Canon Err 01 - What???

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Have you ever gotten the Canon Error 01?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It happened to me recently with my Canon 24-70mm workhorse!

What does it mean and how do you fix it? My Husband did a little online search and we figured out it meant that the lens and the camera were not connecting properly. You can find many videos/posts about this particular error.

If it looks like your lens should be connected properly but isn’t, what you can try is gently cleaning the gold ribbon cable by wiping it with a soft dry cloth. Make sure it’s dust and sand free.

Unfortunately that didn’t work in my case. As you can see in my before picture, the connectors are very scratched from so much use! I needed to send my lens in for repair.

Before you call or take it in for service though, you need to determine the lens really is the issue. You can either try the lens out on another camera body, or you can try out other lenses on your current camera body.

In my case I chose to ship my lens to Canon for repairs since it’s a long drive for me to find a camera shop. I called Canon and they helped me get the process rolling. It was simple and straight forward.

I am impressed with the fast turnaround time. I had my lens back within a week! I do have to say though, they weren’t the best communicators for what exactly they were doing as far as repairs go. It wasn’t until I got the lens back, with a form that stated the parts they replaced, that I found out what exactly they did. They were really vague until that point. You have to prepay and “approve” before they even have a solid answer for what is wrong. They give you an estimate based off what you yourself say is wrong with the lens.

Anyway several hundred dollars later, I have my lens back in factory working order!

Hopefully this never happens to you, but now you’ll know what it means if it does!

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