Err 80 - Should I Worry?

[gbchriste]

I have 5D Mark III purchased new in June 2012 (shutter count unknown but probably in the 10,000 range). I was shooting a portrait session a couple of days ago with the MIII and 70-200 2.8L II when all of a sudden I locked up with Err 80 on the top LCD. I've heard of this error before and know it can be a real source of worry, but never concerned myself with it as I had never experienced with this camera or the 5D II and 40D I used as predecessors.

In addition to a San Disk 8GB CF card, I also have a fairly new EyeFi Mobi card, which was in use at the time. However, I have used that EyeFi card on at least half dozen occasions since November without issue.

Needless to say my heart skipped a beat. Powering off and back on didn't help so I pulled the battery and put a new on in and was able to restore function immediately. I finished that session and did another complete session the next day without problems.

What is my camera telling me? Am I on the cusp of a fatal failure? Is this something that can just randomly pop up and disappear again like it did for me here? What should I be looking at and thinking about?

Thanks.

 

[WillThompson]

What firmware are you using?

Early firmware had random errors reported that were fixed in later versions.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Put a identifying mark on the battery, and wait to see if it happens again. Then check the battery to see if its the same one. If its only happening with the one battery, your issue is solved.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi gbchriste.
I'll assume you already looked up err 80, but in case you didn't and don't know what it is, see the list of codes here, http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=8194.0
Sounds a bit ominous, and a lot ambiguous!

Cheers, Graham.

 

[Marsu42]

I was shooting a portrait session a couple of days ago with the MIII and 70-200 2.8L II when all of a sudden I locked up with Err 80 on the top LCD.

Yes, you should worry because this is (amongst others) the "dead shutter" error code.

Problem is that until you can reproduce it reliably, Canon won't service it. If you've got warranty you can either try to burn in until it's broken, or have a backup camera body ready and wait until it dies on its own. It *could* be temporary because of cold or dirt on the shutter, but shutters simply can fail at any time, no matter how many actuations.