Needing some help.

[WhisperedLitany]

I haven't been on here in a very long time, but I figured I would turn to you guys for help.

I have had a Canon XTi for almost five years now, and I got it as a package deal with the 18-55mm lens and a 70-300mm Quantaray Lens. Everything was working fine up until about 2 months ago. I started to get Error 99 messages whenever I was zoomed all the way in at 300mm on my bigger lens, but it would work when it wanted to. My 18-55mm lens has been working perfectly fine and never gave me error messages and still doesn't. During 4th of july, my 70-300mm lens started to make a grinding noise right after it was connected to my XTi, and the error 99 message would pop up right when I turned my camera on, and it wouldn't go away until I turned the camera off and took the big lens off. I couldn't do anything with my big lens.

I haven't been able to go to a camera store and have them test to see if other big lenses work with my XTi, but after doing some research online I found that other people were having the same exact "Error 99" messages with the same exact lens as me. I found out that only Ritz Cameras sells it, and its actually a Tamron. I called a few different places and asked how much it would cost to get my 70-300mm fixed, and I think it would just make more sense if I got a new lens.

Now, the thing I'm stuck on is what kind of lens I should get. I'm strapped on cash and right now I am just needing something that is telephoto that I can use for photoshoots, and then save up for a better lens once I am able to get a job. I found a lens online for sale that is a "Canon 75-300mm f4-5.6", and the guy who is selling it only wants $100 for it. He said he has hardly used it, and he has had it for 2 years. Would I be better off getting my 70-300mm lens fixed, or would it be better if I just got the Canon 75-300mm f4-5.6?


I'm not even sure which lens is better, if I am upgrading a bit to something better or if this is just going to be a downgrade. I'm pretty sure that my 70-300mm lens didn't have image stabilization, and the one I am thinking about buying doesn't have it either. Can anyone help me out with deciding what to do? It would be much appreciated. :mrgreen:


Heres a picture of my 70-300mm lens that I have just so people don't mistake it for the other kind thats often seen on google.


http://i52.tinypic.com/2r47l.jpg

 

[PJL]

If it's the choice between the two, I would just buy the Canon and not worry about getting the other one fixed. Not worth it, in my opinion. Neither lens is good enough for one to be considered an "upgrade" over the other.

 

[KmH]

Canon's ERR 99 is a catch-all generic error code.

It means something is wrong, but the camera doesn't know what exactly is wrong.

ERR 99 can mean the lens/body electrical contacts are dirty and they need to be cleaned or one contact has lost spring tension. It can mean the shutter is about ready to die. It could mean there is a fault in the lens electronics. It could mean your fly is still down.

 

[subscuck]

As already stated, the two lenses in question are about equal in quality. Will it cost more than $100 to fix the Quantaray? If so, buy the Canon. You could also try cleaning the lens contacts with a pencil eraser, but if it's making a grinding noise, I don't think it's the contacts. And check your fly.

 

[WhisperedLitany]

Thanks everyone for the advice.. I went ahead and bought the Canon lens. It seems to work pretty good, but the auto focus hunts around more than my other lens.. Thats my only complaint.

I did try the pencil eraser technique with the Quantaray lens, and it still made the grinding noise and the error message continued to pop up.


And yes, my fly is up.