I just bought the 17-55 the other day, great lens except I'm getting rapid 00 & 01 errors (lens Communication problem).
The owner, who used the lens in the past two years with a 40D, said that he doesn't even know what this error means and he never got this error (maybe i am to naive...but i tent to believe him...)
I did some googling and came up with this form lensrentals
High Risk Lens: The Canon 17-55 f2.8 IS lens has a higher failure rate than most lenses in our lineup.
_Note: There have been numerous reports in various photography forums that this lens often gives ERR99 and ERR00 with Canon 20D and Rebel XT (not XTi, 30D, or newer) cameras. Not all of these cameras have problems with this lens (older models seem more prone to the problem), and updating to the most recent firmware reduces the chance of problems. However, we do NOT recommend the 17-55 f2.8 IS lens be used with 20D or XT cameras.
Any body familiar with this problem?
What do you think? is this a lens fault or is the 20D+17-55 just a bad combination?
Thanks
Good day
YItzy
P.s. in the past few months i was using a (borrowed) 16-35...one thing i realized right away...in terms of BQ the 17-55 is not an L!...
I also just bought one and is expected to be delivered today. But did you see the rate? 1.5% this seems like a very small number to be, also this is a rental place where people rent the gear and could care less how they treat it. I am not to worried but I should have went with my gut feeling and bought the 24-70
Since I'm the author of the original quoted note, I'll expand a bit: a rental house has to be very up-front about potential problems -- when somebody plunks down their hard-earned they expect to receive working equipment. When it doesn't work, whatever the reason, they aren't happy customers and that's a bad thing. The problem described above is rare. We see it in 1.5% of all rentals, but that's a big deal when the 1.5% has gotten the lens for a special shoot or occasion so we put the warning out to make sure people get the lens in time to test it, not at the last minute.
Now, to expand on the problem: we do see some folks with older XTs and 20Ds who get a 17-55, it gives ERR99 or ERR00 and they send it back, but it works just absolutely fine on every camera we test it on (but we don't have any old XTs or 20Ds to test with). I do not know why this happens, but others have speculated that there is either 1) a different alloy in the electrical contacts of some of the earlier cameras, 2) some older cameras have worn contacts, or 3) the electrical systems in older cameras aren't as robust when it comes to current transfer. From what I do know (talking to some technical repair types) the 17-55 is a very high current draw lens, and if the camera can't handle the current, it 'brown's out' and gives an error.
wow, i never heard of that, but lens rentals should be a pretty honest place to get info from
stills seems bizarre though
[quuote]yitzy wrote:
Hi
I just bought the 17-55 the other day, great lens except I'm getting rapid 00 & 01 errors (lens Communication problem).
The owner, who used the lens in the past two years with a 40D, said that he doesn't even know what this error means and he never got this error (maybe i am to naive...but i tent to believe him...)
I did some googling and came up with this form lensrentals
Any body familiar with this problem?
What do you think? is this a lens fault or is the 20D+17-55 just a bad combination?
Thanks
Good day
YItzy
P.s. in the past few months i was using a (borrowed) 16-35...one thing i realized right away...in terms of BQ the 17-55 is not an L!......Show more →
I had a few of these lens. I had a few 20ds also. Never seen this problem. He either got a bad lens or has worn contacts. The only really way to know is to send it in.
I think (hope!) that the problem is with the lens+camera combo and not with the lens
I'll have to check it with another body...
Evan if its not the lens fault, what do i do next? i guess I'll just have manage until i upgrade my body
(that will become a higher priory over a new lens in my wishlist ...)
I have 40D and 17-55 IS and have no problems at all. If you are located in central Israel then call me (054-4815854) and we can meet and swap lenses and bodies.
BTW, this happens only with this lens? Maybe the contacts are dirty?
Yes, only with this one (i tried with others)
The truth is i did clean the contacts with a eraser but did not have a chance to test it much since...will do after shabbat...
Add me to the list of people that used an early-production 17-55 on a early-production 20D for a couple years with no contact errors ever. I used that same lens without problems on a 40D and 50D also.
Is your 20D using the latest firmware
Are you using a cheap aftermarket battery in the 20D? That lens is power hungry, I added a battery pack to get better battery life, however a side benefit of double batteries is increased current available to the camera, it "might" help in this case. Go to a camera store and try it before buying though.
Used the 17-55 on an early model 20D for about a year or so. Never had a single issue with the combo. It now sits on the 50D. Again, never an issue. Good luck.
...)