Canon 300D (Digital Rebel) Mirror does not move (err 99) after 97 shots

[huazheng]

Got my Drebel only this Tuesday with a Canon 28-135 and a Tokina lens. Everything worked fine until I tried bulb tonight in my house. I started with the smallest aperture (f/22) with the 28-135 lens and held the shutter for several seconds, and got a completely black picture. I stopped up several times and still got black picture, until I got err 99.

Tried everything I could, and it's always err 99. Somehow I found out that the mirror is dead. Not any mode, any parameter, even Sensor Clean doesn't make it move. I can only flip it up manually.

And when I tilt the body up for about 60 degrees, or left/right for about 45 degrees, I can hear a slight rattle sound coming from inside the body.

The only conclusion I can get is that the mirror flipping mechanism is fried. Maybe it's caused by bulb.

If that's indeed the case, I have to say it is the biggest piece of s*** I've ever bought in my life. My last dc is Canon Pro 90 IS, which I used for 4 years and shot may be more than 10K pictures, never had any problem. I'm so sorry that I fell for the stupid rebate and bought 300D instead of 10D.

Anybody with similar experiences? Any idea/suggestion would be greatly appreciated!