My Canon 40D...

[Bend The Light]

...''E's passed on! This Canon 40D is no more! It has ceased to be! 'It's expired and gone to meet its maker! 'It's a stiff! Bereft of life, It
rests in peace!


So, my Canon 40D has just decided to give in. I get an ERR99 code every time I prss the shutter. I replaced card, battery, back-up battery, lens, cleaned contacts. Still dead.

I know from various threads in various fora, that Err99 could be many things. So, what to do? I have a friend who is going to lend me a 50D so I can carry on with some shoots I have planned. But do i send the 40D to repair? Do I try to source another (but I have little spare cash at the moment so buying something shiny and new is NOT an option).


For repairs, has anyone sent to canon, or another reputable repair outfit before? If so, where would you go, and what cost would you think is reasonable?

Any ideas would be welcome, especially if they are local to me (South yorkshire) although postage is obviously an option.

Ta.

 

[andyred]

Sorry to hear your news, the 40D is a great camera. If you want it repairing, then I'd rec sending it to Canon Elstree - think they do fixed price repairs, but if not I'm sure they'd give you a quote for the repair.

Hope you manage to get it sorted ...

 

[Bend The Light]

Sorry to hear your news, the 40D is a great camera. If you want it repairing, then I'd rec sending it to Canon Elstree - think they do fixed price repairs, but if not I'm sure they'd give you a quote for the repair.

Hope you manage to get it sorted ...

Thanks. It's just that the cost of repair may be getting close to a replacement cost, I suppose.

Cheers

 

[Phil V]

From memory it sounds like the shutter mechanism. a replacement by Canon runs at over £200 (again from memory). For that you couldn't buy a second hand camera that'd be guaranteed not to break down similarly, so for me the options would be:

Get it repaired

Save up for new shiny toy.

If it was my 40d, it'd be replaced by a 7d. But then if it was my 20d - it'd be replaced with a 7d.

 

[tijuana taxi]

When my 40D packed up it cost 154 quid fixed price repair at Canon, Elstree

Also got a service including sensor clean and dust in the viewfinder removed, repairs carry a six month warranty

I would/did get it fixed, sure there is life in the old dog yet

 

[Wozzaaah]

Used, low activations 40D will set you back around £230-£250 on here so I'd be tempted to buy another and sell yours as spares or repairs....or list it on Ebay as 'untested'.
Still worth a phone call or email to Canon though, they might come up trumps.

 

[LCPete]

When my 40D packed up it cost 154 quid fixed price repair at Canon, Elstree

Also got a service including sensor clean and dust in the viewfinder removed, repairs carry a six month warranty

I would/did get it fixed, sure there is life in the old dog yet

agree its worth getting it fixed for £154

 

[Bend The Light]

From memory it sounds like the shutter mechanism. a replacement by Canon runs at over £200 (again from memory). For that you couldn't buy a second hand camera that'd be guaranteed not to break down similarly, so for me the options would be:

Get it repaired

Save up for new shiny toy.

If it was my 40d, it'd be replaced by a 7d. But then if it was my 20d - it'd be replaced with a 7d.

I have to have a camera straight away, as I have customers. Obvioulsy I have the 50D that my friend kindly lent to me, but I need to replace/repair mine as a matter of urgency really so he can have his back. I can't see anything other than a used 40D or similar being in the pipeline anytime soon.

When my 40D packed up it cost 154 quid fixed price repair at Canon, Elstree

Also got a service including sensor clean and dust in the viewfinder removed, repairs carry a six month warranty

I would/did get it fixed, sure there is life in the old dog yet

That sounds reasonable...I will have this amount tomorrow from a couple of shoots. But it depends if that IS the amount that mine would cost...:/

Used, low activations 40D will set you back around £230-£250 on here so I'd be tempted to buy another and sell yours as spares or repairs....or list it on Ebay as 'untested'.
Still worth a phone call or email to Canon though, they might come up trumps.

This may be what I do...a couple of weeks with the mate's 50D and I can probably stretch to this.

agree its worth getting it fixed for £154

Looking into that.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I recently bought a 50D and tbh, other than the added 'advantage' of microadjust there's very little else that makes it better than the 40D imho.
I wish I'd saved my money until I can afford a 7D.
Mind you, if my access to the classifieds had been revoked for the last few months I might have been able to afford a 7D by now.

Have a really good play with your mate's 50D, I don't think you'll see much difference over the 40, I certainly don't, not 100-and-something quid's worth anyway

 

[akcron]

Hi Craig long time no see.
Sorry to hear about the camera, have you called Harrisons in Sheffield they are pretty good http://www.harrisoncameras.co.uk/ also they are open Sundays now and do secondhand cameras so you may find a replacement there.
Cheers Paul.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Maybe buy a secondhandhand one then get yours fixed to keep as a back up should this situation arise in the future (which it undoubtedly will)

 

[Wozzaaah]

Why will it 'undoubtedly' occur again?
I'm not saying it won't but how many times has it ever been discussed on here to make you think it's a common fault? :shrug:

 

[Bend The Light]

I recently bought a 50D and tbh, other than the added 'advantage' of microadjust there's very little else that makes it better than the 40D imho.
I wish I'd saved my money until I can afford a 7D.
Mind you, if my access to the classifieds had been revoked for the last few months I might have been able to afford a 7D by now.

Have a really good play with your mate's 50D, I don't think you'll see much difference over the 40, I certainly don't, not 100-and-something quid's worth anyway

I didn't think there was much difference to be honest. The guy I bought the 40D from got the 50D...not sure I would have made that upgrade either. Not sure how long the loan of the 50D will be, although the mate was with me today and wants to use my little studio, may even come in to the business with me, so i said he wasn't paying to use the studio when i wasn't there as he was lending me his 50D. Fair deal, I reckon.

Hi Craig long time no see.
Sorry to hear about the camera, have you called Harrisons in Sheffield they are pretty good http://www.harrisoncameras.co.uk/ also they are open Sundays now and do secondhand cameras so you may find a replacement there.
Cheers Paul.

You mean for repairs, or just for buying? I knew Harrisons quite well in the past (my step-sister worked there for a bit) but thought they were on the dear side...not sure now though, not been for a long time.

Maybe buy a secondhandhand one then get yours fixed to keep as a back up should this situation arise in the future (which it undoubtedly will)

Well, that's an idea...to be fair I was toying with the idea of upgrading my daughter from my old 400d to a 40D, but didn't. Now i may do as you suggest and have her use the old (repaired) one and it's there should I need the spare...

Cheers all.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I genuinely thought it was going to be more of an upgrade tbh. Oh well, at least the 50 is worth more when I finally come to sell it to fund a 7D eh?

 

[tijuana taxi]

Why will it 'undoubtedly' occur again?

I meant a camera malfunctioning when you need it, not a great idea when you are needing it to fulfil an appointment

Mechanical items always go wrong at some stage and obviously will only become apparent when you are attempting to use them

If it's for business use I would have thought a back up was essential rather than a luxury

As we don't know what the problem is I wouldn't be able to say if it was a common fault, but any failure will be problematic

 

[Wozzaaah]

Ah, sorry, I thought you were implying the 40D was inherently unreliable.
The only times I've seen err99 thrown up regularly is if the lens has gone bad, it's common on the 17-85 when the ribbon cable on the aperture unit breaks.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Ah, sorry, I thought you were implying the 40D was inherently unreliable.

Apologies if my reply sounded offhand, just trying to explain what I meant.

My 40D packed up at approx 70k clicks and that was down to a faulty grip blowing the DC/DC board (main fuse apparently)

 

[Bend The Light]

I meant a camera malfunctioning when you need it, not a great idea when you are needing it to fulfil an appointment

Mechanical items always go wrong at some stage and obviously will only become apparent when you are attempting to use them

If it's for business use I would have thought a back up was essential rather than a luxury

As we don't know what the problem is I wouldn't be able to say if it was a common fault, but any failure will be problematic

Ah, sorry, I thought you were implying the 40D was inherently unreliable.
The only times I've seen err99 thrown up regularly is if the lens has gone bad, it's common on the 17-85 when the ribbon cable on the aperture unit breaks.

A bit of research shows that a lot of people on other forums were debating this back in 2008/9 when the 40D was current. a lot of issues with Err99, and that it was a catch-all kind of error. Some fixed it with cleaning, lens changes etc. Maybe there were some problems with the 40D as a whole, but I think this is just one of those things.

As for a second body, yes, if i was an establshed professional then I would definitely be heading for redundant systems of camera, lenses, computer etc. As it is I am a "weekend warrior" working my but off to get it off the ground. It's going fine, but not much room for lots of purchases just yet. It'll come, and when i quit the day job and become a weekday warrior instead, i'll be buying more things in twos!

 

[Bend The Light]

Apologies if my reply sounded offhand, just trying to explain what I meant.

My 40D packed up at approx 70k clicks and that was down to a faulty grip blowing the DC/DC board (main fuse apparently)

This is interesting - I have had my camera connected to the laptop via USB, and had it with a grip (which hasn't been faulty as far as I know) which I removed to test the camera after getting the error...I did wonder about it, and the batteries. I also have a trigger on top, but can't see that blowing the boards (it's yongnuo, but they seem decent enough).

Cheers