Canon 350d lockup
 

Taking a series of pics at my son's wedding (there were other
photographers and I had a spare camera) when it locked up completely.
The screen was still illuminated but the camera would not even switch
off. There were no signs of activity (no flashing light). In
desperation i removed and replaced the battery and it immediately
started working normally and has done since then.
Any comments? Could it have been writing from the buffer without
signalling?

Thanks,

Gordon

Re: Canon 350d lockup
 

Gordon MacPherson wrote:

> Taking a series of pics at my son's wedding (there were other
> photographers and I had a spare camera) when it locked up completely.
> The screen was still illuminated but the camera would not even switch
> off. There were no signs of activity (no flashing light). In
> desperation i removed and replaced the battery and it immediately
> started working normally and has done since then.
> Any comments? Could it have been writing from the buffer without
> signalling?

Firmware bug and can be expected. As long as you can continue by resetting
the camera (remove the battery, wait and insert it again), you should not
worry... unless this happens very often.

I have experienced the same with my previous 20D. Also had a few Err.99.
After I replaced the 20D with a 30D I have never ever had any failure. So
far about 19500 pictures with the 30D.

--
Jørn Dahl-Stamnes
http://www.dahl-stamnes.net/Foto/

Re: Canon 350d lockup
 

"Jørn Dahl-Stamnes" <DELETEnewsman@REMOVEdahl-stamnes.net> wrote in message
news:453cf098@news.broadpark.no...
> Gordon MacPherson wrote:
>
>> Taking a series of pics at my son's wedding (there were other
>> photographers and I had a spare camera) when it locked up completely.
>> The screen was still illuminated but the camera would not even switch
>> off. There were no signs of activity (no flashing light). In
>> desperation i removed and replaced the battery and it immediately
>> started working normally and has done since then.
>> Any comments? Could it have been writing from the buffer without
>> signalling?
>
> Firmware bug and can be expected. As long as you can continue by resetting
> the camera (remove the battery, wait and insert it again), you should not
> worry... unless this happens very often.
>
> I have experienced the same with my previous 20D. Also had a few Err.99.
> After I replaced the 20D with a 30D I have never ever had any failure. So
> far about 19500 pictures with the 30D.
>
> --
> Jørn Dahl-Stamnes
> http://www.dahl-stamnes.net/Foto/

As the man said, it is fairly common with most Canon D-SLRs, removing the
battery usually clears the faulty condition. Other faults may also occur
when the lens to camera contacts become slightly dirty, in that case simply
remove the lens, wipe the contacts with a soft cloth and replace the lens,
continue shooting until the fault occurs again and repeat.

Re: Canon 350d lockup
 

"Gordon MacPherson" <gordon.macpherson@path.ox.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:ehinlv$9k8$1@frank-exchange-of-views.oucs.ox.ac.uk...
> Taking a series of pics at my son's wedding (there were other
> photographers and I had a spare camera) when it locked up completely. The
> screen was still illuminated but the camera would not even switch off.
> There were no signs of activity (no flashing light). In desperation i
> removed and replaced the battery and it immediately started working
> normally and has done since then.
> Any comments? Could it have been writing from the buffer without
> signalling?

Many theories about this as it affects several Canon DSLRs. My "pet" theory
is that it is caused by the battery voltage dipping at a crucial moment and
scrambling the computer. I recommend occasional cleaning of the battery
contacts and replacing any batteries that appear to be related to this
happening on a repeated basis.

My own experiences point to IS lenses which demand extra current ... not to
imply that it is the lens ... but that when the lens is trying to auto-focus
and stabilize at the same time is when my cameras lock up (same as you
reported; only battery removal will restore them to useful function).

Re: Canon 350d lockup
 

Charles Schuler wrote:

>
> "Gordon MacPherson" <gordon.macpherson@path.ox.ac.uk> wrote in message
> news:ehinlv$9k8$1@frank-exchange-of-views.oucs.ox.ac.uk...
>> Taking a series of pics at my son's wedding (there were other
>> photographers and I had a spare camera) when it locked up completely. The
>> screen was still illuminated but the camera would not even switch off.
>> There were no signs of activity (no flashing light). In desperation i
>> removed and replaced the battery and it immediately started working
>> normally and has done since then.
>> Any comments? Could it have been writing from the buffer without
>> signalling?
>
> Many theories about this as it affects several Canon DSLRs. My "pet"
> theory is that it is caused by the battery voltage dipping at a crucial
> moment and
> scrambling the computer. I recommend occasional cleaning of the battery
> contacts and replacing any batteries that appear to be related to this
> happening on a repeated basis.

I'm not sure if I can agree with you on this point. I sold my 20D but kept
the batteries and are using them on my 30D. As I said before, no errors
with my 30D.

> My own experiences point to IS lenses which demand extra current ... not
> to imply that it is the lens ... but that when the lens is trying to
> auto-focus and stabilize at the same time is when my cameras lock up (same
> as you reported; only battery removal will restore them to useful
> function).

With my 20D I got some Err99 when changing lenses. I know that once the
70-200 2.8 IS L was involved and the second time the 10-22 EF-S.

--
Jørn Dahl-Stamnes
http://www.dahl-stamnes.net/Foto/