# 5D mark III Err 01 problem after short, light rain



## sipsimies (Oct 4, 2012)

Today I was walking for about 5minutes in light rain and after that it didn't work anymore, during those 5minutes I managed to grab a few shots, but suddenly it said "Err 01 .. clean the lens contacts" I went back inside and tried another lens, tried cleaning the contacts. But the same issue persists.
I then tested the lenses on my 7D and had no problems at all.
I feared water damage, pulled out the battery and cf-card vacuumed the cf- and battery-slots and plug-wholes put it for a while in rice, but the problem persists.
What should I do?
Again, it was just some light rain and my 7D took it without any problems. Is the weather sealing of the 5D3 so much worse than the 7D? :/
Thanks!


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## Paul_B (Oct 4, 2012)

What lens was on the camera? Was it a weather sealed one?


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## tron (Oct 4, 2012)

This is bad news. I am sorry to hear it. You will have to send it to Canon after all. 

I am waiting for an ordered 5DIII and I hoped it would be as weather resistant as 7D is rumored to be.


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## bchernicoff (Oct 4, 2012)

I used mine with the 24-105 in moderate rain for a couple hours with no problems. I'm sure the rubber seal at the base of the lens makes all the difference in the world.


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## Nishi Drew (Oct 4, 2012)

Weather resistant never meant water proof... 
But my Rebel T1i has been through rain, wet snow and used while in rivers and canyoning, still runs like it should for three years. Wish I had a MkIII to trash... :-\


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## tron (Oct 4, 2012)

Nishi Drew said:


> Weather resistant never meant water proof...
> But my Rebel T1i has been through rain, wet snow and used while in rivers and canyoning, still runs like it should for three years. Wish I had a MkIII to trash... :-\


What lenses had you used?


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## enraginangel (Oct 4, 2012)

When an electronic device malfunctions from water damage, the first mistake people try is to see if it works right after a malfunction occurs. What you should have done was dry it out first for a day or so in rice or some kind of dessicant and then tried it. Turning it on right away is what shorted it out and permanently damaged the device.


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## sipsimies (Oct 4, 2012)

The lens in question was the 24-105.
I have used the 7D with a 15-85 many times(10+) in (for europe) extremely heavy rain and never had any issues. And now the the supposedly superior camera with the better lens fails in very light rain? Seems odd to me.
Luckily it doesn't seem to be brick'd. It recorded video and even took pictures just fine(as long as no lens was attached -_-). However, with a lens attached, I couldn't release the shutter and the Av stated "00", video recording worked with an attached lens, but the Av stayed at "00". 
I vacuumed it and put it in rice and it has been there for quite a while now and will be for at least another day.
The only reason why I even tested it was, as I couldn't even imagine it being a water failure, because I thought it would be at least as well build as the 7D. Apparently it isn't.
(My 7D put up with everything i threw at it: I once slipped 3m off a cliff with the camera in my hand, and only the replaceable eyecup broke.)
And I assume most here have seen the digitalrev 7D durability test video..
It seems like I should've gotten the 1DX afterall.. :|

Does anyone have an idea how much the repair would cost, if it would turn out to be broken? :S

thanks everybody


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## Standard (Oct 4, 2012)

I had posted this on another thread and thought it would be useful to do it again here.

I don't think the error is anything to worry about, at least not for now. It sounds like there may be some moisture and condensation that had gotten into the camera. There is a good chance, based on the lens that you're using as well as users' reports of the looseness of the lens attaching to the Mark III, that water may have seeped into the lens mount area. You can check this by carefully removing the lens by sitting the camera with the lcd screen faced down, twist it carefully and take the lens right off. If there's moisture around the metal ring, then it's a good indication. Moisture may have gotten into the contact area where the lens and camera communicate electronically, resulting in the error message. The camera and lens may simply need to be dry out thoroughly. Try the rice technique first, if it doesn't work then I would suggest you contact an authorized Canon dealership directly. I am no technician, but based on a lot of reading and experience, this may help remedy the issue.

_This is a proven technique that has been confirmed by many photographers as well as other electronic repair technicians. I have this worked on my iPod which was accidentally dropped in water.

For best results, do this right away. The longer you wait, the chance of water getting into the electronic parts is much higher.

(1) Make sure the camera is turned off. Take the memory card and battery out of the camera and store them in a dry place. If you have images on the memory card, refrain from inserting them into a card reader right away. Instead let it sit in a dry area for a few hours before attempting to transfer the images. Don't bother to take the lens off. Doing this, you take the risk of getting water into the camera mount. Plus you'll want the lens to be included so it can dry together with the camera.

(2) Take a small dry bath towel, and in pressing motion, dab the camera until it's dry or as best as you can dry it. Don't wipe it as the wiping motion may push water into the crevices.

(3) Next you will need to get some white rice. Yes, you heard right. Rice. Long grain, Jasmine, whatever. Take a sturdy dry plastic bag, carefully put your camera in in (if you have more than one camera, use a bag for each camera). Pour enough rice to cover the entire camera. Now close up the plastic bag completely, either by hand tying the open ends or use a twist tie or rubber band. Let the bag with rice and camera sit in a dry place for a good 8 hours, or better yet overnight into the next day. Every once in a while rotate the camera in the bag, making sure most of the rice is covering the camera. You can do this without opening the bag. The rice will soak up all the remaining water and moisture.

(4) When you think the camera has been sitting long enough in the rice, untie the bag and carefully take the camera out. I say "carefully" because you don't want any rice powder to get inside, or under the lcd or crevices. Once the camera is out, use a brush, preferrably a lens or camera cleaning brush and brush off all the remaining rice still sticking to the camera. Use a rocket blower to blow the rest off the camera.

(5) Put the memory card and battery back into the camera. Turn it on. If no error blinking messages come up, you should be good to go. To be safe, now would be a good time to transfer the images onto your hard drive if you haven't done so.

Cross your fingers and wish for luck._


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## sipsimies (Oct 4, 2012)

thank you!


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## aznstuart (Oct 4, 2012)

That happened to me this summer in India. I tried putting it in rice and even blow drying it. It didn't help since the weather was so humid. All the electronics ended up getting corroded. Luckily the 5DMkIII was fixed under warranty, but the 24-105 was basically totaled. I feel the 5DMkIII is not as weather-sealed as other cameras. I took my T2i with 17-55mm through the Niagra Falls and it survived. Yet my 5DMkIII couldn't last a few light splashes of water?


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## billatthemovies (Oct 4, 2012)

I have had this happen with my 5D mark II BUT only with my EF 16-35mm F2.8L II.

I was about to send stuff to Canon when I thought to look online about this. The best solution I found was to:

Shut the camera off.
Remove the batteries.
Turn the camera on and leave it on for a moment before shutting it off again.



When I put the batteries back in, things were fine. It might be temporary or coincidence but it worked for me.


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## Marsu42 (Oct 4, 2012)

aznstuart said:


> I feel the 5DMkIII is not as weather-sealed as other cameras.



Maybe you're correct and Canon forgot (really this time, no sarcasm intended) some sealings. But from what I know sealing on non-1d bodies is simply statistics, you can shoot for quite a long time in light rain with the 60d if you're lucky while your 5d3 might crap out on the first drop of water. So the good ol' "warp your camera in a plastic bag" method might find its users even with the 5d3...



bchernicoff said:


> I'm sure the rubber seal at the base of the lens makes all the difference in the world.



That's my guess, too, because Canon reserves this cent-worth plastic ring for L lenses. While I read it only really seals if the camera is 7d/5d-type sealed, too, I have the impression that the rubber ring also helps on my 60d.


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## Dylan777 (Oct 4, 2012)

sipsimies said:


> Today I was walking for about 5minutes in light rain and after that it didn't work anymore, during those 5minutes I managed to grab a few shots, but suddenly it said "Err 01 .. clean the lens contacts" I went back inside and tried another lens, tried cleaning the contacts. But the same issue persists.
> I then tested the lenses on my 7D and had no problems at all.
> I feared water damage, pulled out the battery and cf-card vacuumed the cf- and battery-slots and plug-wholes put it for a while in rice, but the problem persists.
> What should I do?
> Again, it was just some light rain and my 7D took it without any problems. Is the weather sealing of the 5D3 so much worse than the 7D? :/Thanks!



I don't think so...I was in China last July - I took a walk around the town in the evening. After 45mins of walking, a heavy rain came down on me. It took me about 20-25mins to walk back to the hotel. Both 5D III + 16-35 II were in heavy rain for 20-25mins - VERY WET. *No problem here*... See pic below


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## Basti187 (Jan 15, 2013)

was on a Beach in wales two days ago doing a night time lapse and it was pouring it down like hell, my 5D mark iii + 24-105mm worked perfectly fine, even though a tiny amount of sand creeped into the focus ring which is out by now though.


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## replay0 (Jan 15, 2013)

I was in Norway in September with my 5DM3 + 24-70L mark 1. It was basically raining the entire time I was there, but I had an itinerary of hikes I had to do. I basically hiked with it in the rain constantly, and it held up just fine. It was normal rain fall, not heavy storm, and I had the camera in a holster case some of the time. The lens was weather sealed with a B+W slim UV filter.


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