I am getting a persistent "err 20 shooting is not possible, turn the camera <off> then <on> or reseat the battery" (or something along those lines.) I am shooting RAW + small JPG; it happens on the 24-105L; 100-400L; 16-35L; 85 1.8; 50 1.8. I cannot recreate it at will, but it was happening frequently today (but did not happen last weekend when I took several hundred photo.)
Sometimes it happens during a burst and other times just as a single shot. I depress the shutter release and it sounds like the mirror/shutter move and take the picture, but the error message pops up and no image is captured.
I am forced to either turn the camera off then on, or reseat the battery in order to continue shooting.
Anyone else seeing this? Any thoughts on a cause and /or a fix?
To me I get the error because of some type of hardware failure (like most have read on my posting). I would send it back, not ask for a repair, but a replacement. Sucks because most don't have any in stock to replace
sboerup wrote:
To me I get the error because of some type of hardware failure (like most have read on my posting). I would send it back, not ask for a repair, but a replacement. Sucks because most don't have any in stock to replace
Thanks for informing us . . .
Spencer -- thanks for the feedback. I have to admit, I did not read your entire post before I posted to your blog (so please ignore what I said.)
So far my camera is not dead, just crippled. It's still taking pictures, but the error happens frequently (or at least more frequently than I want -- maybe 1 in 8 or 1 in 10 clicks.)
I'm taking some really important (on a personal level) pictures this weekend, so I'm hopeful that it will hold out at least until Tuesday. Guess we'll see.
mkress65 wrote:
Spencer -- thanks for the feedback. I have to admit, I did not read your entire post before I posted to your blog (so please ignore what I said.)
So far my camera is not dead, just crippled. It's still taking pictures, but the error happens frequently (or at least more frequently than I want -- maybe 1 in 8 or 1 in 10 clicks.)
I'm taking some really important (on a personal level) pictures this weekend, so I'm hopeful that it will hold out at least until Tuesday. Guess we'll see.
Matt
1 in 8? That qualifies as dead for me, or at least a permanent vegatative state.
nathanlake wrote:
1 in 8? That qualifies as dead for me, or at least a permanent vegatative state.
Don't get me wrong Nathan -- I'm not at all happy about this and I do consider the camera to be defective and in need of replacing (as Spencer said... not just a repair). But from a practical standpoint, since I didn't bring a backup camera, I feel better off than Spencer since I can actually capture pictures still. Or at least I was able to do so today. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
I did send an email to Canon tech support (although my experience in doing that has been less than positive) and I'll post here when I get a definitive reply.
UCSB wrote:
You should call Canon ... perhaps it is a problem with the battery and they can just send you a new battery.
In addition to the email I sent them, I will likely call them and the store where I purchased the camera tomorrow (Monday.) I will post here w/ any results.
I received an email from Canon USA outlining steps to take to address the problem (take out the battery and take off the lens and let it sit for 20 minutes; or format the CF card; or try a different CF card; clean lens contacts w/ an eraser; or send the camera in for repair).
I requested a replacement camera, to which they replied,
"Thank you for contacting Canon product support for your EOS 5D Mark II.
Please note, here at Canon Product Support, we can only refer products in need of repairs to the Factory Service Centers. We do not have the opportunity or authority to offer an exchange or refund service. That is the sole purview of your camera dealer. There is no provision for any exchanges or refunds in our warranty. I am sorry if this causes you any difficulty.
The only possible service we can offer is to have our Factory Service Centers evaluate your camera for possible repairs. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. It is my hope that the Canon Factory Service Center will be able to resolve this to your satisfaction."
So I'm still pushing to get a replacement, but if anyone has a better contact than Canon Customer Service that would be better able (or perhaps more willing) to help, it would be greatly appreciated.
My call tomorrow goes to the store where I purchased it to see what they can do.
Just as a quick update (because I promised to provide one) the fine folks at Pro Photo Supply in Portland let me swap my defective 5D mkII kit for one they had in stock (they seem to have several of the kits in stock, but the body only is still backordered for quite some time.)
No error 20's on the new body (but I've only taken a dozen pictures so far) and I couldn't detect any of the dreaded "black spots" when I took some snaps of their Christmas tree. So far, so good.
mkress65 wrote:
...... and I couldn't detect any of the dreaded "black spots" when I took some snaps of their Christmas tree. So far, so good.
Matt
But that supposed to be firmware problem and not hardware so it does not count if you can detect or not black spots-dots this is always a problem in some special lighting conditions.
So I'm still pushing to get a replacement, but if anyone has a better contact than Canon Customer Service that would be better able (or perhaps more willing) to help, it would be greatly appreciated.
You have to get a replacement from the reseller. Canon will repair and replace only if they determine it to be unrepairable.
dvarnav wrote:
But that supposed to be firmware problem and not hardware so it does not count if you can detect or not black spots-dots this is always a problem in some special lighting conditions.
I have since recreated the special lighting conditions more precisely, but cannot detect any black spots. I question whether it is truly only a firmware problem -- perhaps it is a hardware problem that can be mitigated by firmware. But there seem to be many who cannot recreate the problem (at least based on the conditions stated in previous threads here and on DPReview.)
RDKirk wrote:
You have to get a replacement from the reseller. Canon will repair and replace only if they determine it to be unrepairable.
Yeah, that's what Canon told me. Which is why I posted in my thread from a couple of days ago that I got the replacement from the reseller and did not send it to Canon to be repaired.
Regardless, I think it's bad business on Canon's part to not directly replace a product that proves to be defective w/in 1 week of purchase (and it was picked up on the first day that it was available.) Fortunately, I was still able to get the camera to function more often then not, but there were others that had the camera stop working completely. Hardly seems right for Canon to require them to ship it to a repair facility then wait for it to be repaired and then wait for it to be shipped back -- especially in those instances where the dealer did not have any stock to replace it.
No doubt many will claim that this is the risk born by the early adopters -- maybe it is. But I still think that Canon should mitigate that risk by replacing the defective cameras.
Just got my 5D2 today. After taking about 9 shots and letting it sit all afternoon, all I can get is an error 20 now. Any suggestions before I call B&H?
I did not have time to read all of the replies ... but I had a strange error on my 5D recently (no # like you guys are getting, but the aperture read 00 and it wouldn't fire, if I recall).
I did a bazillion searches and no one had the exact problem, but on one of the other "err" threads, someone suggested removing the lens and cleaning the contacts of both the lens and the camera mount.
It worked beautifully and I have not had any problems since. Worth a try, cameras come from manufacturing dirtier than we think, dust, film, transport ... all things being considered.
Carolyn: Aperture of 00 suggests that the lens is not properly connected to the camera, it could be like what you said about the contacts being dirty, or sometimes the lens mount has a bit of play to it and you can wiggle it a bit which sometimes causes the loss of connection
Matt: I reckon return that POS straight away and get a new one, you don't deserve a crud of a camera like that for your hard earned money. Just make sure you try a different CF card first and make sure you format properly
I've got my new 5D2 packed and waiting on a shipping label from B&H. I tried all the suggested cures for the Err 20 but no luck. Even waited overnight with no battery in camera, new card, updated the firmware, different lens etc. all with the same resultant Err 20.
In addition, the new 24-105 had a piece of white something on the inside of the front element, almost exactly in the center. Also got Canon's UV haze filter for the lens and when I screwed down snug it was contacting the front element of the lens! Same filter on my 24-70.. no problem.
What's up with Canon QC? I've been buying Canon equipment for more than 25 years and have never had this kind of problem with anything else.
On top of all this, B&H doesn't have any more kits in stock at this time.
I had this problem straight out of the box... The problem turned out to be cards I was using.... They'd been formatted using either my old 5D or 30D.
My solution was to clear the CF cards using my mac through a card reader (ie, just delete anything on there and empty the trash), then I formatted the cards using the 5D mark II... Voila. Problem hasn't occurred since (2 weeks of constant shooting)
I still got the same error after formatting the cards in camera before I even took any shots with it. After 9 frames got the err 20 and was not recoverable even using a new unformatted CF card formatted by the 5D2. Had to send it back.
You did the right thing to swap out that body. I just got a backup 5DMk2 a week ago and in the first 120 actuations 5 err 20's and 2 err 99. She got wrapped up and sent back to the fine people at Allens Cameras in Philly who kindly and painlessly handled the problem for me. Going to get these problems from time to time, had to send back 2 D700 because of unfixable banding.
Any suggestions before I call B&H?