera is able to communicate with the lens, that the focusing feedback loop is working, that the camera can supply adequate current for the focusing motor and everything is looking honky dory so far.
When I released the shutter, I could here the normal sound of the mirror going up and the shutter opening and closing. I doubt there is much communication between the lens and body after the shutter has been released (I was in single shot focus mode so no need for the camera to look for focus again).
Even if their was a firmware incompatibility, I am hard pressed to imagine how that would result in a mirror getting stuck in the up position (even with the battery removed). This appears to me to be a mechanical failure.
The Sigma 300-800 does not have any elements that extend beyond the flange into the body so their is no possibility of mechanical interference with the mirror.
All this said, I am not ruling out some issue with the Sigma.
When my replacement arrives I will test first with my array of Canon lenses and then with my Sigmas and report back. Even if there is an incompatibility, I would expect the SL1 to fail gracefully (fail to focus or fail to take a picture or lock up requiring a reboot). Turning into a brick is simply not an acceptable failure mode and I would view that as a serious flaw on the Canon side.
Some research on Canon error codes turned this up:
Err 20: Mechanical malfunction
Within the mirror, shutter or aperture mechanism (most likely), some sort of disturbance, error or lock-up has been detected. This error code doesn’t specify where the exact problem is, but points to the cause being mechanical rather than an electronic gremlin.
Most failures happen right away, or within the first few hundred shots. That doesn't make a user happy when it happens, but does explain the benefit of a "Burn-IN".
The camera was likely misaligned, but there can be shipping damage as well, they sometimes do incredible things to packages in shipment.
austin.grant wrote:
Some research on Canon error codes turned this up:
Err 20: Mechanical malfunction
Within the mirror, shutter or aperture mechanism (most likely), some sort of disturbance, error or lock-up has been detected. This error code doesn’t specify where the exact problem is, but points to the cause being mechanical rather than an electronic gremlin.
I have had similar issues with Sigma lenses on Canon cameras. I had a Sigma 500mmm F4.5 APO lens. Worked great on Kodak DCS_520 & 560 cameras, and the Canon 1D, but when I got a 20D the camera would not fire. It would start to shoot but the mirror would not come down.
I had three Sigma lenses that went in for updates. They were able to re-chip my 28mm F1.8 and 24-135, but my expensive 500mm F4.5 was too old, so I basically had a paperweight that U was able to sell for $1000 a couple of years later.
Never owned another Sigma since.
Why not try shooting it with a Canon lens, or no lens. I am guessing it will shoot fine
As reported earlier in this thread. The mirror became permanently locked up on the very first shot. The mirror remains locked up even with the battery removed so testing with another lens was not possible. The camera provides an Err 20 message which others have confirmed indicates a mechanical malfunction. I have sent the camera back to Adorama for an exchange and hope to receive a replacement shortly. I will test first with my Canon glass and then all of my Sigma's (50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, 120-300mm f2.8 OS, 300-800mm f5.6). If I have a repeat problem with any of the Sigma lenses then the culprit will be clear and I will post findings for the benefit of others. If the replacement camera works just fine with all lenses, it will point to poor quality control by Canon on their initial production run of a new model.
The one experiment that I would have liked to have done before returning the camera is a factory reset (remove both the main battery and the backup battery - didn't read about that trick until after shipping). It is conceivable that this would have cycled the mirror actuator returning the camera to a working state. Right now all I can do is hope for a quick turn around at Adorama (who are usually very responsive) and monitor the boards for anyone else with an Err20 message.
