Error 99 on a Canon 400D

Horlock

Wonder if anyone can help. I'm getting the error 99 message on my canon 400d whenever I try to take a photo using my sigma 75-300 lense.

Now I've found a work around which is to make sure that the camera sticks to f5.6, in which case the photo works great.

So the question is:

Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Does anyone have any useful experience?
Someone said that sigma do a repair service - is it any good - is it expensive?
Is this something that can be fixed?
Should I be content that the lense works at f5.6?
Is it possible that it is supposed to work at f5.6?


In answer to the obvious questions:
I have tried the lens on a different canon eos body and get the same error
I have tried different lenses on the 400d body and they all work fine.

Any suggestions greatfully received.

Al64

Some sigma lens's are not compatible with the new digital cameras. Like you I have a 400mm lens which gives the same Error 99 when I try and use it unless I set it to F5.6.

You need to contact Sigma to see if they can re-chip the lens to make it compatible - They said mine was too old and they did not have any chips to do the upgrade.

Not sure what they charge if it can be upgraded

Alan

Horlock

Al64 wrote: »

Some sigma lens's are not compatible with the new digital cameras. Like you I have a 400mm lens which gives the same Error 99 when I try and use it unless I set it to F5.6.

You need to contact Sigma to see if they can re-chip the lens to make it compatible - They said mine was too old and they did not have any chips to do the upgrade.

Not sure what they charge if it can be upgraded

Alan

Thanks for that - sounds like I've got the same problem as you then - they probably will say the same for me. Incidentally where did you enquire to get the response above - I wouldn't know where to start.

Also do you find the f5.6 satisfactory or would you recommend selling it on ebay?

Al64

You could try dropping them an email at the technical address from this link

http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/contact.htm

I just held onto mine - I still have the normal film SLR that it was originally bought for - and I didn't think I'd get much for it anyway

Found the following on googling for "sigma lens chip"

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Are there compatibility problems with any EF lenses made by third party manufacturers?[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Sometimes. Unfortunately certain third-party lenses not built by Canon, notably many older Sigma lenses, will not work correctly on some newer EOS camera bodies like the Elan 7/EOS 30/33 and the digital EOS 10D. The most common symptom is the mirror flipping up and then the camera freezing when you try to take a photo. You then have to switch the camera off to unlock it. The only solution to this problem is to see if Sigma will upgrade the lens for you. If they still have inventory of the control chip they apparently will happily do so for free.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The only third-party maker of EF-compatible lenses with no major compatibility problems so far is Tamron. Some people have suggested that this is because Tamron have licensed official lens protocol data from Canon, but Canon USA’s Chuck Westfall has stated repeatedly in public fora that Canon have never licensed their lens mount protocol to any other manufacturer. So Tamron have either been very lucky or very clever in their reverse-engineering of the Canon lens system. They seem to be a reasonably safe bet right now for compatibility, given their track record, but it’s impossible to predict future developments in this regard. [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The following Sigma lenses require upgrading for compatibility with newer EOS cameras, according to Sigma:[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]...
28-300mm 3.5-6.3 DL aspherical IF hyperzoom
70-210mm 4-5.6 UC-II
70-300mm 4-5.6 APO macro super
70-300mm 4-5.6 DL macro super
100-300mm 4.5-6.7 DL
135-400mm ... [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]