“I had this before the leak and had to switch it off then back on.â€
“Rand and James are right on track. Error 99 is Canon's general communications error. In most cases the error is caused by a connection problem with an external device such as a lens or a strobe (flash). It can also be caused by an internal mechanism not completing it's function such as a shutter unit or mirror mech.â€
If it’s any consolation, you and I are far from the first people to experience the infamous Cannon error 99 lockup, regardless of your later flood. I too have repeatedly experienced an error 99 problem. Aside from the flood, which quite obviously could be the major contributing problem at this point, I concur 100% with the aforementioned paragraph. For what it’s worth to you in resolving your situation, following has been my experiences with error 99 messages.
I had to send my camera in four times to Canon in order to effectively resolve my error 99 problem. IMHO, if your camera continues to give you error 99 messages when used outside of the housing, I’d contact a Canon rep. Then I’d send in your camera and lenses to Canon repair…
First time I sent in my camera to Canon they responded by returning the camera and stating they couldn’t find the problem. I called Canon again, but asked to speak to a supervisor this time. She said to resend the camera. So I sent the camera in for the second time. Canon returned the camera with a new shutter. The error 99 lockups continued. I again contacted the supervisor and subsequently sent the camera in for a third time. Canon returned the camera this third time replying they couldn’t find any problem. The error 99 lockups continued. I again contacted the Canon supervisor and I subsequently sent the camera in for the fourth time, only this time I was told to send in all my (Canon) lenses with the camera. The camera and lenses were returned with no additional error 99 messages.
Canon didn’t include an in depth description of what work was completed on the camera and lenses nor any sort of summary statement listing what they believed was causing the problem. However, on the repair slips I noted they did “check/clean,†one lens, “replaced rear lens ass’y unit†on another lens, “adjusted focus†on the third lens, and “cleaned mount contact†on the camera, which did fix the error 99 messages and which would lead me to believe the problem was communication problems between the lenses and the camera.
For some reason Canon returned each lens and camera on separate days, with a signature required for delivery each time, an unnecessary inconvenience…Ending on a good note though, once I contacted the supervisor, she would Fed Ex next day shipment labels which was nice courtesy as I only paid shipping for one of the four required shipments. The camera was returned within approximately two weeks each time.
), and as James said, clean lens contacts. But, like a failing circuit breaker, in some cases, the error will pop up with increasing frequency until if finally won't go away and you'll have to send the unit in.
